Page 18 of The Rebel King

“It’s different, but sometimes the same. Sometimes a recurring nightmare, sometimes a memory.”

I find Wallace’s eyes in the dim light of the cave. “I dreamt of her. We were back at my Sunrise Dance, this rite of passage for young girls in my tribe. She looked right at me and told me to run.”

I shake my head, a slight smile curving my lips. “I’m hoping she’s reaching me somehow, letting me know when the time is right, to be ready. That gives me hope.”

“And the other thing?” Wallace asks. “What’s the other thing that gives you hope?”

“Maxim,” I say with soft certainty. “If there’s a way out of this, he’ll find it. If there isn’t…” A hot knot of emotion and tears crowd and burn my throat.

“If there’s not,” I tell Wallace, “just remember your promise. I have to go home.”

The words I don’t say chill the silent air between us.

Dead or alive.

CHAPTER 7

MAXIM

“You stay here.”

Grim’s words cut through the thick jungle humidity like a machete.

“I told you I’m a great shot,” I say, my voice gravelly and frustrated.

“It was short notice, but between my contacts and your brother’s, I’ve assembled a great team ofqualifiedguys,” he says pointedly. “You might be a great shot, but you ain’t qualified, brother.”

“I can still help.”

“I don’t want you anywhere near the action. We shouldn’t need your help, but if the action comes to you, you got that.” He nods to the gun holstered at my hip and then glances at the nine men checking their weapons and preparing for the strike. They’re some scary motherfuckers. Like a group of Grims going into battle.

The sight should reassure me, but nothing will put me at ease until I can touch her. Until I can feel Lennix’s heart beating against mine again, confirmation that she’s gotten out of this alive.

“You remember what you’re supposed to do?” Grim slots a knife inside his boot.

“Yeah. Wait here like a neutered cocker spaniel.”

“You want her back?” Grim asks, not looking up from the watch he’s been checking since we left DC headed for Costa Rica. It shows 3:022:02 and counting down. Just over three hours. All Nix has left,if that shitbag sticks to his timetable. He doesn’t strike me as the type to back down.

“Yeah.” I look up at the overcast sky, primed for storms and reflecting my own uncertainty, the turbulence whirring inside me. “I want her back.”

“Then follow the plan. You wanted the gun, you got it. For once in your damn life, fall back and follow orders. Leave this to the guys actually trained to do it. What are your orders?”

I grit my teeth, unused to following anyone else’s lead. “If I see a bad guy,” I say stonily, “shoot him.”

“And?” He cocks one thick eyebrow at me, looking very The Rock-ish.

“Don’t get my ass killed.”

CHAPTER 8

LENNIX

“Get up!”

Abe’s barked order makes my heart somersault and my belly flop.

Is it time? I have no concept of how long it’s been since he recorded that video and flipped an hourglass on my life. I’ve felt the sand falling, every grain piling up, taking me closer to a gruesome end. Now that I’m facing my own death, I want to comport myself with honor—to die unflinchingly. For my enemy to see war in my eyes even as the life drains from them. How did my ancestors feel with an army ahead of them and certain death behind? The warriors at the Leap, who jumped from a cliff instead of surrendering? Did panic crawl up from their bellies, the insidious thief of courage? Or were they brave, resolved until their last breath?

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