Page 103 of Surrendering Hope (The Hope Legacy)

“I was with Zac when the night security guard called to say there was some weird stuff happening. Lights coming on, not coming on, alarms going off. Then it clicked. You guys sneaking off for some super-secret meeting with Charlie, leaving Aaden behind to distract Emi. I asked myself what you could be risking your lives for by coming here. Then I remembered you’d seen the blades. So I sat here and waited for you to walk in.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to put you in a position where you felt you had to choose between me and the cadre,” I say,

Jed sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I get it, and I understand your need to have a backup plan. But in the future, talk it through with me.”

He gestures to the wicked blades; I step forward and tug them out of the desk. “Archan’s going to be pissed when he sees what you did to his desk,” I mutter.

Jed winks. “Archan won’t care if he has you in his arms and Ty in the Jar.”

Jed stands and holds out his hand, I frown. “What are you doing?”

“How do you expect to get out of here? The lobby is swarming with extra security.”

“She wanted to go to the roof and abseil down the building,” Zee snorts.

I fold my arms. “It beats us sneaking around like rats.”

Zee rolls his eyes as Jed grins. “You wanted to pretend you were in ‘Mission Impossible’, didn’t you?”

I unfold my arms and give Zee a gentle shove. “See? He gets it. What kind of partner are you if you don’t understand my creativity for missions?”

“Guys?” Duncan says in our ear. I’d forgotten he was there. “Did Jed just give you the blades and offer to teleport you out of there?”

“Yup, he did,” I say.

Jed looks around. I tap my ear. “Duncan.”

“I moved the car four blocks away when the extra security arrived. Have him take you back to the cave, I’ll meet you there.”

“He wants you to teleport us back to the bat cave,” I explain.

Jed reaches out for us both. “Come on, Mrs Cruise, let’s get you back.”

I chuckle. “The ‘Mission Impossible’ guy wasn’t called Cruise, he was the actor who played him.”

He arches an eyebrow. “Can you remember his name?”

I frown. “No.”

“My point exactly.”

Swirls of color surround us, and the tug I feel here tries to claim my soul, its calm embrace beckoning my exhausted heart. I blink as the cave comes into view. This time, it’s a pissed looking Emi and Aaden. Just once I’d like to appear here and not have someone waiting to chew me out.

Emi jumps up from the sofa, Aaden grabs her arm before she murders me.

“What were you thinking going without godly backup?”

Her eyes drop to my hands. I clench the blades tighter. “Looking to kill a god?” she snaps.

I shake my head as Duncan appears. He glances at the blades. “Why don’t we sit?” I say.

“I’m fine standing,” she says back.

I sigh and place the blades on the dining table. I tug the tie out of my hair and run my fingers through it. “We have to have a backup plan, in case I fail.”

She blinks like she never considered that possibility. “You’re not sure you can put him back in the Jar?”

I shrug. “We would be naïve to not consider the possibility that Ty will smell a rat and outwit us.”

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