Forsaken Duty (Red Team #9)(44)

“My room is right next door,” Owen said.

She faced him, then immediately had a flash of the way the female fighter on their team looked at him. Almost possessively. Now that he’d brought her into his world, she realized she hadn’t spared a thought for his situation. Ten years was a long time to be gone from someone’s life. Though he’d denied being married, he certainly could have found someone to be with. He should have done that; she wouldn’t have wanted him to be alone all that time.

Addy could hear Troy coming down the hall. She put aside those thoughts for further mulling.

Her son ran through the sitting room outside this wing of bedrooms and plowed into their room. “Mom! This house is huge. I’m going to get lost.” His smile was wide and his eyes were bright. She hadn’t seen him look so genuinely happy in a very long time—not since before they lost his brother.

The other little boy—Zavi—was close on his heels. “You won’t get lost. I’ll show you around.” He turned to Owen. “Can we go see the puppies, Uncle Owen?”

Owen checked with her, but she didn’t know anything about where the puppies were or if it was safe to do that, so she deferred back to him. He nodded and said, “But only if Eddie says it’s okay and one of the team goes with you.”

“Yes!” Zavi took Troy’s arm and pushed him to the door.

“Mr. Tremaine’s your uncle?” Troy asked.

“Yeah. They’re all my uncles. And one aunt. They can be yours, too! Uncle Owen’s the chief, so…” The rest of Zavi’s words faded away as they rushed off to find the puppies.

Addy felt alone and off-kilter. She’d selfishly wanted Troy to stay with her so she had some grounding, but he needed to be a little boy. She was a stranger in a crowd that was its own community. Children and animals. Wives and husbands—or at least committed couples. She was an outsider. An untrusted interloper.

“If there’s anything you need, just ask for it. Jim’s our housekeeper. He does our shopping, so let him know any regular supplies you’ll need. Russ is our cook. Both of them came from the same unit I was in. They’re not active warriors, but they’ve been read in and stand ready to fight. You’re welcome to use any public room in the house. And we have a gym wing. We also have a private meeting space in a bunker below the house. That’s off-limits unless one of us is with you. I’ll be happy to show you around, but I need to check in with my team first.”

Addy nodded. She was a little afraid that, like Troy, she’d get terribly lost until she figured the place out. “Thank you.”

“Our numbers are all on the list there.” He nodded toward her nightstand. “Max or Greer will bring security necklaces for you and Troy. Everyone is required to wear one so we can know where you are and so that you have a way—besides your phone—to send out an emergency call for help to the team.”

“When will I get my things back?”

“Greer will bring them up in a bit. We usually eat around seven; I’m sure he’ll have them back before then.” He looked at her, pausing as if there was something else he wanted to say. “You’re safe here, but I would recommend you don’t leave the grounds. At least, not until we put Edwards down and figure out who King is.”

She nodded. A few minutes after he left, there was a knock on her door. It was Selena, the fighter she’d seen in the crowd that had greeted them.

“Hi,” the woman said.

Addy nodded. “Selena, right?”

“That’s me. I came to see if you would like to take a tour. This place is big and spread out—you might feel more at home if you know where everything is.”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

There was a big shadow between them. Addy didn’t like it. Maybe it was just that she’d been isolated for so long that her social skills had evaporated. It couldn’t be jealousy, could it? She hadn’t felt that in a long time. What an ugly emotion it was.

Selena frowned at her. “Are you bringing trouble to us?”

Addy was surprised by the frank question. Maybe Selena was feeling the same thing she was. She considered her answer before nodding. “Probably. I was deep in the Omni world for ten years. I thought I’d gotten out, but Owen thinks I’m still in. I don’t know. The Omnis don’t let go of their own. I have to get my oldest son back from them. Then I want freedom for my boys and me. I want to live a quiet life in total obscurity.”

“That’s too bad. I get the feeling that Owen was hoping for a different outcome.”

That made Addy’s heart jump. “Do you think the Omnis can be ended?”

“Not sure. I think it might be like trying to end a country.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask,” Selena said, implying she might not answer.

“Is Owen King? My husband said he was. My brother believed it at one time.” Jax had amended his view, but Addy wasn’t quite there yet.

Selena didn’t blink. “Owen isn’t your enemy.” Selena folded her arms then leaned against the doorjamb. “Owen may not know this yet, but we have another group of watchers here—it’s the one your son was in.”

“Was in?” Addy’s jaw dropped as her breath caught in her chest. “Is Augie here?”