Forsaken Duty (Red Team #9)(48)

“Yes.”

“No,” Addy whispered from behind his shoulder.

“No?” Owen lifted a brow.

She shook her head as she looked at what she could see of his team. “What if Cecil and others can hear through me? What if I’m broadcasting?”

“Who’s Cecil?” Greer asked.

“Cecil Edwards. My demon. Her hell,” Ace answered.

“How would that work?” Kelan asked.

“No idea,” Addy said. She was still slightly behind Owen, shamefully glad he stood between her and his team. “But then, my eyes shouldn’t change when I’m angry. And all of the other weird stuff that’s going on shouldn’t be happening either. I don’t know how any of this works.”

“Right,” Kit sighed. “Best we can do is have Kelan wand you to see if you’re sending off signals.” He shook his head. “That’s the weirdest thing I never thought I’d hear myself say. Greer, Max, finish going through her devices. The rest of you—go through her bags and clothes. Not sure what we’re looking for, but since we know the Omnis can weaponize insect drones, I don’t want to be too careful.”

“Agreed,” Owen said. “I want Lion at the meeting. And Blade’s dad, too.”

“Roger that,” Kit said.



The room emptied out, leaving Owen alone with Addy and Troy. Her boy seemed terrified. Owen smiled and set a hand on his head, then looked at Addy. “I’d like to say everything is going to work out, but we both know that’s not a given. And I want to ask you to trust me, but I know that resource has been depleted for a long time. So I’m just going to say that you have me and my entire team behind you. They’re bright, capable warriors. Every one of them has been harmed by the Omnis; they have skin in the game. I trust them with our lives. You and Troy are safe here. Most of all, you aren’t alone—you’ve got all of us with you.”

Addy almost wavered. She’d heard similar heartfelt offerings from her brother two years ago and had fallen for them. Completely. She’d believed Wendell, and look where she was for it…an Omni science experiment, still under Cecil’s thumb, not a step closer to having her son back.

“Do you think Wendell was ever even looking for Augie?”

Owen stroked her cheek, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “I think so, at least until he learned which pride he was with. Lion is a natural leader. Augie would have been safe with him. I think Jax felt finding my dad and stopping the slaughter of the Omni scientists was a higher priority. He thought you were dying, you know. He needed them to save you. We still do.” He shook his head. “All I know for a fact is that I love you.”

Troy moved between them to hug Owen. “I love you, too, Mr. Tremaine.”

Owen smiled at her. He knelt and set a hand on Troy’s shoulder. “Thanks, bud. We’re going to get through this.”

“I know. We’ll keep Mom safe, like Augie would have done.”

“Just like that.” Owen nodded. “We’ll make your brother proud. You know, everyone here calls me Owen. You think, if it’s all right with your mom, that you could do that too?”

Troy looked up at her and smiled when she nodded. “I guess that’s okay. Owen.”

“Do your men need my help getting into my devices?” Addy asked.

Owen stood, then handed her his phone with a text screen open. “Enter your passwords. They’ll take it from there.”





16





Addy went to her room after the meeting in the den. Troy had gone off with Zavi again. Those two were going to be a handful, having the run of a place the size of this one. She splashed her face with cool water, then got a washcloth and ran it under the cold tap. She wrung it out, then put it over her eyes, trying to get them to go back to being normal. Was that even possible?

After a few minutes, she checked the clock on her nightstand. It was almost time to meet for dinner. Her purse had been delivered to her room, along with all her other things. Her sunglasses were in there. She put them on, then left her room. She ran into Owen’s cousin by the backstairs.

“Hi, Addy,” Val said.

“Val.” Addy stopped in the hallway. Of all Owen’s team, Val felt the safest to her, maybe because he was Owen’s cousin.

“I guess you aren’t broadcasting all of our secrets, since you aren’t in isolation.” He grinned.

“No. But the eye thing has gotten worse.”

“Do they hurt? Does light bother them?” he asked.

“No. I just don’t like being different.”

Val shrugged. “We all have our issues. Rocco, for instance, is recovering from severe PTSD. Blade’s dad was one of King’s henchmen. Kit’s mom was an alcoholic and an escapee from an Omni isolationist group. Greer sees ghosts. My dad is some evil kingpin. Max was a felon who almost killed Owen—”

“Why did he do that?”

“He was angry for the trickery that dragged him into this mess,” Val said. “For a while, he blamed Owen, but we know now it was the Omnis who brought him in.”

“What issue does Owen have?”

“Owen? Hmmm. His is the worst of all. For a decade, he’s just been a tin man, hollow and aching for his heart, which he lost when he lost you.”