#SummerGirl

by Brooks, A. M.

  “Say,” Matt sighs, “if I knew where she was, it would be different. Part of the Connelly charm is that they always appear to never exist anywhere. Looking for her would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack right now.”

  “We have one last known location for the second cousin,” Jason offers. “Once we’re packed down here, I can run up East.”

  Matt shakes his head. “You forget how resourceful our girl is. Kelly will figure out a way to get free. She would never spill Rogue secrets either. I may not have been around her much in the past few years, but my soul would recognize hers anywhere. We live and breathe Rogue.”

  Jason shakes his head, walking away, clearly frustrated with being told he can’t go after her. I feel his pain on some level. It’s the fear in his eyes that gets me the most.

  “Do we have a plan then?” Matt asks the room. Everyone is silent, realizing that summer is coming to an end, and it’s not exactly the happy ending we all wanted. If anything, we’re left with more questions and loose ends.

  Eventually, Reed and Bentley stand, tilting their heads at Matt in acknowledgment before heading upstairs to pack. Matt says he’ll leave with them in thirty minutes. Saylor helps Mila maneuver her chair back to her room to pack as well.

  “Why don’t you guys make that list?” Jason says, his voice broken. “I’ll talk to the Saffrans when they get back.” He leaves out the front door, and suddenly, it’s just me and the guys.

  “This fucking sucks,” Kai mutters. “I can’t believe it’s ending this way.”

  “Would you rather her be stuck here, blind, with everything we have going on?” Ciaran turns on him.

  “No,” Kai shakes his head, “that’s the hard part. I know it’s best she leaves and I’m the only one who knows why. This is probably the last time I’ll see her before we leave for Basic Training.”

  “I think a lot of things need to get figured out first before we even plan to leave for Basic,” Silas adds.

  “Yeah, I guess.” Kai sighs, walking toward the kitchen. “I’ll check food supply.”

  “I’ll check ammunition,” Ciaran calls, as he walks to the basement.

  “What’s left?” I question, turning to Silas.

  He grins. “Wood, power, generator.”

  “Gotcha.” I follow him out the door and to the side of the house. Silas counts, but doesn’t have to write anything down, his magical brain working for him. I take in everything I can and tuck it away, adding to the growing list of reasons I’ve fallen for this guy and would change my life for him.

  “What if I stayed?” I throw out suddenly. Judging by the way his body freezes, I can tell my words caught him more than a little off guard. “I mean, I know the rules. I have to go back now, but once I turn eighteen, I can make a choice. What if I choose Rogue then?”

  Silas studies me, his eyes burning hotly on my skin. “You want to stay a part of Rogue?”

  I nod. “I had no idea this world existed, and it has saved my life in more ways than one. You’re completely right to defend this cause. I want to do that too. I think…I think even if there wasn’t a me and you, I’d still choose to stay in. It’s become a part of me too.”

  “But there is a you and me,” Silas points out, his eyes blazing, he steps up to me, so his shoes touch my sandals, forcing my head back to meet his gaze. His hand slides through the hair at the back of my neck until he’s cradling my head.

  “I know,” I tell him. “If you still want me in a few years when you’re out, I’d be here for you too.”

  I hear the hitch in his breath. “I’ll always want you, Lux. You’re mine.”

  I melt at his words, my heart fluttering in my chest. “Then I’ll stay. Or I’ll follow. We can figure it out.”

  “A real relationship?” Silas’ brow quirks and I can’t stop the small laugh that escapes me.

  “We labeling it now, Montgomery?”

  Silas’ hands move up to touch my face. His green eyes bore into mine, fierce and full of emotion. “Be mine and I’ll be yours. That’s all the labels I need,” he murmurs, before crushing his mouth against mine. My hands find his waist easily and I kiss him like my life depends on it. I guess because in a way it does now.

  Silas

  “Matt left with Mila, Reed, and Bentley,” I announce, throwing my vest on again and placing my clip in the back of my waistband.

  “Saffrans will be home in the next hour or so. I made Valerie aware of the situation. She said we would talk more when they get here, but was feeling they should leave,” Dad adds, adjusting his own side holsters under his flannel shirt.

  “We’re going to make this trip as quick and as normal as possible,” Ciaran throws in. “We don’t have much to get.”

  “You guys get moving.” Dad nods and pulls his radio from his back pocket. “We got eyes on you.”

  We take three four-wheelers into town to get what we need, sticking to the trails and the corners we’ve known all our lives. Only static plays in my helmet, which is a good sign as we get farther and farther away from the property. My body has been operating on high alert the past few days, every noise and movement has me second-guessing everything. I can only hope our security system is working at its finest and that the compound doesn’t suddenly malfunction. These are worse case scenarios but still concerns. I don’t know if it’s because I have more to lose now, sisters, Lux, a future, but it is fear that keeps me up at night. My mind plays over and over every image, every recording, every piece of information we’ve gathered, until I almost go crazy thinking about it all. I wish I could turn my brain off.

  The closer we get to town, the darker the sky seems to get ahead of us. “Storms weren’t in the forecast,” I mutter into my headpiece.

  “Neither was this little trip,” Kai quips in my ear, and I smirk.

  The air temperature drops suddenly once we reach the clearing, a gust of wind working against us. I feel Lux tighten her grip, her front pressing closer to my back. She’s wearing my hoodie under her own vest, but the wind can easily penetrate that material.

  “We’re almost there,” I yell to her and she nods in response.

  We almost make it to the boundary when rain pelts against my visor, clouding my vision. I push down on my throttle and speed forward, heading to the first building I see. Ciaran and Kai are right on my six, and we manage to make it before the drizzle becomes sheets of rain, and lightning cracks the sky open. The girls hop off and go into the General Store with the list Ciaran and Kai had written up, while we wait inside the front doors, keeping tabs on our wheels.

  “Radio says it could produce hail and strong winds,” Kai reports back.

  “Just what we need.” Ci shakes his head, his jaw tightening.

  “We wait it out and head right back,” I tell him. “Nothing in our plan is changing except waiting for the storm to pass.”

  We stand and watch the clouds roll through, and eventually, it does hail. The girls return with our supplies stuffed into the backpacks we gave them earlier. Lux’s eyes widen when the building shakes from the thunder. I sling my arm around her, pulling her to my side. I’ve always been a fan of storms, just not when we already have a life or death situation on our hands.

  “I think it’s letting up,” Kai remarks about half an hour later. Sure enough, the sky is becoming lighter to the north, and the rain has slowed. “Now or never?”

  “A little rain won’t hurt.” Saylor nods, game to get going. We’re all feeling frustrated just sitting around. I share a look with Ci and it’s decided. We all head out and jump back on our rides. I fire up the engine and Lux climbs on behind me.

  We’re instantly soaked by the time we reach the trees, but at this point, I don’t care. Our tires slosh in the mud and it gets kicked up toward us, which is the least of my worries. Branches are hanging in odd positions and the previous crackle in my helmet is more of a dull humming noise. My spidey senses start kicking in, and a chill runs down my back. “You hear that?” I ask all
of them.

  “I don’t like this,” Ciaran responds right away.

  “No signal,” Kai answers, and we all come to a stop in the middle of the trail.

  My eyes dart around the open space, looking for anything amiss. “Did the storm kick the power?”

  “I don’t know,” Ciaran replies, his tires rolling forward toward the edge of where the trail meets the tree line. His head tips sideways. “Shit. Tracks.”

  “Gun it,” I say, and we all take off, pushing our rigs forward.

  I hear them before I see them, a loud engine roars to life before a Gator jumps up the hill in my rearview. Both the rig and the driver are completely covered in black. “Fuck!”

  I stand and grab Lux’s hand off my waist, bringing it to the handlebar. She takes the hint to scoot forward and I create a cage around her with my body. “Do not slow down,” I instruct her, and she keeps her fingers tight on the clamp. The rat-a-tat-tat of bullets being fired causes my heart to sink and adrenaline to take over. I jerk the bars and we split into different directions. Lux and I go down to the ditch, and I get us stable before reaching for my rifle. “Keep going and do not look behind you,” I tell her.

  Sure enough, we’re joined by another rider. I lift my rifle to shoot right as he reaches for his own semiautomatic. I fire and more shots echo in the forest around us. Lux screams, but she keeps driving, never forgetting what I told her. I watch with satisfaction as the rider’s body drops to the ground and his rig slams into a tree. Ahead I can see Kai shaking someone loose from behind Ciaran and Saylor, not aware he has his own tail. I reach for the bars again and angle us toward them. I stand behind Lux, raise and shoot. Kai’s tail drops down.

  “Dude, thanks.” Kai breathes heavily.

  “We’re almost there.” Ciaran’s voice is choppy in my ear. Even as he says it, two more dirt bikes come flying up the trail, heading toward us.

  “Shit,” I mutter, helping Lux to keep steady and add extra speed.

  This time Ci shoots and one driver goes down while the other deflects. We’re right at the clearing, and I can see our audience before they see us. My dad and Matt are shouting orders to the Saffrans, who are just back from their errands. My dad sprints out to the field, aiming over my shoulder. I take a sharp turn and he fires. There is a crash behind me, and fire and smoke are at my back when I turn. Once we reach the property, all three of us come to a skidding halt. My dad has his scope trained in the distance.

  “Get inside now,” he calls to all five of us. I jump off the four-wheeler and angle Lux in front of me, dragging her as fast as I can. My dad starts retreating, staying with us and Matt’s flanking his side. We all make it into the house before our security door slides in place.

  “What the hell happened?” My dad turns to us.

  “They came out of nowhere,” I tell him. “We were almost back when the first ones appeared.”

  “Did you take any of them out?”

  “Pretty sure we got all of them,” I answer, Ciaran and Kai backing me up.

  “Ohmygod! Saylor.” Oaklynn comes flying across the room and wraps Saylor up in her arms. Oaklynn’s face is pale, fear etched into every part of it. “What was that? Kai?”

  She turns to my best friend, looking for answers, right as his face shutters and closes down. He slides a look to her parents who are standing huddled together, guilty expressions on their faces. “Is this a joke or something? Why were people shooting? Why would anyone try to kill you guys?”

  “Oak.” Saylor pulls away, her face pained.

  “Do you know what’s going on?” Oaklynn asks her, turning again to Kai. “Kai?”

  “We asked them not to tell you.” Valerie Saffran steps forward first. “Matt is more than just my high school friend, Oak. He runs a secret program that helps families and children.”

  “New York?” Oaklynn turns back to Saylor.

  “Yes, what happened with my dad and my mom. We needed Matt and he took us in to protect us,” Saylor confirms.

  “And what about you?” She turns back to Kai, pinning him with a heated glare.

  His hand comes up to his head, tugging on the front of his hair. “I work for Matt. It’s my job to protect people like Saylor and Raina.”

  “Raina?” Oaklynn spins around to where we stand, her blonde brow arching. “So not a foster kid then?”

  “No,” Oliver answers, “she was placed with us because of Nash.”

  Everyone goes silent, their attention turned toward Oliver, the mysterious, silent brother.

  “You know about Nash placing Lux with your family?” I question, instantly on alert, pulling Lux behind me, out of his view.

  “It was the law firm I was interning at when he brought her in. Said he needed to keep her away from his mom. Word around the corporate world is that Kristen Aimsworth is running with a crowd you don’t want to mess with,” he explains, shrugging. Valerie gasps next to him, her hand flying over her mouth.

  “We’re going to need to talk.” Matt steps up to Oliver. To his credit, he gives Matt his full attention.

  “Yes, sir.”

  A giggle starts, followed by a full-on laugh from Oaklynn. Her eyes land on all of us, but her laughing keeps going.

  “Oak...”

  “Babe...”

  “So you all knew. Everyone was in on this and knew about this secret spy organization, except me, right? Stupid Oaklynn would be too fragile to understand!”

  “Sweetie---”

  “Nope, Mom,” she holds up her hand, her body vibrating, “I’m good on the lies for today. Excuse me.”

  We all watch as she runs from the room. Saylor follows, then Lux. I’m not sure how much of a difference it will make. One look at Kai and I can tell he feels the same way. This was a long time coming and we’ve been warning him.

  “I have a drone ID on one of the guys you dropped.” My dad breaks through the silence. “It’s not good, Matt.”

  “Rogue?”

  “Pat Sullivan.”

  “Another Defector.”

  Lux

  Thirty minutes later and my ears are still ringing, my cheeks burning from the attention I’m blatantly getting now that Silas has taken my hand and not let go once since we were shot at. Even when we made it to the compound area, he still has not surrendered me, if anything, he holds me tighter, pulling my body into his.

  When Matt told everyone to get to headquarters, he meant everyone. The atmosphere is tense at best. The Saffrans are standing quietly off to the side looking torn, while Oaklynn stands behind them, her eyes filling with tears before she blinks them away and anger fills them up again. I bite my lip, when my eyes meet hers, and she looks away before I can even mouth to her that I’m sorry. I may not have had as huge a part in lying to her as her parents, Kai and even Saylor, but I did keep my real identity from her. Saylor looks just as destroyed as her best friend, while Ciaran holds her close, his expression going from concerned as he looks at her to pissed as his gaze shoots to Kai. Kai’s jaw is clenched so hard, I can feel his teeth grinding, and he hasn’t looked away from Oaklynn since we left the cabins. I want to shake him for being stupid while at the same time I’m well aware that he didn’t have much choice in the matter.

  My gaze swings around the room again, this time, to find Bentley practically sneering in my direction and I frown at him.

  “Got a problem, Rhodes?” Silas bites out, his tone harsh, and his eyes flat.

  Bentley scoffs. “No, Montgomery. Being hunted down is just all part of the experience these days. Some of us targets just seem to fair better than others though.” He winks at me and I don’t miss how Silas’ body shifts so he’s half-blocking me from Bentley’s view.

  “So you’re a target too then?” Oaklynn suddenly asks from where she is. Her blue eyes glisten with interest and hostility as they also slide over Reed. “All of you?”

  “Oaklynn,” her mother says her name, and Oaklynn scoffs, turning away from everyone again.

  Silas still
stands guard in front of me, his eyes burning holes through Bentley, who’s either too stupid to care or maybe suicidal because he is also not backing down. “Don’t Si,” I tell him, my free hand wrapping around his bicep, and I rest my head against him. I try to use my touch to channel calmness and to let him know I’m okay. I’ve always known Bentley was the type of guy with an axe to grind. His hostility toward the guys has been readable from day one. If I thought he had an actual backbone, I’d almost wonder if he was behind any of the things going on within Rogue, but he’s too squeamish, too much talk and no action.

  Bentley looks past Silas and finds me anyways. “You know up until nine months ago, none of this,” he points to where Silas and I are holding hands, “would have been acceptable. It only is when it comes to the golden boys.”

  “Are you really still hung up on that?” Silas asks, his tone turning deadly. “Now or nine months ago, it wouldn’t have mattered. Saylor was never going to climb up on your dick.”

  “Si,” Ciaran starts, but Silas cuts him off. His eyes narrow on Bentley.

  “If you’re so hung up on this heir shit then how do we know you’re not the one delivering secrets and giving up information on Rogue?” His head tilts to the side, his green eyes assessing every move and breath Bentley takes.

  Kai scoffs and speaks for the first time since we entered the building. “Like he has the ability to plan something of this magnitude.”

  Bentley’s throat bobs up and down. His eyes remain hardened on Silas, but I don’t miss the greenish hue his skin turns. “You know my file.”

  “I do,” Silas bites back. “So I suggest, unless you want to go back to Grandpa Dearest, let go of this bullshit and worry about surviving.”

  “Are we done now?” Jason’s voice suddenly snaps at all of us. Everyone turns to where he and Matt are standing at the front of the room. Jason’s gaze is locked on his son, who glares at Bentley for longer than necessary, before finally glancing at his dad.