Kit’s phone rang as soon as they hung up from the Ratcliffs. Conversation stopped as he took the call. “Sel—” Pause. His shoulders dropped. “You can’t do that.” He shook his head. “Let’s talk this over—” The call must have ended, because he lowered his phone and stared at it.

“Another migraine?” Owen asked.

Kit looked shocked. “She just quit.”

“Shit.” Owen started for the hallway between the conference room and ops.

Ace hurried after him. “I’m coming, too.” In the elevator, she looked at Owen and said, “Selena and I had a pact.”

He hit the up button. “What kind of pact?”

“That I would be there for her if she lost her shit.”

Owen faced forward and ground his teeth, almost afraid of what he’d find in Selena’s room. They took the backstairs up to her room. He knocked on her door.

No answer.

“Selena, we need to talk,” Owen called through the door.

“It’s not locked.”

Owen went in first. Selena was bent over a pile of clothes, shoving things into a duffel bag. She flashed a glance at him and Ace. Owen saw faint bruises on her temple beside her eyes—something he hadn’t noticed in the weaker light of the bunker.

He leaned against her dresser, next to a column of empty, opened drawers. Ace moved about the room. Owen suspected she was checking for a man neither of them could see.

“Talk to me,” Owen said, folding his arms.

“I’m leaving. I’m done,” Selena said.

“Where are you going?”

Selena straightened. She looked at him then at the wall behind him, no ready answer coming to mind.

“This is because of Bastion, isn’t it?” Ace asked.

Selena glared at her.

“Is he here?” Owen asked. Greer had a protocol in place to alert them. Nothing had been triggered, yet Selena looked spooked as hell.

She resumed packing. “He’s not here. He’s somewhere three hours or so from here.”

“How do you know?” Owen asked.

“He told me.” Selena stared at her open duffel bag. “He was here, this morning.” She shook her head. “Not exactly here, but”—she waved her hands around the room—“here.”

Owen felt the sharp edges of a headache beginning. He wondered if he was just picking up on Selena’s raw energy. He walked over to her, intending to stop her from packing, but the pain in his head spiked. Was this what Selena had been experiencing? He felt nauseated.

Selena saw him stop without coming nearer. She shook her head. Her eyes watered. She backed away from him, holding a hand out. “Get away from me.”

Owen stood his ground, wincing from the pain blazing in his brain. “Selena, you have to stop. You’re not going anywhere.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I mean get back. Go back over there.” She pointed to where he’d just been leaning against her dresser.

He did back up a step, and another, and as he did so, the pain in his head eased—more with each step. “What the hell’s going on?”

“It’s Bastion. He’s doing that.”

“So he is here.” Owen looked around the room. Ace shook her head at him.

“No. He’s not in here.” Selena waved her arms around again, indicating the space of her room, then poked at her head. “He’s in here.”

Owen remembered Jax saying Bastion and his crew had telepathic, telekinetic abilities. Stuff that existed only in far-fetched fiction.

Selena covered her mouth with her hand, fighting back a ragged sob. “I have to go. He can get to us through me. He doesn’t have to be here to attack us.”

The pain in Owen’s head was only a dull throb now. “You’re saying he caused the pain I just felt?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Selena sent Ace an embarrassed glance. “Because you and I— Because I had feelings for you once. Sort of.”

“Is he hurting you?” Owen’s eyes narrowed.

Selena shook her head then gave Owen a terrified look. “How do I know that he’s real? What if this is some psychedelic-induced craze? Or a full-on mental breakdown? How do I know?”

“I know.” Owen gave her a resolute look. “You aren’t crazy.”

“And Bastion’s real,” Ace said. “We just had a debrief on him.”

“You aren’t off the team, Sel,” Owen said.

“My being here endangers all of you,” Selena said. “I have to go.”

Owen sighed. “Maybe that is best. For now. Finish packing. I’m going to send you someplace safe.”

“Where?”

“Away from us. I can’t tell you specifics. Just know that it’s only until this blows over—or until we know how to deal with him. You’ll leave after the wedding.”

“I should go now.”

“I don’t have arrangements made yet.” Owen started to leave, but paused. “Please avoid the bunker for now, but other than that, there are no restrictions on your movements in the house. You aren’t going to reveal anything Bastion hasn’t already seen. Don’t leave the property.”

Ace confronted him in the hallway. “She’s not going alone.”

Owen was heading toward the backstairs, forcing Ace to keep pace with him. “She won’t be alone.”

“I’m going with her. I told her I had her back.”

Owen sent Ace a glare. “We all have each other’s back. You’re staying here.”

Ace stopped walking. Owen stopped too. She gave him a wounded look, then pivoted and went back to Selena’s room.

He couldn’t tell her why. He didn’t know if Val had ever told Ace that he and Selena had briefly had a thing—or contemplated having a thing, anyway. It hadn’t amounted to much for either Owen or Val, since she wasn’t the right one for either of them and none of them felt like playing games. But Bastion had ferreted out Owen’s passing interest in Selena; he would discover Val’s as well—if he hadn’t already.

Owen couldn’t risk that situation backfiring. If Ace went with Sel, then Val would go too, and whatever Bastion was, he was capable of causing Val harm—a thing Owen had no doubt the bastard would do.

Owen returned to the conference room in the bunker. Silence settled over the room.

“I have declined Selena’s resignation,” he told the group. “Somehow, Bastion’s gotten his hooks in deep with her. She fears he may use her against us.”

“Not an unfounded fear,” Nick said.

“She can’t stay here,” Owen said.

“I can take her to Addy’s house,” Jax said.

“I was thinking that.”

“I’ll get my team back there,” Jax offered.

“Good. It won’t be forever,” Owen said, “only until we can figure out a way to deal with the changed ones, figure out what they want.”

“I’ll go, too,” Nick said.

Owen shook his head. “You’re due to start your training. We need that to stay on track because we all need to learn as you do.”

“My trainer can come to me there,” Nick said.

“When is she going?” Val asked.

“Sunday,” Owen replied. “Maybe even Saturday night, after the wedding. He’s hurting her. She has to get out of here for her own well-being.”

“Ace and I will go with her,” Val said.

“No, you won’t,” Owen nixed that. “She’ll have my dad and Jax—and Jax’s team. She’ll be in good hands.”

Val shook his head. “She doesn’t know them. At least one of us should be with her while Bastion’s attacking her.”

“Jax and Nick are only peripherally attached to us. He could use any of you to get back here to us. He doesn’t know them. She goes alone with them.”

“How do you know he isn’t going to step up his game against her in order to get her back here where he can use her?” Blade asked.

“I don’t. She refuses to be here while he’s doing this. I’m accommodating her request.” Owen looked at Jax. “If her situation worsens, you’re to let me know immediately.”

Jax nodded. “I will.”

“It’s possible the trainer I’ll be working with will know some options for us, some countermeasures against Bastion she can put to use,” Nick said.

Owen nodded. “If not him, then someone the Ratcliffs know may. Find someone we can consult.”

“Copy that.” Nick slowly smiled.

“What?” Owen snapped.

“Nothing,” Nick said, his smile widening. “I’m taking orders from my son. That’s fucking weird. And awesome.”

Owen shook his head. “Nothing is what we expect it to be.”

“That’s true,” Nick agreed. “None of the old rules, systems, or paradigms apply in this new world. We need to figure it out fast and get onboard or get run over, ’cause this shit is spreading.”

Owen took the elevator back up to the first floor, coming out in the bedroom next to his. Addy was there, in the closet, talking to Mandy and Ivy about her wedding dress. He’d forgotten that she was using that closet to hide her wedding finery.

“Addy?” Owen called, careful not to look into the closet.

“Owen! You can’t be here,” Addy scolded him.

Owen bit his lip. The last thing he was worried about was some hypothetical curse that his seeing her wedding dress would cause. But she cared, so he cared. “I’m not looking. I need to talk to you.”

Mandy laughed and touched his arm as she and Ivy went past. “The room’s yours. Addy, we’ll be in the living room if you need us.”

Addy came out of the closet. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I need a favor.”

“Anything. Of course.”

“You remember the scare we had last month when Greer discovered we’d been infiltrated?”

“Yes.”

“Well, it seems this person has been ‘visiting’ Selena—not physically but mentally. Somehow he gets into her mind. She fears he may use her to get to us. We don’t know what he’s after, but he’s compromised her. Would you mind if I sent her to your house for a little while?”

Addy shivered. “It’s a horrible place, Owen. Especially in the middle of winter.”

He nodded.

“If she’s being stalked, isn’t it a dangerous place for her to be? It’s so remote.”

“She won’t be alone. Jax and my dad will be with her. Jax is going to reassemble the team that he had there.”

“If she’ll be safe, then yes. Use it for as long as you like.”

“Thank you.”

“When are they leaving?”

“After the wedding.”

“I’d hoped to have more time with my brother.”

Owen nodded. “I know. And I’m sorry. We’ll arrange another visit as soon as we can. I spoke to the Ratcliffs a moment ago.” He reached for her hands. What he had to say must have been written all over his face, for a shadow passed across her features.

“And?”

“There’s some evidence that you and I may not be able to have kids. They need to have some samples from us both to do more analysis. It’s possible that I may have to take the modifications in order for us to be compatible.”

“That’s too dangerous. I almost died.”

“There are a lot of different kinds of modifications. They would need to know more about yours before deciding on mine. And it’s entirely possible that it’s not the issue for us at all. But there will have to be more analysis done before we’ll know.”

She looked crushed as she nodded, and even though she smiled, the sorrow was in her eyes. “I understand. You know what? I’m over it. We have two beautiful boys. We’re very lucky.”

Owen nodded. “We are.”

“And tomorrow I get to marry my best friend.”

“So do I.”

“I love you.”

Owen pulled her into a tight hug. “Not as much as I love you.”

Everyone involved in the wedding ceremony gathered in the hallway outside the doors to the gym. Addy had been in and out of the room as it was being set up for them, but when Blair, the wedding planner, opened the doors for their rehearsal, the full effect hit her.

A huge tent had been set up in the room. Stepping inside it was a clear break from one reality to another, one that was mystical and full of extraordinary possibilities.

The tent glowed from streamers of fairy lights interwoven with pale aquamarine banners that were draped from the peak of the tent. Other lights strategically placed cast an icy-blue hue over the far edges. Garlands of gardenia leaves and flowers highlighted certain areas of the venue. Chairs with pale blue seat covers surrounded tables draped with white tablecloths. The place settings featured large hand-blown glass chargers in the same color as Addy’s engagement ring. The lighting and pale blue colors gave the tented space an ice palace effect.

There were areas set up for a bar, dining, and dancing. Two rows of chairs had been arranged on the dance floor where the wedding ceremony would take place.

In front of the chairs was a focal-point arch made from raw wooden branches interwoven with more gardenia garlands and white roses. In front of it was a podium for the ceremony’s officiant.

Blair talked them through the organization and flow she’d planned for their event. Addy didn’t hear all of it. It wasn’t until Owen took her hands and smiled at her that she felt centered again.

“Ready to step through this?” he asked.

“I am.” She looked around at the people near her. Owen’s dad. Wendell. Her boys. Theirs was a small wedding party. Nick would stand with Owen and Augie. Wendell would walk her down the aisle then stand with her and Troy. She hadn’t wanted to select a maid or matron of honor simply because she’d come to love all the women at headquarters equally and hadn’t wanted to pick one over another.

At Blair’s direction, Owen, Nick, and Augie stood to the right side of the podium. Little Troy practiced his solemn walk down the aisle, carrying the ring pillow, then went to stand to the left of the podium.

Blair directed Wendell to lead Addy last. Of course he wanted to march right through the channel of chairs, but Blair had them start over, moving forward slowly. She gave him a cadence to chant silently to himself.

At the podium, he paused briefly to settle Addy next to Owen. She smiled at Owen, only semi-listening to the next instructions, which were for her to give her bouquet to Wendell.

“I have to hold a bouquet?” Wendell asked.

“Yes, of course,” Blair said. “Addy needs her hands free to hold Owen’s. And you’re standing up for her.”

“Could we have a vase nearby that I set it in?” he asked.

“Wendell,” Addy said, “don’t be silly. You’re not less of a man for holding my flowers.”

He gave Owen a wink that made him laugh, and Addy realized he was teasing. “Maybe it’s not too late to pick a bridesmaid?” Wendell suggested.

“It’s quite too late,” Blair snapped, not catching his humor.

“Fine. I’m man enough to do this.”

Blair went behind the podium. “The ceremony will be organized in these sections. Introduction. Statement of intent. Vows. Ring exchange. Conclusion.” She looked at Troy. “Tomorrow, when the man standing here mentions the rings, you’ll come forward with them on the pillow. You can practice that now.” She watched him step away from Wendell. “That’s right. Offer your father the pillow first. He’ll take your mom’s ring. Then offer your mother the pillow to take your dad’s ring. Perfect. When that’s done, you return to stand next to Uncle Wendell.”

She smiled at Troy. “Very nicely done! Now, when the ceremony is finished, Owen and Addy, I’d like you to face your friends and give the photographer a moment to snap your picture. After that, my team will remove the chairs here, and you will pose for a few more pictures.

“While that’s happening, your friends will have appetizers and libations from the bar. Then we’ll lift this back curtain”—she pointed off to the side, where a small platform stood for the band—“and open the dance floor. Shortly thereafter, dinner will be served. Your friends will make toasts in your honor. At the appropriate moment, I will invite Addy and Owen to the empty dance floor to share your first dance as a couple. About a half-hour after that, you will both cut the cake.

“What unfolds the rest of the evening is up to you. My staff will stay and serve you in any way desired. We’ll return in the morning to clean up after the party. There is nothing you need to do but attend and give yourselves over to our capable hands. Do you have any questions?”

Addy’s mind was buzzing with love and excitement, everything but questions. She shook her head. “We’ll follow your lead tomorrow.” She looped her arm through her brother’s. “And Wendell will not fuss about the bouquet.”

Blair pressed her hands together in front of her. “Very well. Then that’s all for tonight. My staff and I will be back late in the morning to do the finishing touches. You have my number. If you think of any last-minute things to discuss, don’t hesitate to call me.”

The small wedding party remained behind a moment after she left. “Blair has to have prior military experience,” Nick said with smile. “She runs this thing like a drill sergeant.”

“It sounds well organized,” Addy said. “It’s really such a relief to have her help.”

“Dad, Jax, you mind taking the boys in to supper? We’ll be along shortly.”

“You bet.” Nick opened the door to the hallway. “Come along, boys. We’ll see what everyone else is up to.”

Addy turned to Owen, feeling a little breathless. Tonight was the night to execute the plan she’d hatched with the other women. But she wasn’t certain she could go through with it. Everything was already arranged. Troy was having a sleepover with Zavi. Wynn had worked out a sleepover for Augie with the cubs. She and Owen were off the clock tonight.

“What’s on your mind?” she asked.

“There’s one more thing we need to practice,” Owen said.

“What’s that?”

“Our first dance.”

“If we practice it, then it won’t be our first.”

“We have no witnesses. No one will know.” He took his phone out of his pocket and switched to a playlist they’d settled on for the wedding. He set it as loud as possible, but the little phone speaker still made the music sound tinny. He smiled and held out his left hand. She took it and let him lead her into a formal slow dance. The whole time, she stared into his eyes.

He was, in all ways that mattered, a gentle man and a gentleman. How would he react to what she was about to do to him? Maybe she should do it here, while they were alone.

He smiled at her. “You look like you’re about to eat me.”

Her gaze lowered to his lips. “I want to.”

He arched a brow. “We don’t need to go to dinner, you know.”

“We do. It’s our rehearsal dinner. Everyone will be there.” Oh, God. How could she do what she and the girls had planned for tonight?

He drew her into his arms while still dancing with her, his thighs pressing against hers. “Then we can be late.”

She wondered if he could feel the pokey tassels of her pasties. She hoped not. That would ruin everything.

“You seem tense.” He frowned. “You okay with what’s happening?”

“I’m fine.”

“Your eyes say otherwise. They’re a brilliant purple. Royal purple, in fact.”

“I’m just excited.”

“I can see that.” His smile was very male. “Let’s go have dinner, get it over with so I can have you alone to myself.”

She nodded. He shut off the music, then led her from the room. Could she do this? Become the wild seductress that would lead him to abandon all his inhibitions?

And how was what she was about to do any different than what Cecil had done to her on so many occasions?

A lot, actually.

He wasn’t cuffed to a table, and no one was naked.