Judson looked around at the filled room. They were two hours into the debriefing and he was a minute away from dragging Viviana out. She rubbed her temples and stared at the streams of data coming from HERA. She, Mary and Cord were working to keep up. Jacob had even offered his assistance, assistance quickly accepted.

“I understand Gage has run into a few hiccups securing your new employee,” Marshall commented.

“Zoey, aka Zero, was working for the NSA. Her intervention helped Fallon’s team, as we all know from the debriefing. Unfortunately, her employers aren’t willing to let her go easily. The situation is a bit…problematic,” Mary said. “Vi made a call to Bob.”

“Right,” Marshall said. “Bob called, assured me they’d be wheels up within the hour. Zoey’s officially clear and I have assurances from very high up the food chain there will be no backlash from her exit.”

“We’ve completed the first round of Jian’s interrogation. The hard drive retrieved from his domicile has been more helpful than him, but we have managed to get some names, locations and account information from him,” Vi said. “We should probably hold him a little longer, and try again.”

“Agreed,” Mary said. “The last item on the agenda is The Collective, specifically kicking their ass for trying to kick ours.”

“For the record, before we get in the weeds, I want a say a couple things.” Marshall’s voice boomed within the room. “Judson, Marcus and Jacob, you three stepped up and did a hell of a job keeping this compound secure against incredible odds. Y’all made a hell of a team.”

Jacob beamed. Red rose in his cheeks as everyone smiled. Cord slapped his back and grinned real big.

“Marcus, get with Dylan after the meeting. We’re giving you a team. Once we get things down to a dull roar here, we’ll move forward with application testing and operative vetting. You can help us if you want, pick your own crew. Dylan and I will have final approval, but I’d prefer you pick your own team.”

“Appreciated,” the man replied. “Though Jud’s the one who should get the bulk of the praise. He was a one-man squadron.”

“Yes, he was.” Marshall pinned him with a gaze. “If you’re willing to pull back those lethal instincts and color within the lines a bit more, there’s a place for you here at The Arsenal if you’re interested.”

“We’ll chat,” Jud said.

The offer was unexpected, out of nowhere. He’d love to settle down, put his knives away for good and color within the lines. He could almost see himself doing that with Viviana. Here, at The Arsenal. If they’d hire Jacob on…damn. It was almost too much of a good thing to contemplate. Good hadn’t had a place in his work world in a long, long time, if ever. He was sorely tempted to accept on the spur of the moment, trust the gut instinct in his head screaming yes. It was the same voice demanding he explore things with Viviana—give normal a shot.

Not that the beautiful and brilliant woman across the room could ever be normal.

“Right. Vi, read us in on what we’ve gathered about The Collective so far.”

“We have lots of data between…” Vi swallowed, glancing at him. “We have a lot of data from two data sets. We’ve pieced together what we think is a relatively decent chain of command, one with a good chunk of the major players identified.”

Images appeared in a hierarchy. Jud nodded. “I recognize a lot of them. How do we take them down?”

“Slowly,” Mary replied. “Vi and I went over the options and we think hitting them where it hurts is the best route. Weaken their position by taking their money, a shot of poison to the roots will kill the tree. That’s the assumption at least.”

“Cutting the money will cut their power,” Dallas said. “Most of the lower tier won’t work without an instant payday afterward.”

“Upper ranks won’t either,” Jud said. “What do you need to make that happen?”

“Account numbers, the more the better. We got some from Jian. The other data we have had a few.”

“I’ll give you what I know, but it’s old, probably too outdated to use,” Dallas said.

“Lots of organizations this massive get lazy, complacent. They likely don’t close down their accounts often, just reroute funds. Either way, we can follow the trail, wherever it might lead. There’s a digital footprint, even for closed accounts.” Vi smiled as she looked at Dallas, then him. “HERA was built on doing exactly this, pulling money from assholes. Once Zero is here, she can help. She’s helped me with stuff like this a lot.”

“I know someone I can reach out to, get more info from if we need another data source,” Jud said. “Kristof has worked with The Collective a while, for some of the blacker ops.”

“Let’s hold off and see what we can do with the data we get from Dallas. Keeping this in house would expedite the process,” Vi said. “It’ll be less dangerous for you that way.”

She was worried about him. Something inside him stirred, a restlessness born of surprise and curiosity. It’d been a long time since he’d had anyone in his work world worried about him. Concerned for anything aside from the monetary bottom line.

“Dallas is going to San Antonio for supplies. We’ve been talking with Marcus and reviewing the security footage from the compound attack.” Dylan pinned Jud with an intense gaze. “We’d all appreciate a training session from you on hand-to-hand if you’re up for it, Jud. Especially with close quarters and knives. You’ve got some moves we haven’t seen, and that’s saying quite a bit given our backgrounds. We respect whatever decision you make.”

Jud sensed the test within the request. He was either vested enough in securing the compound and Viviana to train them or not. If he wasn’t one hundred percent into the objective, he wouldn’t expose himself, neutralize his strengths in hand-to-hand by training other operatives to be as proficient as he was. He smiled at the man across the table and nodded. “Okay, though we might want to contain the lessons to everyone in here at first, branch out to the other team members after you feel proficient enough to assist with training.”

“Agreed,” Dallas said. “I’ll hold off on the supply run until tomorrow if you’re up for doing it this afternoon. I can probably help with some of the moves, but I’m a little rusty.”

Jud doubted the man could ever be rusty. He’d been far better than most everyone Jud encountered. He nodded his approval, realizing he’d taken one more step closer to the light, the clean. He glanced at Viviana, who offered a knowing smile.

* * *

HERA was still working on the bank account hacks. Jud had taken everyone outside to start the hand-to-hand training. She glanced down at the keys on her laptop, the ones which activated the remote video feed. She wanted to see how the training was going, watch Jud in motion, in his element.

But she had no business going down that road, the one which hoped he’d say yes to Marshall’s surprising offer. Judson Jensen working for The Arsenal. Vi didn’t even know what to do with the possibility. It was too out there in terms of improbable, which was why she’d locked herself in her room and far away from anything that would let her spy on him and thereby feed that dangerous what-if scenario processing in her brain.

She sat at the coffee table and pulled out the strips of paper she’d just printed out and cut up. She organized the quillery supplies and got to work. She didn’t bother hiding the important tidbits with useless colorful ones. This message was far too important, too complicated to bother with finesse. She thought about the day and what all they had uncovered. Her mental walls were scrubbed raw and she’d yet to write anything down.

She probably had no business quilling, but hiding important facts in small shapes of colored paper got the gunk out of her head even if it hurt. She pulled out the first bright blue strip and got to work creating the pattern. Minutes flowed into one another as she lost herself in the process. One teardrop became two, then ten. Then twenty. A multitude of colors woven together, the pattern bright. Unlike the message buried beneath, a message no one would ever read.

Her mental purge of the day.

“Viviana.”

She startled at the word, but it was the firm hand on her shoulder that made her jump. She blinked. The room was dark except for the lone lamp she’d flicked on.

“Babe, you were a thousand miles away.” Jud looked at the desk. Eyebrows raised, he cupped the back of her neck. “How long have you been at this?”

“Since the meeting,” she answered honestly.

“The one eight hours ago?”

Oh wow. Time slipped by. Weird. He’d changed at some point, was now wearing a white button-down shirt which stretched across his chest and hugged his thick biceps. Black jeans completed the look. So damn gorgeous.

“Come on. We’re going to grab some food and get away from the compound a while.” He helped her stand.

Pain shot up and down her legs. His gaze narrowed. “You didn’t even get up.”

“I zoned.”

“I’ll be back. I’m going to pull the truck closer so you don’t have to walk as far.”

She nodded, grateful Jud had left long enough for her to tend to business in the bathroom and make sure she didn’t look as terrifyingly freaky as she suspected. Loud voices in the living room drew her attention and pulled her from what she called the quillery haze. She trundled out of the bedroom and slammed into her brother.

“Hey, sis. Still as ugly as always.”

“Hey, bro. Just as dumb as always.”

“Viviana.” Her father’s face distorted, as if he’d sucked on a few too many lemons. “I saw that man leave here. We need a word.”

“It’s probably best to wait until later, Dad. We’re headed out and I’m not…” She halted the explanation. They didn’t get her why. Not anymore. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“What on Earth is going on, Viviana? We deserve some answers. All we’ve gotten so far is attitude,” her mother said.

“Perhaps if you’d listen instead of whining, people would explain a few things. Or, perhaps if you treated them with a modicum of respect, they’d explain a few things.” She rubbed her temples. “You were in danger. Now you’re not. There’s your explanation.”

“Why?” her brother asked. “What’d you do?”

“I’m afraid I can’t give you details because of security clearance, but we’re working on eliminating the threats.”

“How long are we stuck here?” her father asked.

“Long enough to keep you safe. It could be days, weeks.” God forbid. “Months.”

“We need to have a chat with your boss about monetary compensation,” her father said. Vi blinked as he continued. “My time is valuable, too valuable to be wasted here.”

“You’re a used car salesman in Hoboken, Dad, not the president. I’ll make sure your bills are paid if you’ll round them up or forward them to me.” She rubbed her neck. Sometimes she wondered how she was related to them. Then again, you couldn’t pick family.

“This is much nicer than that vile den of inequity they put us in. People tromped up and down the hallway all night, shouting and carrying on. I swear, it’s a miracle I got any sleep. Poor Richie didn’t sleep a wink.”

Probably because brother dearest had been passed out the day before, but Vi kept quiet. It’d been years since she’d endured one of her mom’s rants, but she knew the best thing to do was ride it out. Silently. She tuned the droning voice out and focused on getting her purse.

Shoes.

She spotted flip-flops. She toed them on and thanked fate when Jud walked in. He froze in the doorway with a glower on his face. His eyes narrowed. “Are you ready, Viviana?”

“I am having an important conversation with my daughter,” her mother replied. “Now, I’m thinking your father and I can take your room. Richie can have the pull out. The sofa’s a bit ragged and old, but he can make do.”

Addy would string her up by the nearest tree if she let her family stay in the house. She kept her gaze settled on the floor. “We need everyone in one place. The compound’s the most secure building around. You’ll need to stay there for now. If this goes on longer than expected, I’ll see what can be done.”

“Nonsense. Ralph, move our things. Or better yet, have that man do it. What was his name? The rude one with the town name.”

“Dallas,” Richie supplied. “He told me I needed to drink a pot of coffee and grow the fuck up.”

“Oh, you poor dear.” Mom patted him on the face. “You don’t pay any mind to him. You’re doing so good. Even your dad doesn’t know how you do it. Viviana, Richie has been employee of the month at his Best Buy the past six months straight. We’re so proud.”

“That’s great,” she supplied. “I’m afraid we’ll have to chat later. Jud and I need to go somewhere.”

“Where?” Richie asked.

Anywhere but here.

“There you are, dear. We were worried. Is everything okay?” Jenna Jensen peered past her son and smiled. “Oh, hello. You must be Vi’s parents. I’m Jenna. This is my husband, Jarold. Our handsome son here was about to take us all into Nomad for a steak. Nolan and the boys raved about this one place and we’re ready to dive in.”

Dread struck her in a one-two punch. Punch one was the announcement they were going for steak. In Nomad. Nomad was a slightly larger than pea-sized town twenty miles north of Resino. It was big enough to have a string of national fast food chains along the highway running between San Antonio and Del Rio. There was a hospital and a few banks and other businesses, mostly centered around farming and ranching. The grocery store everyone in a hundred-mile radius used was there.

According to Momma Mason, a trip to Nomad was a big deal, one undertaken by busy Resino residents once a week. Errands were run. Groceries were bought.

Jud taking her somewhere to eat with his parents was a shock. Going into Nomad for said food was on an entirely different level of surprise. She looked down at her clothes, recalled the couple of times Mary had ranted about Dylan dragging her into Resino looking like a bridge troll. At the time she’d laughed, finding it hysterical her friend gave a damn what she looked like.

Now she totally got it. And karma was making sure she got it in a huge way since Jud’s parents were tagging along.

The second punch came immediately after the extended offer. Her mom smiled the smile she’d seen a hundred times. She might be the housewife of a used car salesman in Hoboken, but she thought she was the Queen of freaking England.

And Mrs. Jensen was her new quarry.

Damn.

“We’d love to go,” her father answered.

Great. Now what?

Vi sighed and peeked at Jud. His jaw twitched. His eyes lit with amusement. What could possibly be funny about this situation? His father had a matching look on his face. She backpedaled toward the hall.

“What are you doing?” Jud asked, his voice soft despite his tense stance.

“I-I need to change.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. You look adorable.” Jenna shoved into the room and wrapped her arm around Vi. “I really need to find out where you find all those lovely leggings, dear. Those skeletons are adorable.”

She peeked down at her attire and stifled a groan. She hoped the skeletons weren’t predicting tonight’s outcome. Jud and his mom steered her out of the house. Jarold herded her dad and brother. They headed down the wide, paved walkway.

“We’ll be ready to go in a minute. We’re waiting on a couple of people,” Jud commented as he put his phone into his back pocket.

“Who’s going with us?” Vi asked.

“Reinforcements,” he replied. The smirk on his face stifled some of the dread.

Rational reasoning demanded she make the best of the situation. Perhaps Jud and his parents were the padding she needed to have real communication with her parents. Maybe they’d taken Jud’s heart-to-heart seriously and were turning over a new leaf.

Yeah and maybe pigs flew.

“There they are.” Jenna clapped her hands together. “Everyone, this is Dallas and his brother Dylan. And you already know Mary.”

Her best friend flashed her a smile. “Actually, we’ve never met, Mrs. Jensen.”

“Oh.” The woman looked between the groups. “You’ve been friends since you were fifteen. How can that be?”

“No matter,” Jarold replied. “Is Jacob coming?”

“Not this time. He’s working with Cord,” Jud replied. “I’ll bring him something back.”

“Marshall’s calling a large order in, assuming the kitchen can handle it. Mom’s going to have our heads when she finds out we went without her.”

“What nonsense. We can stop off at the house and get her. There’s plenty of room,” Jenna declared. “She motioned toward Dallas. Be a dear and go get that sweet mother of yours.”

“She’s in town at a bunco party with Riley,” Dylan explained. “We’ll make sure we go back again so you two can visit.”

“Wonderful! I had the most marvelous time helping her and your sister with lunch today. And all those men and women you all are helping. You’re all salt of the Earth.”

Apparently the plan was to drown her family in kindness. It was an interesting approach, one she was grateful for—mainly because it shifted focus away from her. Since ten people were a few too many to squeeze into one vehicle, Jenna decided she and her husband would ride with Dylan, Dallas and Mary.

Which left Vi with Jud, her parents and Richie.

“You can ride shotgun, Richie. I know you get motion sick.” Her mother patted him on the face and looked at Vi. “You can ride in between us.”

“Vi rides up front with me,” Jud declared. When she didn’t move, he nudged her with a hand to her waist. “You want me to lift you up?”

She shook her head and climbed in after he opened the door, a bit stupefied he’d somehow pulled off her riding up front. She looked over at the other vehicle, where Dylan and Mary were climbing into the front. Jud’s mom laughed when Dallas lifted her and set her into the back seat. Jarold clapped him on the shoulder and climbed in. Dallas winked at her and closed the door.

Operation Nomad was officially underway.

The large vehicles used by The Arsenal seated everyone comfortably. The trip in was quieter than she expected.

“Are we sure this is safe? Maybe we should just bring Mary and Dylan back something.”

“Dylan and I wanted you two out and about getting some recreation. You’ve been working too hard. You deserve a night out on the town.” He reached over and caressed her face. “Sit back and enjoy.”

“Jud, I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

“It’s fine, Viviana.” He smiled. “I’m thinking a greyhound is the way to go. We need something fast to keep up with us.”

“I just saw the most adorable calico up for adoption,” she responded with a smile. “I think he’ll make the perfect playmate for Penny the Persian.”

“We tried having a cat once, but Viviana killed it,” Richie added.

Jud’s hand settled atop hers and squeezed. “What happened?”

“Reckless and I were playing in the yard. I was looking for bugs along the sidewalk and he ran out into the road after a butterfly. A car came around the corner and…” She swallowed and shook off the visual. “I’d gotten him for my seventh birthday three days earlier.”

“It was such a disappointment,” her mom said.

“Yes, it was.” Vi looked out at the road, knowing Jud probably had a couple follow-up questions. He remained silent, as if sensing she needed time to strengthen her armor.