Page 150 of The Lazarus Protocol

“Yeah, Marina checked it out,” Noah said. “She’ll be able to get there in four hours from the castle, and he’ll be secure and well cared for. When he’s up and recovered, we’ll figure out where he can go next.”

“Castle’s gonna get crowded.” Ice took Steph’s duffel and went to the plane. Marina spoke to the pilot, then climbed the stairs.

The others disbursed, except Noah. “You think Ice is gonna tell us what exactly he was up to while we were on that island?” Adam asked him.

Noah said, “Maybe. Eventually.”

Adam followed him to the plane. “We can start our debrief on the plane, finish it later over video call.”

“Everyone writes a report on this one.” Noah boarded the plane to a chorus of groans. “I don’t care if it’s a voice note, I wanna hear your stories.” He settled into a seat. “There’s too much to lose if we miss something. And with the fight we have coming, we can’t afford that.”

Adam stood just inside the door and took a moment to look at his team, this family he’d claimed for himself with all their quirks and dysfunctions. They’d gone to hell and back with him, not even hesitating to show up to the fight.

Don’t fret.

Whatever happened next, he was ready for it.

FIFTY-ONE

One week later, off the coast of Washington State

The red plane banked east, the buzz of the engine audible from where Noah stood on the ground, watching Marina fly away. She hadn’t said much to him since they’d been back, though she was present at all the team meetings. Listening in, her gaze distracted as if she was on the call but staring at another window—not the team’s faces—and working on something else.

Refusing to answer the questions he asked. Or tell him how she was doing.

She’d picked up her dogs from Jay’s fiancée and disappeared. Until he needed a ride today and she’d refused to let him book another mode of transport.

“Nice of her to drop us off.” Caleb clapped him on the shoulder. “But she’s coming back later, right?”

Noah glanced at his twin. “Tessa will be fine, bro. She still has a few weeks before the baby comes.” Still, his brother’s nervousness was like a tangible presence inside Noah. “Seriously, she’ll be okay.”

“Maybe that isn’t the only reason why I’m nervous.” Caleb cleared his throat.

Ahead of them on this small island that didn’t seem to belong to anyone, a cabin-like structure had been built. Likely back when the trees didn’t overshadow the house, dropping their needles on the roof.

“Keeping the gutters clear would be a nightmare.”

Noah smiled at his brother’s comment. “Probably isn’t a lot of other yard work necessary.”

Not when the whole ambiance was “neglected and disused.” Probably the point, since it didn’t invite passersby—if there were any—to stop and knock on the door.

“You okay?” Caleb glanced over.

Of course, Noah couldn’t hide anything from his twin. Even if he wanted to, it usually wasn’t worth the effort. “I spoke to a doctor in Virginia. There’s some swelling around my spine. When it goes down, I’ll feel less stiff, but the prognosis will still be the same.”

“Don’t get hit in the back, ever. Ever, ever, ever.”

Noah said, “Something like that.”

“So keep your role. Be the guy who gets the contracts and stay out of the field.”

Noah ignored the tone in his brother’s voice. “I didn’t plan to get captured. If I’d even thought there was a possibility of that, I never would’ve taken Marina to that office.”

Caleb clapped him on the shoulder. “I know that. She knows that. You guys will get past it.” Noah groaned, and Caleb strategically changed the subject. “This is really the place? It’s not that far from Montana.”

“Yeah,” Noah said. “And a world away at the same time.”

Caleb nodded.