Page 177 of Override

Keaton just closes his eyes.

Slowly, Wheels raises one arm. His index finger points toward Keaton's shirt as though he's just noticed something straight out of a horror movie. His eyes widen.

"...You have dirt on your shirt."

Keaton glances down at himself before looking back up. "I know."

Wheels blinks. "I've literally never seen you dirty."

"I've been in Afghanistan."

"Yeah." Wheels nods thoughtfully. "You were cleaner there."

Wheels points at Keaton's shoulder. "There's actual mud on you."

"I noticed."

"And..." He leans in another inch, narrowing his eyes. "...is that a pine needle?"

Keaton reaches up, plucks it from his hair, and flicks it onto the floor. "It was."

Wheels stares at the tiny needle for a second before looking back at him. "I don't know how to process this."

Rachel presses her lips together, but I see her shoulders shake.

Badger rubs a hand over his face. "Wheels."

But Wheels is still staring at Keaton like he's never seen him before. "Who even are you?"

Keaton looks at me. I have no idea why. Maybe because I'm still the newest person in the room. Maybe because, somehow, he expects me to help him. I shrug. "Don't look at me. I found out his name twenty minutes ago."

Wheels's head whips toward me. "You didn't know his name?"

Keaton turns toward the door. "Matt, I'm ready to be yelled at now."

Chapter 36

Keaton (Skee)

Matt has been talking for eleven minutes.

Eleven minutes and forty-three seconds, technically, but I've been making a conscious effort not to look at my watch because I'm fairly certain it would piss him off more.

I listen as he explains, for the third time, that I should have waited. Or called him. Or called literally anyone before entering a heavily guarded estate by myself and removing a woman whose husband has connections we still haven't fully mapped.

He's made several good points. I acknowledge this. Silently.

The problem is that I can't see Maeve from here.

The safe house door closed behind us over ten minutes ago, and while I know Maeve is inside with Rachel, Bullet and Wheels, that knowledge isn't doing anything to settle the growing tension between my shoulder blades.

I haven't seen her. For ten minutes. After not seeing her for more than three days. I don't like it.

"Are you even listening to me?"

My eyes move away from the front door and back to Matt. "Yes."

He stares at me. I wait. "What did I just say?"