The Rain: The End by Marietta Standlee (good summer reads TXT) 📕

we'll need to create another fight between Colin and Blake, to have a reason for Colin and me to leave.

A shudder goes through my body at the thought of what is to come. Colin pulls me closer to him as we leave the alley again. I was against this plan from the get-go, but I was outnumbered and had to concede to its wisdom, no matter how much I dislike it.

"It'll be okay," Colin reassures me, knowing my thoughts as usual and kissing me tenderly.

"I know." And I do, because we'll move heaven and earth, to make it so.

On the way towards our closet, we encounter Briggs and Dimitrov holding hands, sneaking into another storage room. Questioning I stare after the retreating couple. Colin notices and shrugs his shoulders, while Briggs sees me and winks conspiratorially.

"Do you think that's a good idea? I don't trust Dimitrov…" I start.

Colin's laughter interrupts me. "I'm pretty sure Briggs will hold her own; she was Central Intelligence before taking an assignment with Admiral Farnsworth. They're a match made in heaven."

Dumbfounded I exclaim, "Briggs was CIA?"

He nods, "Yeah, she'll be alright; they're probably double-crossing each other right now."

I'm amazed at the things I don't know. "How did you know?"

"Well, if you actually paid attention in our meetings…." He trails off, leaving me to contemplate my shortcomings.

Chapter 3

The next day we start our operation. Colin and I join a group with Derek, Drew, Kat, Sean, and Hugo. Overkill? Probably.

Too many head commanders in one place? Most likely.

But we need the cover to slip out unnoticed. And we can only do that while surrounded by people we trust one hundred percent.

Briggs has one of the smaller ships parked by the hangars waiting for us after we manage to sneak away from our group.

"Ready?" She greets us by the ramp.

"Take us to your secret lair." Colin declares dramatically.

We follow her to the bridge, located at the front of the ship. The way these vessels, no matter what size, are laid out always leaves enough room for several people to be on the bridge. Today it's just the three of us, though.

Today we're only going to inspect what she has accomplished so far. Next time we'll start to take a few recruits with us. We'll have to be careful not to attract any attention to the fact that soldiers will go missing. From the militia and military ranks.

With sure hands, Briggs skillfully maneuvers the spaceship into the air. It'll be a short flight, right into the mountains of northern Idaho. I'm curious to see what Briggs has done. So far, she has been very close-mouthed about the operation we call Stealth Striker.

A flight that would have taken hours with a Black Hawk only takes fifteen minutes. Everything on the ground whizzes by with such speed that I have a hard time concentrating on any one thing. We pass by a lake one second, and the next it's gone. Colin and I stand close to each other, his one arm draped around me, the other holding on to a desk for balance. Shamelessly I lean into him, leaching off his strength.

"So," I drag the word out for maximum effect as I look expectantly at Joanne Briggs. "Dimitrov? Do tell."

She laughs. "Nothing to tell, just old-fashioned intelligence exchange while having some fun."

"Awesome," I smirk.

Joanne laughs even harder. "Don't worry, I don't pillow talk about anything that I don't want him to know about."

"I'm not worried." I lie.

"Yes, she is." Colin stabs me in the back, and I elbow him.

Our descend begins, right between some of the largest mountains I've ever seen. Hundreds of trees line one side and on the other is a large lake, everything else, is just mountains.

"So does he…. pillow talk?" I finally ask.

She shakes her head, "We're both professionals, and we both know it; it's just for fun."

"Okay, then," I say, dragging the first word out again, tilting my head, but she only shakes hers.

"No romance, no love, no secret exchanges, just fun, trust me."

"I'm more worried about where you are going to land this thing." I voice my concern.

She points forward. If she hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't have seen the narrow cavernous opening inside the mountain. It doesn't seem big enough to allow our craft through, but Joanne hovers the spaceship for a few seconds before lowering it some more and going straight through the entrance.

My fingers grip Colin's, whose arm is still slung lazily around me. He squeezes back and gives me an encouraging smile. And just like that, the dark opening swallows us up completely. As we get closer, I notice the narrow space is, in fact, bigger than I first thought. It could actually accommodate a much larger ship.

A brief rumble goes through the craft as we set down. "Welcome to Secret Harbor, home of the Stealth Strikers." Joanne declares dramatically, making me smile.

Together we exit the ship via the already descended ramp, straight into the cave. A familiar face greets me at the end of the ramp. "Ace!"

I let go of Colin and hug my large friend. His dark ebony arms encircle me as he pulls me close. "Missed ya."

"Ditto," I say, leaning back and looking at his handsome face. "I had no idea you were here."

"Surprise!" Colin laughs and exchanges knuckles with Ace.

"Welcome to Secret Harbor." Ace declares just as dramatically, teasing a smile out of me.

I turn in a three-sixty circle to take the massive cave fully in. "What is all this?" I ask awed.

The ceiling is easily sixty feet high. As for the size of the cave itself, I can only speculate. All I know is that the ship we arrived in, is only a tiny speck in this space. There is probably room in here for fifty of them or more. And then it dawns on me. "We're going to hide the ships in here?"

Colin nods, "Ace and Carl have been busy, indeed."

Before I can ask who Carl is, a shorter, Asian man