Free Relentless (The Hero Agenda, #2) by Tera Lynn Childs, Tracy Deebs Page B

“Ready?”
    “Not even a little bit,” I answer as I take his hand. “But let’s do it anyway.”

Chapter 7
    “I’m leaving you in charge, HB1,” V says to Riley as we’re getting ready to head out the door. “Do not let any of these idiots step one foot out of this cabin.”
    “HB1?” he asks.
    “Hero Boy 1,” Nitro whispers to him.
    “Why does he get to be Hero Boy 1?” Jeremy asks with a whine.
    “Because you ask questions like that.”
    Jeremy pouts out his lower lip. “I was on the team first.”
    V ignores him. “I’m holding you personally responsible,” she says, jabbing a finger into Riley’s chest. “Don’t make me regret trusting you.”
    “I won’t,” he says, that naïve look on his face turning sober. “I promise.”
    Apparently satisfied, V nods and walks away. She must already understand what I’ve known my whole life: Riley thrives on responsibility. Give him a job to do and he will get it done. It’s just who he is.
    If anyone will take babysitting the cabin and its occupants seriously while we’re gone, it’s him.
    Outside, Jeremy starts for the driver’s door of the car, but V stops him with an arm across the chest.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Driving?” Jeremy replies.
    V laughs. “I don’t think so, HB2.”
    “B-but, I always drive.” There’s that pouty lip again.
    “Leave it, geek boy,” Draven says. “V is a control freak.”
    “Bite me, Cole.” V grabs the keys from Jeremy’s hand. “Unless someone else here is trained in tactical driving, I’m taking the wheel.”
    She leaves a stunned Jeremy, his mouth hanging open, standing in front of the car.
    “If it makes you feel any better,” Draven says, “Deacon and I gave up on arguing with her years ago.”
    “What about Dante?” I ask.
    Draven grins. “Let’s just say he likes testing her limits.”
    I shake my head and follow him into the backseat of the nondescript sedan that Jeremy secured for missions like this. Missions where we want to get in and out of the ordinary world without being noticed.
    We thought the heat was bad after the bunker, but the full-court press Rex and the Collective have put on the media—both superhero and ordinary—is ridiculous. Jeremy had to write some crazy program to log all of the headlines, news alerts, and APBs just so he can keep track of them all. Everyone in a five-hundred-mile radius will be on the lookout for us, so keeping a low profile is a necessity.
    V starts the car as Jeremy climbs into the passenger seat.
    “Does that boy have a death wish?” V asks.
    I follow the direction of her gaze to see Riley standing outside the cabin, waving like a fool.
    As if V’s instructions hadn’t been crystal clear. Don’t. Leave. The cabin.
    Then again, Riley has always been on the denser side of the spectrum.
    “Can I shoot him?” Jeremy asks. “Pretty please?”
    He sounds way too excited by the prospect.
    V growls but doesn’t say a word. She puts the car in gear and floors the accelerator.
    As we speed past, I see Nitro step out of the cabin and drag Riley back inside.
    Between them and the twins, they should be able to keep the cabin standing for the few short hours that we’ll be gone. Right?
    “Are you doing okay?” Draven asks as we pull away.
    It’s the first time we’ve left the cabin since my mom was killed. I know it’s barely been half a day, but it feels like a lifetime. I guess time gets a bit skewed when your entire world is pulled out from under you.
    He wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Kenna?”
    I nod. I mean, obviously I’m not okay. I might never be okay again. But we don’t have time for me to freak out right now, so…
    “Yeah,” I answer, my voice cracking on the single syllable.
    Jeremy reaches back between the seats. I take his hand and give it a squeeze. We may not have made a great couple, but as friends we’re pretty much perfect.
    “So, V,” Jeremy says as she takes the curves at ridiculously fast speeds,