The Fire and the Sky (Book 3 of the Starborn Series)

Chapter Eleven

In a small meeting room set back in the garage, May found what she was looking for.

"Good, it's still there!" she said, flicking on the lights. The group had followed her, eagerly awaiting the next step in her big plan.

"What do you need the map for?" Dom asked, watching her circle the board table in the center of the room and head straight for the large map of the word that hung on the far wall.

"Context," May answered vaguely.

The map, and the smaller regional maps tacked up beside it, were used to keep track of the people the Tenna SAR team helped. Whether they were rescuing skiers from an avalanche or simply providing directions, the team met people from all over the world in their line of work. The maps were just for fun, not an official part of their business. May glanced at the bright red push pin struck beside the island of Hoku and smiled.

As fascinating as the world map was, it was the closer focused regional map that she was interested in. She lay a finger on Tenna, then traced the highway that let to Mondova with her eyes. From there she looked south, following the coast she had travelled by train until she eventually found what she was looking for.

"Here it it," she announced, pointing out the city on the map and standing aside so everyone else could see. "I need to get there."

Dom leaned in and squinted. "What's in York?"

"Marina?" Welkin sounded cautious.

"The Rookery," May corrected. "I need to talk to Grant Parker. If anyone can help us figure out how to navigate the different criminal circles the Gardeners ran with, it'll be him."

"Shit, May." Sean stared at her, incredulous. "How did you get in with his people?"

Confused, May blinked back at him. "He, uh, through Jeremy I guess. The Rookery was our safehouse in York when we had to get away from Marina. Why?"

Sean shook his head in disbelief. "It's just hard to imagine someone as sweet as you ending up messed up with all these seedy types, that's all. Grant's been in the game forever, and he's been impossible to pin down. The man has been linked to all kinds of criminal activity – money laundering, systems hacking, grand larceny. Hell, he even kidnapped a kid once and held him for ransom. I don't know who this Jeremy dude is but he keeps some unsavory company, I'll tell you that much."

Welkin sniffed, casting an uneasy glance around the room. "Yes, well, Jeremy always has been a different sort of character."

Meanwhile, May shifted, chewing on her bottom lip. She had always known Grant and the rest of the Murder were a small criminal empire. Though he and his people had made a point of keeping her nose clean, she had never given a lot of thought to their dirty work. After all, they had been so good to her and Em while they were hiding from the Loyals. It was difficult for her to imagine any of them as the seedy crooks and convicts Sean saw them as.

"Tell you what," Sean said with a laugh. "I may not be an officer of the law anymore, but there are some things I can't turn a blind eye to. So I'm going to bow out of this conversation. When y'all are done, I'll be in the office holding down the fort."

May nodded appreciatively as the big man ducked from the room. Dom went back to surveying the map.

"If we drove straight through we could probably make it to York in under 24 hours," he announced with a smile.

"We?" Karin stepped in, arms crossed. "You planning on running off again? Remember how drained you were when you got back last time?"

May cringed. The last time Dom had taken off had been because of her and Em too, and the last thing she wanted to do now was cause any tension between him and the rest of the team. "You don't have to do that, Dom. I'm sure Welkin and I can figure it out. " She paused and glanced at the Star. "Assuming you're into this plan, of course."