Words from Today's Edit: The Unwanted

Edits began today, on The Unwanted, the second book of the Strays of Lunar One series. In this, Oliver and Lewis are once again on the run. This scene occurs just prior to their departure from Alpha 9:

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“Nettles?” Oliver asked, as a dapper gentleman in a white suit jacket stepped out of the small craft’s hatch.

He was jerked back inside, as four of the guards closed ranks and jogged to block Oliver and Lewis’s path, raising their blasters as they came.

Oliver skidded to a halt, and glanced over at his friend. “Was this part of the plan?”

Lewis shook his head. “Roof top was supposed to be empty.”

Oliver looked at the guards, who’d stopped and now formed a line in front of them. “Uh huh.”

He glanced over at the door and then back at Lewis. “So, is it?”

“Is it what?” Lewis had started to raise his hands, and Oliver was tempted to follow his example.

“Nettles?”

“Not quite. We had one more jump to go.”

“Had?”

Lewis gestured toward the guards. “Somehow, I don’t think they’re going to let us go running past the shuttle so we can jump the gap on the other side…”

At this one of the guards stepped forward. “You’re just passing through?”

Lewis nodded. “We’ve got to get to Nettles.”

Surprise etched one of the guard’s features. He was a solid man, but not big—more compact, with silver in his hair and bright dark eyes.

Not someone to be underestimated, Oliver thought.

“You couldn’t just use the sidewalk?” the man asked.

Lewis shook his head. “Long story.”

He gestured toward the other side of the building, his movement causing the guards to tense and shift their aim. “Do you mind if we…”

The guard leader opened his mouth as if to reply, and then closed it abruptly, his eyes taking on the slightly unfocused look of someone working in their implant. Oliver and Lewis waited, watching as he had a conversation they couldn’t hear. When he was done, he looked back at them, and motioned toward the edge of the roof.

“Boss says go ahead…” He frowned, “and thank you for showing him a vulnerability in his security.”

“You’re welcome,” Oliver replied and looked at Lewis. “You were going to have us jump across two really long drops?”

“Was. Is. Am,” Lewis replied and picked a place on the far side of the building. “You ready for this?”

“Oh, sure. Let’s get this afternoon’s next brush with death out of the way. I mean, why not?” Oliver snarked, and the guards behind them chuckled.

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The cover below is from The Unwilling, the first book in the series, but I'm expecting the cover for this volume to arrive, any day now--and I'll have a link to the series carousel on Books2Read shortly.