Page 151 of The ARC Unit: Breach

“Then choose the couch,” Wolf said.

“You are exhausting.”

“And dry.”

I looked at my room. Water was still dripping steadily from the ceiling onto what used to be my bed.

Wolf opened his door.

“Mercer.”

He used the same clipped tone he always did when he expected me to stop turning a simple decision into an argument.

I hated that it worked.

“Fine.”

Raven immediately started toward his room.

“Coward,” I hissed at him.

“Absolutely.”

Bear stepped in my room, taking one of the industrial towels with him. Hawk disappeared into his room without another word, leaving me alone in the corridor with Wolf.

I glanced toward Wolf’s door. His room and his office had been two of the few places in the compound I had never seen inside. Raven had pointed them out during my first few days, along with the warning that I should not go in there unless Wolf asked. Apparently defective German plumbing counted as an invitation.

He waited beside the open door as I walked past him.

His room definitely was larger than the others, though only by the strange standards of a building where a few extra feet of concrete qualified as luxury. There was enough open space between the bed and the wall for someone to lie down without putting their head beneath the desk, which explained why everyone had surrendered so quickly.

The rest of it was exactly what I should have expected.

A narrow bed sat beneath the window. The desk held a closed laptop and his metal lighter beside a pack of cigarettes. Two lockers occupied the opposite wall instead of one, with a black duffel on top. Boots had been lined beneath the second with enough precision that I resisted the urge to move one slightly out of place just to see whether he noticed.

Nothing personal had made it into view. There were no photographs or books, and nothing had been tucked into the mirror or left gathering dust on the desk. Even the charger cable had been wound neatly beside his phone.

I turned in a slow circle.

“This is depressing.”

Wolf shut the door behind us. “You’re welcome.”

“I haven’t thanked you.”

“I noticed.”

I looked at the lockers. “Do you own anything that isn’t black?”

“Yes.”

“Where is it?”

“Not in here.”

“Very convincing.”

He opened the first locker.