“I know.”
“Would you like to?” she asked gently.
“I’ll miss him. He fought hard. He is the hero they all keep calling him. It hurts, but…that’s life. I’m not the type to fall to my knees over death. It hurts, but I can keep surviving. I said goodbye yesterday. I’ve never been to a funeral before. It was strange, but it felt…final. I see why we humans do it.”
She considered that and nodded slowly. He had a point. He was pragmatic about these circle of life things.
“As for the other thing…” He trailed off for a second before picking back up. “As for Axel, I’ll be the male I’ve always been. We’ve defeated him before. We will do it again. Together, as a pack, we’re stronger and smarter than he will ever hope to be.”
“You’re right,” she agreed, kissing him slowly. “Thank you for that.” She finished off her salad and stood up. “I’m going to get to work. Oh, no one told me where this new house is.”
“North of here. Upstate New York. None of us have seen it yet. I think we’re going to make a trip out there tomorrow. You should come.”
“I will, promise.” She had nothing else to do that required her to be away from the team.
She threw out the salad container then went into the back of the condo. She didn’t look for any of the guys, instead ducking into James’ office where she knew Vincent moved all his work about Axel to.
She sat down behind the desk and just looked at it all for a long time. Pictures of him, his Ghosts, his old properties. All of this was defunct now. They didn’t even have an up to date picture of him. She knew, based on Missy’s performance in the prison, that he would be scarred now.
“He’s probably furious about it,” she murmured. “His precious, perfect face.” She ran a thumb over the scar on her bottom lip, where it had been busted open one too many times. Well, really a thousand times too many.
As she kept looking at the pictures, the invisible itch of the scar between her breasts came back, for the first time in a very long time. She rubbed it absentmindedly, the old habit returning in a second. It felt like the old bullet holes were burning. It felt like her missing finger became more apparent by the second, as she touched the picture of Axel.
Every second dragged on as it all rushed back.
She had gotten so far away from it, so far removed from the trauma. It had always haunted her, but this…this was like before he’d been originally captured. Just seeing him in an old picture, just hearing his name, made her itch and become uncomfortable.
She pulled away from the picture like it was on fire and stood up.
“No,” she growled to herself. “I’m stronger than this. He can’t haunt me anymore.”
She took several deep breaths, collecting herself. She ignored the itch of her scar. She looked down at it, pulling her shirt down enough to see it. Thanks to Tez in the rainforest, it was faded, like the scars on Quinn’s back. It was like decades had passed.
And she used that to anchor the distance she had from Axel, from the dark history between them. It was a long time ago. She had more power now than ever. She had changed since he’d given her the scar.
When she sat back down, she began to review everything. Every criminal that was captured thanks to Axel. Every minion. Every operation that was shut down. She wondered what Vincent had been looking for in the information. She wondered if it was the same thing she was finding.
She knew these names and faces. Meetings and parties. Rivalries and bad business. These were people that Axel had to deal with but didn’t like to. He often said they were who he would replace with his own men if he had the chance. He’d hated that they thought they were his equals, or even close to his organization. He needed one to help him with his human trafficking operation. Another to help with his dealings in Colombia for drugs. Another for the sex trade he had going in some Pacific Island countries.
And now they were all in prison themselves and Axel was wandering around.
“You son of a bitch,” she mumbled. He’d given himself everything he’d ever wanted and he’d used the good guys to do it. “These men had no idea the games they played with you. They had no idea that you could use your own arrest against them like this, to finally give you everything you ever dreamed of.”
She knew the power vacuum he was stepping into now. The seedy criminal world of the Magi, the wild west of their world, only had one real bad guy in power now.
And she had to kill him.
“First, I have to find him,” she reminded herself, looking back at his picture.
As the day continued, she went over old properties. She knew several, but she could also tell none of them were his treasured sanctuaries. None of them were places she had once lived. She wrote those down as well, turning on James’ computer to dive into realty and discover what might have sold or just changed hands.
She drew on everything she used to. She dove into the Dark Web and began to dig. She was once a master at this hunt. Her years as a solo thief had honed these skills. She loved the ground work. She found that he didn’t legally own any of the homes she once occupied. She had never thought he did. He didn’t put his real name on anything. He hid them through fake shell companies and others who would take the fall long before he would if the information was dug up by the wrong people.
Sawyer knew he probably never expected to be captured while trying to kill her.
It felt like hours later when she came up for air, having learned a lot - but none of it immediately helpful. She could ask the IMPO to raid all of these places, but she didn’t think it would help anyone, or hurt Axel.
Her eyes fell to the chess board she knew Vincent had set up.
Chess. Pieces moving on the field. Right now, on Vincent’s board, the white side was winning. Appropriate. Axel was winning. He’d had months to secretly move the pieces around while the two people who knew him best had no idea. She and Vincent hadn’t been paying attention. They had gotten ahead, put him in check, and then they walked away, thinking the WMC would put him in checkmate.
“Idiots,” she mumbled, standing up to look closer at the board, just to think.
There was no reason to raid all the locations she knew because Axel would already know those were her ins. He would have walked away from those places and found new secret hideaways first, actually. He would know that she wouldn’t rest.
“I wonder,” she murmured, touching the black queen. “Are you going to come after me, Axel? Or will you make me work for this? Have you let go of the obsession with killing me?” She pushed the black queen up to the white king. “Because I haven’t let this go. I tried and you dragged me back in when I just wanted to hide out and forget all of this. So when I take you back to check and secure a checkmate, I hope you know it’s your fault.”
She didn’t know why she needed to say the words. He couldn’t hear her. She constantly checked the condo for bugs. She didn’t take chances with him being out. Their location wasn’t secure. The only things she had going for her was that they were in New York, security was still heightened, and Axel wasn’t that bold.
“Well, he is, but he’s not an idiot. If he comes at me head on, he loses. I have too much backing behind me now for that sort of war. He could just treat me like Vincent now. Always a step or ten ahead, always gaining power.” She felt a wave of frustration. “I’m going to catch you. You brought me back in and now you get to suffer the consequences of it. Last time, I just wanted to hide out and run the moment I got the chance. Make a new name and disappear.” She wrapped her fingers around the black queen. “Not this time.”
She stood there, thinking about it for a long time. She didn’t have what she needed in this office, so instead she considered the future of the board. Pawns who were possibly in play and who he would rely on as a knight or bishop. And what could Felix have possibly done? How was Missy alive?
Questions that needed answers. She needed to treat every fragment of information as important. If she didn
’t, one could slip by her and disappear, when it would be important later.
“Sawyer?” a rough, tired voice called softly outside the door. She looked for the time and caught the clock on the wall. When had it become nearly midnight?
“Yeah, Elijah?” she called back. “You can come in.”
He walked in slowly, Quinn following him. They ignored the state of the room around them. She hadn’t even noticed the mess herself while she’d been alone. It looked like a tornado had gone through it.
“Come to bed,” Quinn ordered softly. “Everyone else ate dinner. We convinced Vincent to just read a book and relax for the evening since you were in here.”
“I’m…” She wasn’t ready to leave this space yet. She was so patient with Vincent, normally, since she understood. Once someone waded into the world of playing games with Axel, it was hard to pull away. It consumed your thoughts as you tried to figure out every move he could make and what moves you could make that would surprise him.
It was so hard to pull away.
“I’m not going back to sleep until you come to bed too. I’m grateful for you diving into this while we deal with the mundane crap, but you need to sleep too. You can’t become…well, you can’t be like Vin.”
She met the hazel eyes of the patient, loving cowboy.
“And if I don’t want to go to sleep?” she asked softly.
“I didn’t say you need to sleep. I said you need to come to bed,” he fired back, a smile beginning to form. “Whether bed puts you to sleep or not is up to you.”
“Pervert,” she teased, a small smirk taking over.
“Yes, well, you both need to lie down and rest,” Quinn cut in. He reached out to her. “We’re staying in the master bedroom right now. Come on.”
She let him pull her out of the office. She didn’t want to leave, but she knew she had to, and his physicality, his realness, making sure she moved, helped her take those steps. Elijah closed the office door behind them when they were in the hallway.
Together, they slid into the giant back bedroom and she pulled off her shirt, enjoying the sight of the big, comfortable bed.
Then she realized the situation she was in.
“Are we all sleeping in here?” she asked, looking at them as they stripped down.
“Of course we are,” Elijah answered nonchalantly. “I mean, you’ve cuddled with Quinn and Zander before. No different.”
He had a point. She wasn’t sure why she brought it up. Shrugging, she pushed down her jeans and slid in bed wearing only her underwear. She’d forgotten a bra all day, not really caring about it. She just hadn’t cared when she woke up that day. Missy and Naseem didn’t care enough to point it out. The guys were distracted. She’d gotten away with it.
She pulled a pillow to her face and nuzzled into it, taking a deep breath and trying to relax. They got into bed on either side of her, but didn’t touch her. They wouldn’t unless she asked, or made a move to show them it was okay. She figured neither of them were in that mood either.
Elijah began to snore quickly, and Quinn followed him shortly after.
She just laid awake, considering her future, considering the pieces of the board. Her mind wouldn’t rest.
She couldn’t handle it anymore and tried to get out of bed, kicking blankets away from her. She didn’t use her magic, and she quickly realized she should have as Quinn’s arm wrapped around her waist.
“Stay,” he ordered, his eyes still closed.
“Sorry, but I can’t just lie here,” she answered softly, kissing his forehead. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Do you need help?” he asked, his ice blue eyes opening and practically shining in the dark. She always felt trapped under his stare and he said nothing, sitting up just enough to kiss her collarbone. “Because we can do that for you.”
“We?” Frowning, she just let him continue to kiss her, trying to not get pulled under by his spell.
A large palm ran up her back and that made her pause. That was too big for Quinn - because it was Elijah. “Stay in bed, little lady,” he murmured. She felt the bed dip more as he drew closer and kissed her shoulder. “Stay with us for the night, please.”
She turned to him and only met a serious face. There was no playfulness, no teasing. They were serious.
“We can help you sleep,” Quinn offered again, the arm around her waist pulling her tighter against his body. “Let us.”
“I’ve never done this.”
“Well, we almost lost Elijah without having the chance. Let’s do it now. If you never want it again, then fine, but let us do this with you tonight. Just tonight.” Quinn captured her lips at the end of that, while her mind reeled. He had a good point. They had almost lost their cowboy and she knew they had both teased about wanting this.
“We’ve wanted to have you with us for a long time now,” Elijah continued where Quinn left off. “It started out as a pipe dream, an idea. It became a teasing joke. We’d never thought you would actually love us. We never thought…” He kissed her shoulder from behind her. “And now, with everything going on, let us help you sleep.”
She closed her eyes, trying to hold back tears. As she nodded, Quinn growled in pleasure and kissed her again. He fell full on his back and pulled her over him, hands roaming and exploring. Elijah’s hands didn’t stop either.
“Wait,” she gasped. “Elijah, you have to be careful.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Quinn agreed. He sat up, pushing her up with him. “Elijah…”
“I’ll lie on my back and…relax,” he agreed with a devious grin. “Only if someone here lets me eat her out.”
“Excuse me?” Her eyebrows flew up.
“Why don’t you come sit on my face and force me to relax?”
She wanted to smack him. It was the dirtiest question she’d ever heard. He fell back, spreading out, his dick hard. She hadn’t really considered that they were already nude. Of course they were. They slept that way.
“Do it,” Quinn whispered in her ear.
“Why?” She was flabbergasted.
“Because Alpha females take what they want from their males.” Now Quinn’s grin was just as devious as Elijah’s. She had a sneaking suspicion they had talked this entire fantasy of theirs through.
She was nervous as she crawled across the bed, Quinn breaking the side of her thong before she could get too far. It was tossed away.
“Uh…” She was on her knees next to her cowboy’s head. He kept grinning and grabbed her, forcing her to swing a thigh over his head. He pointed her towards the headboard, so she stared at the wall. His mouth closed on her and his massive arms held her thighs in place so she couldn’t try to get off him.
As his tongue lazily swiped over her entry, Quinn moved to kiss her again, also on his knees. One of his hands traveled down her back and he pushed a wet finger in her ass. That brought a shocked gasp from her. Elijah forced her to move her hips as he fucked her with his tongue, his nose rubbing against her clit in the best way she could imagine. He knew what he was doing. Of course he did.
Quinn’s finger continued to pump, as the feral Magi also nibbled on her neck. She moaned with every movement of the two men.
And she shattered quickly, her orgasm crashing into her. Based on the supremely satisfied noise from the mouth beneath her, it was exactly what the cowboy had wanted. Only when she was finished riding out the sensations did he let her go enough so she wasn’t forced on his face. Quinn slowly pulled his finger out, kissing her hard.
“Now for the best part,” he murmured. Elijah just chuckled underneath her. She looked over her shoulder and saw the hard dick waiting for someone to ride it. Elijah’s cock was always a sight and it was hard to miss. “If you think you can handle it. Because I love this.” His hand continued to rub on the curve of her ass. Oh, she knew he did. They didn’t do it very often, but Quinn enjoyed being able to bury himself in her tightest hole when she was willing.
“So…” She knew where this
was going. They wanted to have her together all right.
Of course they did.
“You can say no, little lady, and we’ll find other ways to blow your mind.”
No. This seemed like just the thing that would leave her boneless and thoughtless enough to sleep. It wasn’t something she had ever done before, but she would do it with these two men. She trusted them to not hurt her.
And she loved them.
She moved back and sank on Elijah’s cock first, moaning at the full sensation he gave her. He was a massive man and a cocky one…literally. He grabbed her hips and thrust into her once for effect, just because he knew she would whimper and moan for him.
Quinn moved behind her and she could feel the coolness of lube as he pressed his dick against her.
And then they broke her all over again. He entered slowly, like he always did, but nothing between these two men was ever slow one on one. They definitely wouldn’t be easy on her together.
Elijah pulled her down, kissing her hard as he stayed buried in her and Quinn fucked her. She was thankful they weren’t moving together, giving her body a chance to figure out whatever these sensations were.
Quinn snarled, leaning over them both. He thrust into her at a reckless and frantic pace, as if they would never again get the chance to have her together. As if he had to make up for lost time. And there was lost time. None of them had been together since before they came to this city, before Naseem attacked her that first night.
He panted over her as she screamed against Elijah’s broad chest. The cowboy was nice enough to hold on to her.
Finally, Quinn gave out first. Several, fast, erratic pumps and he came deep inside, giving her a moment to enjoy the feeling of being pressed between them.
“Now it’s my turn,” Elijah murmured with a hot need that gave her a round of shivers. She was primed. Quinn hadn’t pushed her over the edge, but Elijah fully intended to. As the feral Magi pulled out, the cowboy got started, grabbed her hips with a nearly bruising pressure. He thrust up into her at a more even, measured speed.
A Night of Redemption (The Redemption Saga Book 5) Page 6