“No, I meant agent,” he snapped back. It made his friend pause. When Jasper’s stormy eyes looked back at him, he explained. “She’s treating this like a job. Not a vendetta. She’s making sure that we remember that we’re still homeless agents. We need a base of operations…”
Now he saw his friend’s point.
“The two worlds aren’t so different,” Jasper reminded him. “Agent, assassin, good guy, bad. The only difference is the line and even then, there’s a thousand shades of grey.” He snorted. “We all just have people telling us to be their dogs, be their weapons, and enforcers. Just depends on who, doesn’t it?”
Zander’s eyes went wide. A year ago - no, just six months ago, it would have been Vincent saying that. Jasper had never seen the law in greys. He’d believed the worlds couldn’t be more different.
Until her.
“And all of that is okay, as long as we do all of this for the right reason,” Jasper finished, something wild in his eyes. Something that had never been there before. “But you know, they might think they’re justified and right too. Crazy, right?”
“You want out, don’t you?” Zander asked softly, noticing how pained Jasper looked.
“I do. I don’t want to do this anymore. No matter when it ends, when Sawyer is pardoned, I’m getting out. I can’t…be someone else’s bulldog. Not after the shit we’ve been through thanks to the people we’re supposed to look up to. I just can’t anymore. I can’t just be the other side of the coin. I thought I was upholding the idea of a better world, better for all Magi, but…”
He reached out and hugged Jasper with one arm. “I’ll support you with anything you decide to do,” he promised his oldest male friend. “Anything. I swear it right here, right now.”
“I’m not going to ask you to leave with me. That’s my promise to you. You do what makes you happy, too, Zander.”
He thought about it. The IMPO, after this? He could totally see Jasper’s point. They had only joined the IMAS for the money and work, to make a better future. They had jumped into the IMPO because Vincent, James, and Elijah had given them something that seemed better for them. Then they stuck around since it gave them the resources to find Sawyer.
But the IMPO wasn’t his dream job. He didn’t have one. Hell, even as he thought about it, he considered what he did on the team. He helped with martial arts and self defense. Maybe he could take a page out of Sawyer’s book and become a teacher.
Then he immediately scoffed at the idea. He didn’t have the temperament for that. He’d hurt all his students.
They didn’t say anything else, though. Zander kept his thoughts about it to himself. He didn’t have anything to ease how Jasper felt about the IMPO and, in turn, the WMC. He couldn’t wipe away their problems from when they were with the IMAS. None of these organizations had been good to them, even when they had been at their best.
He let Jasper leave to go get Sawyer without following . When she walked in, she didn’t say anything either. Zander had a feeling Jasper didn’t tell her anything except that they were done. Now wasn’t the time to think so far into the future.
Sure, it came from her being a great assassin, but her focus and determination were some of her strongest traits. She couldn’t be distracted by the existential crisis they were going through.
“It’s all ready. You don’t need to do anything. Just leave the program running and it’ll tell you when something comes up.” He waved at the screen in front of him.
“I know, thank you. You can go hang out with the guys. I’ll be in here, reviewing and organizing this mess so it’s easier to work with.” She ran a hand over his shoulder and he grabbed it, giving a small squeeze in appreciation and love. As he stood up, he made sure to wrap an arm around her waist and hold her for a moment.
“I heard you last night. Have a good time?” He was genuinely curious if she did what he figured she did. It gave him ideas.
“I did.” With a knowing smile, she didn’t confirm or deny what he was really asking.
“I bet they did too,” he murmured, kissing her lips, nipping the scar.
“You’ll need to ask them.”
He chuckled as she pulled away and motioned for the door. He took the hint. He couldn’t stay if he wanted to tease and talk about sex. He knew Jasper would never be into that, but he was curious. Curious how it would be with another guy helping him blow her mind. Seemed like just another team assignment, in a perverse way.
He winked as he closed the door, making her laugh. He found Elijah in the living room, and motioned for the big cowboy to stand up.
“Time for your physical therapy.”
Elijah groaned, but got up without any further complaint. It was a simple regimen of stretching, and muscle-strengthening exercises.
And it continued to push Zander closer to the edge of leaving the IMPO. No, the idea was never going to leave. As a healer, Zander had to step back and look at what their jobs had done to their bodies. Magic could only go so far. Their luck was going to run out, and one day, no one would be there in time to save someone.
Like James.
It could have been any of them, if they had thought to leave someone else with the Councilwoman. D’Angelo had sent them gifts and notes, hoping to apologize for everything. They just put it all to the side. For once, Zander couldn’t even blame her. Shit happened, and they just needed to clean up the mess and get on with the next mission.
So he thought about Elijah’s accident. Quinn being torn up in the jungle and Sawyer going missing out there as well. Jasper losing a leg.
They had been broken by the IMPO and the WMC. By their own people, by friends and enemies.
It wasn’t healthy. At the rate they were going, none of them would make it to forty. It was a chilling realization. Zander was reckless, and he knew that. He made decisions based on how to help someone else, forgoing his own safety, but he didn’t want to die young and still lose everyone anyway.
And here he was, doing physical therapy with Elijah, who was as put together as magic could make him. Now they just needed to rebuild his muscles. He was lucky.
Many knew about the badly-broken back, but Zander didn’t even tell Elijah what his insides had looked like. Or his head and the nasty, awful crack it had. They had put the man back together. They had held him in the world of the living and forced his body to fix itself as they tried to gather pieces and hold them in place so that they weren’t regrowing half a kidney, or lung, which had been shredded and torn up by broken ribs.
It had been a rough time.
They had been so lucky.
Zander knew the luck would run out. The luck always ran out.
8
Sawyer
Two weeks flew by Sawyer, and she didn’t know where they went. She stood looking at the new big house, the guys all heading inside with the animals, but she couldn’t pick up her feet.
“You know,” Thompson said mildly. “I always disliked this house for some reason.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about it yet,” she said softly. “But we’ll be close to New York, I guess. That helps with the case. We’ll be able to come in and get things done at headquarters if it’s needed. Since James isn’t here to do that stuff for us anymore.”
“Of course. I’m there, but you don’t want me doing much of his old work. I don’t know the first thing about it except he made my life a pain in the ass for you all. Just let me know when I can throw my position behind something you need.”
“Thanks,” she sighed, nodding.
“How’s it coming?” he asked, obviously interested, but trying not to act like it.
She growled. It wasn’t. Nothing was moving. The mentions she got about anything to do with Axel were just references to him, but nothing that led to a lead. Nothing that helped her. And once the move-in was finished, she had to bring the guys back into the fold on the case. Sadly, there was barely any case. They were quickly approaching January and she had nothing.
&nbs
p; “Take until New Year’s Day off and settle in. The case will still be there in January.”
She narrowed her eyes on the Director. It was like he read her mind. She didn’t know his abilities, but she hoped that wasn’t one of them.
She didn’t have a way to argue either. Continue monitoring, continue going over old locations. She had already contacted him to have that done. Without telling teams why, other agents all over the world were sent to see and secure a building, a warehouse, or a condo. A farm here and there. Anything she knew from before. Anything Vincent had already known about Axel’s organization.
None of them had given her any leads, but they told Axel she was coming. They were at least a warning.
“Fine,” she muttered. “The added buildings are still being done, right?”
“Yeah. Elijah’s workshop. The garage is finished being expanded as much as we could as well. We also upgraded the old outdoor shooting range.”
“Amazing.” It was like this was home.
“Go. I need to get back to New York.”
“Have a safe drive, Thompson,” she called as he got in his car. She waved politely as he drove away, then walked into the house. She tugged on her bond with Sombra and discovered the cat was in her room. She went up, knowing the first thing she needed to do was get used to her space.
Her new, big space, where a woman once lived with a man who had tried to play games with her and Axel. The thought refused to leave, but she ignored it as she stepped into the room. It looked completely different than the one she had seen only a couple of weeks before.
As she sat on the edge of her king, she realized it was barely her room. Sure, it was deep blue tones with greys like her attic room in Georgia, but it didn’t feel like her.
That would just take time.
All in all, she did like the look of the room. She felt like she could be comfortable in it. It was spacious and bright, with two large windows that looked over the backyard. Her private bathroom matched the room.
If she could design a room for herself, it would have been this. Zander had done well, if he was the one who did it. She even had a giant walk-in closet where a massive safe sat in the back. She reminded herself that she still needed to secure her weapons and got to it. She couldn’t leave them in a bag forever.
She wasn’t paying attention, so when someone cleared his throat, she nearly jumped. Spinning, she saw Vincent standing in the closet doorway.
“When do we get to work?” he asked.
“Whenever you want,” she said carefully. The fact that he didn’t walk out and start immediately shocked her.
“I’ve been thinking about who Missy could possibly be from my past, but I’m not drawing any conclusions. There were always a few people who preferred Axel to me and vice versa. We didn’t have a rivalry back then, but people tried to play us against each other, especially when I came into my powers first, the younger son.” He leaned on the frame. “She could have literally been anyone, right?”
“Yeah.” Sawyer didn’t know how to help him. It was something they had worked on since Missy had said that to her. “Thompson told me we should take until New Year’s Day off and then jump back into it.”
Vincent was quiet, looking at her hanging clothes, until he sighed heavily. “I’m inclined to agree with him. We missed Christmas.” There was something guilty about the words.
“It’s okay,” she said softly.
“No. We promised you that we would do something. How are you? None of us…ask enough.”
“I’m fine, Vincent. I just stay focused on the task and I’m fine.” It was all she had and it was somewhat of a lie. She couldn’t bring herself to drown in grief anymore. She had to focus on this. When it was all over, she didn’t know where she would be or what she would do, but she could focus on this.
“Well, I’m going to tell the guys the plan. They’re all pretty anxious, because we’ve moved in now and they probably expect me to whip them like a slavedriver.”
She had expected it too, honestly, but she was thankful he wasn’t going to. It meant he wasn’t letting it consume him anymore. She wasn’t going to let it consume her either, even though they were both threatened by it at every moment. She had to approach this like every hit, every job, every mission, and every case. Clear-headed and ready for any sign that things would take a step in the direction they needed them to.
She was better at her work now than she was when she tried to leave him and nearly died. She was even stronger than she had been in August. She wasn’t scared of Axel Castello anymore. She was angry, and viciously so, but not scared.
She didn’t say it to Vincent, but she thought it.
“Go on. I’m sure they’ll be excited.” She smiled brightly and waved him along. “I need to organize this mess.”
“Of course,” he agreed, looking around at the things that hadn’t been unpacked for her. “I have to do the same to the office. Jasper is buried neck-deep in the other one. I’ll give you one guess where Quinn is.”
She chuckled, glad this new home was working out for everyone. That was good. It seemed to be helping them heal from the loss of James, and that was so important.
“What’s going to happen to the plantation house?” she asked.
“It’ll be put up for sale on the market. I’ll miss it, but only because it was our first big house together. We’d finally been set up somewhere nice.”
“But?” She knew there was one.
“It was too far from the closest city. It was in the middle of a backwoods area. It was just a pain. It was old, too. Things breaking all the time. You know.”
She did. The AC loved to go out in the summer. She waved a hand, gesturing for him to leave so she could get settled in. He kissed her forehead before going and she breathed a sigh of relief. He was doing so much better. She knew forcing him to distance himself from trying to catch Axel would help. They couldn’t rush this job or he would always be ahead of them. She knew the rules. They had to be patient, play the board right, send the right signals. They had to tell the man they were coming for him without making it easy for him to side-step if they pushed too hard.
And she could be patient. It was frustrating, but she could do it. She’d hoped to get even an inkling of what he was doing and where, but everything she heard was that he was directing orders from somewhere. He wasn’t moving around; he was hiding somewhere, planning something.
And while he’d once obsessed over killing her, none of the moves she’d heard about had anything to do with her. He hadn’t made any public statement about the woman working with the IMPO that used to be his assassin.
Other people were. The public was quiet due to the recent events of New York, but criminals were getting louder. Everyone wanted Axel to say something about her. Everyone wanted her to be dealt with, as all his old places were raided and claimed in the name of the IMPO and the WMC.
And he was eerily silent.
She almost wondered if he was running scared. She didn’t think it was the case, but it was a possibility.
“I should get this done,” she said to herself, looking at the mess in her room from the closet. It would give her a much-needed distraction from Axel and the case, the job she had to do if she ever wanted to be free to choose her own life again. She had a feeling riding out the next four and a half years wasn’t going to cut it anymore. She wouldn’t want to, anyway. If they pardoned her in four and a half years and Axel was out there, powerful and dangerous, she would never be safe. Her men would never be safe. Charlie and the kids would never be safe.
“Oh shit!” she exclaimed. “I live in New York!” She grinned. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it yet. It would be easy to drive into the city once a week and spend the night at the gym.
She could go see them. She had to tell the guys. She wanted to make the trip. She didn’t know why she hadn’t while staying in the condo, and Charlie had kept his distance after James died, letting them grieve. He’d only st
opped by once to check on Elijah, to see how he was healing.
She was still grinning as she left her room and went downstairs, phasing into Jasper and Zander’s new office. It, like always, spooked both men inside.
“SAWYER!” Zander cried out, angry with her.
“I want to find a day before New Year’s to go see Charlie and the gym. Visit for the holidays.”
They blinked at her until Jasper finally shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”
“I mean, I just haven’t been thinking. We live in the same state now. I can go see them and…after everything, I would really like to.”
“Yeah, we’ll make a trip before the end of the week. We’ll take the entire team, if Vincent was serious about letting us finish enjoying the holidays.” Jasper smiled as he kept placing books on his new shelves in the office. “You’ll be able to see them more often, if we’re going to be living up here for a long time.”
She didn’t respond to that, only smiled, showing him that she already figured that out.
“Maybe we could do a class with the kids,” Zander suggested, grinning now as well. “That would be fun. Someone a bit more up to your speed for them to watch with you.”
“Oh yeah, they would love that,” she agreed. “We’ll make the plans. Maybe I can convince the entire team to join in on it. Not all of you have gotten to meet them.”
“Charlie, it’ll be fun,” she promised again on the phone, three days after she had come up with the idea of a visit. The guys had agreed instantly to her request to go visit Charlie. For some reason, having the new home made things seem almost normal again. Now they could settle.
“All six of you, after everything that’s happened. In my gym. Fun. Sure. We’ll go with that.”
Even though he said it gruffly and somewhat sarcastic, she knew he was teasing.
“Going to be jealous of all the cool young Magi with the kids? No one is going to want the old man teaching them anymore?” She resisted laughing. Barely.
“No.” It was such a pouty word.
A Night of Redemption (The Redemption Saga Book 5) Page 8