A Night of Redemption (The Redemption Saga Book 5)

by Kristen Banet

  They made it back to the hotel in record time and Vincent disappeared to talk to the other teams. Elijah and Quinn were there only minutes later and Travis shuffled and tried to get comfortable, waiting on the team to give him the go ahead for the next portal.

  “You doing all right, Travis?” Sawyer asked. She must have noticed he wasn’t totally comfortable.

  “Too many portals. You know, it gets exhausting. I’m just hoping I can make all of them. I don’t want to have to pass this off to another Magi.” Travis smiled. “Seriously, that’s all. I’ve been the Magi for your portals for a long time, Sawyer. I don’t want that to change.”

  “I’ll be stranded before I take someone else’s portal,” she promised softly.

  Vincent was back only moments later. “We’re good, and they’re moving now to the next locations. Everything hit perfectly. We’ve got Alfie, Janie, and Martinez in custody.”

  “Who’s next?” Elijah asked from his spot, leaning on a wall.

  “We’re going after Leonard. Fergus and his team are going to get Gerald. Travis?”

  “I’m on it!” Travis jumped up and the magic began.

  One raid down. One night to sleep, then another. Jasper knew this was going to be a gauntlet.

  16

  Sawyer

  Sawyer found herself in another quickly-booked, cheap hotel, rooming with the same two men and Sombra, who was already curling up for a cat nap in the corner. She still didn’t know how to feel about them, so she stayed focused on the mission. Leonard, living in the Congo and selling arms to any backwoods dictator that wanted them. He made Axel a fuck-ton of money. That prick, of course he would set himself up to take over for Karen and Missy when they were out. What had Sawyer said about that group once? The best of the best at being the absolute worst.

  He’d found some to match up to the old ones.

  Axel sure knew how to pick them.

  “Sawyer, are you going to sleep today?” Zander asked, shouldering her as he stopped to drop his bag.

  “What time is it?” she asked. She didn’t have a watch or see a working clock in the room.

  “Already five in the morning. We need to hunker down and then get to work tonight.”

  “This is going to run the fucking team ragged,” Jasper muttered, shaking his head as he tossed his things on the other bed.

  “It’s what we have to do,” she reminded him.

  “I know. I’ll be in the shower.” Jasper stormed out. The room practically shook with how hard he slammed the bathroom door. Sawyer didn’t know how to react to any of that.

  Zander was innocently stripping and laid down on the bed, as if it never happened. “Come on. We can watch a movie while we all take turns getting clean.”

  She sighed. So fucking normal in the middle of one of the most important weeks of her life.

  “Yeah, we can watch a movie,” she agreed, pulling off her sweaty work clothes. She didn’t like the idea of getting in bed like this, but Jasper had just claimed the shower first and she wanted off her feet. In her sports bra and black cotton underwear, she spread out next to Zander but didn’t touch him.

  He flipped a movie on and threw an arm over her shoulder. As the movie got started, she relaxed in a way she hadn’t for days, begrudgingly admitting to herself that Zander was right there with her. They weren’t leaving her…yet.

  He must have noticed her jaw clench or heard her teeth grind. “Calm down, Sawyer. I’m right here.”

  “You won’t be for long,” she reminded him.

  “Please stop pushing me. I don’t want this to be a fight. Of all the things, not this.” He leaned closer, kissing her neck. She tried to pull away as his long, lean body pressed against her side. “We’re leaving the IMPO. We’re not leaving you.”

  “You’re leaving the team,” she repeated.

  “After this case. But we’re not leaving you.”

  She didn’t see the distinction. To leave the IMPO was to leave her. She was bound to them. She was their fucking predator. It was her life. This case…

  “And she finally stopped to think about it,” Zander murmured, figuring that’s what her silence was about. He kept kissing her neck. “Sawyer, after this case, you don’t need to stay with the IMPO either. They’ll pardon you. They’ll have to, if they don’t want us taking this all public. And I will. If they play you again, I’m letting the world know everything and you’ll be free anyway. We’re leaving the IMPO, not you, because you’ll be able to come with us.”

  She was somewhat speechless. Was that really their plan?

  “What about the other guys?” she finally asked. She would never leave any of them. She couldn’t. That wasn’t an option. She was too happy with this, the team. She couldn’t toss aside Quinn and Elijah for Zander and Jasper or the other way around. And then there was Vincent. They had so much together, all of them. They had been through so much. Leaving them wasn’t an option.

  “We’ll stay with them no matter what any of us choose. We talked to Vincent and Elijah. We’ll find places to help them or do what we want. We’re not going to break this up, promise.” That eased some of her fears immediately. Zander’s face was open and honest, telling her he couldn’t lie. “And you can do whatever you want, Sawyer. Anything you want.”

  “I’m not sure what I want after this,” she admitted. “The IMPO at least knows how to use my skills. Where else would I go?”

  “We’ll think about it when we get there,” he promised.

  “Why couldn’t you just fight with me like I wanted?” She had been hoping for yelling and screaming so she could tell them again how she hated the idea of them leaving. Then Zander decided to play her with some logic. Damn him.

  “Because I’m learning when not to get pissy with you. Plus, this is more serious than a screaming match. This is just the way it is. Jasper and I are leaving the IMPO, and an argument between you and me? I guess it feels like that cheapens the discussion.”

  She swallowed a lump in her throat, choking on her emotion. Good gods, he was different. He was moving faster than her, faster than she was ready for, that was certain. And when he looked up, there was such an honest love in his green eyes that she knew he wouldn’t leave her.

  “I’m sorry I freaked,” she mumbled. He gave a satisfied chuckle, leaning in to kiss her. She sank back instinctively and he took that as the opportunity to crawl over her. She made him work for it, dodging his attempts until he finally caught her in a kiss that sent all sorts of signals to her mind, heart, and body. She pushed him away, realizing where this was going to go. “We can’t. Jasper could walk in.”

  “I don’t particularly care,” he whispered, kissing her again. “And neither should you.”

  She glanced at the bathroom door then back into green eyes. “How fast can we do this?” she asked with a small smile. She needed it. She wanted to touch him and remind herself that he wasn’t going to leave her, not ever. He belonged to her and he wasn’t going to walk away, not from her. “You really mean all this, don’t you?”

  “Every fucking word, Sawyer. You can be anywhere, doing anything. As long as you come back and I have a piece of you. Just as long as you let me stay in your life.”

  “Always,” she promised, touching his cheeks. She pulled him back down for another kiss. He groaned. She reached down and shoved his boxer briefs past his hips, freeing him for her. She ran a hand along the underside of his shaft. He was trying to push a hand under her sports bra to push it up.

  They were still trying to finish getting naked when the shower cut off. They were naked when the door opened, completely oblivious to Jasper walking out.

  “Are you two fucking serious?” he asked.

  Sawyer felt like she jumped out of her skin for a moment.

  “Ignore us,” Zander said with a groan. He kept kissing her neck, even after Sawyer stopped responding. She was caught staring at Jasper in the bathroom door, a towel hanging low on his waist.

  And Jasper’s app
earance did nothing to stop how much she loved what Zander was doing to her body as a hand slid over her ribs and belly to between her legs. Jasper’s eyes narrowed at the same location.

  “Really?” he asked, a guttural sound. She could see his chest moving from how hard he was breathing. He was like a storm tied to a post, and the post was about break. Along with everything around him.

  “Come on!” Zander finally stopped kissing her and looked back at his best friend. Sawyer didn’t say anything. “We’re caught up in some shit. We were trying to have a moment.”

  “Yeah, I see that,” Jasper said, snapping like a rabid animal.

  And Sawyer knew something was wrong. This wasn’t embarrassed Jasper. This was hurting Jasper.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked softly, pushing Zander away as she swung her legs off the bed. He groaned again, falling on his back. They all ignored the erection standing tall for everyone to see, and the redhead did nothing to cover it.

  “We’re not leaving you,” Jasper muttered.

  “Zander and I just talked, I’m sorry for-”

  “I’m leaving the IMPO before I become an awful person like all of them. That’s why I need to get out, and you need to know that. I heard what you and Zander were talking about. I heard all of that.”

  She stopped walking to her Golden Boy. Oh. Oh, that changed everything.

  “I hate that they can send you to do their dirty work. They fucked this up. They should have done it months ago, and yet they gave him time to play his fucking games. I hate that I want you to do it for everything he’s ever done to you and so many other people. I hate that I’m part of an execution squad and part of me is okay with that. It’s not my place to say who should live and die, and yet…” He touched his chest, trailing off. “I killed a man and I don’t feel a shred of guilt for it…I’m saving myself. Before I’m…one of them. All I have left of my parents is their sense of right, and I’m losing that, Sawyer. This job is taking it away from me and I just can’t do it anymore.”

  She took one stumbling step at his admission. Her Golden Boy was broken. She saw the storm in his eyes, could feel it in his heart. This was his problem. This had been his problem since she had shown up. She knew it.

  “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” she asked softly. “About how bad it was?” She knew he had tried and she had flipped out, but this seemed so much more than he let on. This was eating him alive.

  “I was already feeling shitty about the IMPO and the WMC when we came to New York, I think, but James…The grief helped cover it up. Now we’re on this case and this is it. This is the last I can do, especially with the way I feel right now. I’m going to support you one hundred percent to finish this, but then I need to get out.” Jasper looked away from her.

  She reached for him and pulled him into a kiss. “I love you,” she murmured against his lips. She felt selfish for her previous behavior. She hadn’t known just how deeply this was tearing her gorgeous man up. She should have. She should have realized how deeply this was affecting him. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t listen when you first tried to tell me.”

  He kissed her back, then pulled away. “I’ll go on a walk while you two-”

  “Stay!” Zander ordered, sitting up. “We can…” She looked back at him, frowning. “I mean…Uh…”

  “Oh.” She realized why his face was getting red. He was still hard. She knew Jasper was too, since he was hiding it from Zander with her now. “You want to try that?”

  “I mean…uh, it would be nice for all of us to have some time.” Zander ran a hand through his hair. “I’d like to try, and what better time than the present?”

  “No.” Jasper pulled away from her. “Oh no. I get it now. Zander, sorry, find another guy for that.”

  “You don’t need to participate!” Zander was frantic now.

  “You want me to watch?”

  “You want him to watch?”

  She and Jasper looked at each other.

  Zander was redder than his hair. “I think now isn’t the best time for anyone to get thrown out of the room. I think we need to…do something together.”

  “Like watch a movie, then,” Jasper answered, pointing at the small TV. He dropped on his own bed. “If you two get busy during it, then keep it quiet. I’ll listen to music and read.”

  Sure enough, Jasper had headphones on and a book in front of him faster than she and Zander could react.

  “Zander,” she hissed. “Why would you put him on the spot like that?”

  “I think he needs some love,” Zander answered. “And I think it’s the only way you’re going to get him to accept it right now.”

  She narrowed her eyes on him.

  “And I want some love too. Quinn and Elijah could do it…why can’t we?”

  “Quinn and Elijah also sleep together,” she reminded him. “They’re comfortable being naked together.” She had never wanted to push any of them further than they were willing to go. They had a strange relationship, one she still refused to question. She was going with it, wherever they wanted to take it. She still wasn’t sure how she ended up having a threesome with Elijah and Quinn, much less these two.

  “Let’s just watch our movie,” Zander said, sighing in defeat. He pulled her back to him and they slid into bed. She laid her head on his chest. Zander eventually went to shower, then her. The bathroom was too small for both of them, so nothing happened as they both just tried to get clean.

  It was the second movie before Zander’s hands began to roam again. This time, she felt a lot more awkward, but nothing could stop how she moaned softly as he brushed a finger over her nipple. Nothing could stop how good it felt when he ducked down and took it into his mouth, rolling a tongue over it. She didn’t want to say no, but she tried.

  “Zander, we’ve got someone else in the room.”

  “You need some love,” he murmured against her skin. “I’m going to give it to you. I need some love, too, babe, remember? Please. We’re busy, and one of us could get hurt, and you’ve been mad at me.”

  “Okay,” she whispered, unable to find that ‘no’ she had wanted to tell him. He was right. She did need some love, and so did he. She didn’t know what this relationship was, but even the suggestion of it ending had sent her off into pissed-off mode. The fear of losing them had almost made her shove them away without even listening and hearing what they were saying.

  They would make it work, no matter how it played out.

  He continued to lavish her with licks and kisses, moving down between her legs. They weren’t under the blankets. She could see every muscle in his shoulders and back, all perfectly maintained and formed. She gasped, trying to stay quiet as he licked her clit. Her head fell back as two fingers slid inside of her.

  She wasn’t thinking of anything except Zander as her head rolled to the side and she found Jasper staring at her, breathing hard again. Those stormy blue eyes. She just stared into them, moaning as Zander enjoyed her and she enjoyed what he was doing to her.

  The book went down first. She wrapped a hand in red hair to hold him there as he pushed her towards the edge.

  The headphones came off next. She moaned louder, her back arching as the fingers picked up speed.

  He was off the bed as her orgasm came closer.

  Jasper kissed her right as she wanted to scream Zander’s name. He grabbed her roughly, smothering the scream with his lips, forceful and passionate. Demanding in a way she never knew of her Golden Boy.

  Zander pulled away, but she didn’t know where he went as Jasper moved to get on the bed with them. He broke the kiss, and she couldn’t find any resistance in her as he rolled her onto her belly. Jasper lifted her hips and pushed into her without pause, leaving her a puddle of confusion and pleasure.

  Zander showed up again, kissing her. He wasn’t questioning it either. Thank god. She felt like if either of them said anything, Jasper would pull out and run for the hills and never come back.

  But w
asn’t this what she always wanted? He was thrusting harder than she figured she would ever get from him. It was rough and out of place, but it fit at the same time. It was possessive and claiming, even a touch angry. His hands held onto her too hard, probably making bruises on her hips. A hand wrapped in her hair and Zander held her lips to his as Jasper took out his emotions on her body. There was love in there too, like the way he caressed her ass at one point.

  “Sawyer, I love you,” he groaned. She couldn’t respond thanks to Zander, only hit her peak on him, gripping him, holding him. He couldn’t keep going either, coming deep inside her. He was panting as he pulled out and fell down.

  She didn’t have the chance to say anything, as Zander forced her to roll onto her back and entered her before her orgasm was even done.

  “Oh fuck!” she gasped, shocked.

  Jasper groaned. “I know why you wanted this now.” There was something dirty about the words, like he was about to really enjoy the show, now that he was done.

  She wrapped her arms around Zander, then her legs, biting into his shoulder as he pounded into her without any semblance of mercy that she had already had two orgasms. He was relentless, like he always was. They rocked hard, and she found herself bumping into Jasper. Zander panted over her as Jasper shifted and moved to kiss her shoulder and neck.

  “You’re beautiful,” he murmured. “It’s so gorgeous to watch you come.”

  She had never expected to hear dirty talk from Jasper, but from the roughness of his voice, she figured that he had finally broken and the storm was free. She knew there was something wild in there, she always had.

  And now it was hers too. She turned her head to kiss him as Zander pulled up to sit on his feet, holding her hips as he thrust deeper inside her.

  “Oh, fuck, that’s what I want to see.” He groaned, his fingers biting into her flesh harder. She was going to have a ton of tiny fingerprint bruises at this rate, maybe even a handprint or two. Not like she cared at that moment. With Jasper showering her lips and breasts with attention and Zander between her legs, she was going to have a final orgasm. The idea of bruises almost seemed good. They would remind her of this night for a few days, at least. And what a night it was.