Darkest Before Dawn

by Maya Banks

  “This is something I have to do,” Honor said quietly.

  “I realize you don’t know me and have no reason to trust me,” Conrad said in a calm voice. “But I will protect Honor with my life. You have my word. And where we’re going, there is no danger to her. She will have an entire army of men surrounding her at all times. This is important to your daughter. She needs to heal, and that is exactly what I mean to make happen. If you love her, and I know you do, and if you trust her, which I know you do, then let her do this. She needs this if she’s ever going to come back whole.”

  “I don’t have much time,” Honor said impatiently. “Trust in me to know what I’m doing. I’ll keep in touch. Conrad will keep you informed. But I have to do this if I’m going to survive.”

  There were shocked and worried expressions on every one of her family’s faces, but also resignation, much as there had been when she’d been so determined to go to the Middle East to help those in such desperate need.

  They all gathered around her, hugging her, tears shed as they kissed her and told her they loved her. And then Brad leveled a hard stare at Conrad.

  “I know your kind. I know the things you do in the name of justice. I’m not judging you. But you protect my sister. You keep her safe and if things go bad, you get her out. I don’t care what she wants or says. You get her back home where she belongs.”

  Conrad came to attention, a signal of respect for the lawman.

  “I’d give my life for her,” he said truthfully. “She saved my life, and I repay my debts. I swear to you that she will be safe with me.”

  Honor gave each of her family one last hug, and then she urged Conrad out of the house so they could be on their way.

  “How far is it? Are we driving or flying?”

  “We’ll fly. KGI has a private landing strip in their compound and it’s secure. It’s not only the fastest way, but also the safest.”

  Relief staggered her. Now that she knew, every minute was agony. Every moment apart from Hancock seemed an eternity.

  • • •

  HONOR swallowed nervously as one of the men who’d met them at the landing strip and driven them to the “war room” punched in the access code and the doors slid open with speed that made her blink.

  She’d purposely worn baggy, oversized clothing because at approaching five months pregnant, her pooch had developed into a tight ball. But all the weight loss and starving she’d done was in reality making her pregnancy look like her regaining her normal weight and size.

  Besides, she wanted Hancock to want her. She wanted him to love her independent of anything else. And she knew, regardless of whether he loved her or not, whether he wanted her or not, he’d never turn her away if she was pregnant with his child.

  It wasn’t in her nature to deceive, but she refused to manipulate him or force him to make a decision he wouldn’t have ordinarily made by revealing she was pregnant until she knew the outcome of her come-to-Jesus meeting with Hancock.

  As soon as she was herded into the main area, she could see that apparently everyone who worked for KGI had turned up for the occasion. It only took one person to tell her how to find Hancock. Not a room packed full of kick-ass operatives.

  Anger suddenly gripped her. She was tired of being endlessly intimidated by soldiers, mercenaries, terrorists, assholes, whatever. If they thought to intimidate her they could all kiss her ass.

  She narrowed her eyes and stepped from behind Conrad’s protective position.

  “Look, is it that all twenty or so of you all know where Hancock is, or are you just fucking with me and trying to intimidate me? Because if this is all you’ve got, bring it on.”

  She was greeted by broad smiles, some outright laughter, and she could swear she heard a female voice saying, “You go, girl.”

  One of the men stepped forward with a smile. He had muddy blond hair and the clearest blue eyes she’d ever seen. He extended his hand and she had no choice but to reluctantly take it.

  “Miss Cambridge, it’s an honor to see you again. I’m Sam Kelly.”

  She looked at him, faintly puzzled, but then realized he would have been on the mission to rescue her from Maksimov. Which meant that she was facing an entire room of people who’d seen the way she was when they’d gotten her out.

  Her back went up. She refused to feel shame for that. She was going to stop feeling humiliated about things she had no control over, and she was going to stop being so easily intimidated and stop acting like a timid freaking mouse. Maybe she could take lessons from the only two female members of KGI. They certainly didn’t look like scared mice.

  “Who can tell me where to find Hancock?” she demanded, donning her most ferocious look. The one Brad told her made her look like a really cute kitten hissing for the first time.

  She pulled at her hair in exasperation, not even waiting for an answer.

  “What is with men making arbitrary decisions, thinking they know all the answers to the universe? What is with them torturing themselves because they think they’ve betrayed or hurt someone, and yeah, while it might look to the person that they’d been screwed over, the man knows it but doesn’t bother to explain because he believes he is guilty of betraying her and hurting her. So he goes off in some giant manhurt and broods and sulks and God only knows what else men like you do,” she said with a sniff of disdain. “But I know what Hancock isn’t going to do, and so help me if one of you doesn’t cough up some information fast, you are not going to like the results.”

  The others had watched her with open mouths in obvious befuddlement, but by the time she got to the end of her tirade, they started laughing until tears rolled down their faces. She was furious with them for laughing like hyenas when her life was on the line. Her future. Her child’s future. And Hancock’s.

  Garrett wheezed. “Oh God, he’s never going to live this down. I’ll torture that bastard the rest of his life over this. How priceless is this?”

  Honor gritted her teeth and stalked over to get right into the big man’s face. She nearly mowed him over, and would have, but his back bumped against the wall, effectively trapping him.

  “What is wrong with you, laughing at a time like this? You’re being a complete asshole.”

  Garrett gave her a meek look. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I meant no disrespect.” He rapidly looked at his teammates, begging for help. They just laughed even harder.

  Honor threw her hands up. “This is pointless. I wasted an entire day by coming here. Fine. I’ll find him myself. No thanks to you.”

  She stalked past them all, Conrad falling in behind her, as she headed for the door. Sam caught her arm and gently halted her, his eyes still full of mirth, but he made a concerted effort to be serious and sincere.

  “We honestly don’t know where Hancock is, but I just might know someone who can help. Give me two seconds to make that call?”

  She studied him a moment, saw that he was all business now. Finally someone with some damn sense. She nodded.

  Sam picked up the phone and punched one digit, obviously a contact.

  “Eden, honey? This is Sam. I need you to come to the war room as soon as possible. Can you do that? It’s important.”

  There was a brief pause and Sam smiled. “Thanks, Eden. You’re the best.”

  “Joe, step out and meet Eden so she won’t feel awkward coming to the war room,” Sam instructed.

  Donovan glanced at the surveillance cameras that gave viewpoints of over thirty areas. He grinned. “No need. Swanny’s with her and he doesn’t looked pleased that he wasn’t included in the invite.”

  “God save us from newlyweds,” Joe said in disgust.

  Everyone in the room shot him knowing grins from all directions.

  “Oh your time is coming, baby brother,” Garrett said smugly. “And I predict you’re going to fall harder than all of us put together.”

  Joe lifted his middle finger amid laughter from everyone else.

  P.J. and Skylar, the two
female members of KGI, had made their way to where Honor stood, either out of solidarity so she wasn’t surrounded by so much testosterone or because they were simply being nice.

  “How are you doing, Honor?” P.J. asked quietly. “Really.”

  There was something in this woman’s eyes that told Honor she’d seen and endured horrific things and that she knew what Honor was going through and had gone through.

  She smiled, though it felt more like a grimace. “In the beginning, not so good. But now . . . I’m hopeful. If I can get a certain arrogant male to pull his head out of his ass, things will be great.”

  Skylar hooted with laughter, drawing suspicious stares from her male teammates. She just gave them an innocent smile that in no way allayed the nervousness in their eyes.

  P.J. still regarded Honor seriously. “No matter how it goes, what happens, whether you’re able to make Hancock see reason, that man loves you. Every person in this room can tell you how much he loves you. Hancock is a hard man. No one here would have thought he was capable of loving anyone, but over time, we began to see bits and pieces of humanity and we realized that Hancock was a product of his training, and he’s lethal, but he has a heart. He’s a good man, Honor.”

  Honor smiled. “I know. And thank you.” She touched the other woman’s hand. “That meant a lot to me. And I’m glad I’m not the only one who sees past the facade.”

  The door opened and Honor’s heart jumped when an absolutely stunning, tall blond woman walked gracefully inside, flanked by a man a few inches taller than her with heavily scarred features and a muscled body that rivaled that of any of the males already in the compound.

  Eden’s eyes widened when she saw that all of KGI was assembled, and she glanced fearfully at the man at her side, who Honor assumed was her husband. He pulled her into his side and pressed a kiss to her temple.

  “It’s okay, honey,” he reassured.

  Sam walked over and gave Eden a warm hug. “Thank you for coming so quickly. There is someone here who is very anxious to run Hancock to ground, and we wondered if you could be of any help to her?”

  Eden’s brow scrunched in confusion, but before she could scan the room for the source of the “she” who needed her help, Sam pulled her to the side and spoke to her in low tones that didn’t carry to the others.

  At first Eden looked stricken. Then tears glittered brightly in her unusually colored eyes and then she smiled, relief so stark in her expression that Honor wondered what on earth Sam was saying to her.

  When Sam started to lead Eden to where Honor still stood, Eden flew around him and then threw her arms around a stunned Honor. Eden hugged her fiercely and a shudder of emotion quaked through the woman’s body as she clung to Honor.

  When she finally pulled away, she was smiling broadly, a sheen of tears in her eyes. Honor looked at her in complete bewilderment when Eden took both Honor’s hands in hers and held on nearly as tightly as she’d hugged her.

  “You have no idea how long I’ve prayed for this day,” Eden said, emotion thick in her voice. “Guy was so lost as a young boy. My mother and father took him in. He was every bit as much their son as my two older brothers, Raid and Ryker. My family is the only family Guy has ever known.”

  She turned and beamed at the rest of KGI, and they all groaned. She turned back to Honor, a smug smile on her face.

  “They’re just pissed because Guy is my family and now KGI is my family, which makes Guy and KGI family. A fact that neither are particularly thrilled about. But they’ll get over it,” she said cheerfully. “Especially now that you’re here. You’re going to change Guy’s life.”

  “She’s already changed it,” Conrad said, speaking up for the first time.

  The other members of KGI scowled at Conrad as if only just remembering he’d accompanied Honor. Honor scowled just as fiercely at them.

  “Don’t you ever look at him like that. He’s my family and Guy is going to be my family, which will make Eden family and by proxy you as well. Therefore Conrad is now also your family.”

  Conrad looked poleaxed. His look of astonishment was comical. KGI just chuckled, and she heard mutters about women ruling the world.

  “I know you’re in a hurry, so I won’t delay you any longer,” Eden said to Honor. “Guy is at my father’s house with my two brothers, and according to them, he’s been in such a black mood ever since he arrived that they’re ready to murder him in his sleep.”

  Honor looked to Sam, her heart in her throat, and his entire gaze softened.

  “Will you take me to him?” she asked hesitantly.

  Sam closed the short distance between them and enfolded her in a hug. “Of course, sweetheart. Just as soon as the jet can be fueled and ready to go.”

  Then he turned and grinned at his brothers. “So who wants to go witness the greatest takedown ever known to mankind?”

  A chorus of whoops, hooyahs and oorahs exploded through the room, and Honor looked at Sam with even more bewilderment. Were they all crazy?

  He smiled. “Don’t mind us. We’ve waited a long damn time for Hancock to prove he’s goddamn human after all.”

  He turned to Eden. “Call your father, honey, and tell him to sit on Hancock and not to let him out of his sight until we get there.”

  Then he barked a series of orders so they could be in the air in no more than a half an hour.

  • • •

  BIG Eddie Sinclair got off the phone and turned to his sons, Raid and Ryker.

  “That was Eden,” he said in a puzzled voice. “She wants us to sit on Hancock and make sure he goes absolutely nowhere until she gets here. She says she has the cure for what ails him.”

  “Well, thank fuck someone does,” Raid said darkly. “I’ve had all the self-loathing and pity a man can take.”

  “A-fucking-men,” Ryker said in a fervent voice.

  CHAPTER 46

  EDEN led the way to the front door of her family’s home. It was a good thing dusk had fallen, because there was no way they wouldn’t have drawn attention with over twenty badass operatives trailing Honor, Eden and Swanny, who never left his wife’s side.

  The door opened before Eden could even knock, and standing in the doorway was a man Honor assumed was her father and her two older brothers. Guy’s family.

  The three men’s gaze swept from Swanny to Eden and then finally settled on Honor, shock reflecting in their eyes.

  The older brother shook his head. “No way,” he murmured.

  “No fucking way,” his younger brother agreed.

  Eden’s father smiled when before his features had been etched with worry and grief. He suddenly looked younger, the deep grooves easing as he stared at Honor.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said in an awed tone. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

  It just pissed Honor off and she put both hands on her hips, glaring down the male members of Eden’s family.

  “What is wrong with you people? Treating Guy like he’s not human or capable of humanity. I don’t know which is worse. Him believing himself to be lacking a soul or his family believing it.”

  Eden’s brothers burst into laughter, but her father’s entire grizzled face softened. He took the two steps toward Honor and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug that had her holding back. She might have disguised her pregnancy well, but a hug that hard would reveal the taut baby bump she carried.

  “Welcome to the family, my dear. We’ve waited a very long time for someone like you to turn Hancock’s world upside down. My name is Eddie and these are my sons, Raid and Ryker.” He pointed to indicate who was who.

  And then as if just noticing the horde of burly men standing several feet behind Eden, Swanny and Honor, Eden’s father gave his daughter an inquisitive look.

  “Eden? Who are all these people in my front yard?”

  “Oh, they’re here to witness Guy’s downfall,” Eden said cheerfully. “It’s dark so you can’t see them, but they’re KGI.”

  “Natha
n? Joe?” Ryker asked as he stepped in front of his dad to see who all had accompanied Eden and Honor.

  Eddie’s face lightened in recognition as he saw the rest of his son-in-law’s team step forward to greet the Sinclairs.

  Skylar was forcibly hugged by Eddie and Ryker while Zane exchanged handshakes with the men.

  “It’s good to see you, sir,” Joe spoke up. “As for why the entire KGI organization is here? There was no way in hell we were going to pass up the opportunity to witness Hancock brought to his knees by a woman barely over five feet. We intend to make sure he never lives it down. Not even Steele provided this much entertainment when he got his balls served on a platter to him by his wife.”

  “Fuck you,” Steele said rudely from the shadows he hadn’t yet emerged from.

  “Hello?” Honor growled, impatience and frustration evident in her voice. “Where is he?”

  “I’ll be more than happy to take him to you myself,” Raid said smugly.

  “Well, come on in,” Eddie said to the large group assembled. “I suppose we’ll see the two of them eventually. We’ll be much more comfortable in the living room.”

  Leaving the others, Raid led her up the stairs and down a long hallway to the room at the very end. He paused and then looked down at her, his expression utterly serious.

  “If you can bring him back to us, you will forever be in my debt. He’s given up, Honor. He has absolutely no will to live, and he’s in so much pain that I can’t even bear to look at my own brother.”

  “Oh, he’s coming back,” she vowed. “If I have to knock him out, tie him up and drag him back home, I’m not leaving here without him.”

  Raid chuckled and leaned down to kiss her brow. “You know what? I believe you, little sister.” Then his expression became serious again. “Do you want me to go in first?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Guy would never hurt me. You should be worried I’ll hurt him. But, no. This is private. I don’t want anyone in there but me and him.”

  Raid nodded and started back down the hall. She waited for him to disappear before she turned back to Guy’s door. Her hand hovered over the knob, afraid the door would be locked and he’d refuse to let her in. Then she shook her head. There were over twenty people downstairs who could easily break down the door. One way or another she was going in.

  To her relief, when she quietly twisted the knob, it was unlocked and the door opened a fraction. Still, she hesitated, because for all her bravado and determination, she was terrified he wouldn’t even look at her. Acknowledge her. Listen to her.

  From inside came an irritated growl. “I said to leave me the fuck alone. What don’t you interfering assholes understand about that?”

  Honor shoved open the door all the way, stomping into the bedroom, her hands on her hips. When Hancock saw her he nearly fell off the bed. He scrambled to sit up, his face drawn with shock. And then so much grief and regret and self-loathing replaced his initial shock and it nearly brought her to her knees.

  In that moment she knew she would have to be the strong one. She couldn’t allow an ounce of past hurts in her eyes, because it would destroy him and he’d never listen to her. He’d never hear her. He’d drive her away, convinced that he’d only hurt her again and again. At least one of them had sense, and it wasn’t him at the moment.

  So instead of throwing herself into his arms like she ached to do and cry for all that had been lost and how much she loved him, she was going to have to dish out some tough love.

  “Is that any way to speak to your family?” she demanded, her foot tapping on the floor in reprimand.

  “Honor?”

  His voice was shaken, so hoarse that her name was nearly indecipherable, his eyes ravaged by grief and pain. So much hurt that her throat closed up on her, rendering her momentarily unable to speak. She forgot all about tough love and being the bitch.

  She couldn’t stand the distance between them any longer, and she flung herself at his body so he had no choice but to catch her or be bowled over by her. Her hands came to rest on his cheeks as she stared down at the stirrings of hope in Guy’s eyes. He swallowed and then looked away, as if refusing to even entertain such an emotion, but she wouldn’t have it. She too had refused herself hope, and she’d been wrong. She should have fought, like she was prepared to fight now. It was a battle she couldn’t lose or it would destroy her. She wouldn’t lose.

  She firmly guided his face back to hers and simply stared him down until he finally, reluctantly lifted his eyes and met her gaze.

  “Yes, it’s me,” she said in a husky voice. “And I have to tell you, Guy Hancock, I am not very happy with you right now.”

  “Why should you be?” he asked in a pained voice.

  She made a sound of exasperation. “You didn’t betray me, and we both know it. Or you should. If you weren’t so bent on convincing yourself that you’re this horrible monster, you’d realize you did not betray me.”