by A. J. Macey
“And miss you curling into me? No way,” he teased, his voice radiating through the earpiece. His prodding had me pulling back enough to look at him, my eyes narrowed on his covered face.
“I hate you so much right now,” I hissed. “I do not like heights.”
“Ah, I got you, Ev. I won’t drop you. You just have to trust me,” he countered, his icy blue eyes lighting up in humor at my expense.
“Head in the game,” Kane’s voice barked through the comm.
“Aye aye, Boss,” he exclaimed sarcastically. “Don’t get your tie into a knot there, Kane. We’re almost to the roof.”
“Ties are supposed to be knotted, Wings,” I added with a smile, not that he could see the smile behind my face covering.
“Ugh,” Kane grumbled inaudibly, and before I knew it, the solid cement of the roof was under my feet.
“Be right back, Sparky, Bubble Boy,” Declan sassed, turning to Carson with the last statement before jumping off the room.
“He really is quite obnoxious, isn’t he?” Harrison questioned, both Carson and Acer immediately agreeing vehemently. After another five minutes, all five of us were collected on the roof. Without much banter, we moved onto the next step of the plan. The vents.
With the heater currently running to warm the building, it was hot. At least it’s after hours. This sucks, but it could’ve been a lot worse. Although by the time I had made it to the proper vent—Granger in the lead, then Carson and Harrison—I was sweaty and panting.
“Ten seconds to get through before the lock resets. Door’s open in three, two, one… now,” Acer counted down after we were lined up. We hustled through, my adrenaline pumping as he counted down the time left to pass through. Harrison managed to close it right in time, making me breathe a little easier.
“Alright, split up. We have exactly twenty minutes to locate what we’re looking for,” Granger explained, standing next to their designated door with Carson. Nodding, Harrison and I hurried to the floor below us as they entered. Following the same procedure as before, we made it through the next doorway.
Even through my face mask, the scent of paper and dust was overwhelming, and I had to actively keep from coughing or sneezing. Going to the front of the record files and shelves, I started scanning the names for anything to do with the Legion Council, Councilman Rosen, or Devon Carter. Harrison scanned his way through the back of the room, both of us working toward the center.
“Ten minutes left,” Acer reminded us. Not knowing if the others had found anything, a spike of adrenaline rushed through me again. Would this all be for nothing?
“Status report?” Kane questioned, clearly thinking the same thing.
“Nothing,” Granger and Carson both stated, followed quickly by Harrison. Right as I opened my mouth to say the same, I saw a box labeled Council Expansion. Yanking it off the shelf, I fingered through the files quickly.
“Evera?” Kane asked, his tone holding a hint of warning that if I didn’t answer, I was sure to get another spanking. Finally, after another couple seconds, I found a folder of interest. Why would they need a folder for an ‘Executive Private Account’ for an expansion project?
“I think I’ve got something,” I mumbled distractedly, my eyes scanning the papers. “They’re embezzling money from the city, but I can’t find what for other than a case or file number that’s listed for the records at… fuck a duck,” I hissed, grinding my teeth at what I read. “The council building.”
First, breaking into a bank.
Now, to break into The Legion Council headquarters.
That is definitely a terrible idea.
October 18th
Friday Overnight
Acer
Evera was antsy, her lightning zipping from one finger to the next as we drove back to The Syndicate. The half of the squad who rode in the van with us was quiet, lost in thought about what she had found. Embezzling, not like that's much of a surprise, I grumbled, turning into the garage of the building. The information on what it's for being in the council building? Also, not much of a surprise, but it's a hell of a wrench in our plans. Climbing out, I intertwined my fingers with Angel's, squeezing slightly in an attempt to comfort her.
“So,” I started, plopping into the chair I always sat in when we reached the usual workroom. “What’s the plan now?”
“Is there any way we can get that information online?” Kane asked, taking his seat and fixing his gaze on me for an answer. I shook my head, already knowing the Legion Council kept all information locked up tight within a secure internal network or on paper within the building.
“Guess this means we’re breaking into the council building,” Granger groaned, his hand running down his face.
“How are we going to do that? The whole reason we haven’t yet is it was way too much of a risk,” Carson challenged, his tone sincere for once.
“What are you thinking, Silas?” Evera asked softly, her eyes narrowed on the psychic as though she saw something the rest of us didn’t. Silas’ lip curled slightly at being caught.
“The charity event next week. If we can move it to the council building, that’s our way in,” he explained as if it were really so simple.
“What charity event?” Declan questioned. I had almost forgotten he was in the room until he spoke since he’d chosen to stand in the corner and watch instead of sitting in a chair like the rest of us.
“The Annual Fall Gala and Charity Ball,” Kane stated, his hand rubbing his eyes. “Is it possible to get the event moved to the council building in a week?” Everyone looked at me with questioning expressions and expectant gazes.
“Why the hell do you all think I can do it?” I huffed, throwing my arms up in the air.
“Well, can you?” Harrison asked with a brow raise.
“Of course, I can,” I scoffed. “But you people really need to remember that whole phrase about assuming. I’ll get to work, so the event can only be run at the council building. I’m thinking something with electrical issues in the original space, and by the Legion Council’s generous offer, they’ll be able to use it as a last-minute place,” I explained, shifting to stand up. “Since this is going to be very intensive on my end for such a short timeline, no one bother me unless you’re Evera. Otherwise, I may or may not hack into your bank account and steal all of your shit,” I warned, walking out of the room. “Oh, and bring me lots of popcorn and orange soda.”
“So bossy,” Evera teased with a smile. Throwing her a wink and an air kiss, I left the room, already tallying all the things I had to do to pull this off.
Good thing for them, I’m one of the best.
15
October 18th
Friday Overnight
Evera
After Acer left, the rest of the guys quickly followed. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I turned to Kane. It was my first time truly alone with him since we’d fucked in his office, meaning it was the first time I could ask him about his past like Silas had suggested. It might not have been the best timing since we had such big shit coming up, but who knew when we’d get another moment to ourselves. Here goes nothing. Just dive right in, Evera.
“Kane, what does your tattoo mean?” I murmured, avoiding his piercing dark brown gaze. My eyes focused on the arcs that jolted between my fingers, betraying this topic was somehow emotional for me.
“Let me guess. Silas?” he murmured softly, no anger littering his words, “Come here, Blue.” His left arm reached out toward me while the other unbuttoned his shirt enough for me to see the ink on his chest. Getting up, I laid my mask, hat, and gloves on my chair and walked over to his waiting arms. Kane situated me sideways in his lap, the pads of his fingers tracing gently over my shirt, leaving a trail of goosebumps across my back.
“I'm not going to like this story, am I?” I whispered, a sense of melancholy radiating over me at Kane's sad frown.
“No, but you need to hear it. It'll explain a lot. It won't make up for us leaving you,
but I hope you'll understand why.” Leaning against his chest, I hooked my arm around his shoulders and neck, my other hand tracing the tattoo as he started to talk.
“I had started The Syndicate as a teenager with a couple of my friends. At first, it was just some kids talking about wanting to change the world even though it was more of a gang than anything of use. But then the Rad Wave hit, and my older sister Beth was killed during the blast, leaving Carson without a home and both of us struggling to get food and basic medical care. The council and the city’s elite hoarded everything following the disaster, and that's when the dream of what we wanted to do with The Syndicate became a reality. Before that, it had been a theft or robbery here and there from those we had seen mistreat others or abuse their power within the city, but after that, there was more riding on our jobs. People were getting sick, and no one willing to help the little guys on the outskirts of the magnificent Vega City center.
“This rose is for her,” he explained, pointing to the first rose. “Over the years, The Syndicate grew into its own, expanding and growing until we were able to make a difference, however small, and I found myself taking care of not only Carson but these two orphans who seemed to be attached at the hip to my nephew.” His words made me smile despite the tears that burned my eyes, a wave of watery shapes that grew in my gaze as they threatened to spill over.
“Until one day, a Legionary got a hold of a name.” He looked at me, brushing my hair from my eyes. “The name Evera Quinn.” I felt my heart jump, unable to stop the gasp that left my lips. “We were able to find the man, and Silas was able to mask his memories to the point, he wouldn’t remember who you were or how you were connected to us. Unfortunately, there had been a photo, so we had to hire someone to hunt it down. It was a race against the clock to make sure the council hadn’t gotten your name.
“At that point, Rett had already told us he wanted you as far from Syndicate related stuff as possible so you wouldn’t be put in danger. Carson and I could stay in his life, and yours, but only if we made sure to always keep you safe. We fucked up, Evera. We failed, and when he found out about what happened, he made us promise to stay away from you for your protection. Carson and I cared about you and Rett so much, even though it hurt us both, we had to make the choice that would give you a chance at a life where you wouldn’t be hunted down. Where you couldn’t be stolen away and used as a tool for the council. We didn’t like it, but we agreed. The next day, I got the call. You were a witness to a double homicide, and Rett hadn’t been saved.
“We had a decision to make—be selfish and bring you with us or respect what Rett had wanted.”
I choked back a sob, my body numbing as I finally realized why they’d abandoned me, but Kane wasn’t finished.
“We weren’t going to,” he admitted quietly. “We were going to be selfish, but when Carson and I got back to our original headquarters, I got word the other two men I’d started The Syndicate with had been taken.
“I thought we would be safe, that we had enough redundancies in place to not be found or that our information would leak, that you might be safe to come with us after we’d taken care of the man who’d found out your name. But I was wrong. Thankfully, it wasn't all of our information, but enough, we had to run.” Kane paused to take a deep breath, my heart cracked despite the concrete I had surrounded it with.
The explanation had been coming for ten years, but at this moment, I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep listening, too scared to admit how much it’d hurt when I lost them, too angry my brother had decided something so significant without telling me.
“I knew when I went to Rett's funeral, I wouldn't see you again until you were older, until I knew it was safe enough for you to be near us. I lied when I said I would be there for you, knowing I couldn't take the risk of trusting the two taken men wouldn’t give us up to the Legionaries. I had lost Rett… I wasn't going to lose you too.”
Hearing the words out loud hurt more than I imagined, knowing I had lost everything that meant something to me in the course of a day because Kane had chosen to leave me behind because my own brother told him to. No matter how noble the reason might seem on the surface, I felt my rage grow, tangling with the heartache and newfound betrayal.
But as much as it hurt, the part of me that had grown up knowing how to survive knew he had made the right choice. After I lost my brother, I had been too unstable to find out about his role in The Syndicate, and I would have been too much of a liability if they had taken me with them. Unfortunately, the solid memory I had of my brother crumbled, the explicit trust I thought we’d had, shattered.
“Is this for him?” I asked, my voice barely audible through the thick emotions that were strangling me. I couldn’t focus on the fact that my entire axis had just been thrown off, choosing to prompt him to continue his story as my fingers traced over the second rose, already knowing all four of the flowers were in memory of people he had lost. Kane nodded, his hand coming to cup my cheek, the rough pad of his thumb running over my cheek to wipe away the wet tracks I knew coated my skin. “And these for your partners?”
“Yes. I came, I saw, I conquered,” he explained the Latin phrasing on his chest. “As a reminder of exactly why we’re fighting. I got it after Granger and Harrison had found my two oldest friends, several months after they had been taken, strung up at our old building. They had been tortured before being killed and left as a message. For years, we lived in lockdown, running behind the scenes while expanding our reach. The council had hoped to find us through our mistakes, but it only taught us how to be better. I kept an eye on you while you were in the orphanage and at school,” he told me with a small smile, his eyes misty as he looked at me. “I was so proud when you graduated with honors despite everything that had happened. Finally, we decided when you turned eighteen, and it seemed the council wouldn't find us, we would come get you. But the moment you aged out, you disappeared. After a few years of not finding you here in Vega City or in the state, we started looking worldwide, fearing the worst.”
“I'm sorry,” I murmured, my apology cracked with emotion as a fresh wave of tears threatened to drown me. Too much, this is all too much. “I was trying to stay under the radar from the people the orphanage had brought in to test their stupid machine. I don't think they ever intended to stop until they cracked the ability to control my powers. I didn't... I didn't know you were looking for me,” I sobbed, unable to hold it in anymore. I had hidden from those who wanted to use me for my powers, but in doing so, I had been on my own with only one online friend for six years.
“Oh, Blue.” Kane wrapped me up tightly, my face buried against his neck. “Shh, please don’t cry, love. This is my fault. Knowing what I know now? I would have taken you with us in a heartbeat, but what matters now is you’re here, and I don't plan on letting you out of my sight, lest you run off and get into trouble like you always used to do,” he teased. His terrible joke made me laugh, the hysterical sound breaking up the sobs that had finally started to slow.
“I'm not going anywhere. I just got you and Carson back, and we have ten years to make up for.” Numbness spread, dulling all swirling emotions within my chest, but I knew that when the blanket pulled back, everything would flood me. Until then, I gratefully welcomed the reprieve, knowing when I had to deal with it, it would be ugly—for everyone.
“That we do, Blue, that we do. Will you”—he coughed, clearing his throat—“will you stay with me tonight? I don't want to let you go quite yet.”
I pulled back to look at him, quickly swiping at my tears. His question was soft and unsure, the complete opposite of the way Kane usually sounded, but with how wide and raw his gaze was as he looked at me, I knew I could never refuse what he asked of me.
“Yeah, Kane, I'll stay. Thank you for telling me,” I murmured with a tiny grin. The last of the grief and loss clenched around my heart one last time before finally seeping out of my system until I could only feel Kane’s arms wrapped around me.
&nb
sp; “I should have told you as soon as you came into my office, Ev, but I was afraid you would be too angry and leave.”
“At the time, I probably would have,” I admitted quietly, “but as of now, I’m not angry, Kane. I can’t promise I won’t be tomorrow or the day after that when I’ve had some time to process everything, but I'm just sleepy right now, so can we go to bed?” He chuckled at my half-hearted attempt at a pout, the deep rumbling sound radiating through me and mending some of the rough edges of my jagged heart.
“Yeah, we can. Come on.” He tilted his head toward the door as I slipped off his lap. I knew my face was bright red, my eyes puffy from crying, but Kane wrapped his hand around mine, anyway, not caring that I looked like a mess as we made our way to his office. My brows furrowed, and my head tilted. Why would he bring us here and not his room? Smirking, he walked to the wall-to-wall bookshelf he had behind his desk and reached up, pressing something on one of the top shelves. A hiss sounded, and the wooden shelf opened to reveal a hidden bedroom.
“Wow,” I breathed in wonder. The room wasn't big, but it was cozy despite the king-sized bed in the center of the room.
“Here, you can wear this to sleep in,” he offered, holding out a plain white undershirt. Taking it, I dipped my head in thanks, quickly shedding my clothes from our break-in and pulling the soft material over my head. When I turned around, my breath left my lungs. Kane stood before me, clothed in only a pair of black briefs, pulling back the blankets on his bed. Swallowing the nervous lump in my throat, I stepped to my side and slid in, nearly moaning at the silkiness of his sheets.
“Come here, Ev,” he whispered after climbing in, his arm open for me to cuddle up to him. Happy to curl up next to him, I molded myself to his muscled body, my tense and tired muscles relaxing as Kane's signature tobacco and leather cologne filled my nose.