“Sawyer?” Quinn frowned at her as he left Yasmin, who began cooking meat for them. She threw out large chunks of raw meat, including a leg, and Sawyer watched Sombra, Shade, and Scout each grab a piece and carry it away. Sombra sent Sawyer a bolt of delighted happiness.
“Sombra is happy for the meat,” she told Yasmin, ignoring Quinn for a moment.
“Capybara is her favorite. She’ll need to find something new when she leaves with you. This might be the last time she ever has it,” Yasmin explained. Sawyer loved and hated that the Druid knew more about her animal bond than Sawyer did.
“Where are your bonds?” Sawyer had yet to see them.
“Oh, I’m taking a few of my smaller ones,” Yasmin answered. She looked up and Sawyer’s eyebrows raised high as two monkeys dropped down. A parrot of some sort landed on Yasmin’s shoulder. They weren’t big predators, but having three was a show stopper. “I’m leaving Sombra’s mother to protect my children. You would like her, I think, but she and Sombra haven’t gotten along since Sombra hit her adult years. Sombra doesn’t take well to her mother’s authority anymore.”
“Of course she doesn’t,” Sawyer mumbled, glancing over to the black jaguar that was devouring the raw leg.
“Sawyer?” Quinn was annoyed. She looked up at him and smiled.
“I’m fine. I got nosy and looked through Elijah’s sketchbook. I’m just feeling a bit…emotional.”
“He is a skilled artist,” he told her, sitting down. They both watched the fire and Yasmin turned meat over on the wood with a practiced hand. “I could have told you what was in the sketchbook. He will not be happy you looked.”
“You knew?” Sawyer put the sketchbook in her lap and looked at him.
“He normally enchants his sketchbooks so they can’t be opened, but a strong enough Magi can force it and break the enchantment.” Quinn shrugged. “I got nosy one day as well.”
“You probably were just wondering what sort of secrets he had that he was trying to protect.”
“Yes. The same reason I snooped around your room when you first came to live with us,” Quinn admitted.
Sawyer smiled. How things changed. He’d been so withdrawn from her at the time, so far from her, so feral. A wolf on a leash held by a toddler, watching her like his next meal.
“Here,” Yasmin said, offering them each a piece of cooked meat. “No dishes. You’ll need to eat with your hands.”
Quinn didn’t seem concerned, taking the meat and tearing a piece off. Sawyer didn’t question it. When in Rome and all that shit. She took her own piece and hissed at the heat. It didn’t seem to bother Yasmin or Quinn, so she sucked it up and bit into the giant rat meat. Capybaras were the largest rodent in the world, she knew that. Sawyer was eating rat in the Amazon with a Druid and Quinn fucking Judge.
The places her life took her were beginning to get a bit outrageous.
“I’m sorry the fight was so hard on you,” Yasmin finally whispered.
“Excuse me?” Sawyer frowned.
“I could have helped more but I held back,” Yasmin disclosed gently. “I disagreed with Camila’s use of the animals and putting them in danger, and I didn’t want more to die in the fight. I understand why so many died, so you could put her down, but I wasn’t willing to put more in danger. Wild animals should not fight in wars made by humans.”
“I understand.” Sawyer hadn’t even thought about it. She did what she needed to do and that was it. “No worries. You don’t need to apologize. I get it. A lot of living creatures died, not just humans.”
“The ecosystem here is fragile and any more could have had serious repercussions.” Yasmin sighed. “I just wanted to explain, now that it was over.”
Silence fell over the camp.
It was over, and Sawyer didn’t really care who had done what. It was just fucking time to get the hell out of this god damn rainforest.
After they ate, Sawyer walked into the new vine hut and curled up to get sleep. Quinn tentatively laid next to her and she rolled to put her head on his chest. Yasmin laid on the other side, falling asleep quickly, with her bonds crowding around her.
Sawyer fell asleep to Quinn playing with her wild, untamed hair, his steady breathing better than a lullaby.
The next morning, they were off in silence. There was no reason to stop their progress for another couple of days and Sawyer worked hard to keep the breakneck pace that Quinn and Yasmin were pushing.
Then Yasmin stopped.
“Hold,” she ordered, tense. Quinn began to growl, and Sawyer wondered if he was going to shift down into his wolf form. She didn’t see him use it very often, but his other magic was probably better in a big fight.
Sawyer unsheathed her kukri, hoping it wouldn’t be needed. They were so close to getting out. She had no magic. She didn’t know if she could handle another fight. It would have to be Quinn and Yasmin.
“Put your hands in the air and identify yourself!” a masculine voice yelled out.
“No,” Yasmin said with boredom. “I don’t think I will.”
Vines yanked soldiers from the trees and out of bushes. Sawyer’s eyebrows wanted to leave her forehead.
“I’m Yasmin, Druid of the Amazon. I’m escorting Quinn and Sawyer to safety. You are?”
One of the soldiers was pulled closer. He was pale and Sawyer wanted to laugh.
“Gunnery Sergeant Dennis, Team Ares, IMAS Spec Ops,” he answered.
“Release them,” Quinn grunted. “They are good guys.”
The soldiers all dropped to the earth.
“I’ll recommend not threatening things you find in this area. They tend to fight back,” Yasmin told the soldiers, smiling.
“Special Agent Quinn Judge?” The gunnery sergeant looked from Quinn to Sawyer then Yasmin. “We’re here to find survivors and finish the mission.”
“Mission is complete and successful,” Quinn told him. “The Druid Camila, who killed the people of the villages and was pushing her territory out, is dead. Yasmin has agreed to play diplomat and go to New York to meet with the WMC to discuss ways of stopping this from happening in the future.”
“Well, damn,” the soldier sighed out. “Any other survivors?”
“Not that we’ve found,” Sawyer answered. “Quinn…”
“I have the dog tags of those who died in the camp,” Quinn supplied, pulling them from his pocket. Sawyer hated seeing how many of them there were. “I also buried the bodies. They had been…”
“You don’t need to finish that. Thank you for these,” Dennis replied, taking the dog tags and handing them off. “I take it you are all trying to get out of here?”
“Damn fucking right,” Sawyer mumbled. “Done playing in the goddamned dirt.”
“Come on. We have transports. We’ve only been coming in for a few days and we’ve been taking it slow, since we didn’t know the threat level.”
“Threat level is now low. We can move quickly,” Quinn informed him.
Sawyer followed her teammate through the Spec Ops team, continuing their long walk out of the jungle.
They were so close.
33
Zander
Zander paced in the hotel room he and Jasper had been given.
Days without word from the Spec Ops team in the jungle. He hoped they weren’t dead too. He really did. They were ballsy men, jumping in when they saw the destruction of the group that went before them.
“Elijah still angry at us?” Zander asked, hearing the door open. He knew it was Jasper.
“Yes, but since Vincent is letting him stay here in Brazil, he’s feeling a little better. He’s still worried out of his mind.” Jasper walked in, fell on his bed and proceeded to pull off his prosthetic.
“We’re all worried out of our minds, but…” Zander shook his head.
“We’d just get killed running out there,” the golden boy finished.
“Yeah…” Zander took a deep breath. Hardest decision of his life. Leaving hell to save people.
The healer in him knew he made the right decision, but his heart and passion were furious with him. Conflicting sides.
He’d gone with the healer half-knowing it was the thing Sawyer would have wanted him to do, but he still hated it. He should have been out there to heal her if she needed it.
“Have you seen Vincent?” he asked Jasper, who was laying out on his bed, with his shirt off now. Zander didn’t blame him. It was fucking hot.
“He’s been at the embassy for the last couple of days, talking to James and others. He and Varya are really the only two who are willing to tell outsiders what happened. The soldiers? They are all wrecks. Vincent is trying to keep us out of it.”
“What do those fucks in New York want?” Zander glared over at Jasper, annoyed.
“They want to know why the only two unaccounted-for members of our team are the ones who need to be accounted for,” he answered softly. “There’s a sneaking suspicion, it seems, that Quinn and Sawyer took the chaos as a chance to run.”
“God damn it,” Zander snapped. “Are they serious? We were slaughtered. Quinn was right. Seventy-five percent of the entire fucking mission party is dead, and they think Sawyer and Quinn ran for their freedom? They probably fought for their goddamned lives and…”
“Zander, we can’t think they’re dead yet. We can’t.”
“What else am I supposed to think?”
“That Quinn and Sawyer are the two strongest members of this team, both in experience and magic. That Quinn is epically powerful for a Magi, and Sawyer is downright fucking ruthless when she’s in a hard fight.” Jasper sighed, and Zander saw sparks, not real, dance in the air. He watched them; Jasper never used his illusion magic. It was rare, and normally only when he was insanely bored.
“I know.” He looked away from the pretty little sparks and looked at Jasper again, who was playing with a small illusion above him. Fake black smoke swirled. If Zander touched it, nothing would change.
“Get some sleep. You’re burned out and need it,” Jasper ordered him.
“I am,” Zander sighed, pulling off his shirt and falling onto his own bed. He’d burned out on the hard hike out of the jungle. He’d been fighting it. He once again tapped into his life force a little too much to keep everyone alive and with their limbs.
He and Rodriguez couldn’t save them all, but they had saved as many as they could. Not enough, but they did their best.
Zander’s eyelids were heavy, and he was half-asleep as Jasper began to sing softly. A hidden talent, Jasper’s singing was something that happened so rarely that he often forgot the golden boy could. It had been years since the last time he heard the golden boy’s voice in a quiet moment. Zander only heard it on accident, when he was trying to sleep. Jasper never shared it openly.
Zander, as the soft singing lulled him under, wondered if Sawyer knew he had such a voice.
“Zander, get up!” Jasper ordered loudly. Zander groaned, shaking his head. “Damn it, there’s news. Team Ares is back. They have them. Zander, they have Sawyer and Quinn.”
He had never woken up so fast. He promptly rolled out of the bed, scrambling for his shirt. Jasper was already running out of the room.
Zander gave up on his shirt and found shoes instead. He broke out into the hallway and saw Jasper at the elevator. They were too high to try going down the stairs. Fourteen floors. The elevator was faster.
Elijah was next, nearly running into Zander. They glared at each other, then grinned, hugging tightly.
“Vincent said he’ll meet us at the embassy. Once Sawyer and Quinn are checked for injuries, we’re flying out immediately,” Jasper called down to them. “Zander, get your shirt. Elijah, put your clothes on.”
Zander looked at the cowboy. He was only in his briefs. Elijah laughed, pushing back into his own room. Zander was shaking his head, grinning, as he went back in his room and found his shirt. They didn’t have any other clothes, theirs lost in the jungle. At least things were in New York for them. Zander knew this entire thing wasn’t over, but they were about to at least go back to their own country - one step closer to home.
He met Elijah and Jasper at the elevator. They took an SUV from the mission to the embassy and found Vincent waiting for them at the door.
“They’ll be here in about an hour. I told Jasper. Figured you would all want to shower,” Vincent said, smiling.
“Fuck that,” Zander replied, walking inside. They could smell his dirty ass; he didn’t care. Elijah was laughing at the world. It seemed everything was funny to the cowboy now. After days of his cranky ass, Zander was genuinely relieved to see Elijah smiling.
They were led to a meeting room to wait in quiet. They stayed silent, but he could feel the excitement in the air.
Sawyer and Quinn were coming back to them. They were alive. He needed to see it to believe it, but now he had hope. He hoped they were in good health, because if they weren’t, he couldn’t help them. Well, he could. He’d probably kill himself in the effort, but he would help them if they needed it.
“Do you know anything about their status?” Jasper asked Vincent, who nodded.
“They seem healthy and Team Ares says they have a few surprises in store for us and our superiors, but wouldn’t elaborate.”
Zander nodded slowly. Good. They seemed healthy. That was good. He wrapped his arms around himself. They were coming back and they didn’t need him to heal them. He leaned back in the chair, his eyes drifting closed again. He knew it was exhaustion driven by his burn out.
He was woken up by Jasper again, this time calmer, a whisper that they were nearly there. Zander nodded, his heart immediately starting to race.
He began to worry about something else, something he knew better than to worry about. Would they hate the team that left them? Would they really understand? Did they see Zander and Vincent deciding to get everyone out as a betrayal?
Zander followed everyone out of the meeting room and down in front of the embassy.
He saw the Humvees drive up.
It had been over a week since he last saw them, his lover and his friend. Even Vincent was getting antsy.
The Humvees stopped.
Zander was getting annoyed.
Soldiers poured out, but still he didn’t see Quinn or Sawyer.
“They brought back a Druid,” Elijah whispered in awe. “Shit.”
“I feel her,” Zander snapped. “I don’t care.”
“It’s not our problem anymore,” Vincent reminded them. “It’s absolutely not our problem. We’re taking them, we’re leaving for New York, wrapping up, and going home.”
Zander nodded in agreement.
Then he saw her. She was beautiful and alive. Quinn was next and glued himself to her side. He ignored how tired they looked, ignored how Sawyer stumbled slightly. He ran for her.
“Sawyer,” he gasped, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Zander!” she cried out happily, holding him as well. He spun her.
She was alive.
“Sawyer, I’m sorry,” he began quickly. “I had to make a decision. We didn’t know where you and Quinn were, but people were hurt, and many were dying and I had to…”
“It’s okay,” Sawyer cut him off, slapping a hand over his mouth. “You’re alive. The team is alive. We’re alive. It’s okay. You made the right decision.” She moved her hand away again and he nodded slowly.
“I thought I failed to save you. I trusted you and Quinn to help yourselves, but I’ve been living in fear that I failed both of you.” He needed to admit it to her. He had to.
“Thank you. Stop worrying. See? We trust each other, and things work out.” She pulled back. He released her slowly, his heart feeling less poisoned by his own hard decision. He watched her hug Vincent, then Jasper. Zander’s eyes drifted to Quinn and Elijah, who were holding on to each other like their lives depended on it.
They moved inside to the meeting room again, where Zander watched Vincent break, grab Sawyer and pull her into a kiss that
should have been private. Even Zander felt some heat rise over his cheeks as Elijah coughed in the corner to break it up.
“I’m so glad you’re alive,” Vincent whispered to her. “I love you. Don’t do that again.”
“I love you too, and I’ll try not to,” Sawyer retorted, grinning. She looked over to Zander as he sat down. She settled in next to him. “I love you too. I should have said it earlier, before this. Zander Wade, I love you. I’ll always fight my fucking hardest to come back to you. To you, Jasper, Vincent, all of you.”
“I love you,” he murmured back. He’d been hoping to hear those words for weeks now, and she’d never returned them. Now she had, and he felt like it was all fucking worth it.
“Someone open the door again,” Quinn ordered.
Jasper pulled open the door and Zander chuckled at the wolves scrambling to get inside.
They were all stunned into silence by the massive black jaguar that jumped onto the table.
“Everyone, meet Sombra. She’s a nightmare, but she’s mine…like nightmares tend to be,” Sawyer told them all, reaching out to rub the big cat’s belly.
Sombra rolled onto her back so Sawyer could really scratch the barrel chest.
“You have a new animal bond,” Vincent said, as if he was trying to make himself believe it. Zander couldn’t blame him. It was a very big cat, and of all the things that happened on this mission, this had been…a completely unconsidered possibility.
“I do, and our next guest is the one who named her.” Sawyer grinned and pulled her cat, causing the jaguar to growl. “Get off the fucking table, Sombra. Seriously. I want to eat real food on it before we leave.”
The second growl was louder than the first but Sombra got up, hopped off the table, and lay down near Shade and Scout.
Zander was still just blinking. His girl got herself a fucking jaguar for a new animal bond. That was telling.
“Next guest?” Elijah asked loudly, sounding concerned.
“Everyone meet Yasmin, Druid of the Amazon,” Quinn announced, pointing at the woman who stood just outside the door. Zander leaned over to see her out there and watched her walk in. She had to be nearly in her forties, healthy, but not young like they were. “She saved our lives after Sawyer injured Camila and rescued me.”
The Redemption Saga Box Set Page 98