20
Zander
“Are you sure about this?” Vincent asked again. It was probably the third time.
“I trust her,” Zander answered again. “Look, you can ask all you like, Vin, but we’re doing this. I like the plan. I think it’s ingenious. Now, I’m not a planner, so that might be something you should take into consideration, but James, Elijah, and Quinn were all okay, so why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because it puts her in danger.”
He sighed, straightening up from tying up his boots. He spread his hands in defeat. “Then she’s in danger. She’ll either be in danger with me around or without me around, and…the jungle taught me I would rather be around for the danger and see it than be in the dark. And I can help her. My abilities are perfect for this work.” Zander picked up his shirt and pulled it on, then a black long-sleeved shirt. “Vin, are you really that worried about this?”
“You did yell at her for running into the woods the other night to go after Naseem.” There was his answer. He was worried. Vincent was very worried, if he was trying to get Zander to be an ass and stop this plan.
“And I apologized literally a couple of moments later. I freak out, I know, but going into this with a plan should help me keep my head with her. I’m slow to learn, but I can be her teammate and know that she’s very much capable of taking care of herself.” He had to learn that lesson the hard way out in the Amazon. She’d been fine, in a loose sense of the word. Sure, he would love to hide her away and keep her safe, but he knew it would only upset her. It was also unnecessary. She was tough; she always had been. “Vin, you need to trust us.”
“I do, but I guess with everything else, I have a feeling this could go bad. It has me worried.”
“The likelihood we’re going to see any action tonight is very small,” Sawyer said as she walked into the bedroom. She must have heard them talking. “Vincent, tonight will be more of a stakeout on the guards, than waiting for the Triad. Even with how fast they move, it took them a few days to come after me when my identity went public.”
“I hope you’re certain.” Vincent reached out to her, and Zander watched her walk into his arms, running her hands up his chest.
“I’m never certain, per se. I can say the probability is in my favor. I’m armed to the teeth just in case.”
“I know,” he murmured, leaning to kiss her neck.
Zander held back a growl, not of jealousy, but of want. Damn, he thought it was hot to see her getting loved on by the guys. It made him think she was taken care of. Even when he couldn’t, someone else was making sure she knew exactly how fucking beautiful she was.
Vincent’s eyes met his over her shoulder and an eyebrow went up. Zander must have looked like an idiot.
“I’m not into whatever you’re thinking.”
He nearly laughed. “I was thinking how it’s good to see her so taken care of by all of us.”
“I bet you were.”
Zander snorted, looking away.
Sawyer glanced back at him, frowning. “What are you two saying?” she asked perceptively.
“Nothing of any importance,” Vincent murmured, kissing her cheek. “You should go before I try to keep you, something James wouldn’t appreciate.”
“Of course,” she agreed softly, kissing their leader back, holding his face so he couldn’t pull away. It was so tender, like her lips were showing how she intended to caress the Italian later. There was always something so private about the way those two interacted.
Damn, he liked watching her kiss them too now. Zander shifted uncomfortably. He liked watching those dark eyes grow warm with a heat when she looked at the others. He never thought it would all work out so well for him. He figured he would have bouts of jealousy every now and then as this went on, but so far, he was perfectly okay. He even enjoyed it.
“Let’s go, everyone!” Elijah called out.
“Ah, yes, saved by the cowboy,” Vincent crooned. “Go. I’ll try and sleep, I promise.”
“You might want to tell James what you’re up to,” she said as they walked out of the bedroom.
“I’m…considering it, but there’s too much of a risk he might trust Thompson with it. That I can’t risk at all. Thompson would have my head.”
“Are you sure?” Zander brought his eyebrows together.
“Positive, because while he’s in charge of the IMPO, he’s also the WMC’s dog and there’s nothing anyone can do about that.” He waved them away as he entered the kitchen and they crowded at the front door. “All of you stay safe, okay?”
Zander wanted to brush the concern off, looking away. He was uncomfortable with just how close they all seemed to be getting. Something in the group had only grown tighter together since Sawyer stormed into their lives.
It wasn’t a bad thing; it just made him a little uncomfortable. Like how comfortable the relationship was with all of them in her bed and her heart. He got uncomfortable with the comfortable. It made no sense to him.
But it was good for them, and that was something he couldn’t deny.
They left, shaking hands and giving the other guys well wishes before heading out.
“James isn’t coming with us?” Quinn asked softly as they loaded into the SUV.
“He’s going to keep an eye on the other building tonight for us, so we’re all together.” Sawyer turned on the vehicle. “It’s no problem.”
“Okay.”
Zander looked back at Quinn to make sure he was really ‘okay’ and sure enough, he took what Sawyer said without any sort of complaint, vocal or visual.
They drove to the safehouse in silence after that. Zander mentally prepared himself for anything to go wrong. He knew everyone in the car was. They had been through too much at this point to not be prepared for anything. The Druid had taught them to take nothing for granted, even a night that seemed peaceful.
Sawyer beat them inside when they arrived, parking and jumping out without a word. He caught a glimpse of everything she had on her. From the daggers to the kukri and her throwing knives, she was armed like she was going to war, and in a way, he felt like she was.
Something was different about her. When she told them about her plan with trying to bait the Triad, the only thing he could think was that it was something he would do. She was in a zone he wasn’t used to seeing: the professional, the best in the business. While it was a plan he would make, it was done better by her, since she knew all the ins and outs. She’d found weaknesses in the security that he didn’t understand.
She had a reputation for a reason.
As they walked inside, he sent a grin to Elijah, trying to keep the mood somewhat light. “So, you’ve been better since the trip to Atlanta. I’m sorry for how that ended.”
“I’m not,” Elijah replied, grinning as well, his eyes going down as they walked inside.
Zander followed his gaze to her ass and chuckled. “I mean about the press,” he said lightly. “But I can agree with the sentiment.”
“She likes it rough,” the cowboy purred, as if he was imagining that night all over again.
“Don’t I know it.” God, he loved when she was in the mood to play dirty and get a little painful. Zander fell for that sort of violent passion hard, and she had it. Not always. He could see why she also liked the intimacy of Vincent, but when she needed the harder passion, he liked knowing she came to him.
“As for the press.” The cowboy sighed heavily. “Well, look where it’s gotten us. She’ll be fine, though. I think. She was hit pretty hard with it at the moment, but she’s done well getting on with things. I can’t even begin to relate, you know, but I tried that night to just remind her that hey, none of those motherfuckers matter.”
“They don’t. They can take their opinions and shove them up their asses.” Zander snorted, shaking his head as he remembered how people were talking. Now, he didn’t know what was being said. The situation had them all pulled away from looking at the news and keeping an eye on it. He
did know that the world knew she was nearly assassinated in her home, and maybe that was changing things. “I’m glad you were there with her that night. You’re big enough to be intimidating as hell.”
“Yeah and I might have committed assault against a cameraman. I melted his camera and made him drop it to prove I was capable of violence if they didn’t let us go through to get to the truck.”
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier? Think anyone will press charges?” Zander crossed his arms, considering the cowboy.
“I didn’t say anything because they weren’t going to press charges. No one is going to press charges on an IMPO Special Agent, no matter the situation. Please.”
“Guys, focus,” Sawyer ordered. “Come with me.”
Zander went to her and they followed her to a room on the top floor of the hotel. It was completely empty, except for several chairs.
“There’s a few rooms up here that didn’t get filled. Being so high up, the idea of someone climbing up to get in the building is very slim. The other agents didn’t even consider thinking up, but I did. Coming in from the top is the easiest way to get anywhere, since most places don’t consider it.” She pointed down at the floor. “Three of the four floors below us are all soldiers, but one is the Councilmen.”
“And this room is above one of them and not over an officer’s room on the same floor,” Elijah muttered. “Damn, woman.”
Zander wouldn’t have considered that.
“I once made a multi-floor phase drop - the job I was working when Axel showed up and led to all of this. It’s possible. They will move slower and quieter, but this is their best way of getting in a Council member’s room. From this, they can get into all the other rooms and do what they need to do. Since they can mask their magic, something I wish I fucking knew how to do, no one would even know they’re there.”
“I’m beginning to see why the IMPO has always had such a hard time catching assassins,” Zander mumbled, looking down at the floor still. Christ. No one ever considered this sort of shit. It was just too ridiculous. Coming in from the top and going down? Phasing through floors like this? Having the ability to mask their magic so no other Magi could feel them?
“Now, all but three rooms on this floor are also full. So, they will choose to go through the empties instead of an occupied room, if they can. They could try the stairs, but I’ve put guards in there. They’ll need to do the drops and hope they don’t wake occupants.”
“And why don’t they just hit the transports to and from the WMC again?” Elijah asked it but Zander was also curious.
“Because not even the best assassins want to deal with a crowd of alert, armed soldiers ready to open fire on something that blinks at them funny. We all know that IMAS is very good at transfers, where the IMPO falters in it. It’s why IMAS is in charge of that side of security.” Sawyer shrugged. “Just call it a professional rule. We don’t fuck with armed IMAS vehicles. The soldiers work in larger, more coordinated groups than the IMPO and they’re highly trained. You do know that it’s Spec Ops that are doing the transports, right? Yeah, no thanks.”
He really couldn’t find a fault in her logic, but then, he wasn’t Vincent or Jasper. He figured Elijah and Quinn were also at a loss. “So you want…what?” he asked, sitting down in a chair.
“One person in each room. If anything happens, raise the biggest fucking alarm you can. Take down whoever you can without getting hurt. We’re all so close together that it’ll be simple to get where you are. One of us, probably Quinn or I, will be roaming the hall instead, ready to be the first person jumping in to help.”
“Me,” Quinn said. “I’m the most powerful here.”
“It’s easy to get the jump on you, though,” she whispered, reaching out to him. “Remember Camila?”
“Remember I’m immensely more powerful than you, and she was immensely more powerful than me. She also caught me in the dark.” Quinn sighed. “You know I never really thought I would win that fight, only give you all space and time to run. We’ve spoken on this.”
“And you think you’ll be better here? Without bringing the building down?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Zander never thought he’d see the day when someone would question Quinn, of all people. But she did it and he just took it, like he was ready for her to judge him for the best outcome for their…pack, as Quinn would call them.
“Then you can be in the hall. I like the idea; I just needed to make sure you were confident in it.” She smiled. “All right, everyone. Places.”
Zander took two steps closer to her and kissed her for as long as possible, until he felt her push gently on his chest. When he pulled back, he saw her hooded eyes staring at his chest, her fingers curling into his shirt. “Be safe,” he whispered. “If anything happens, we’ll get here as fast as possible.” He couldn’t just walk away without saying it. He needed her to know, always, that he would fight for her like a fucking madman if the situation called for it.
“And I’ll get to you,” she promised in return.
He left, the other guys also saying their ‘be safes’ and such before following him. He picked the room towards the end of the hall, figuring that with his telepathy, it would be easy for him to get help even at the distance. He was still in range of his team for his telepathy to work, so it didn’t worry him. He could also shield and heal, so if they took time to get to him, then he could remain safer.
He settled into a chair in the room and just waited, keeping his mind awake and alert only through the training he’d received with the IMPO.
It was a long night - and a boring one at that.
Sawyer, at dawn, was pleased to be right with her assumption that the Triad wouldn’t attack yet, but for Zander, it was almost bad. It felt like the stakes grew every second that nothing happened.
21
Sawyer
After two nights of nothing, Sawyer was beginning to lose her patience, but she didn’t allow it to affect her focus. Getting ready for the third night, she had an itch, something whispering to her that something was going to happen, but she ignored it. It was an itch she had every night.
And every night, she reached into her bag and her fingers grazed her mask. She itched to wear it for this, but the words of the boy haunted her. It might break, and she would need it later.
Fucking future sight. She had no idea if the boy spoke any truth, but it stuck in her mind like a knife carving a scar. Even when the knife was removed, it would always be there, haunting her.
“I don’t like this schedule,” Vincent whispered, looking at her from across the room. “I don’t like you all there every night without Jasper and I.”
“We’re fine,” she reminded him. “Seriously. We’ve got this. We have a ton of backup in the building if anything goes fucking tits-up.”
“I know, but that backup isn’t us.”
“How’s your investigation going?” she asked, hoping to hear anything other than his worry.
“We haven’t found anything, which is getting quite disappointing. It would be nice to have one of them captured and forced to talk.”
She had a feeling capturing the Triad would be the easy part, and even that was going to be one of the most challenging things she’d ever done. Getting one of them to talk? That was going to be nigh impossible. She didn’t say any of that to Vincent. She knew, with or without a Triad member, he would figure it out. She believed in him.
“You’re also working around not giving anything away. Look, maybe tomorrow you should take the leash off and just go wild. You’re holding yourself back, trying to play this quietly.” Sawyer watched him as she said it. She watched his eyes narrow just a little, enough to make her realize her words landed the way she had hoped.
“I’m not holding myself back.”
“You are. The secrecy, the lack of trust. Get wild. Be the leader you know you are. And shit,” she really didn’t want to say this next part, “channel some of Axel. He got what
he wanted because he ran through it with the exact same sort of perceptive mind you have, but he didn’t let anything hold him back, like the possibility of getting into trouble.”
He was glaring now, and she felt bad, but it needed to be said.
Axel was a maniac, an abusive monster, but none of them had ever denied that he was very good at what he did as a criminal. If his intelligence and abilities had been good, he would have been a force no criminal could have stood against. Sadly, he’d gone down a darker path thanks to insanity.
Vincent had the same keen mind, but he was quieter and rougher than his brother. He was holding back so people didn’t compare him to Axel and she could understand that, she really could. But they needed the mind he and his brother were both known for, not the man who wanted to shed the mantle of being one of the two Castellos.
“I’ll think about it.” He dropped whatever he was holding and walked out of the room, leaving her to finish putting on her weapons.
She had a feeling he was upset with her, and that was fine. They would talk it out when this was over. She just said what she felt needed to be said, because it wasn’t time for the word games or the playing around.
She left the room and found Jasper in the kitchen with James, who was going to stay in, feeling comfortable with the security at the other safehouse now. She wrapped an arm around Jasper and leaned on him for a moment.
For three days, they had barely seen each other. Normally, she wasn’t a needy person, or clingy at all, but the last time she’d been without them had been thinking they could possibly be dead in the jungle. Now, not having them all the time sort of worried her. She couldn’t keep her eyes on them. Something could happen to them, and that would kill her.
“How are you?” she asked softly, her forehead on his shoulder.
“I’m good. Miss you, miss being home, hate all of this, but good otherwise.” He gave a weak chuckle and kept cutting the carrots for some stew that was being made. She would be eating those leftovers at dawn.
The Redemption Saga Box Set Page 123