Chapter 12
12
T he SUV’s tires crunch over gravel as we pull into the meeting point, a forgotten industrial lot on the edge of the city.
My body still hums with leftover passion, muscles twitching with energy that has nowhere to go. I can’t face him without remembering his hands on me minutes ago, and the knowledge that my team is waiting just ahead makes the memory dangerous. I need to stay focused.
The driver pulls up beside a row of unmarked vehicles, two black SUVs and a van with tinted windows. The rest of our team. The engine cuts, and silence settles over the vehicle while Raphael listens to a report from Sebastian on his earbud, and I move to get changed. One of the teams had intercepted a transport van with the Omegas Vince requested, but we’re still waiting to find out if Jade was one of them.
I pull a change of clothes from the duffel at my feet. The black turtleneck slides over my skin, cool against leftover heat. I unbuckle the thigh holsters, and Raphael takes them without a word while I drag on tactical pants, pockets ready for ammo and steel. Heavy boots replace the heels I had worn at the club, each layer of gear another barrier between me and the mess of anger and want still buzzing under my skin.
As I finish lacing up my boots, Raphael murmurs, “Thanks for the update.” He taps on his earpiece before turning to me. “There were three Omegas, but none of them were Jade. They’re on their way to the hospital for medical attention.”
Disappointment shoots through me. “I’m sorry.”
Raphael returns my weapons. “It would have been nice to end it there.”
End it there? With a whole warehouse filled with victims within our sights? Would he have called off the operation if they’d found Jade?
I shake off the unpleasant thoughts. “Ready?”
“Wait.” Raphael catches my arm and runs his fingers through my hair before holding out the comb with the secret microphone that was still tucked behind my ear. “Here, you don’t need this for the next mission.”
I stare at it, the realization hitting hard. Everyone on our team knows what happened, not just the guys up front. The whole team . It was one thing when I went down on Raphael to maintain our cover. But fucking him in the back seat was personal. And now it’s public.
I lift my head to glare at Raphael. “You couldn’t have pulled that out earlier?”
He smirks. “Why would I when you looked so pretty with it in your hair?”
“Fucking asshole.” I pop open my door and slide out. “Let’s go.”
We step out to face the line of waiting vehicles. The nearest door swings open, and Cassian emerges first, angry as his eyes scan me and miss nothing.
Rico follows, flipping a knife between his fingers like he just needs an excuse to bury it in Raphael’s heart. Jace steps out next, arms crossed over his chest. Then Lena appears, her braid coiled over one shoulder, flicking an icy glare at Raphael beside me.
Great. Sebastian couldn’t have diverted people for this last-minute mission who had a less-invested interest in my relationship, or lack of relationship, with Raphael?
From the other vehicle, Caleb steps out, his red-brown hair catching the dim light from the distant streetlamp. Next to him stands his cousin Ezra, who wears the gun at his side with too much confidence for his age.
He exudes the same unnerving calm as the older Rockfords, and I suddenly realize why he was brought in on this mission. His eyes flick to me, sharp and unreadable, as if already cataloguing every fault line in our fractured alliance. The division is clear. My people on one side, the Rockfords on the other, with me standing in the no-man’s-land between them.
Cassian moves first, crossing the distance to me in three long strides. His hand finds the small of my back, a gesture of possession that has Raphael bristling.
“You’re late.” Cassian’s words are for me, but his glare fixes on Raphael. “We were about to send out a search party.”
I step away from his touch, not liking how bold he’s getting. “Got held up.”
Rico snorts, flipping his knife and catching it by the handle. “Yeah, I remember how often you used to get held up when Rockford was part of the team.”
“Enough,” I snap. “We’ve got work to do.”
Lena steps forward, her face half-hidden in shadows. “Not sure why we need them for this final push. Warehouse isn’t that big.”
Raphael squares his shoulders. “I understand you disagree with how things were left?—”
“Disagree?” Jace’s posture shifts, his muscles stiffening in a rare show of fury. “Is that what you call it when you abandon your partner and leave your entire crew to burn?”
“That’s not—” Caleb begins, but Rico cuts him off.
“Save it, Red.” Rico’s knife stops spinning, the point aimed in their direction. “We’re only here to wrap up some family business, and then you’d better lose our number.”
The tension crackles between us like electricity before a storm. It burrows into my chest, hot and uncomfortable. These people are my family now, the ones who stayed when Raphael left. The ones who helped me rebuild from the ashes. And their hurt is justified.
Confusion furrows Ezra’s brow. He was too young to be involved in the old business, but he still chooses a side by moving closer to his cousins.
Raphael steps forward, and Cassian moves closer to me, a wolf guarding what he considers his territory.
The movement doesn’t go unnoticed by Raphael, whose face darkens with jealousy. “This isn’t about the past. It’s about Jade and stopping whatever operation is kidnapping and selling Omegas.”
“Convenient for you to care when it’s one of your own,” Cassian mutters.
Ezra, who’s been silent until now, finally speaks, voice smoother than expected but with a clipped precision that demands attention. “We didn’t wait for Jade to go missing. We have already been investigating for several months. We just brought you in when it became too big for us to keep handling alone.”
“Months?” Jace scoffs with disbelief. “Like you didn’t notice the crates of people coming and going alongside your artwork and cheese at the docks for over a year now?”
Caleb runs a hand through his hair, frustration evident in every line of his body. “Look, hate us if you want. But Jade is missing, and each passing hour puts him in more danger.”
The standoff tears me in half. My team is right to be angry. The Rockfords abandoned us when they decided their reputation was worth more than loyalty. But I also remember Jade, the cocky Omega with a mouth that got him in trouble more often than not. Even if he wasn’t a Rockford, I considered him part of my family at one point.
And despite everything, I’ve experienced the pain of losing someone I cared about.
“We’re wasting time,” I finally say, drawing everyone’s attention to me. “Whatever history we have, Jade doesn’t deserve what’s happening to him. And neither do the other Omegas being taken.”
Rico curses under his breath, and Lena’s expression softens a little. Jace gives a tight nod.
Cassian steps close enough for his breath to fan across my neck. “This doesn’t mean we trust them.”
“No,” I agree, staring at Raphael. “It doesn’t.”
Caleb and Ezra exchange glances, relief evident in the loosening of their shoulders. Raphael’s expression remains impassive, but I catch the brief flash of hurt before he buries it.
“Then let’s get started.” Raphael straightens, the air around him snapping back to business, all traces of our earlier encounter erased. “Sebastian’s sent over the building plans and security details.”
The group moves toward the large tactical van, still divided. Cassian stays close to my side, his hand brushing mine with a reminder of where he thinks I belong. The Rockfords lead the way, presenting a united front despite the hostile reception.
My skin still tingles in all the places that Raphael touched me earlier, and the guilt of that reaction presses down like lead in my stomach as Cassian’s protective presence hovers behind me. I’m all too familiar with how I become after a fight. I should have ridden in a different SUV until I cooled down enough to think clearly instead of letting desire take the reins.
There’s no undoing what happened, though. There’s only moving forward.
The van’s interior glows with the cold, blue light of tablet screens, turning everyone’s faces into ghostly masks as we sit on the built-in benches, huddling around the digital display of the warehouse.
I try to focus on the mission. I need to. But the ghosts in this van aren’t just projections. The convergence of my past and my present is starting to wear after so many hours on the job.
Sebastian’s plans are meticulous. Of course they are, the man leaves nothing to chance, with every security camera, guard post, and potential entry point marked in different colors.
I tap the screen to expand the blueprint, trying to focus on the mission.
But it’s hard to concentrate with Cassian pressing his thigh against mine on the left, and Raphael hovering too close on the right. Their mutual hostility crackles in the confined space, a tangible thing I can’t ignore.
“Sebastian’s intelligence suggests three rotating guard shifts.” Raphael’s finger traces a path along the perimeter of the warehouse. “Heaviest security is at the front entrance and loading bays, lighter coverage on the east side where there are only emergency exits.”
The warehouse appears on our screens like a concrete fortress, a sprawling, two-story building with high windows and multiple access points. The surrounding area is made up of empty lots and chain-link fencing, offering little cover for approach.
“Are those cameras?” Lena points to red dots clustered around the building.
“Motion-activated,” Caleb replies. “And they’ve got heat sensors.”
Rico snorts. “Fancy. Someone’s spending money to protect their investment.”
I zoom in on the interior layout, studying the divided spaces Sebastian marked as potential holding areas. “What’s their security system?”
Ezra taps his tablet, bringing up a new screen. He hasn’t said much during the planning. He lets the others debate while his fingers move swiftly across the screen, cross-referencing schematics like he’s already run six versions of this op in his head.
When he does speak, it’s brief and to the point. “Standard alarm with cellular backup, but they’ve added some custom features. Remote monitoring and silent alerts to their security team. They’re ready for trouble.”
“They should be,” Jace mutters.
Raphael leans forward, his shoulder brushing mine as he expands a section of the blueprint. The brief contact sends an unwelcome jolt through my system, and Cassian shifts closer, his arm a warm reminder that he’s there to protect me from Raphael. As if.
“Sebastian thinks the Omegas are being kept here.” Raphael indicates a section at the back of the warehouse. “Reinforced doors, separate ventilation system.”
“Like a prison.” I study the layout. “Or a kennel.”
The words hang in the air. These people aren’t just trafficking Omegas. They’re treating them like animals. Anger rises, clean and sharp, cutting through the confusion of my personal feelings.
“What’s the approach?” Jace asks, all business despite his earlier hostility.
Raphael straightens, leaning back against the weapons lockers to address the whole group. “Three teams. First team takes out the exterior guards and security systems. Second team breaches and clears the main floor. Third team extracts the Omegas.”
While Raphael explains the plan, Ezra moves through the logistics, clearly already ten steps ahead, fielding questions, pulling data, adjusting strategy. Where Raphael pushes, Ezra calibrates. It’s not rivalry, it’s two versions of leadership, and one is bleeding trust while the other is building it.
Case in point, the division of assets.
Cassian’s chin juts out. “And who decides these teams?”
Raphael shrugs. “I assumed we’d play to everyone’s strengths.”
“Our strengths,” Rico interrupts, gesturing between himself, Lena, Jace, and Cassian, “include not taking orders from people who abandoned us.”
The temperature in the van drops. Caleb’s hand moves toward his weapon, while Ezra tilts his head to the side, filing the insult away for later review, or deciding whether it’s worth a response now. His calm is the kind that makes people nervous. He’s not indifferent, he’s strategizing, and I see a younger Raphael in him.
“We don’t have time for this,” I cut in before the situation escalates. “Lena, you’re our best distance shot. You’ll take position here and cover the exterior.” I point to a building across from the warehouse. “Rico, you and Jace take point on the breach. Cassian, you’re with me on extraction.”
I pause, then look at the Rockford contingent. “Caleb, you know Jade best. You come with me and Cassian for extraction. Raphael and Ezra, you support Rico and Jace on the main floor.”
Cassian’s lips lift in satisfaction at being paired with me, while Raphael’s expression tightens. It’s the logical division, putting people where they’ll be most effective, but I can’t deny the small, petty pleasure of not giving Raphael what he wants.
Ezra doesn’t protest the assignment, but his gaze lingers a second too long on me, filing away a variable he’s not done with yet. It makes me want to recruit the kid. He’s wasted on the box the Rockfords are trying to fit themselves inside.
“Equipment?” Lena asks, already preparing for her role.
Ezra pulls up another screen showing a weapons inventory. “We’ve got suppressors for everyone, flash-bangs, breaching charges. Comms are encrypted and short-range. Sebastian’s got a jamming signal ready to block their security system when we move in.”
The clinical discussion of weapons and tactics brings with it a familiar focus. This is what we do. This is what I built after Raphael left, an operation that runs like clockwork, with people who understand their roles and execute them without question. My breathing steadies as we move into the territory where I’m most confident.
“I’ll take my Remington.” Lena studies the specs on her tablet, her fingers moving across the screen with practiced precision, and the blue light catches on calluses formed by years of pulling triggers. “The night scope with infrared.”
“Shotgun for me.” Rico grins, the expression all teeth and anticipation. “Nothing says ‘surprise’ like a door blown off its hinges.”
We continue detailing loadouts, each person selecting their preferred weapons with the care of artists choosing instruments. Through it all, Cassian maintains his position at my side, his body angled toward me, creating a space that excludes Raphael. It’s subtle but unmistakable, and I grit my teeth at the implied claim.
Rico was right. Cassian is trying to take Raphael’s place, and he’s getting impatient now with the other Alpha’s right in front of him.
When I reach across to point at an entry point on Caleb’s screen, Cassian’s hand finds the small of my back, steadying me with a touch that lingers. Raphael tracks the movement, his jaw tightening.
Raphael studies the layout. “We’ll need to move fast once we’re inside. If they get any warning, they might decide the Omegas are a liability.”
The implication hangs in the air. These people might kill their captives rather than risk them being rescued.
“What about their manpower?” Jace asks.
“Sebastian estimates fifteen to twenty guards, plus whatever administrative staff they have on site,” Ezra replies.
“That’s a lot for a warehouse,” Lena observes.
“Not if what they’re storing is valuable,” I say quietly.
Cassian’s hand moves from my back to my shoulder, a gesture that could appear supportive to anyone watching but carries a weight of possession I resent.
“We’ve hit places with better security.” He leans in closer, his fingers skimming the back of my neck. “Remember the job in Singapore?”
It’s a deliberate reference to history we’ve shared, a reminder of what Raphael missed by walking away. It’s petty and frustrating, as is him using the Rockfords to push all these extra touches on me, but I refuse to appear divided in front of outsiders.
“Vince said this is where they keep the Omegas who fight, so there’s a high chance Jade will be inside,” Raphael directs the words to me as if Cassian hadn’t spoken. “Our primary objective is to ensure the Omegas’ survival. Taking the guards and staff alive is secondary to our objective.”
Lena strokes the stock of her rifle. “Always easier when we can just kill them.”
The planning continues, with times and positions being finalized. Throughout, the tension between Cassian and Raphael runs beneath the surface of professional discussion. When Cassian leans across me to point at something on the screen, his chest presses against my shoulder, his pheromones enveloping me in a familiar cloud. Raphael watches this with thinly veiled irritation, his posture rigid.
As we finalize the details, Cassian’s hand comes to rest on my thigh, a gesture hidden from most of the group by the tablet on my lap. The touch is warm through my tactical pants, fingers splayed in a way that speaks of intimacy and claim, and it takes everything in me to not break his fingers. He’s pushing it too far, knowing I won’t reject him in front of the outsiders.
Raphael looks at where Cassian’s hand rests, and rage flashes across his face. For a moment, I’m caught between them, the air thickening with Alpha pheromones.
“We move in thirty,” I announce, breaking the moment. “Check your gear and comms.”
I grab a weapons case from under the bench and slide away from both men, moving toward the rear door to give myself some room to breathe.
Before I hop out, I turn back to Cassian and Raphael, who are glaring at each other. “And leave your personal shit at the door. Once we’re in there, I need everyone’s head in the game.”
The rest of the group pretends they don’t see anything as they turn to open the lockers, dispersing equipment.
Cassian moves to join me at the tailgate. “I don’t trust him.”
“You don’t have to.” I double-check the magazines before slipping them into my pockets. “This isn’t about trust. It’s about doing what we’re being paid to do.”
Cassian’s fingers brush my wrist, a touch so light it could be accidental. “Is that what happened back in the SUV?”
I pull my hand away. “What does that mean?”
He leans in closer to inhale over my pulse point. “I just want to know if you’re reconsidering the plan.”
“Nothing’s changed.” I turn my head just far enough to catch his eye. “Now, move away before I remind you why I’m still the boss.”
He sucks on his bottom lip for a moment before he turns to gather his equipment. Across the van, I catch Raphael watching us, his expression unreadable.
I arch a brow at him, and his expression shutters, locking his emotions down tight.
I check my weapon, the familiar weight of it grounding me. Tonight isn’t about Alpha bullshit.
It’s about getting to kill some monsters while getting paid for the fun.