8. Hyland
CHAPTER 8
HYLAND
MATCHES – JONAH KAGEN
“What’s the hold up?” Warner snaps down the line.
Give me strength. I’m in no mood to deal with his demands today.
“We’re two minutes out,” I drone.
“You’re over an hour late.”
“I’m aware.”
Between Ember taking an eternity to get ready and London’s incessant traffic, I’m perfectly aware of just how late we are. Warner is a stickler for punctuality.
“If you’d like to send a helicopter to pick us up from the fucking road, be my guest. I can’t use magic to make the cars go any faster.”
“I’ve got the terrible twosome here breathing down my neck for a progress update,” he explains wearily. “Just hurry.”
For two individuals who once held the title of clients long before they ever worked for Sabre Security, let alone ran the damn company, Kade and Hudson Knight can be incredibly impatient.
We’ve been home for less than forty-eight hours, and already, the demands for information are flying. This isn’t the kind of case that gets resolved the moment we find our victim after years of investigating.
Gael is still out there, not to mention the vast network of traffickers he’s connected to who pluck victims from across the globe. This snake has many heads. Realistically, our job has only just begun.
“Tell them to wait their turn. Ember’s our priority.”
“Believe me, they got an earful.” He huffs into the receiver. “Drive safe.”
“See you shortly.”
Ending the phone call, I wait for the heavy traffic to shift, leading us into the bustling mayhem of Central London. For a Friday morning it’s typically busy, the roads heaving with flashy cars and delivery vans.
After all the years I’ve spent working at Sabre Security, bouncing between cases and departments until I permanently joined the Anaconda Team, the towering skyscraper up ahead never fails to impress.
It’s an intimidating sight, challenging the height of every last FTSE 100 corporation housed around it. Our building is an impressive statue of steel and black glass, stretching high above the ants wandering on the streets below.
Growing up in a working-class suburb in the east of England, the eye-watering sums of money that pass through a place like this seemed staggering to me at first. Far more money than I’d ever even thought about.
I could hardly believe the opportunity in front of me when I was recruited from a decently paid job in private security. Uprooting my family was a tough call, but all I wanted was to provide them with a better life.
As luck would have it, that was the worst decision I could’ve made. Years down the line, I’m now divorced with a six-year-old son I barely have a relationship with. Not for lack of trying.
My ageing parents tried to convince me to return to my hometown and start fresh, but I wasn’t willing to abandon Sabre. No matter what price working for this firm has extracted from me.
“We’re keeping this brief.” Tom doesn’t look up from texting on his phone beside me. “Ember isn’t up to being interrogated so soon.”
“Do you really think we’d do that to her?” I clear my throat.
“You tell me.”
“No one is interrogating her. Christ.”
He shrugs in the passenger seat. “I’ve seen the way your team operates up close. You can’t blame me for wanting to shield her from that.”
“For God’s sake. We’re not animals.”
“Tell that to Axel. I had to negotiate with the head of prosecutions to clear his criminal record after leaving MI-5. If he wasn’t working for the government, he’d be in a prison cell.”
Honestly, I’m not surprised. Eighteen months isn’t long enough for me to get accustomed to Axel and his craziness.
“Well… yeah. But that’s Axel.”
“Just keep him the hell away from my sister,” Tom says curtly.
Glancing in the rearview mirror, I check to see if Ember is still asleep. She quickly passed out when we set off, her head propped against the car window. Something about her seems off today.
“With pleasure. How’s she doing?”
Pocketing his phone, Tom blankly stares at the traffic. “Honestly? I have no idea. She’s barely talking to me. Still refusing to see a doctor too.”
“Well, shit. Any idea why?”
“She won’t say. Just outright refuses.”
Sickly tendrils of suspicion creep through me. I’m a pretty good judge of character. Not Warner-level perceptive, but enough to do my job.
What did they do to Ember?
“You can’t push her?” I suggest.
“Believe me, I’ve tried. She claims to be feeling fine. Short of pinning her down… I’m out of options. She seems healthy.”
“Appearances can be deceiving.”
“I asked if they…” He grips the back of his neck, swallowing loudly. “You know? But she claims no one touched her like that. She was protected by her position.”
“That’s something, right?”
“I guess so. She still needs a full medical, I just don’t know how to make it happen.”
My stomach flip-flops at the possibilities. “She hasn’t told you anything else?”
“Not a word.” His hands form fists in his lap. “I already knew about the street fights, but she won’t tell me anything else. You seen her fists?”
“Yeah. I have.”
He wordlessly shakes his head.
“From the little information Ember gave us in Mexico, she was found in some illegal fight club before contacting us. We heard reports of a disturbance in the area via online traffic.”
“Jesus Christ.” Tom rubs his eyes with his fingers, already appearing exhausted. “An illegal fight club?”
“Yeah,” I confirm grimly.
“Those motherfuckers… No wonder she’s traumatised. How the hell did she survive?”
“She’s strong.”
Tom glances up at Sabre’s overwhelming height as we head for the parking garage. “She always has been. Even when our mum was dying, Ember held us all together.”
“That’s how she survived then.”
From working a previous human trafficking case, I never held out much hope that we’d find Ember, let alone in one piece. Meanwhile, Warner never doubted for a moment that she’d be alive and kicking.
But I’ve seen enough from the red-haired spitfire in the past few days to understand the sheer breadth of her strength. No one survives six years of brutal fights and captivity without having nerves of steel.
Her courage and strength… it’s fucking formidable. Just like her. I never paid much attention when we briefly met before, but she sure holds my whole attention now.
“And now?” Concern bleeds from Tom’s words.
“If she did it once, she’ll do it again. And she has the entire weight of Sabre behind her now. We’ll make sure she’s safe.”
Looking at his phone again, he spits a curse. “Why is Warner emailing to ask for all my case files on Blaine Madden?”
I brake to pull up to the gate for a fingerprint and retinal scan. “We were going to debrief you today.”
“If that animal is involved in my sister’s case, I should’ve been told. How on earth is Madden wrapped up in this?”
“Seems our criminal friend has made a reappearance,” I reply acerbically. “He was the one who got Ember out of there.”
“Madden was in Mexico?” Tom clarifies.
“According to Ember.”
“What the… Explain. Now.”
“That’s all I know. Madden left her clear instructions to give his name when he deposited her on the side of a road with Warner’s mobile number.”
“How on earth did he locate her? Why?”
“Honestly, it beats me.”
Frankly, the whole tale is ludicrous.
Blaine Madden’s conviction was one of Sabre’s best success stories—the son of a prolific mobster, from a powerful dynasty of British criminals. He took the fall for his family’s crimes.
Most notably, they supplied half of London’s drug trade at one point. The entire enterprise was in Sabre’s crosshairs for years before we nailed the sneaky bastard. Only for him to escape and vanish.
“We’ve been trying to track him down since he escaped.” Tom shakes his head. “I always thought he had inside help. No one disappears that quickly and effectively.”
“Who cares how he escaped?” I reverse into my assigned spot. “Madden is sending us a message. And using Ember as the fucking envelope.”
Cursing again, Tom unclips his seatbelt. “I’ll make some calls. We can get all the court files from the firm’s archive.”
“Good.”
I grab my handgun from the car’s lockbox then climb out to fit it into my holster. Tom attempting to rouse Ember gives me a moment to check my phone. A text message has pinged through.
Ethan: Heard you’re home. Welcome back, bud.
God, there are days when I miss our old teammate. He kept us all sane with his level head. Warner is a great leader, but Ethan brought a balance that we’ve been missing since he left.
Hyland: Thanks. How’s Briar Valley?
Three dots appear before his reply arrives.
Ethan: Quieter than London. Come visit sometime? Willow would love to see you.
Hyland: I need to see this case through, but I’ll come soon. Give her a hug from me.
Ethan: Will do. Be safe.
Hyland: You too.
Tucking it into my pocket, I study Ember as she moves around the vehicle to join me. She looks like shit. Pale, shaky and visibly antsy. I thought the same when she opened the bathroom door earlier.
I don’t care what bullshit she’s fed her brother. She’s refusing to get checked out for a reason, and I intend to find out what that reason is. Whether she wants to tell me or not.
“Everyone is waiting upstairs.” I watch her fiddle with her damp braid. “This is a standard, initial interview. Nothing to panic about.”
“Nothing, huh?” She lowers her gaze to study the concrete.
“We’re gonna go at your pace. If it takes a few days or even longer, that’s okay.”
“I can handle it.”
“I’m saying you don’t have to. We’ll take things slow.”
“Let’s just head up,” she insists. “I want to get this over and done with as fast as possible.”
Waving off the arm that Tom offers her, Ember sets her jaw in a terse line. That fucking sass. It isn’t my job to notice these details—I’m here to protect her—but hell, if her fiery spirit doesn’t make my pulse thrum.
After scanning my security pass and checking in with the two hard-faced guards posted at the staff entrance, we head inside. Sabre’s reception is a sprawling, brightly lit display of pure authority and influence.
“I forgot how insane this place is,” Ember mutters.
With impossibly tall ceilings, endless metres of polished glass and huge, crystal droplets casting light on every clean white surface, insane is an adequate description for the high-security paradise.
“Nothing much has changed since you were last here. Just a few new faces.”
“And a few old ones.” She flashes me a tight smile.
“Is that your subtle way of calling me old?” I cock an eyebrow at her. “Because for the record, I’m a whole twelve months younger than Warner.”
“Damn. Don’t forget those precious twelve months, old man.”
“Don’t you forget either.”
Escorting them to the elevator, I return the respectful nods shot my way by other staff members. We’ve risen through the ranks and gained a high level of authority in the company throughout all the changes it’s undergone.
Our team works closely with senior leadership, leaving the investigative teams to trickle down in descending order of authority. Now our offices sit alongside the Knight brothers and other executives.
Stepping inside the elevator, Ember’s tense shoulder brushes my torso. The slight touch causes my muscles to spasm, locking up tight. She casts me a long, searching glance.
“How come you drew the short straw?”
“Huh?” I blink at her.
“You’ve clearly been assigned to me for security. Why you?”
I punch the button for the top floor. “I’m the team enforcer, Ember. It’s my job to protect our clients. I leave the talking to Warner and the torturing to Axel.”
“Right,” she deadpans. “You’re just the muscle.”
“Again with the compliments? I’m blushing.”
Ember breaks out in laughter. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Before we get up there… We’re training the Falcon Team at the moment, so their team leader wants to sit in on the interview. Are you comfortable with that?”
Ember shrugs. “Whatever.”
“I can tell Archer to clear off. He won’t mind.”
“I’ve got nothing to hide,” she says in an unconvincing tone. “Unless you’re planning to throw me in some fucked up holding cell in the basement.”
“What?” Tom gasps, reminding me that he’s behind us. “Why would you even think that?”
Her eyes watch the flashing floor numbers escalating higher. “What I did isn’t exactly legal. I’ve hurt a lot of people.”
“You weren’t given a choice,” I point out.
“Does that really matter?”
“Yes,” Tom cuts in. “It matters.”
Falling silent, Ember smashes her mouth shut. Fuck, I want to tilt a finger beneath her chin and make her look at me. Tell her that I’ve bloodied my fists for Sabre more times than I can count and still feel guilty for it.
Shoving my hands in my cargo pockets instead, I bounce on the balls of my feet. Nope. Not my job. They told me to collect Ember, and guard her with my life—that’s all I’m here to do. Be her damn bodyguard.
But hey, it isn’t illegal to look.
Since the shit went down with Jayce a few years ago, I haven’t dared to even think about a woman, let alone show interest in one. Not when I managed to fuck up my marriage so badly.
This line of work isn’t compatible with a healthy relationship. Working for Sabre puts me in the line of fire every day, and by extension, my loved ones too. And I’ll never make that mistake again.
We’re admitted onto the top floor, high above the bustling levels of offices, training facilities, interrogation rooms and more. This isn’t just Sabre’s HQ. It’s a self-contained city of agents and shadow operatives.
“In there.” I gesture towards the conference room. “The team’s waiting.”
Down the thickly carpeted corridor, lined with floor-to-ceiling, frosted glass walls that conceal the office’s occupants, our destination is the final door on the right.
While Tom lets himself into the room, I snag Ember’s wrist at the last second. She halts to peer back at me through bruise-ringed eyes. The swelling has gone down enough for me to see her muddied gaze clearly now.
Blue flecks blend with her swirling, slate-grey irises, creating an intense thunderstorm that seems intent on decimating me. Yet beyond her defensiveness, something else hides.
“What?”
I wait for the door to swing shut. “Your brother’s worried about you. I don’t know what the deal is, but I want to help. Sabre has in-house medics who are very discreet.”
“Like I told Tom, I don’t want to see a doctor.”
“You were held captive for six years and faced more fights than I can even begin to fathom. At least let someone here check you over. It won’t hurt.”
“Why do you care?” she demands icily. “We hardly know each other.”
“And I’m sure it’ll look great if the client I’m supposed to be protecting keels over on my watch,” I hurl back at her. “You’ve been shaking ever since I picked you up.”
Sure enough, her still-trembling hands quickly jam into the back pockets of her jeans. Those curve-hugging, tight fucking jeans... Yep, I’ve counted every last muscle she’s packing.
“Leave me alone, Hyland.”
“No can do. You’re my assignment. Get used to having me on your ass when I think something’s going on that may jeopardise your safety.”
“If I’m your assignment, shouldn’t you respect my wishes?” She cocks an auburn brow. “I’m telling you to back off.”
“Cute. Nice try.”
“Listen up,” Ember growls. “I’m here to tell you what I know, and that’s it. I don’t need you sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong.”
During our brief flash of privacy, her caustic tone dissolves any misgivings I have about stepping into her personal space. She backs up into the door as I advance, trapping her between my chest and the light wood.
Her chin tips up, those fierce eyes pinning me without ducking once. Huh. It’s been a while since someone’s looked at me like that rather than scuttling when I tower over them.
Before I can help myself, I’ve captured her pointed chin between my thumb and forefinger. Her pink lips part, drawing in air.
“You may have everyone fooled with this hard ass act,” I whisper knowingly. “But I’m not buying it.”
“So this how you help people? By intimidating them?”
My thumb skates across her skin in a light stroke. I swear, I see a shiver roll over her. I’d be fired faster than I can spit out an excuse if anyone saw this, but pure instinct has taken over.
“If that’s what it takes.”
“Then by all means.” She waves her hand. “Continue.”
“I’m not here to intimidate you. Believe it or not, I do want to help.”
“Sure,” she scoffs.
“Why don’t you believe me?”
“Because you have me pinned against a fucking door?”
Forcibly shackling the beast raging inside me, I silence its possessive demands, whispering ideas like throwing her over my shoulder, marching her to the medical centre and tying her to the damn examination table.
After I take a step back to put space between us, Ember deflates against the door. She’s still trembling, but there isn’t an ounce of fear in her gaze. Instead, it burns with challenge.
“You can keep putting on this brave face, but I know what it feels like to have your entire life ripped away from you.”
“What the hell do you know about it?” she snarls.
“I know the devastation that it leaves behind. I know how it feels to look in the mirror and not recognise yourself or your life. I know what it’s like to yearn for something that’s lost forever.”
An aching sadness infiltrates the glimmering blue flecks in her storm cloud eyes, telling me all I need to know. I don’t know why I want to help her so badly, but fuck me… I do.
“When you’re ready to talk, you know where to find me,” I finish. “You don’t have to pretend around me.”
With that, I gently push her aside then walk past her into the conference room, holding the door open for her to follow. Ember doesn’t meet my gaze as she scuttles in, her head ducked.
She looks oddly vulnerable. Afraid. Like she can’t even contemplate the vast reach of her own demons, and acknowledging them will open floodgates that will never close again.
We might have rescued her.
But I don’t know if we can save her.