15. Axel
CHAPTER 15
AXEL
TWO YEARS – HAVE MERCY
Crouched in the window of a barren, ten-floor building left derelict since the nineties, I peer into my sniper’s scope. Any minute now, the meeting should adjourn.
I’ve been scouting out the local haunt on the outskirts of London ever since I located it by sifting through thousands of hours of CCTV footage.
It took days of searching to identify a few of the players described to us. While our singing jailbird is terrible at giving directions, his intel is sound. The meeting between operatives is still taking place.
We’ve finally caught a break.
At fucking last.
“Well?” Warner prompts in my ear.
“No sign of them yet.”
“It’s been two hours. What could they possibly be discussing for that long?”
“You saw that listing on the dark web,” I murmur back. “Gael’s offering a hefty price for any information on Ember. He has to know that she’s back in the UK.”
The extortionate offer popped up while I was doing a routine search in a heavily-used forum last night, advertising all manner of illegal products. Drugs. Hitmen. Abuse material. Even people.
If there’s a demand, you’ll find it on the dark web. While it isn’t illegal to access that side of the internet using a Tor browser, it is challenging. The anonymity makes it a breeding ground for all things illicit.
“Did you tell Ember?”
“Yeah…” He sighs in clear fatigue. “It was rough, Ax. She’s trying so hard not to be scared, but I can see it written all over her face.”
“Gael will never get past us. She’s safe.”
“We’ve gotten comfortable before. That’s what gets people killed.” An unspoken guilt fuels his words. “I won’t make that mistake again.”
“You know we will all protect her.”
“I know. Listen, I have to make a call. Check in when they’re out.”
“Copy that.”
With his voice falling silent, I feel a sense of relief. I never worked in a team during my counterintelligence job. Instead, I surveilled espionage suspects, stalked foreign diplomats and collected evidence in peace.
Joining Sabre was a shock to the system. All of a sudden, I had to learn how to be a team player rather than a solo agent tailing suspects on government watchlists or relaying intelligence to military commanders.
“Bingo.” I watch the warehouse doors fling open. “At last.”
I’m already dreaming of a salt beef bagel from Mary’s and an ice-cold beer. Sitting in the same position for two hours and obsessing about what Ember’s doing right now is not my idea of a fun time.
Three people shuffle outside, all dressed in dark clothing and making a hasty exit. The human skin trade is indiscriminate, so I’m not surprised to see a female face among them.
But at the sight of the bobbing black head leaving the abandoned building with his two bodyguards, my blood runs cold. Icy spikes tear into my flesh, filling me with violent desire.
“You’re kidding me,” I mutter.
Blaine Madden may have been before my time, but I’ve been briefed on the prolific mobster and all his immoral deeds. Assassinations. Underground drug factories. Gang wars. His family rained hell on the capital.
So when I see the cocky son of a bitch swaggering outside like he belongs with the other bought and paid for assholes, my shock is startling. The two-faced piece of shit must work for Gael.
Lifting the camera from my backpack, I bring the shot into focus then snap a few pictures of Blaine leaving with his thugs. They disappear behind the warehouse, leaving me to capture the others leaving behind him.
As much as I’m twitching with the urge to chase after Madden and plant a bullet between his eyes, I know we need his intel. He succeeded where we failed and rescued Ember from the cartel.
Is this how?
Tapping my earpiece, I patiently wait for Warner to return. “Come in, boss.”
“What?” His voice is muffled.
“Meeting’s over. Got something for you.”
“Anyone we recognise?”
My laugh is short and caustic. “You could say that.”
“Meet us at HQ. Ember’s still in for her evals.”
“Affirmative.”
It takes a matter of minutes to dismantle and pack my sniper. I slide the compact case into my backpack then sling it over my shoulder, ensuring the camera is safely secured in the front pocket.
The walk back to my motorcycle takes twenty minutes. I had to park far enough away to avoid arousing suspicion. With my backpack secured tight, I nestle my head inside the helmet then take off.
Fuck, I missed this thrill.
Leaving my beloved 1978 Harley Davidson behind when we were sent to Mexico broke my heart. I did the whole rebuild myself, including the fresh red paint job. It’s a slice of history, restored to its former glory.
The roads are bustling with evening traffic, but with my thighs wrapped around the purring beast, I can easily weave past dawdling motorists. Nothing compares to the feeling of total freedom that riding provides.
When work drives me insane, I like to pack a bag and run for the hills on my Harley. Nothing but me and the open road. The roaring engine. Wind freezing my skin. Heart soaring and mind at ease.
Pure bliss.
Second only to fists on flesh.
Tapping two fingers against my visor, I salute the guards lingering near the entrance to Sabre’s underground parking garage. I have an assigned spot next to Warner and Hyland’s spaces.
“Hey!” I shout at a smartly dressed figure slamming his car door shut. “You have something on your head, dude.”
A brown leather satchel in hand, Kade Knight meets me halfway to the entrance door. The co-director of Sabre Security is formidable in his own right but widely known as the lesser of two evils.
His brother, Hudson, is the real asshole. The two brothers took control of Sabre when the previous owners emigrated to Australia after a particularly harrowing case involving a serial killer.
“Oh, shit.” Kade drags the plastic tiara from his pearly-blonde hair. “Thanks, Ax.”
“Fun Tuesday night?”
“Don’t even ask. Raising kids is a damn sight harder than running this place. Logan’s going through a dressing up phase.”
The thought of their cute little boy making Kade and the rest of his crazy-ass family dress up like princesses is enough to break me. I almost double over from laughing so hard.
“Yeah, laugh it up,” Kade groans.
“A fucking tiara?”
“I tried to get him to play with a football or something else, but the boy loves this Disney princess shit. Brooklyn thinks it’s hilarious.”
“She has a point. It’s kinda funny.”
“You’re as bad as Phoenix. He’s the instigator.”
Now that isn’t surprising. The blue-haired member of their complicated polycule may work a serious job at a London-based rehab clinic, but he’s known for his uncontrolled chaos.
Kade and Hudson’s family has always been interesting to me. Sure, the word polyamory is common now. It’s becoming more mainstream and less taboo to have multiple partners. Seeing how their family unit functions up close is fascinating.
“You finish up that stakeout?” Kade follows me inside.
“Just heading up to debrief now. Ember’s having her eval.”
“I should come introduce myself soon.” He stiffly nods at several passing agents. “Assure her that we’re not all lunatics and assassins.”
“Hope you’re a good liar.”
“Shit. Me too.”
Smiling to himself, Kade summons the elevator by scanning his black security pass. He’s older than me—closer to Warner’s age, in his late thirties—but we get on well enough. Kade is a good director and a solid agent.
When his phone rings, Kade curses and fishes it from his jacket. “Yeah?”
The sound of yelling emanates through the speaker.
“Jesus, Eli. Take a breath. If he doesn’t want to take the pink dress off, then don’t make him. The little tyke will fall asleep soon enough.”
Smothering my chuckling takes great effort. The shouting continues, sounding a lot like terror.
“You’ve got this, man. Leave Brooke and Jude alone. You know it’s their date night tonight.”
After several more seconds of loud yelling, Kade wraps up the call. He stuffs his phone away then exaggeratedly rolls his eyes at me.
“Not sure Eli’s figured out solo parenting yet.”
“Clearly,” I snicker.
“He’s an incredible dad, but he gets anxious about messing up. I told Phoenix to leave him to it. He’s got to get over this fear sometime.”
The elevator deposits us on the top floor, and Kade smacks my shoulder before heading for his office. Letting him stomp off to track down his less-friendly brother, I head for Warner’s office.
Barging in without knocking, my heavy pack slides off my shoulder to hit the blue office carpet. Warner sits behind his monitor, a work phone pressed to his ear. He gestures for me to sit down while still listening to whoever is on the line.
“Yes. Understood.”
Taking a seat in the comfortable leather chair opposite his desk, I drop my motorcycle helmet onto the seat next to me then work on pulling off my leather jacket.
“Send an information request to the Mexican feds. If they have permits or land records, I want them. Thank you.”
Ending his phone call, Warner slumps back in his chair. I ease my leather jacket off my shoulders while watching him deflate.
“Good news?”
“That was Fox down in intelligence. He and Rayna have narrowed down approximately seven estates in the vicinity where Ember thought she was held by Gael.”
My spine stiffens ramrod straight. “What do we know?”
“Right now? Nothing. Not until that information request comes back. Could be a while until we hear.”
My jacket’s well-worn leather twists in my hands. The idea that we could track down Gael’s base of operations and commence surveillance has felt impossible. This is much-needed progress.
If we can locate his headquarters, we’ll be one step closer to apprehending him. Gael is the head of the snake. With him gone, his ring of fellow monsters will soon collapse.
“What did you find?” Warner prompts.
“Right.” I shake myself back into the present. “The meeting unfolded exactly as Stillwell said it would. You need to get him a new cell.”
He impatiently waves his hand for me to continue.
“Nobody I recognised from our past investigations, but it won’t be hard to get IDs. I took photographs of the attendees. Including one very familiar face.”
Warner patiently waits while I bring up the shots on my surveillance camera. Handing it over so he can look at the built-in screen, I watch his expression flit between surprise and fury.
“What the fuck?” he exclaims.
“My thought precisely.”
“Blaine Madden. Again!”
“Yep. Who saves someone from trafficking if they’re part of the goddamn ring?”
“This makes no sense.” Warner clicks through the different shots. “Madden was always adamant that he wanted nothing to do with the skin trade.”
“What about his father?’”
Jaw clenching, he places the camera down. “They had different points of view on it. But we haven’t had eyes on Nolan Madden since we convicted his son, and he vanished into thin air.”
Deep in thought, I look up at the wall-sized board behind Warner’s desk. We’ve collated years’ worth of investigating across the huge panel, pinning countless news articles, surveillance reports and possible players with red tacks.
Until Ember’s call came in, the pieces were all fragmented. Cartels. Shipments. Missing persons reports. Those pieces still lay scattered, but at the heart of the puzzle, Ember unwittingly resides.
“There’s a connection here.”
“I agree.” Warner nods thoughtfully.
“Madden knew where Ember was. He saved her from Gael and delivered her straight into our laps. Why would he help us if he works for Gael?”
“Beats me. If he’s embroiled in the trafficking ring, he doesn’t stand to gain from double-crossing them.”
“Exactly,” I hum in confusion.
“We didn’t know Madden was sniffing around when this mess began. It will feel shitty, but we have to wait. We need more time to figure out what his play is.”
“Do we?”
Warner’s intense blue gaze fixes on me. “What are you suggesting?”
Stringing my thoughts together, I’m thankful Hyland isn’t here. He’d have my spine ripped out and tossed from the window in a heartbeat if he knew what I’m thinking.
“Madden contacted Ember to offer information. He gave her a location and invited her right in. We’d be foolish not to use his interest in her to our advantage.”
“Absolutely not,” Warner instantly disagrees, his forehead creasing. “I’m not letting that snake anywhere near Ember ever again.”
“This is our way in.”
“I said no! End of discussion. We’re here to keep Ember safe, not expose her to wanted criminals.”
“Right…”
“That’s final, Ax.”
“Sure. I hear ya.”
Hyland gets a bad rap for being stubborn, distracting from the fact that Warner’s just as hard-headed at times. His insistence on defending Ember is laughably transparent.
Even letting her on the team is a guise to have her close. No one searches for a missing person for half a decade out of brotherly obligation. I doubt he even realises what’s fuelling his desire to have her safe and sound at his side.
But I do.
Oh, I’ve noticed it alright.
His refusal to let her near Blaine Madden isn’t coming as a team leader. It’s not even coming from his sense of duty as Tom’s best friend. He’s simply longing for the one thing he can’t have, the one thing off-limits to him.
Ember.
“Now that we’ve identified the meeting location, we can stage an offensive at their next gathering.” Warner nods to himself. “I want those sickos arrested and interrogated.”
“There were twenty assailants, at least.”
“Then we have two weeks to plan a safe take-down.” He tears off a fresh sheet of paper from his memo pad then grabs a pen. “Enrolling the Falcon Team will bulk up our numbers. We take them hard and fast.”
Watching the invisible cogs turn in his mind, my thoughts stray back to the red-haired goddess with a tongue softer than velvet. Fuck, I can’t remember that hot kiss without getting hard.
I’ve been searching for the opportunity to pin her delicious curves to the floor and bruise her mouth with mine again. Now that the little minx is living with us… perhaps it’ll come sooner than I think.
“And Ember? You know she won’t sit this raid out.”
Warner swallows, his neck muscles working. “Then she has two weeks to train and be ready for her first active operation.”
Two weeks.
She’s in for a fucking baptism of fire.