26. Ember
CHAPTER 26
EMBER
NINETEEN – MOVEMENTS
Unspoken tension underpins the gravity of Blaine’s judgement day. Despite the familiar surroundings of Sabre’s packed conference room, it feels more like we’re gathering inside a courthouse.
The metres-long table is covered with every last photograph, report, information request, surveillance map and scrap of evidence. If the last six years of work were stuffed into rows of cardboard boxes, they’ve all been upturned now.
Staring at the matte print of Gracie’s old school photo on top of her missing person’s report, I remind myself why we’re here. Why we’re even considering making a deal with the devil.
But is Blaine really the devil?
I’m never going to judge another human for how they survived their own personal trials and tribulations. Not with the blood on my hands. He’s doused in his own bloodstains, and on some levels, that makes us kindred spirits.
“Head’s up.” Hyland lifts from the glass window we’re leaning against. “Someone wants to meet you.”
“What? Who?”
“The bosses.”
Stepping into the conference room, I vaguely recognise the two pillars of authority who grace us with their presence. Everyone knows Sabre Security. And everyone knows the Knight brothers.
Striding ahead of his scarier counterpart, Kade Knight is the definition of affable golden boy. With pearly-blonde hair that he wears slicked back, intelligent hazel eyes and a penchant for expensive shirts with waistcoats, it’s hard not to recognise him.
By comparison, his brother fully embodies the flip side of that coin. He’s the darkness to Kade’s light. Clothed in all-black, his V-neck tee shows off countless tattoos that cover his chest, neck and throat, matching his eyebrow piercing and terrifyingly hard blue eyes.
They can’t be much older than Warner or Hyland, but the sense of gravitas in their assured presence commands a respect far greater than their years.
“Coffee?” Hudson’s grunt breaks the silence.
Standing next to a selection of full thermoses, Axel lifts a cup towards him, emblazoned with Sabre’s logo.
“Right here.”
“Thank fuck.” Hudson makes a beeline for Axel and the coffee station. “If any of you are considering it… don’t have kids. You’ll never sleep again.”
“That’s our son you’re talking about.” Kade scowls at his grumpy brother.
“And you know just how monstrous kids are.”
Smoothing a hand over his hair, Kade slowly nods. “Fair.”
As Hudson fills his cup, Kade looks around the room. We’re only missing Warner—who has gone to retrieve our star of the hour—and my brother. He’s on his way in to oversee the legal proceedings.
Upon noticing me, Kade makes his approach, straightening his silvery tie with one hand. He sticks out the other towards me, glinting with a thick wedding band.
“You must be Ember. Heard a lot about you.”
“All bad?” I accept his handshake.
“I’d say fifty-fifty.” He passes me a dazzling grin.
“That’s disappointing. I must be slipping.”
His laughter is light and friendly, revealing his smile lines and barely noticeable crow’s feet. Another man who’s ageing with grace. There must be something in the water in this building.
“These lot have had an easy ride since Ethan left the company. I hope you’re giving them hell.”
“Always.” I smirk at him.
“Well in that case, welcome to Sabre Security. We’re glad to have you.”
Making space for his brother to join us, Hudson gives me a critical once-over while guzzling his steaming cup of coffee. I’m preparing a defensive attack when he breaks out in a weirdly friendly smile.
“Ember, right?”
“That’s me.”
“Is it true you handed Archer’s ass to him?”
“Hey!” Archer protests from the table.
“Um… I guess.” I shrug.
Switching the coffee to his other hand, Hudson offers me a fist bump. “Nice work.”
Knocking our matching scarred knuckles together, I let myself relax. Formidable directors, my ass. They’re a pair of teddy bears.
“We should put her in the ring with Brooke.” Hudson continues to eye me over his coffee cup. “It’s been a while since she’s blown the cobwebs out.”
“That’s a terrible idea.” Kade sighs.
“Why?”
“Because something tells me Ember would kick our wife’s ass, and then we’ll have to deal with her having a toddler tantrum of her own.”
“Your wife?” I blurt before I can hold it in.
“Yes,” they answer simultaneously.
I’ve heard plenty about the unique family setup behind the directors of Sabre Security. I even had a couple of clients back in the day who were polyamorous. I’ve got a lot of questions.
“She works here too.” Kade’s cheeks tint slightly. “Well, she did. She’s a little preoccupied at the moment.”
Sauntering over to us with a mischievous grin, Axel looks between the two suddenly shifty men. “Does preoccupied mean pregnant?”
While Kade rushes to say no , Hudson bursts out with a suspiciously proud sounding yes . They glare daggers at each other soon after.
“Thought we were keeping it between us for now?”
“Fuck that.” Hudson punches Kade’s shoulder. “We got our girl pregnant again. I wanna shout about it.”
“I want to watch when she rips you a new asshole for boasting about this.”
“I can handle her.” Hudson waves Kade off.
“God. You’re still so fucking weird sometimes.”
“Thanks, bro.”
Shoving him towards the conference table, Kade takes a seat at the head while Hudson reluctantly sits down on his right. The pair are still bickering away as we watch them in bemusement.
“Do I even want to think about the mechanics of how their wife got pregnant by her multiple husbands?” I ask quietly.
Tongue darting out to skate over his bottom lip, Axel lazily winks at me. “Yes. You do.”
He dances away before Hyland can smack him.
“We can even demonstrate, if you’d like!”
“Axel!” Hyland booms.
“Interested, Hy?”
The grump doesn’t immediately respond, offering all the confirmation that Axel needs. Laughing unrepentantly, he moves to sit down and bother the Falcon Team.
I’m too busy attempting to get my stuttering brain in gear. The mental images in my mind are far too graphic. Particularly what it would feel like to have two men laying claim to my body… or battling over the honour.
Oh, fuck.
Peering down at me with an odd look on his face, Hyland seems to be on the verge of addressing Axel’s taunts when the door to the conference room opens once more.
“Never mind,” he grumbles.
Two female agents march in, closely flanked by Warner and the scarred face that still manages to haunt my dreams. With his ankles cuffed, Blaine walks slowly, a chain connecting them to the shackles still enclosed around his wrists.
“Isn’t this a turnout.” He gazes around the room. “Full house.”
Kade clears his throat. “Take a seat, Mr Madden.”
The chair at the opposite end of the table from Kade awaits. Blaine is escorted into it then secured to the legs by one of the agents adjusting his cuffs.
Both retreat to linger nearby, packing visible weapons and emanating enough threat to make me consider forming some female friendships. I like the look of those two.
Positioning himself behind Blaine, Warner remains standing as he folds his arms. A delicate shudder causes my body to spasm when his baby blues stray over to me.
Then Blaine’s confidence-filled onyx orbs join Warner’s, and I begin to get hot under the collar. I may as well combust on the spot when Hyland stakes a very clear and obvious claim by wrapping his arm around my back.
Then Blaine fucking smirks.
At Hyland.
“He can still sign a damn plea deal if I break all his teeth,” Hyland rumbles beside me. “Then pluck them out one by one and shove them up his asshole.”
“Now, now. Play nice.”
Lifting my hand, I place it on top of Hyland’s strong grip. While it makes Blaine draw his black brows together, Warner unveils a delicious smile that promises a repeat of the absolute filth he said in the boxing ring.
“Where is Tom?” Kade questions.
Checking the phone previously tucked into my pocket, there are no new texts or missed calls. He must be stuck in London traffic.
“He said he was coming in.” I repocket my phone.
“Fine. He can catch up when he arrives.” Kade focuses on our shackled guest, the friendliness now drained from his face. “Blaine Madden.”
“Kade,” he clips back.
“Didn’t think we’d see you here again.”
“Should’ve chosen a more secure prison,” Blaine drawls. “The last one was child’s play to escape.”
“We have a wonderful solitary cell in Belmarsh lined up for you with the worst of the worst—serial killers, rapists, terrorists. You’ll be nice and secure with them.”
“Come on, Kade.” Blaine shakes his head. “Don’t be rash.”
“Then prove your usefulness. You know we have the power to cut a deal.”
“I believe you have all the proof you need. I was able to track down your missing person.” He nods towards me. “Free her from bondage. Deliver her to the Anaconda Team. And infiltrate a prolific trafficking gang.”
“Do you think this is a fucking job interview?” Hudson scoffs.
“Your brother is the one asking me to prove my usefulness,” he responds with obvious pride. “If anything, I believe you should be begging for my help.”
“Is that so?” Kade mocks.
“You’re in dire need of my unique advantage. I know my father. If we combine forces, we can track them both down. I have no desire to claim Gael’s head for myself.”
“So that’s all you want?” Warner shifts on his feet, still warily guarding his prisoner.
Glancing over his shoulder, Blaine flashes him a grin. “Perhaps the assurance that you’ll leave me in peace afterwards. Punish the right man for my father’s crimes.”
What he isn’t saying is just as obvious. Blaine doesn’t just want a lifeline—he wants clemency. A clean slate. All in exchange for his help in tracking down our current nemesis.
“That’s a rather large record you’re asking to be erased.” Kade twists in his chair to cross his legs.
“You’ve pardoned far worse, Mr Knight. And been pardoned for equivalent crimes.”
The sight of colour draining from Kade’s face is shell-shocking. In contrast, his brother seems to amp up, pushing his chair back as he slams his coffee cup down.
“There is a difference between crimes committed in the name of survival and crimes committed for power’s sake!” Hudson breaks out in a yell.
“Is there?” Blaine taunts, unaffected. “I’m not aware of such a distinction.”
“You have spent your entire life serving a criminal dynasty.”
“And I’ve paid the price in blood and more,” he argues back. “As I imagine everyone around this table has. We’ve all survived in our own ways.”
His mouth slamming shut, Hudson stalks away from the table to refill his coffee cup. I’m starting to understand why he has an infamous reputation for having a temper.
“Should we discuss the misdeeds of Sabre’s golden family further?” Blaine sighs in boredom. “Or can we skip the posturing and discuss the terms of your offer?”
Hands braced on the table, Kade draws to his feet. “Excuse me.”
He moves to the back of the room to confer with Hudson out of earshot. Smiling to himself, Blaine returns his attention to me. Those eyes seem to speak a million words without ever opening his mouth.
The memory of the countless scars that litter his body float back into my awareness. Small, circular cigarette burns. Whip marks that match my own. A collection of shiny slashes, mirroring the path of countless knives.
So I stare back.
In acceptance.
In understanding.
When the two brothers retake their places, both wearing matching solemn expressions, I know their next words will hold groundbreaking ramifications.
“We are willing to negotiate a plea deal, Mr Madden.” Kade grimaces. “In exchange, we require your full and unequivocal cooperation until Antonio Gael, Nolan Madden and their accomplices are safely apprehended.”
“No!” Hyland erupts.
“That’s final.” Kade cuts each of us a stern look. “The decision has been made.”
I have to shrug the trunk-like arm from around me before Hyland cracks my bones. He’s tensed up into an iron band that holds terrifyingly extreme strength.
“By apprehended you mean…”
“Alive,” Hudson supplies.
Nose wrinkling, Blaine looks physically offended. “Is that negotiable?”
“We serve justice, Mr Madden.” Kade stares at him evenly. “Not executions.”
“If you insist. But I doubt there is a prison in this world that could contain my father. You do not know him like I do.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Kade dismisses with a hand wave. “Do you accept?”
“Hm.” Blaine flexes his shackled hands. “I should consult my legal counsel.”
When his joke falls flat, he exhales through his nose.
“Yes. I accept.”
Hands braced on his hips, Kade bobs his head in confirmation. “We will have our legal representative draw up the terms of this clemency agreement… When he shows up.”
“Wonderful. Mind removing these cuffs now? I’d quite like my blood circulation back.”
Seeing Warner grit his teeth and move to release the man he’s openly called his enemy feels like a double-edged sword. Part of me wants this. Another part has no clue how it will ever work.
Releasing the ankle shackles first, Warner moves to release Blaine’s wrists. The pair share a silent exchange in long, searching looks. When Warner nods tersely, Blaine sobers enough to dip his head in return.
What exactly are they agreeing?
“Forfeit this deal, and you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” Hudson watches the scene unfold with a grim look. “That’s a damn promise.”
Stretching his long legs out, Blaine massages his swollen wrists. “Understood.”
“The Anaconda Team will be your babysitters,” Kade adds around his own uneasy frown. “Try not to bite the hand that feeds you.”
“Oh, hell no.” Hyland abruptly stalks forwards. “He isn’t joining our team.”
Blaine lays a hand over his heart in a dramatic fashion. “I’m wounded.”
“You’re a psycho murderer and scumbag!”
“Hyland,” Warner scolds, his posture slumped in consternation. “We have to make this work. Finding Gael is more important than anything else.”
“More important than the rule of law?” Hyland spits in disgust. “Madden is a fugitive!”
“I don’t care!” Warner shouts back. “The decision has been made. He will help us to secure Ember’s future. Nothing else matters.”
The communicative stares shared between them cause the hair on my arms to raise. While Axel remains silent at the table, watching Blaine with intense concentration, it seems Hyland and Warner are coming to a collective realisation.
“Ember.” Kade ignores the posturing at the other end of the table. “Mind calling your brother? I’d like to get this tied up.”
“Oh, sure.”
I’m all too glad to turn my back on my teammates… plus one. The sight of London’s urban skyline, draped in beams of smog-tinted sunlight, provides a welcome break from their antics.
Dialling Tom’s number, I wait for him to answer on the hands-free I know he has built into his Mercedes. When the line rings out, I frown at the screen and redial.
It’s several more rings until the line connects with a click. The stressed voice I was expecting to hear as Tom navigates the traffic never arrives.
“Apologies, 768. Big brother is a bit preoccupied right now.”
Horrified turmoil slashes into me and opens a gaping wound, leaving me feeling like the blood has drained from my body. With each icy wave of panic, my heart speeds up into an erratic sprint.
“Luis?”
“Sí, senorita.”
Bracing a hand above me on the window, I let my head tip down, unable to withstand the dizzying numbness that tightens every limb and muscle.
“Where is my brother?” I shout into the phone.
Not even the sound of arguing behind me suddenly ceasing can break my spiralling terror. Razor-sharp spikes of dread have already sunk into my chest and taken control of my whole body.
“Thomas is just fine,” Luis singsongs through his lilting accent. “For now.”
“If you dare touch him?—”
“You’ll what? Kill or kidnap my best men? That ship’s sailed, chica . You have no bargaining chips left.”
The pressure of hands finding my shoulders and back fails to revive me. All I can see is that damned rusted cage, echoing with endless screams and sobs. Only now, I see my brother confined in it.
“I’m not particularly a fan of Senor Gael, if that wasn’t obvious before,” Luis reveals. “However, I am a fan of his money. He’s willing to part with a significant amount in exchange for you.”
“Let Tom go! He has nothing to do with this!”
“He is what you love, hm? That’s relevant.”
“You fucking…” My teeth grind together as I try to find a speck of sense. “I will end you.”
“Such spirit. It’s not hard to understand why he chose you to invest such time and resources into. I’ve enjoyed imagining how Gael broke you, over and over, to create such savagery.”
Battling past the horror sinking its claws into me, I spin around to locate Axel. I should’ve known he’d be one step ahead of me. He’s already placed a laptop on top of the evidence-littered table to trace the call.
My tear-blurred eyes bouncing between each person watching me unravel, I clench the phone in a death grip.
“What do you want from me?”
“I’m not stupid enough to think you’ll merely surrender, 768. You already proved that once before. If only you’d set a better example for the poor virgin girl, she’d still be alive.”
My vision narrows, darkening at the edges as ringing overtakes my ear canals. Reality is drowned out by the memory of the day I was sold. And the fragile life I left behind.
“You’re lying,” I spit into the phone.
“I’m doing you a kindness,” Luis chortles. “You should be glad that she’s dead. Her fate could’ve been far worse.”
The hands on me tear free when I let my knees cave in. Rough carpet rushes up to meet me, cushioning my fall. The pounding of my failing heart has slowed to a futile patter as grief takes over.
“I’m a patient man,” Luis says cheerfully. “My next instructions will follow.”
“Just tell me where you are,” I plead through falling tears. “I’ll be there. You can have me.”
“Along with the company you’ve aligned yourself with, no doubt.” His laugh is sickeningly smug. “I want your compliance. By the time I’m finished with Thomas, you’ll give it to me.”
“Luis, wait?—”
The call disconnects.
Letting my hand crash into my lap, I look up at the silent room through the blurry curtain that’s conquered my vision. Everyone is on their feet—even Blaine and the Falcon Team. Ready to respond. Ready to fight.
“He has Tom,” I croak. “Luis took my brother.”
Fisting his hair, Warner spins to swiftly punch the wall. If anything matches my utterly consuming dismay, it’s his shattered expression.
“What are his demands?” Kade asks gently.
“He didn’t have any. Luis said he wants my compliance. He’s going to use Tom to get it.”
“Goddammit!” Warner roars in a voice I’ve never heard before.
“H-He said that Gracie Livingstone is dead.” Tears make my words shrivel up into raw rasps. “I… I d-don’t know if he’s telling the truth or not. Now h-he has my brother too.”
Looking down at the phone still clenched in my hand, every last instance I witnessed of Luis beating and torturing compliance out of his kidnapped captives forms a devastating slideshow behind my eyes.
I barely survived before.
But I know… I won’t survive losing Tom.