Chapter 60 Bane
Bane
We spent the day plotting and planning, then tearing apart the plan only to rebuild it. And when we thought we had it figured out, we ripped it apart again, looking for holes, fatal flaws, and rebuilt it again.
Slade is curled up on the couch in front of the fire, utterly exhausted.
Len, Rolf, Nexin, and Ryn are waiting outside for Tag, but he lingers with me.
I cross my arms, leaning against the counter, waiting for what he has to say.
Today, between the strategy planning sessions to save my woman, I reviewed the files Digits had managed to pull together.
Which was no easy feat for him; not only was intel on these operatives well hidden, but the Havoc Guardians are under attack.
Two Prospects had been killed, and Toxic was in the hospital after Havoc Iron Customs was swarmed with criminals looking for Slade.
All facts I'm not telling her. Digits took the critical time to do this because he knew I’d want whatever intel I could get on those I'm trusting with her life.
According to Digits’ file, Rolf is a trauma and emergency physician, Nexin is ex-CIA and a close friend of Len, and Tag is a former Ranger.
How Severyn Andrews—or Ryn, as her team calls her—factors in, I’m not quite sure.
But considering the absolute top-tier tech Len and her team has shown us, I’m willing to bet that Ryn’s uncle, Zane Andrews, and his business partner for Gādo Technologies, Kotan Luo—the leading technology and security moguls—could actually be Len’s tech guru and behind-the-scenes controller and oversight.
Len and her team didn’t have to reveal all the tech they have at their disposal. That tells me this was another strategic move on their part, giving us insight into things they keep hidden from others, to show that we can trust them.
They’re putting a lot on the table in terms of revealing their secrets to a criminal.
But this criminal is putting up the biggest risk and asking the most of them in terms of trust to help protect the woman I love more than life itself.
Tag leans against the fridge, glancing at Slade curled up tight on the couch.
“Don’t you need to go to your own woman?” I hike my brow, telling him I didn’t miss his possessiveness of Ryn.
He doesn’t take the bait; only turns back to me with a pinched brow. “She okay?”
My jaw works before I answer quietly, “Slade is strong. But not infallible.” Not unbreakable.
“It’s a huge concern for me about what will happen when Randolph gets his hands on her.
What she’ll have to endure and relive while we hope that he implicates himself over the live feed.
” I regard him. “Would you let Ryn do it?”
The muscle at the back of Tag’s jaw bulges, and the look on his face gives me my answer.
“Ryn would do it anyway,” he says. “She’d go behind my back…go rogue.” He glances at the door where she waits for him. “They’re cut from the same cloth, she and Slade; they’d both do anything to protect others, especially the ones they love.”
“Are you saying you think Slade will go rogue if I try to stop this?” I shift, dropping my hands and closing them into fists. “That your team would help her go rogue?”
“Rolf, Nexin, and I wouldn’t.”
But Ryn and Len would, are the unspoken words. And it’s not lost on me that more than once today, I saw the three women talking quietly.
“Slade’s best chance is if we do this together,” Tag says.
“I can’t have you or any of the others hesitate if lethal force is needed, Tag.”
He draws in a deep breath and slowly exhales. “I know, and we won’t, Bane.” He steps closer and lays a hand on my shoulder. “Get some rest tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a…day.”
A trying day. A stressful day. A risk-filled day.
Take your pick.
I just pray it’s not a day that ends in destruction. Either Slade’s or the world around me, because I’m burning it down if she’s taken from me.
Tag leaves, and when the door shuts, I push away from the counter and go to the door to slide the deadbolt to lock us in.
In addition to what Len initially told us about the cabin, we’ve discovered it’s blast-proof and has a secret exit into an underground tunnel. Since this is Adamus Jones’ safe house, that all makes sense, but I wonder, for the millionth time, how Len and her team connect with that dark figure.
Slade makes a noise in her sleep, and all other thoughts are banished. She’s all that matters.
Going to the couch, I scoop her into my arms, gently and carefully. As strong and resilient as she is, I carry her like she’s the most treasured, delicate thing in the world. Because she is to me.
The bedroom is as sparsely decorated as the rest of the place, but the bed is big and comfortable. Pulling back the blankets, I lay Slade down. Her head falls to the side, still asleep.
My heart seizes in my chest as I stare at her, studying her. Memorizing her.
What if something goes wrong tomorrow?
The list of possibilities is endless.
There will be multiple people chasing her, and she could be in an accident while trying to lure Randolph to where the team has everything set up.
Another criminal could grab her and derail the carefully constructed plan.
And when Randolph gets his hands on her…what will he do? What will Slade have to do in order for him to confess his sins?
What if my voice over the earpiece isn’t enough to ground her, and she spirals? Physically surviving, but her mind and soul splintered and shattered?
“Bane,” she whispers.
I kneel at the side of the bed. “I’m here, baby.”
She eases back into a deep sleep. I want to bury myself in her and never leave, but she needs sleep.
Carefully, I remove her clothes. When she’s naked, rather than crawling in with her, I trace my fingers over each of her scars. Thirteen in total.
I’ve never been a superstitious man, but I am now.
I’ve never been a religious man, not with the life I lead, but I pray now.
With my head resting on her stomach—a place where I hope to fill her with babies—I pray, asking God and every higher power there possibly is, to save Slade. I’ll give my soul, my life in exchange.
“Let her live. Protect her.”
I’m Havoc’s Defender, it’s protector—Slade’s as well. But tomorrow… Tomorrow it’s all out of my hands.