Chapter 69 Bane
Bane
Len and the FBI team are already inside when I get to the warehouse. Ryn isn’t in sight, but I don’t think about her beyond noticing she’s not here.
The agent outside had been ordered by Andrew Glass himself to let me in.
I’m bleeding profusely from the bullet lodged in my bicep, and my face is leaking blood.
Not to mention, I’m splattered with my enemy’s blood as I had to continue fighting my way through them to actually make it to the warehouse.
I’m clearly not law enforcement. Dressed in my biker attire, complete with my cut proudly displaying my MC’s logo and name. The FBI agent gives me a wary look as I storm inside.
Another agent is trying to help Pix, who is cursing and threatening, warning him not to touch her. She sees me and knows that I’m torn. Wanting to go check on her but also wanting to get to Slade.
She waves me off and says in a hoarse, raw voice, “Go to Slade.”
“The Council is on their way,” I reassure her. Ash had called me right as I was getting here and said all the attacks had ceased, and they were coming to help Len’s team.
My comms have been quiet, other than Len and the occasional instruction from Kotan. Tag, Nexin, Rolf, and Ryn, and maybe even Jones, will deal with what’s happening out on the street. Then we’ll have to regroup and figure out how to deal with the aftermath.
But right now, Slade is my sole focus.
The laptop sits on the table with a black screen. I ignore it and aim for the rest of the FBI agents, led by Andrew Glass, who are almost at a closed door at the back. Len is with them, arguing with Glass.
I’ve been muted on Slade’s comms so she couldn’t hear me, but I heard everything that went down: Randolph’s details and outing himself and the network.
And what happened in that room…
Len has, too. But the FBI wasn’t privy to that.
And I’ll be damned if Glass thinks he’s going to take Slade into custody once he sees inside that room.
“Stop,” I order.
Glass turns to me. He’s a tall, lean man with a full head of silver hair, even though he’s only in his late forties. Though, I imagine a person ages quickly when leading the country’s domestic intelligence and federal law enforcement agency.
“Stand down, Evander Black,” he commands, using my birth name.
“Not a fucking chance. You’re here because we allowed it.”
His spine snaps rigid, as do his agents surrounding him. “This isn’t how these things work.”
Len steps between me and Glass. “Let me deal with this, Bane.”
She, like me, knows what we’ll find behind that door.
“The broadcast of the main part of the warehouse was on a delayed feed,” Kotan’s voice chimes in over the comms. “I was able to doctor it quickly, so Slade isn’t portrayed as guilty for what happened with Pix to the other law enforcement agencies that we connected in.
” She isn’t guilty, but I hold my tongue.
“But regarding what we’ll find in that room…
the FBI being onsite is a delicate matter, Bane. ”
“I’m going in, and no one is stopping me.”
“A bullet to your brain will stop you, you piece of criminal shit,” one of the agents says in disgust.
I don’t look at him. To me, he’s not worth the air he’s breathing, and Glass shoots him a dark look, telling him to shut his mouth.
“Len is coming in with me,” I continue, staring down Glass. “You as well. No one else.”
There are a few moments of tense silence as Glass mulls this over before he nods and tersely orders his agents to stand down.
Pushing through them, I move to the door and don’t hesitate to turn the knob and go in. My weapons are holstered. There’s no threat to me in this room, not after what I heard go down.
The room is small and just as I imagined: bathed in blood.
Randolph’s blood.
Slade had used her training to overtake Randolph and get the knife.
Training, which I previously learned from Slade, is, in fact, the FBI’s defensive tactics, taught by a retired agent who used to train the FBI’s new recruits and is a close friend of Andrew Glass.
This irony isn’t lost on me. Then, she unleashed on Randolph.
She spoke the entire time, in full color of emotions, purging all the heinous things Antwane had done to her and the Numbers. She unleashed her vengeance and brand of justice for what Randolph planned to do, and for what he and Randolph had already done to an unknown number of other people.
She took their pound of flesh—not just for her, but for every victim of the Vanderall brothers—and then some.
Randolph’s body is lying on the floor in a pool of blood. His neck and torso are filled with knife wounds, his face unrecognizable.
Slade kneels beside him with her back to me.
She hasn’t spoken since Randolph died, and I’m not sure the mental state she’s going to be in, so I prepare myself. But I’ll do whatever it takes for however long it takes to pull her free from that mind prison.
“Slade,” I say with Glass behind me, and Len closes the door. “Baby.”
Slowly, Slade turns to look at me over her shoulder.
Her green eyes are luminous and filled with light and life. She’s fully present and lucid; she hasn’t spiralled into her mental hell.
“The Numbers’ screams are gone.” Her eyes shimmer and glisten. “They’re finally silent.”
I watch my warrior queen rise—strong, resilient, and full of life and love. She did this. All on her own. She fought her demons and won.
“You avenged their pain and suffering. Got justice for them.” I brush her hair back from her bloody face. “You got justice for you.”
“There’s more than just Randolph who are just as guilty.” Her voice is low and quiet.
I bend down to press my forehead against hers. “And we’ll take down any that slip through facing justice.”
Len and Tag had already admitted that their team is in this for the long haul, ensuring as many people as possible in this global network face justice. But if any wiggle their way out of facing consequences because of their wealth and power…well, they’ll find a darker justice comes for them.
Us.
“Alexandra Black,” Glass says. “Or should I say, Slade Kowal?”
She pulls away from me to face her friend’s father; a man who had thought she was from old money in a quiet part of England.
But I can only stare at her in absolute shock. “Alexandra Black? That was the name you went by?”
The name Alexandra means ‘defender of mankind’. I’ve always been known as the defender and named for it. And she used Black…my legal last name.
Her eyes slide to mine, her cheeks blooming a beautiful pink. “I may or may not have always had a crush on you, old man.”
That’s a reminder that I am her Old Man.
“Fuck, I love you so goddamn much.” I kiss her roughly, then break away, and as a unit, we face Glass.
There’s no amount of covering up Slade’s actions of bringing justice to Randolph. And I’m a criminal—maybe not the blackest-hearted of the bunch, but most certainly morally gray—and I’ll threaten, kill, and blackmail to keep Slade safe.
“She walks.”
Glass scans the small office and Randolph’s body before looking back at us. “I kept this operation quiet and with only a very small team, but even I don’t have the power to make this disappear.”
“That sounds like a you-problem,” I say as Len comes to stand beside Slade and joins us, an act of solidarity, to face Glass.
His jaw shifts.
“Or you’ll find that the criminal antics that your kids, plus Gideon Rourke’s, become public knowledge,” I warn.
Slade stiffens beside me and hisses quietly. I wrap my arm around her waist, squeezing her tightly, warning her not to challenge me on this right now.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Glass bristles and looks accusingly at Slade.
“They were well into their car-stealing careers when they met Slade.” I defend her.
He sputters in shock, and Len jumps in.
“There are bigger fish to fry than Slade, Glass. Such as the ones in this network who are stateside, right here on US soil. Think of the commendations you’ll get by taking those bastards down, possibly even the Presidential Rank Award, one of the highest honors. And I’ll help.”
“We’ll help,” Kotan stresses.
“My team and I will help you, Glass,” Len amends. “Behind the scenes, of course. You and the FBI can take all the glory and credit.”
To sweeten the pot, I add, “Don’t make the Havoc Guardians use what we know about Fox Haven. We would hate to reveal which crime factions are being targeted.”
Fox Haven is an off-the-books op where Glass has agents embedded in criminal factions, and we have the list, thanks to Digits’ skills. We weren’t on the list, and neither were any of our allies, so we’ve just sat on it.
He hides his shock quickly, but he realizes who he’s dealing with.
Glass himself isn’t the knight in shining armor; he has a relationship with Massimo Santoro, which gives him an in with the crime world, allowing them to exchange information.
Not that Massimo is a rat, but for things like shutting down human trafficking enterprises, there’s a beneficial partnership to be had.
Glass weighs his options with both the opportunities and the threats, then says warily, “With the state of this room…”
That’s putting it mildly as we stand over a body that was cut to shreds.
He continues, “There’s no way this can be explained away as self-defence.”
Slade has remained silent and steady at my side, and she says, “That sounds like a you-problem.”
I huff a laugh and pull her tighter to my side.
Glass’s mouth twitches, but he presses his lips together.
“Then walk away,” Len says. “Leave this room, take your agents, and go. My team will anonymously hand over the evidence to the FBI, including Randolph’s laptop, so you can investigate it in an official capacity.
We’ll also leak it to a Pulitzer Prize-winning crime reporter for an exposé.
The Vanderalls won’t be able to make it disappear. ”
He considers before finally nodding.
But I need insurance.
“Shoot Randolph in the head with your gun.”
A formal investigation would reveal the shot came post-mortem, but that would only be discovered if there was a body to process.
Which there won’t be. Tats will dig out the bullet before he makes Randolph’s body disappear, and I’ll keep the casing.
Both of those pieces of evidence will connect to Glass’s registered FBI firearm.
His look tells me he knows exactly what I’m doing.
However, he walks over to Randolph and pulls out his Sig Sauer P365 department-issued firearm from his shoulder holster under his suit jacket. He fires the shot, point blank into Randolph’s forehead, the sound echoing in the room.
Then he walks back to us, stopping in front of Slade. “Stay away from my kids.”
She lifts her chin, defiant and strong. “They’re adults and can make their own choices. But know that they’re my ride-or-die, and I’ll always do everything to protect them.”
A smile curls his lips. “I’ve always liked you, Alexandra, or I guess…Slade.” His look tracks to me, then back to her, eying at the tattoo on her throat. “I’d tell you to keep your nose out of trouble, but I can see who you belong to now.”
That’s right. She’s mine, and I won’t ever let her go.
Slade leans into me. “And Bane belongs to me.” She outright claims me, and I’ve never been more overcome with love and joy than in this moment. “I’m Havoc Guardians through-and-through. I’m back home where I belong. Take care, Andrew.”
Len holds out her hand, waiting, and I realize she wants the tiny earpieces. Both Slade and I remove ours, giving them to her, then she leads Glass out.
But she pauses in the doorway, turning back to us. “My team and I will figure out the clusterfuck on the street outside and will make sure these bastards are brought down.” She looks at the bloody room and then at Slade covered in it. “You’ll make all this disappear?”
“Without a trace,” I promise.
“Don’t abuse that evidence you have on Andrew Glass,” she warns.
“It’s only insurance. I don’t need him as an enemy.”
Len studies me, then nods.
“Thank you, Len,” Slade says. “It doesn’t feel like enough, but thank you.”
“It’s what we do.” She flashes a rare, full-on smile. “Keep your nose out of trouble.”
Then she closes the door, and I take Slade in my arms. There’s a dead body in the room with us, but I don’t give a shit. Because it feels like his blood is washing Slade’s slate clean.
The haunted look in her eyes is completely gone now. I know her demons could resurface again—they aren’t entirely banished, likely never will be—but she’s strong and whole. And I’ll always stand at her side, or behind her, or in front to shield her, however she needs me for her strength.
“You did it.”
She wraps her hand around the back of my neck and pulls my mouth down to hover over hers without touching. “I succeeded because you’re my shelter. My calm in the raging storm. And because you helped me find the strength to do it, Bane.”
“And I always will. Because you’re mine. First, you tilted my world off its axis, then you became the center of my world. Now, you are my world. My every-fucking-thing. So, tell me you love me,” I command darkly. “And fucking kiss me already.”
“I love you so much it hurts.” Then she grins. “Daddy.”
My hand tightens around her neck, and I give her a filthy smile. “Say it again.”
“Daddy.”
Then she crushes our mouths together. And if our fate wasn’t sealed before, maybe even years ago, it sure the fuck is now.