Chapter 9
Keira and Jade went over and over everything they could remember from their time at the Onyx training compound, documenting everything.
Mostly, they remembered their daily activities from morning roll call, calisthenics, hand-to-hand combat and weapons training, noon meal, afternoon training, cleaning, and the nightly lockdown.
Slowly, they remembered other things that had gone on around them.
Jade remembered the guards' shift changes at the gate and in the tower, the twice-weekly supply deliveries and the once-a-month propane deliveries. Keira remembered escape routes, blind spots and Viktor’s patterns, all because of his surprise attacks and his insistence on situational awareness one hundred percent of the time.
Together, they recalled the number of guards and trainers present at different times of the day.
Rogue listened, provided input where he could and summed up what they were up against. “This is a hardened facility. Armed guards, surveillance, multiple barriers. We're looking at a minimum of twenty hostiles, maybe more. Let’s talk about what we have to work with.”
They pulled all the weapons and ammunition they’d brought with them. Three handguns, three knives, a sniper rifle, and limited ammunition that might work for one engagement. Radio earbuds for two. No explosives. Three personnel, two of whom were fugitives.
“The numbers are not in our favor,” Rogue said.
Keira stared at the inventory of items. “Then again, Onyx operatives are trained to work alone. We can figure this out.”
“I can get inside,” Jade said. “They'll expect me to return—Viktor's message said as much. I can go in under the pretense of surrendering.”
“And then what?” Keira asked. “There’s only one of you against twenty of them. They’ll lock you up with Lily.”
“Not necessarily,” Jade said. “If they don’t lock me up, I can get inside the security room and disable internal security systems and surveillance.”
“That’s a lot of ifs.” Keira shook her head. “That’s if we can get through a breach in the outer wall and if you can get in to turn off the internal security. They’re not going to trust you after blowing a mission.”
“I can tell them I got spooked, that I thought someone was following me and backed out before I was caught,” Jade offered.
“And how are you going to explain your meeting with me?” Keira asked.
“I could tell Viktor that I knew I’d screwed up, and the only way to get back in their good graces was to get the scoop on you—where you were holed up, and how they could capture you.”
Keira considered her proposal. “That might buy you some time, but that doesn’t get us through the door.” She stepped away from the table and paced across the kitchen.
Jade let out a frustrated breath. “Either way, I’m going in. They have my sister. I won’t leave her there for them to kill her.”
“You’re not going in without a plan to get us in as well,” Keira said.
“What plan? We have yet to come up with one,” Jade said, her voice raised, her eyes flashing. She pushed to her feet. “It’s my sister. I won’t leave her to die.”
Her words hit Keira like a sucker punch to the gut. She reeled backward, her hands bunching into fists. “Like I let my sister die? Is that what you’re inferring?”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” Jade glared at Keira. “All I know is that I won’t leave my sister to those animals.”
Anger swept through Keira like a flashover.
Her hatred at being betrayed by Onyx, her hatred for the teenager who’d raped her, the hatred she’d felt for the men who’d drugged her and killed her sister bubbled up inside.
Most of all, her self-loathing for failing her sister threatened to consume her.
She wanted to lash out. Hit something. Someone.
Rogue stepped between her and Jade. “Look,” he said. “It’s late, we’ve been at it too long. Why don’t we call it a night, get some air or get some sleep and start fresh in the morning?”
“I’m all for that,” Jade said, still glaring at Keira. “It’s stuffy in here.” She walked past Keira and out through the front door.
Rogue remained standing in front of Keira.
She breathed in and out, willing the heat of her anger to cool.
As it did, she realized her reaction had been completely blown out of proportion.
Her shoulders sagged, and she scrubbed a hand over her face.
“I lost it. I took her comment about not leaving her sister personally, and I shouldn’t have.
She doesn’t know. I never told anyone at Onyx. God, I’m sorry.”
Rogue tipped her chin up and stared down into her eyes. “Don’t tell me. Tell Jade.”
Keira met his gaze and nodded. “You’re right. She has enough to worry about. She doesn’t need a member of her own team lashing out at her.”
Rogue stepped back, making room for Keira to pass.
She walked out of the cabin and out onto the porch, where Jade leaned against the rail.
“Jade,” she whispered.
“What?” Jade responded, her tone flat. “Did you come out to yell at me? I got enough of that at Onyx. I don’t need it from you.”
Keira stepped up beside her and stared out at the stars. “I’m sorry I yelled. It was uncalled for. I completely understand how desperate you are to rescue your sister.”
“How could you understand? Your sister isn’t being held hostage.”
Tears welled in Keira’s eyes. “You’re right because my sister is dead.”
Jade’s head snapped around, her gaze locking with Keira’s. “Oh, hell. I’m so sorry. Did they kill her? Did Viktor kill your sister?”
Tears slipped silently down Keira’s cheeks as she shook her head.
“No. Because I couldn’t protect her, she died.
I should’ve done better by her, but I didn’t.
” She touched Jade’s arm. “I promise, I’ll do everything in my power to free your sister.
I don’t want you to live through the pain of losing someone you love and promised to protect. ”
Jade’s eyes filled with tears. “I love Lily. She’s all I have.”
“My sister was all I had.”
Jade fell against Keira.
Keira wrapped her arms around her and held her.
When her tears dried, Jade leaned back, her eyes round and watery. “What if I screw up. What if I freeze? What if they kill her anyway?”
Keira brushed a strand of her dark hair back behind her ear. “You won’t freeze. You’re stronger than you realize.”
“How do you know?”
Keira smiled. “Because you called for help. That took more courage than any mission Viktor ever sent you on. You chose to fight back.”
Jade nodded. “You fought back, too. You got out."
Keira gave her a crooked smile. “Barely, and I've been running ever since. But now...maybe it's time to stop running and bring the fight to them."
Jade’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. It’s time.”
Keira’s heart swelled for this woman who wasn’t her biological sister but was her sister in spirit. Together, they’d overcome what was holding them back.
“Go,” Keira said. “Get some rest. We need to be ready to knock out the plan in the morning when we’re fresh.”
Jade nodded, wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks and smiled up at Keira. “Thank you for believing in me.”
“You don’t need me to believe in you. You’re a complete badass who can believe in herself. But yes, I believe in you as well.” She hugged Jade once more and stepped back.
Jade walked into the cabin.
Keira remained on the porch, staring out at the stars. Rescuing Lily had taken on so much more meaning than simply freeing Jade’s sister. She had to do it for herself as much as for Lily and Jade. She had to do it for Kit.
“Are you two good?” Rogue’s voice sounded close to her.
She’d been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn’t heard him step out onto the deck. She nodded without looking back at him. “Yeah. We’re good.”
“We’ll make a plan that works. We should hear more from Royce to add to what we know already, and we’ll come up with a way to get inside, rescue Lily and get back out.”
Keira’s turned toward him, her lips turning up on the corners. “You’re a lot different than most of the operators I’ve worked with.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “How so?”
“You care about people and about doing the right thing. Those I’ve known are all about the mission.”
Rogue reached for her hand on the porch rail. “The mission matters, but so do the reasons behind it. If we lose sight of that, we're no better than the people we're fighting. Are you worried about going to the compound?”
Keira nodded. “I haven’t been back in three years. I swore I’d never return.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “They stripped away all sense of self and made us believe we were only Onyx. Not Keira or Jade or whoever else they’d trained. We didn’t exist except to perform our missions.”
“Are you afraid you’ll get sucked back into that life?”
She drew in a breath and let it out. “Maybe.”
“You don’t have to go. Jade and I can handle it.”
Keira laughed, though the sound held no humor.
“So, instead of three to twenty, you think two against twenty would be the same?” She shook her head.
“No. I’m going. I have to. If not for Jade and Lily, then for all the girls Viktor, Strickland and Kaufman have groomed to be their personal weapons.
I want to face Viktor and call him out on the lives he’s ruined.
I want to face him and tell him, personally, his reign of terror against girls and women is over. ”
“You’re not facing him alone, Keira,” Rogue said.
Keira turned to meet his eyes. “Why are you doing this, really? You don't owe me anything. You could walk away, report back to Royce and stay safe.”
Rogue nodded. “I could. But I won’t.”
“Why?” she demanded.
He stepped closer to her. “Because somewhere between tracking you and knowing you, this assignment stopped being a mission.” He cupped her cheek in his hand. “You matter, Keira. What happens to you matters to me."
She covered his hand with hers, her heart squeezing hard in her chest. “Damn it, Rogue. You matter to me, as well.”