5. Sam #2
The way she’d looked when she learned the truth.
“Yes.”
One word. But Derek heard everything underneath it.
He nodded once. “Then that’s all I need to know.”
“That’s—” Gideon’s voice went up an octave. “That’s not—You can’t just—” He gestured wildly between us. “He says ‘mate,’ and suddenly we’re all signing up for a suicide mission? That’s it? One word and self-preservation just—poof—out the window? I’ve seen lemmings with more hesitation.”
“She’s his mate,” Ryan said. Simply. Like it explained everything.
“So what? Mate bonds don’t make prison breaks less suicidal! They don’t magically turn a terrible idea into a good one! They don’t—”
“When do we leave?” Mason’s voice was quiet, but it silenced Gideon mid-rant.
I stared at him. At all of them.
For months, I’d told myself I’d burned these bridges.
That the Sam who’d grown up wrestling Derek in the backyard, who’d learned to track with Mason, who’d watched Ryan step into the Alpha role like it was made for him—that Sam was gone.
Replaced by the Council’s weapon. A man who lied for a living and had forgotten how to be anything else.
But here they were. Ready to put their lives on the line for a woman they’d never met, on my word alone.
Because that still meant something.
“Thank you,” I managed.
“That’s it! You have all gone crazy. You don’t even know her.”
“We know Sam.” Derek held my gaze. The twin bond pulsed between us, raw and real. “We know what it means when a Shaw finds his mate.”
“Doesn’t mean you have to—”
“Yeah,” Ryan’s mouth curved slightly. “It does.”
Mason cracked his knuckles. “So. Adarcan. What are we looking at?”
“What you’re looking at,” Gideon started pacing, hands flying through the air as he described the nightmare ahead, “is a full-scale prison break from the most secure supernatural facility in North America.”
“Sounds challenging,” Mason said mildly.
“Oh, we’re just getting started.” Gideon’s eyes were a little wild now.
“The perimeter is patrolled by the Ironhides—elite guards specifically selected for their combat skills. The ventilation system pumps silver dust through the whole facility. Every breath makes you weaker. By the time you hit Alpha level, you can barely access your wolf, let alone fight. The place isn’t designed to just contain prisoners. It’s designed to break them.”
He paused for dramatic effect.
“Also, the coffee is terrible. Like, genuinely offensive. I’ve been there twice for prisoner transports, and I’m still not over it.”
“You’re saying it’s impossible,” Ryan said.
“I’m saying it’s suicide with extra steps.” Gideon jabbed a finger at me. “Tell them. Tell them this is insane.”
“It’s insane.”
“Thank you!”
“Which is why I need help.”
Gideon made a sound like a dying animal. “It’s a death wish, is what it is.” He spun to face my brothers. “Talk to him. You’re his family. Make him see reason. This isn’t romance. It’s a prison break against people who will absolutely kill all of you without hesitation.”
Derek looked at Gideon for a long moment. Then at me. Then back at Gideon.
“We don’t abandon family,” he said. “And if she’s Sam’s mate, she’s family.”
Something cracked open in my chest.
Fuck, I didn’t know what I would do without my brothers.
“You’re all going to die,” Gideon announced. “Horribly. Probably screaming.” He ran a hand through his hair and said grimly, “And I’m going to have so much fucking paperwork.”
“Gideon,” I said. “I appreciate you trying to look out for me, but just go back to the Council. Tell Talia you couldn’t find me.”
Gideon stared at me. Then he sighed, long and dramatic. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Fine. FINE. But when we all end up in cells next to your terrorist girlfriend, I’m blaming you.”
“Mate,” Derek corrected.
“Mate, girlfriend, half-breed who’s going to probably try to kill him the second she sees him. Let’s go break her out of prison. Why not? It’s not like I had plans to live past thirty anyway.”
Despite everything, I felt myself grin. “You’re twenty-nine.”
“Exactly. I had a whole year left. A whole year, Shaw. And you’re going to get me killed twelve months early.”
“Could be worse,” Mason offered.
“How? How could it possibly be worse?”
“Could die with that haircut,” Derek said.
Gideon looked between us like we were all speaking a different language. “I hate all of you. Every single Shaw. This entire bloodline is a disaster.”
“Welcome to the family,” Ryan said dryly.
Mason moved toward Ryan’s SUV. “We should take this somewhere secure. Start planning properly.”
“The conference room at the enforcers’ building,” Ryan said.
“Perfect,” Gideon muttered. “Our own war room. For our little war crime. Very professional.”
Derek fell into step beside me as we headed for the vehicles. For a moment, neither of us spoke. The twin bond hummed between us—all the things we hadn’t said, all the apologies still unspoken.
Then Derek’s shoulder bumped mine. Just once. Brief.
“You should’ve called,” he said.
“Would you have answered?”
A pause. “Yeah, Sam. I would’ve.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. So I just nodded.
We had a prison to break into. A mate to save. A conspiracy to unravel.
And somehow, against all odds, I had my brothers at my back.
Four Shaws and one extremely reluctant Council enforcer against the most secure facility in North America.
Easy.