Chapter 28
28
RYKER
I waited until Isabel finally fell asleep.
She was warm against me, her breath slow and even, her body relaxed in a way that told me she felt safe. That shouldn’t have mattered. Not with what was coming. Not with the war we were about to walk into. But it did. It mattered in a way I wasn’t ready to name.
Her leg was draped over mine, her arm curled against my chest, her fingers just barely brushing my skin. The scent of her was everywhere—soap and something softer, something her. It had settled into my sheets, into my skin, into my fucking head.
I should have gotten up the second I was sure she was out, but I didn’t. Instead, I lay there, staring at the ceiling, replaying what she had said before sleep took her.
Marriage.
Bridesmaids.
She’d said it like a tease, like she was trying to rattle me, trying to see if I’d flinch. But the thing was? —
It didn’t scare me.
It should have. The idea of permanence, of forever, of someone like me taking something that good, that real, and trying to keep it without breaking it—that should have sent me running.
But it didn’t.
It fucking excited me.
The idea of her wearing my ring, of her being mine in every way, of her tied to me in something bigger than just bodies and instinct—it set something off in me, something I didn’t know how to shut down.
She would be mine. Forever.
And fuck, that made me want to wake her up. Made me want to roll her onto her back, slide between her legs, and ruin her all over again. Made me want to sink into her heat and let her feel what she did to me, how deep this ran, how there was no getting out of it now.
But there was work to do.
Carefully, I pulled away, sliding out of bed. She stirred slightly, shifting onto her stomach, but didn’t wake. My gaze traced the curve of her back, the way her hair fanned over the pillow, the way the moonlight caught on her skin.
Mine.
I exhaled slowly, running a hand through my hair before I turned away.
I pulled on a pair of jeans, grabbed a clean shirt, and slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind me.
The house was still awake. Dominion Hall never slept, not when we were on high alert, not when something like this was coming.
The war room was a controlled chaos—monitors glowing, men hunched over printouts, voices low but urgent. Maps of Folly Beach Pier were spread across the long table, Elias running surveillance feeds while Charlie and Noah discussed alternate entry points.
I rolled my shoulders, stepping into the room.
“Where are we?” I asked.
Charlie looked up from the map, running a hand through his short hair. “We’ve got multiple angles, but none are good. The pier is exposed. They chose it for a reason.”
Of course, they did. The location forced us into open ground, made us visible. If we tried to control the environment, we’d have nowhere to maneuver.
Noah exhaled sharply. “We’ll have men on the water and land, but even with a multiple-team approach, this could go sideways fast. We’re missing something.”
“We always are,” I muttered, moving to the table, scanning the plans. “We plug every hole we can, prepare for the worst, and assume they’ve thought ten steps ahead.”
I traced a path along the map with my finger, running through every scenario in my head, every possible move they could make. We were going in blind.
I fucking hated going in blind.
Hours passed. Plans were made and remade, tactics refined, men prepped. We worked through every contingency we could think of, tried to anticipate every possible move.
But no matter how we spun it, the truth was the same.
Hostage and ransom situations never ended clean.
I’d been in enough of them to know that.
They always turned into a world of shit.
That’s why I had to get this right.
For Will.
For Isabel .
For myself.
Isabel was up early. I was in the bathroom.
I heard her moving before I even opened my eyes, the quiet rustling of sheets, the soft shuffle of her bare feet against the hardwood floor. She stood near the window, arms wrapped around herself, staring out at the gray morning light like she could will the day into slowing down.
But time didn’t slow.
Not for us.
Not for what was coming.
I stayed in the doorway for a moment longer, watching her. The tension in her shoulders, the way her fingers tightened against her arms—it was clear she hadn’t slept well. Neither had I. Sleep didn’t come easy when you knew what lay ahead.
She turned, eyes meeting mine, but she didn’t say anything. There was nothing left to say.
Downstairs, Dominion Hall was already awake, filled with the low hum of men moving, talking, making final preparations. Some sat around the large kitchen table, eating in silence, while others stood near the coffee maker, nursing cups of caffeine and exhaustion.
Isabel sat at the counter, a plate of eggs and toast in front of her, untouched. Her fingers traced the rim of a coffee mug, eyes distant. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and placed it next to her plate.
“Eat,” I said.
She blinked up at me, then glanced down at the food. “I’m not hungry. ”
I pulled out a chair, twisting the cap off my water bottle. “I don’t care. Eat anyway.”
She sighed, but after a moment, she picked up the fork and took a small bite of eggs, chewing slowly. I watched her, making sure she didn’t stop. I didn’t give a damn if she wanted to eat or not—she needed to.
I didn’t eat.
Coffee and water were enough for me. I functioned better on empty. A full stomach slowed me down, made me too aware of my body. I needed to be sharp. Focused. Unbreakable.
After a few bites, she set the fork down and met my gaze. “Tell me how this is going to work.”
I leaned back in my chair, rolling my shoulders. “Multiple teams will have eyes on the exchange. The enemy will expect that. We’ll have surveillance from the water, from the land, and from the air. But I’ll be the one going in for Will.”
Her body tensed. “No.”
I raised an eyebrow. “No?”
“It’s too dangerous,” she said, shaking her head. “You can’t?—”
“This is what I do, Isabel.” My voice was calm, even, because I’d already accepted it. “I walk point. I go in first. That’s the job.”
“Then let someone else do it.”
I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand over my jaw. “Will is my responsibility.”
That was the end of it.
She knew it, too. I could see it in the way her fingers curled into her palms, the way she looked at me like she wanted to reach across the counter and shake me. But she didn’t. She just swallowed hard and nodded .
After a moment, she asked, “What about the ransom?”
I leaned forward, resting my forearms on the counter. “It’s covered.”
She studied me for a long second, like she was waiting for me to elaborate, but I didn’t.
After a moment, she let it go.
The day passed in a blur of final preparations.
The sun climbed higher, and still, there was no sign of the enemy. No new messages. No last-minute breaks. Just silence.
I went deeper into the mission, into the role that had been carved into me after years of leading teams into the unknown. I walked through the plan with my men, drilled them on every possible scenario, tested our communication lines, and ran through backup plans in case shit went south.
Because it always did.
I didn’t let myself think about Isabel.
Didn’t let myself think about what I was leaving behind.
Didn’t let myself think about what could have been.
When it was finally time to leave, I found Isabel in my room, waiting for me.
She stood near the edge of the bed, arms crossed, watching me as I grabbed the armor I had set aside for her earlier. The chest plate, the reinforced straps.
I stepped toward her, lifting the vest.
She frowned. “That’s unnecessary.”
I didn’t answer. Just pulled the shirt over her head, my fingers brushing over her bare skin as I worked.
“Ryker—”
“It’s not up for discussion,” I said, tightening the straps into place .
She scowled, but she didn’t fight me.
I stepped back, eyes scanning my work. The gear fit snugly, covering her most vital areas, giving her a fighting chance if things went sideways. It wouldn’t make her invincible, but it was better than nothing.
“You’ll be with two of my best men,” I told her, reaching for her wrist, securing one of the side fastenings. “They have strict orders to keep you in the SUV, away from the pier.”
Her jaw clenched. “And if I don’t listen?”
I met her gaze. “Then you’ll be dealing with me.”
Something dark flickered in her eyes, but she didn’t argue.
I finished strapping the last piece of armor into place, then reached for her hand, squeezing it once before letting go.
This was it.
The final goodbye.
I wasn’t afraid. I had never been afraid.
But I was a little sad.
I knew who I was. I knew that if it came down to saving Will or saving myself, I’d save Will. Because that’s who I was. That’s who I had always been.
As I climbed into the driver’s seat and pulled away from Dominion Hall, I didn’t let myself look back.
I just focused on the road ahead, on what was coming, on the undeniable fact that after tonight?—
Everything would change.