Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
The warehouse is dead as we surround it, the lights layering a blue hue throughout the dark sky.
We hold our breaths as we slither through the space against the wall.
Jett is perched on the roof like a sentry, a shadow folded into the dark.
Men wander in and out of the front entrance, sloppy and unaware of who’s coming.
I recognize each of them from their files.
Bear and Jasper take the opposite side of the warehouse, in position for the patrolling men along the exterior. Nina and Greer wait at the rear, patient, lethal, fingers itching for their cue. Nyx’s voice crackles in my ear. “Hold.”
My heart doesn’t stutter; it’s steady as it always is before the implosion. I’m at the basement entrance, hand tight on the door and my mask molded to my face like a second skin. I push down on the handle warily.
“Florence, wait,” Nyx warns. He’s crouched low at the top of the steps, scanning the overgrown parking lot.
Something in me snaps as laughter echoes from inside.
I’m done waiting. Red blankets my vision like a curtain as I move and kick the door in, stepping into the dark like it owes me something.
I raise my Glock, propping my flashlight onto my locked wrist as I swiftly move through the stagnant area.
I tap my earpiece. “Basement clear.” Grunts sound from the exterior staircase.
“Nyx do you copy?” Two buzzes vibrate my ear drum. Go.
I flush my mind of everything but the blueprint of the space and keep my knees bent as I inch toward the crooked wooden staircase.
Stalking quietly, weapon still drawn, electricity soars through my veins as the laughter grows louder from the other side of the door.
I rear back, kicking it with all my might.
The door slams against the concrete wall just as I lunge into the light.
Three men turn toward the sudden commotion, too slow, all of them.
I clock the first before his brain can register it, my elbow driving deep into his throat, hard enough to collapse the sound out of him. He drops, clawing at nothing.
The second reaches for his gun, but I don’t let him finish the thought.
I fire once, center mass. He goes down like a puppet folding to the floor as the echo of my shot snaps back through the basement behind me.
The third one is smarter—or maybe he thinks he is.
He runs. I smile coldly, baring my teeth and sprint after him.
Grabbing him by the back of the collar, I slam him face first into the metal shelving.
The impact rattles the entire row. He screams, but it only excites me more. I wrench his arm behind him until I feel the joint give, and he drops to his knees. I use my boot and shove him face-first to the floor, planting the base of it on his neck as I keep hold of his arm.
“When you said you keep your foot on their necks Flossie, I didn’t think you meant literally,” Nyx grunts. His voice is deadly low; he’s agitated that I went ahead.
He effortlessly hauls two restrained men up the staircase, tossing them down like two wet wash rags to the floor.
Rolling my eyes at my partner, I shift my weight, pulling up on the helpless man’s arm. One wrong move and I will not hesitate to dislocate it. “Call it in,” I snap.
Nyx runs his large, calloused fingers through his raven black hair as he taps his earpiece to let the others know we’re clear.
Buzz.
The power flickers above in response. I secure the zip ties around the wrists of the man below me and haul him to his feet, tightening my grip as he mumbles curses under his breath.
“Shut your mouth,” I warn.
“You have no idea what’s coming for you, lady.” He spits at my feet. I grab a fistful of the man’s wiry silver hair jerking his raging eyes to meet my own.
“I’ll welcome whatever, whenever, big guy.
” Our eyes remain locked, tension swirling between us even as Nyx releases a low, warning rumble beside me at the man’s threat.
In one stride, he appears in front of the man still held in my grasp.
Nyx is all rough edges and silent warnings; I used to think I was the quiet one of the unit until he came along.
Nyx runs a thumb along the thick of his beard; he exhales deeply from his chest as he begins reaching for the man but his attention is suddenly snatched away by the two men entering the warehouse.
One of them, Jasper, slows his stride, observing the raging man in my iron grip. Worry glimmers in his leaf-green eyes.
“No wolves.” I report.
In sync beside him, Bear halts, crouching down next to the other men face-down in restraints.
The abnormally large man shakes his head, fiddling with the golden hoop in his nose. “I’d offer y’all a blanket but you kind of burned that bridge.”
Another member of our team, Nina, enters the back of the warehouse, double doors flapping behind her as she throws the duffel full of collected firearms to the floor with a huff.
She tosses her dark-brown waves over her shoulder, eyeing our burly teammate teasing the confined men.
The black jumpsuit clings to her every curve as she shifts from hip to hip, assessing the warehouse, ignoring Bear as he continues his performance.
Bear skips in front of his audience toward her, his thick ginger hair plopping in the bun on top of his head as he moves.
I swear the floor shakes beneath us with each step he takes.
Bear lives up to his name, being a six-foot-seven Texan as broad as a Viking.
Retired game warden, not willingly, but I never got the full story on that.
He stops abruptly in her path, widening his stance and flexing his arms as if he were Rocky Balboa. “You can cuff me too if you want.”
Nina’s chestnut eyes flare as she smacks the zip ties to Bear’s chest and steps around him.
Her hair swishes with the same rhythm as her hips, caramel highlights catching in the subtle lighting giving her aura a hushed glow.
The tall Italian beauty stops short of Jasper and begins debriefing the count of the seized weaponry.
“Is everyone okay?” I ask evenly, looking over each of them.
Cici answers in my ear. “Greyline is safe, Florence.”
The heat behind my vision cools, like a tunnel breaking open, the world suddenly rushing back into focus.
Nyx carries on, removing the tight fitted gloves from his hands and rolling up his sleeves to collect the trash from my hold.
My lips tighten slightly as my gaze flickers toward his tattoos.
Such careless exposure, but as his eyes dart to mine, my features slip coolly back into place.
As one of the leads he should know better, Nyx’s built-in predator welcomes outside challenges just as much as I do.
But this is not a playground. Although these men are now contained and will be facing consequences, I’m not ignorant to the fact that at the end of the day they still get their one phone call.
Whether that’s to a lawyer, or to their informants I don’t know.
But I do know I don’t want a single person to get a read on me.
I make good on my promises to welcome threats with open arms, constantly watching my back outside of the job, but I was doing that long before I even started T.A.L.O.N— Tactical Animal Liberation Operations Network.
We’ve been tracking this particular group for years now, Black Market Animal International Trade, aka B.A.I.T.
Exotic animal trafficking to put it plainly.
Different species of animals are hunted and sold throughout the world through B.A.I.T and it’s our job to put a stop to it.
Each team of our service is assigned to different animals, ours being the Greyline Unit—we were given the wolves. My team members and I saved over fifty of them last year.
You’ll find most of the wolves being sold into B.A.I.T breeding programs for the wealthy, poached for sport, or even sold into dog fights, where they’re entered as “half breeds” to the unknowing opponents who have your average pitbull or Rottweiler. The sickening list goes on and on.
The rest are shipped to God knows where.
Although we don’t have an exact count of how many there are out there, our prerogative is to follow the cord and pull the plug.
That’s what today’s mission was, following the cord.
These men were stationed at a warehouse in Sutton’s Bay Michigan.
Our team flew in a few weeks ago to wire the place before their arrival and to give our anonymous tip a generous payment.
We’ve been waiting in the shadows since their arrival, listening to hours of conversations, some helpful but most not.
To be doing something highly illegal, you would think these men would be of higher quality.
Not only do they look like the old creepy gas station attendants, but they act like them too.
Just running their mouths, sloppy and careless, clearly unaware of the ambush that awaited them.
After waiting for the FBI to take them into custody, we do one last sweep before heading out.
The black van door screeches shut as we all load in to take our seats on the bench.
I slide in next to Cici, who finally looks up from her tablet.
She tosses her wavy blonde hair out of the way, giving me a fond smile.
“Florence, you didn’t give anybody a chance. ”
Cici twirls a lock of my tangled midnight hair in her fingers. I swat her away, running my own half gloved fingers through it, only to cringe at the split ends.
I haven’t bothered to cut it this year; I pull a piece outward to examine the length. “In and out,” I sigh, inclining my head towards her fingers tapping rapidly on the keyboard in front of her. “Was that not at the top of instruction list that we so desperately needed?”
Cici chuckles lowly. “If you would have read it thoroughly you would have noticed the note at the bottom that warned you not to go ahead of the others.”
Across from us, Jett clicks his tongue. “Brave of you, Cici, to ever give Florence a warning.”
A passing street light shines across his mahogany polished arms as he crosses them, shrugging off my glare. I glance at him, flashing my teeth sweetly.
Cici sighs. “Oh, my dear Flossie would never add me to her list.”
I grin wolfishly, linking her arm through my own in a wordless agreement. Cici and I have been best friends for over twenty years. Saying that we’ve been through everything together is highly an understatement.
Bear tips his head toward Cici. “Can someone explain this list? I’ve apparently been on it for three years, and nothing’s happened yet.” He snickers, snapping his fingers together in a talking gesture. “Jett, I think she’s bluffing.”
Cici reaches across me, smacking Bear’s arm with her iPad. A loud pop echoes throughout the dusty van as he howls with laughter.
Bear rubs at his thick arms, both covered in tribal artwork and constellations of never-ending freckles. “Assaulting a coworker in front of witnesses, are we? Flossie, you better add that to the paperwork.”
I crack one eye open. “Don’t worry, Bear, your time will come.”
Cici tugs at her vest, adjusting the thick fabric around her bust.
Bear clears his throat, biting back a wicked smile. “Need me to loosen the straps?”
“Need me to break your nose?” Cici shoots him a look as she folds her arms tightly around herself.
Jett coughs, hiding his own grin in his hands.
We couldn’t seem to find a bullet-proof vest to fit her correctly.
Bear still gives her hell about having to special-order one.
Standard-issued armor has never been designed with women like her in mind and watching her wrestle with it always reminds me how differently our bodies carry in the same uniform.
Although my children are grown now, my body never seemed to get that bounce back some women speak of.
Nonetheless, I would say I’m in pretty good shape for thirty-five and having two kids.
Once they graduated high school, Ellie set off to study science while Todd headed for trade school.
Ellie’s dream is to become a marine biologist, and Todd just wants to be a blue-collar man making bank.
I respect it, but even thinking about them as adults making their own decisions makes my heart cringe.
Ellie wasn’t exactly part of the plan. I was a high school senior in a small town where everyone knew everyone, and news traveled faster than the wind.
A young woman having a baby out of wedlock wasn’t something people looked kindly on.
The whispers followed me everywhere. The stares did too.
Until it came to Ellie’s dad, then everyone just turned the other way.
Because it’s believed every child needs a father.
No matter what. But the moment I held Ellie in my arms, none of it mattered anymore.
Two years later, Todd came along, and somehow my heart felt complete even in the chaos that surrounded me.
I don’t need to look back to know what I figured out then.
It was all God’s hand. He knew exactly what He was doing when He gave me those two.
Ellie and Todd became my savings graces.
On the nights I wanted to give up, they gave me a reason to stay.
If it weren’t for them, I don’t know where I’d be. But I do know this—I wouldn’t be here.
Neither have a clue what their mother is doing; they just believe that I landed is miraculous firearm dealing job that requires me to constantly travel with their aunt Cici and can only visit for the holidays.
It’s better that way. Keeping them in the dark ensures safety on both ends.
Though I do wonder what they would think of me, if they found out who I am now.
I sacrificed so much, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
I became a mother at such a young age— a single mother.
I worked endlessly to scrape by, going as far as selling my own belongings just to buy them a Happy Meal.
Eating peanut butter off a spoon so they could split our last Stouffer’s tray until pay day.
I never let them know it though. After a short-lived engagement to their dad, and then his abandonment, that’s all that ever became of me.
Keeping us going in the shadows. But I’d do it all over again for them. I just hate myself for being the reason we lived like that. I failed them in more ways than one. I was so blind back then that I really thought Devin was my happily ever after. Until it turned into a nightmare.