Yale
Silence and I return to the living room, hand in hand. Xavier is by the door, talking to Envy, and when he spots us, he smirks, then continues his conversation. Mercy wanders by us and back toward the bedroom, mumbling something about packing grenades, and Silence gives me a wide-eyed look.
“Almost ready?” I ask as we reach Xavier.
He nods. “Charlie’s on his way up with Corey.”
“He’s coming here?” Silence asks. “But he worked for Ryker.”
“And apparently he hated the fucker,” Xavier says.
“They don’t work together anymore because Corey tried to kill him.
When Charlie found Corey to talk about it, he was more than eager to help.
” Silence leans her temple against my bicep, still clearly concerned.
“I trust Charlie’s judgement, Q. Don’t worry. ”
She nods, clinging tighter to my hand. Someone knocks, and Xavier answers it to Charlie.
He ducks to get his head under the doorframe, and behind him is a man in his fifties, silver hair covered in a battered cap, his face scarred and scowling.
He’s in a heavy green overcoat and looks like he’s about to go fishing, not on a murder spree.
“Corey, everyone, everyone, Corey,” Charlie says, and seemingly the pleasantries are over. “He knows where Ryker is.”
Corey shoves his hands into his pockets, eyeing us. “I wanna be the one to kill the prick, too.”
“That position is taken,” Xavier says. “Where is he?” But Corey’s attention has moved to Silence. He’s staring at her, his already tense persona tightening further.
Irritation prickles the back of my neck. “She’s taken.”
“Times three,” Xavier snaps.
“No, fuck, she’s way too young for me. Jesus,” Corey barks, and runs his hand over his graying stubble.
“She’s why I tried to kill Ryker. We had a meeting once and he had pictures of her on his desk.
And other things … y’know, panties and stuff.
Creepy little prick. I would’ve broken his fucking face if he weren’t armed.
” Silence’s hand tightens around mine. “I would’ve found ya to warn ya, but I didn’t know who ya were. ”
Silence voice is soft. “Thank you. For defending me.”
He shrugs. “It’s not right, doing stuff like that.”
Mercy suddenly appears and sprays Xavier with cologne. He coughs, wrinkling his nose. “What the fuck, Mercy?”
“What does that smell like?” she asks, examining his expression.
“I dunno. Fucking cologne?” He wafts the air in front of him. “Bad cologne, too. I smell like a forest floor.”
“Biscuits,” she mumbles. “If it doesn’t smell good, people won’t use it.”
“You’re going into cosmetics, now?” Envy asks dryly.
Mercy shakes her head, examining the glass bottle. “It’s a nerve agent but disguised as—” We all simultaneously take large steps back, and she tuts. “It’s not active!”
“You should try a deodorant. People expect a bit of medicinal shit in that.”
We all look at Corey. He’s the only one who didn’t try to run from the cologne of death, and I don’t know what that says about him.
Mercy looks away thoughtfully. “That’s good. That’s very good. Who are you?”
He flushes and clears his throat, snatching off his cap. “Corey Riley, ma’am. I spent a few years in prison and got creative with weaponry. Once made a bomb outta noodles, spices and aftershave. Didn’t do much harm but made the officers run.” He grins, and Mercy beams at him.
“Mr. Riley, would you like to take a look at my range of nerve agents?”
His eyes brighten. “I’d love to.”
As Mercy links her arm through his and they saunter away, already deep in conversation. I say, “Did we just witness the birth of something horrific?”
Silence hums in agreement.
Xavier looks at his watch. “Sixteen hours until we’re supposed to meet Ryker. We need to get a plan together and make sure everyone’s clear on it. Thirty minutes, then we all meet in the living room.”
Once Xavier and I have run through the plan, I whip up some stew for Charlie’s guys.
I encourage Silence to eat, but she spends most of her time playing with her wedding ring and staring out the window, like she’s expecting Zayden to come back of his own accord. I’m naively hoping for the same thing.
Food eaten, bags packed, we gather in the living room. Xavier and I stand at the front, and Zayden’s absence is felt more than ever. Xavier’s arms are folded, but he’s rubbing his thumb across his forefinger and fidgeting in place. Silence is watching him, brows furrowed gently.
“He’s gonna be proud of you,” I say.
Xavier looks at me. “Who?”
“Z. You’re doing good.”
My brother looks away, jaw tight. “I know. Should’ve been me at the front the whole time. He’s too crabby.”
I smirk at his deflection. “Yeah, and you’re like a Disney bunny rabbit.”
He throws me a wry grin and elbows me, then whistles until all attention is on him.
“Right, I’m only going to say this once.
” The room falls quiet, and twenty men watch us.
Mercy, Envy, and Corey are at the back of the room, and Charlie is off to the side.
“The meeting with Ryker is in sixteen hours, but we’re not waiting.
We know where he is, so we’re going in tonight. ”
“Are we positive the information is good?” Envy asks, throwing her thumb in Corey’s direction. “Don’t you think he might have moved since this guy last saw him?”
Corey scowls. “You don’t think I had a tracker on the guy? He was gonna kill me at one point, so I needed to know where he was. He’s got a device in the sole of those hideous shoes he wears.”
Thank God for Corey Riley and his determination when it comes to killing.
Xavier continues, “We leave the moment this meeting is over, but most of you will stay on the outskirts until I give the signal. I need to make sure Zayden is in that house before we move in.”
“I’ll be situated a distance away on comms,” I say. “And I’ll be watching your backs.”
One of Charlie’s men at the front sits up. “Sniper?” I nod, shifting a little uncomfortably, because it’s been a long time since I’ve used the rifle in an actual job. I’ve stayed sharp, but I haven’t spilled blood with it in years.
The younger guy grins. “Cool. I’ve heard you’re the best.”
“Don’t say that. It’ll go to his head,” Charlie quips, and everyone laughs quietly.
“We move in in four groups,” Xavier says. “The plan is to do this quietly, not guns blazing. Blades first, guns only if necessary. We don’t need anyone tipping off whoever is watching Zayden.”
Because they’ll kill him.
Words he won’t say, but they still hang in the room.
“What about me?” Silence asks.
“I’ve got you, Little Silver,” Charlie says. “I’m staying here with you and Mercy.”
Silence gives him a small, grateful smile but then locks eyes with me. “I want to come with you. I can help.”
“If you’re even a mile close of that place, I’m not thinking about anything but you,” Xavier says. “We need you safe and away from the danger, Q.”
She nods slowly, and there are some not-so-subtle glances exchanged between the men. There have been a few whispers circling about how close we are with Silence, ones that Charlie has shut down quickly, but there’s only so much he can do about gossip.
“I’m gonna tell you where you all need to be, but ’cos I’m staying here, you listen to Xavier,” Charlie says. “Anyone thinks about being a hero, I’ll fire you, then I’ll call your mothers and rat you out.”
There’s a collective mumbling, which tells me Charlie has probably called their moms before.
“Okay, everyone speak to Charlie, then get your shit together. Cars are waiting downstairs,” Xavier says, and the conversation begins again. It’s loud, busy, and Silence weaves her way between people to get to us. “Don’t argue with me, Q.”
“I can stay in a car,” she insists. “Offer medical support.”
“What has been on your mind the last day?” he asks.
She sighs and folds her arms. “Zayden.”
“Exactly. You can’t think about anything but him. Do you think we’ll be able to concentrate if at any point you could get hurt?” Xavier asks.
She says nothing, looking away. “He’s right, love. We need to put all our resources into getting Z out.”
By the twitch of her bottom lip, it’s clear she’s frantically chewing the inside of it.
“And what if none of you come home?” she asks, her voice cracking. “What if you leave and—”
“We’re coming back. All of us,” I say, pulling her to me. “We have one hell of a reason to get through this.”
She looks up at Xavier. “I just can’t lose any of you. Not after … now everything is out, I can’t stand the thought of not having all of us together.”
Xavier cups her cheek. “That isn’t going to happen. We’re all in this. We’ve got a long life and a lot of sex ahead of us.”
Silence laughs then pushes him. “Don’t joke right now.”
“Kiss me, Q,” he says, and she goes to him, pushing herself up on her tiptoes to press her lips to his. A tear falls down her cheek, and he brushes it away. “This will all be over in a few hours. Then we go home.”
She nods, then turns to me and kisses me. “Don’t you fucking dare die on me, okay? I’ll be so angry with you.”
I smile against her lips. “Not gonna happen, love.”