Chapter 23
Skylar
I stand near the open trunk of Caldwell's car and check the straps on my vest one more time.
The weight sits heavier than usual tonight.
Midnight has already passed and the federal team is moving into final positions around the warehouse.
I pull out my phone and step away from the group.
Emrys answers on the second ring, his voice soft and tired in the way it gets when he refuses to sleep until he knows I'm safe.
"You're still there," he says.
"I'm still here," I answer. "We move in the next twenty minutes. I wanted to hear your voice before it starts."
There's a pause on his end. I picture him curled in the nest with one of Kade's hoodies pulled over his knees, phone pressed to his ear while Kade waits nearby in silence.
"It's almost over," Emrys says after a moment. "Whatever happens in there tonight, the part that was hurting us ends. Come home when you can."
"I will," I tell him. "Stay in the nest. Let Kade take care of you until I get back."
He makes a small sound that might be agreement. We stay on the line for another thirty seconds without needing more words. When I end the call I slip the phone back into my pocket and walk back to the group. Caldwell gives me a single nod. He doesn't ask who I called.
We drive in two vehicles with the federal agents leading.
The warehouse sits at the end of a long access road lined with rusted fence and tall weeds.
Only one dark sedan is parked near the loading bay.
Declan's car. We move into position without wasted motion.
I stay with Caldwell near the side entrance while the main breach team takes the front.
The signal comes through the radio. We go in fast.
The inside of the warehouse is larger than it looked from outside.
Rows of shipping containers and stacked pallets fill most of the space.
In the center a makeshift command area has been set up with folding tables and laptops.
Several men in dark clothing turn at the sound of the breach.
One reaches for a weapon. A federal agent drops him before he can draw. The rest raise their hands.
Declan stands near the back table with his hood down and his hands visible. He doesn't run. He watches the room fill with armed agents and lets them cuff him without resistance. His eyes meet mine for a second as they walk him past. There's no recognition in his face, only flat calculation.
Hex is in the far corner near a stack of crates.
He looks smaller than the files made him seem.
He reaches for something on the table when Caldwell comes through the gap between two containers.
Hex turns with a gun already in his hand.
Caldwell fires twice before the other man can aim.
The shots echo off the metal walls and Hex drops where he stands.
The loose end that believed one man could be his entire protection ends in a room full of the operation he never understood he was part of.
The federal team moves through the rest of the space with practiced efficiency.
They find hard drives, ledgers, and communication equipment that'll take weeks to sort through.
The operation the network tried to keep hidden lies open under the bright temporary lights.
Every file we chased for months sits here in physical form.
The money trails. The supply lists. The names.
Everything the feds suspected for years but could never prove in one place at one time.
Morrison arrives while the scene's still being secured.
She comes in with two other officers from the station and stands near the entrance with her arms crossed.
The exhaustion I saw at her house is still there beneath the surface, but she's pulled the armor back on.
I walk over to her once the last of the containers has been checked. She looks at me without surprise.
"You're going down for him," I say quietly enough that only she can hear me over the noise.
"You chose your son over the department.
Over the victims. Over everything. Now the federal team has the proof that he worked with the people who kept Hex moving.
You're going to answer for every choice you made to protect him. "
Morrison doesn't argue. She doesn't deny it.
She simply stands there while the weight of the night settles around both of us.
She nods once, a small tight movement, and turns to speak with one of the federal agents who approaches her.
I watch her go and feel the last of the old anger settle into something colder and final.
Caldwell finds me near the edge of the scene a few minutes later. He's already holstered his weapon and is watching the team process the containers. He glances at me and then at the body still lying where Hex fell.
"Go home to your mates," he says. "There's nothing left here that requires you to stay."
I look at him for a moment. The man who watched me drift through pack after pack without ever settling now stands in the middle of the operation that defined both of our lives for years. I shake my head once.
"You should say the same to yourself," I answer. "You've been running this longer than I have."
Caldwell's mouth curves in a small tired smile. "You're closer to this than I am. And if you don't think my Beta's keeping my Omega occupied right now, you'd be wrong. Go home, Skylar. The case is finished. The rest of it can wait until morning."
I nod and step back from the scene. Morrison will answer for what she chose to protect. And I'm no longer the man whose entire reason for existing was wrapped inside a single investigation.
It’s not enough. I know there will be many more late nights, trying to grab every last piece of what the Cardinal Network touched, but for now, I can sleep a little easier.