CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
SYLVIE
“I respect that vantage point,” Axel says while I glare at the evil in front of me and Jax wanders over to examine the picture too. “But there are other options.”
“There are no other fucking options.” Cash pounds his fist on the table. “She will not be anywhere near this asshole or have anything to do with him ever again.”
Guilt coils around me. I don’t want to cause friction between Cash and his family. But when I lift my chin, Maddox shakes his head—a silent petition to let it play out between them.
Axel breezes right past Cash’s outburst. “This is what we’ve been looking for.”
“Wait, please.” I grip Cash’s arm, urging him not to keep fighting this battle on my behalf. “I need to understand.” Then I give Axel my attention. “Do you know what I’m stealing?”
He removes his glasses and peers at me with appreciation.
“I don’t. I’ve researched all three of the keyholders.
They’re all our members, so I have a lot on each of them, but I can’t figure out what common group they’d be linked to.
” He grunts in frustration, evidently not a fan of missing pieces, which I get.
“But E has had you working on this for a year. Whatever it is, Kratos wants it badly. So, if we have it, then we have something to fight them with. It could give us the upper hand and a route to freeing Rena’s family from this mess. ”
“So,” I begin, clicking together the lunacy of my situation, a breath away from chucking any speck of sanity I have left, “I am currently working for the man who murdered my father, who is part of Kratos, which is a cabal that wants to steal something from an unidentified source and is at war with KORT, a cabal you are aligned with. So, on behalf of KORT, you’d like to intercept the stolen goods. ”
“That’s a simplistic take,” Ryker quips from the bar, pouring himself a hefty dose of whiskey.
Simple, yeah. I’m not the only one flattened by this.
“It’s a decent summary,” Jax says on his way back to his seat. He meets my eyes when he sits, and his torment is palpable.
Panic rips through me, my pulse ratcheting higher. “I don’t know what to do with that information. E is already pissed because I’ve been vague, and now, I don’t want to …”
“We have ideas for how to navigate that.” Axel’s deep baritone sounds like it’s inside a tunnel. “Keep in mind that he probably knows you’re connected to us now.”
Even with the far-off, echoey nature of his voice, that message reaches me.
“Shit,” I hiss. “He probably does because he mentioned the power outage at Peter’s party. I didn’t think of it like him spying on me at the time. I assumed it was more about him keeping a pulse on how things were going. But now …”
“Look at me,” Cash demands, gripping my chin, his sparkling blues never veering from mine. “You’re safe. We will figure this out.” He pecks my forehead. “You and me.”
It’s enough to restore me for now. I flick my gaze to Axel so he can continue.
“We suspect the note—and the reference to getting rid of him—could have been about Cash or the security tail he had on you.”
“I considered that too,” I admit, not bothering to express irritation about Cash having me followed since I already suspected. “Do you think it was from E? Trying to scare me away from you guys?”
Ryker taps his glass. “It’s a strong possibility.”
Zara smiles, attempting to quell my anxiety. “Has E questioned you about anyone else knowing what you’re doing?”
“Yes.” I grab Cash’s bicep. “That’s what had him so on edge the night in Boston. He kept asking me whether someone else was going after the keys or knew I was. I told him there was no one who seemed to.”
Aside from Cash’s outburst, he’s masking his stance on this well. He moves my hand from his arm to his leg, pulling me closer. “And you haven’t spoken to him since?”
“No.”
“That’s good,” Axel commends, drawing us back to him. “I’d like you to tell him you’re dating Cash and it’s serious, so you want to finish this job and get out of the business.”
“He’ll probably question you more about what Cash knows,” Zara interjects, “but you can assure him it’s nothing.”
Jax nods along. “That should make E dismiss any concerns he might have about Noire involvement. If he’s been following you, the way Cash chased you all over the country aligns with you two dating.”
“Agreed.” Maddox gestures to Cash. “Mention your time at the Underground or something similar. It will play up his reputation of not taking things seriously.”
“It won’t diminish concerns completely.” Cash shakes his head. “Surely, he’s heard the rumors about Axel’s involvement with KORT.”
“Yes.” Axel leans back in his chair, lifting his glass for another swig. “But Sylvie hasn’t even been given his identity, let alone the cabal he’s part of. He’d have no reason to suspect I had any more interest in this than I would any other scheme someone in my establishment was working.”
No one argues with that.
“I’ll have to mention the note to explain why I’m staying here. Plus, if he sent it, he’s probably wondering why I haven’t told him about it.” I scan the room, landing on Axel. “You said you have ideas about how I should approach this.”
“Yes,” Axel confirms, distress cloaking him when he clocks Cash’s jaw locking. “I get invited to this retreat every year, and I’m permitted to bring the family. We’re not just your team. We’re your ticket inside.”
“I’m not sure how E will receive that, but it does provide me a much larger window, so he might like it.” I blow out a breath and push my chair back, preparing to leave. “Thank you for being honest about everything. I need to think about it. I’m worried about my mom and sister.”
Axel stands, buttoning his suit jacket. “We’ve already got security on their way to them.”
That makes me laugh. “My mother will spot them and think they’re the Feds.”
His eyes crease with a hint of levity. “I plan to reach out to her personally.”
“She’ll like that.” I smile as I rise, like I’m not intent on rushing back to Cash’s room to call her myself and tell her to make Flora stay with her.
Cash readies to leave with me, but his fingers curl over my hip, holding me in place. “There’s also the matter of Danny Gordon visiting this week.”
“He’s coming here?” My tone is steady, but lined with ice, and that’s before I catch the insinuation. “You think he’s involved with this?”
Axel raises his hand, urging me not to go there. “No, actually. But we do think Peter Fairfax is sending him here.”
“Peter?” Acid sloshes in my stomach. “For …”
“Possibly under the guise of something else, to drive a wedge between you and Cash. From what I heard, he’s been intent on that.
” Axel pockets his glasses and gathers the pictures, as if this isn’t a bomb detonating in my world.
“There’s no reason to believe that Peter has caught on to what you were doing at his party, but he may have. ”
I take a deep breath, trying to center myself. “The only way he’d know for sure if I switched the key is to try it. And he can’t do that without the other two.”
Axel’s sapphires sear into me, intense and concerned. “Another reason completing this is imperative. You will be suspected by him eventually. So, we might as well obtain the information. And use E to help us.”
I stride toward the door with Cash’s hand on the small of my back, turning when I make it to the threshold. “Is there anything else I should know?”
Zara slants her head at Axel, and upon a nod from him, she walks toward me. “Only that the men in Rena’s family were all Navy SEALs. Their training is unmatched. In addition to having us with you for the heist, all four of them can stand by—”
“You’ve already cleared this with them?” Cash barks at Axel, not faulting Zara for delivering the message, and I’m not sure why it matters so much.
“I have not,” Axel clips.
I slide my fingers over the stubble on Cash’s cheek, dragging his focus back to me. “Why would that be bad? Other than the fact that my solo heist has grown to roughly ten. Or more.”
“I love my sister’s family. They would defend you with their lives. But they’re part of KORT, which is much bigger than just them.” His chest deflates. He’s in as much distress as I am. “You don’t want to be owned by KORT, Sly.”
“She will not be,” Axel breaks in, joining us so that everyone is now crowded in the threshold of this room despite us all essentially living here. Noting the same absurdity, he gestures for us to spill out into the hall and leads the way. “I will handle that.”
Cash doesn’t seem convinced, grumbling, “That’s a slippery slope.”
Axel stops, forcing Cash to do the same as he faces him. “I want to involve them to keep her safe. That will be my top priority, like I’ve always made all of you my top priority.”
“You have, Axe. But what if those two goals come into conflict?”
Axel cups the back of Cash’s neck. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s all the same.”
The exchange is so tender that the line between sibling and guardian blurs, highlighting the strength of their family, the strength Cash told me Axel infused. And from what I understand, Axel is claiming he’ll make my safety a priority, like he would the rest of them.
It’s just as Cash promised earlier, but to see it play out has warmth spreading through my chest. And worry. This is complicated.
Zara grabs my hand for a brief squeeze, and Tessa rubs my back while the guys conclude their silent conversation.
“Love in action,” Tessa whispers, and based on the small tidbits she’s told me about the difficulties she’s had with her parents and sisters, I know that’s as enthralling to her as it is to me.
Another taste of family.
“If you want out of the business after this, I will make that happen,” Axel says to me when he releases Cash.
“You will have no obligations to KORT or anyone else. I’m sure involving more people feels risky.
But having a military-grade backup and the rest of us inside with you—especially Zara—will ensure that this doesn’t get ugly.
” His gaze bounces across his family before parking on me.
“I would not ask you to do this if I didn’t believe it would make a huge difference to all of us. ”
“Revenge for me and freedom for your sister,” I offer in summary.
“Exactly,” Jax chimes from beside me.
And Zara tacks on an empathetic, “Freedom for you too.”
I swear I hear my father’s voice. “The most valuable things to steal are freedom and time. But if you’re going to reach for something more, let it be for the sake of either family or prestige. Anything else is greed, and that leads to ruin.”
I still need to think this through, but while my parents would have conflicting thoughts regarding their daughter involved in this subterfuge, Sterling and Heath would undoubtedly be chanting, Sly and Noire.