EMBER
DUST BOWL DANCE - MUMFORD & SONS
To say Sabre HQ is tense would be an understatement.
The entire building tremors with rising apprehension.
Everyone seems to be sensing the collective pressure of the past few weeks and months. Not to mention the recent spate of betrayals, including Kyle abandoning his team to sell us out. I’m sure office gossip has circled many theories about his death.
Personally, it’s hard to pluck up much regret or sympathy. I didn’t want to see him die. Nor did I enjoy watching innocent people get hurt or worse because of his actions. Grieving is one thing. Using that anguish to destroy the world around you can never be excusable.
Outside the packed debrief room, Hyland scowls at anyone who dares to observe him taking a breather. His lip curls back in a snarl as I approach, softening into a smile just for me when he spies my face.
“What took you so long, red?”
“I needed to freshen up and check in with Richards.” I shrug, stepping into his open arms.
“I want you by my side at all times until this is done.”
“I’m not sure that’s realistic, Hy. We can’t be glued at the hip.”
“Bet I could find a way to do that.” He nuzzles into my hair then kisses my earlobe, his tongue darting out briefly. “I’ve watched you walk off into the firing line one too many times.”
“We were perfectly safe at the meeting.”
“That didn’t make me feel any better about it.”
After all this time, I should be accustomed to his gruff over-protectiveness. I’m not sure if I’ll ever learn to accept it. But I can enjoy the solid heat of his muscles wrapped around me, blocking out the world and its chaos for a short while.
“I’m tired.” I squeeze him tighter.
“Want to rest in Warner’s office?”
“No, I should be here for this. We need to iron out the plan.”
“It’s a straightforward raid,” he argues against my lowered head. “If anything, we have more of an advantage than usual by employing an inside person. That gives us an edge.”
“A fifty-year-old captive and her mercenary boyfriend?” I laugh a little maniacally.
“Well, when you put it like that…”
“No raid is without risk. Not when I’m marching the people I love into danger all over again.”
Hyland chuckles, his chest vibrating in a tiger-like purr. “Now you know how I feel.”
“I guess I do. Did you speak to Luke?”
“Yeah, he’s fine. Missing school and home.”
“Hopefully this won’t last for much longer.”
“I hope not.” He sighs hard. “Not being able to go to him when he needs me is fucking excruciating. But I refuse to put them in danger all over again. They deserve better than that.”
“You’re a good man, Hyland Wesson.”
“I’m a scared man. I don’t know about good.”
“Tell me what you’re afraid of.” I breathe in his intoxicating scent, letting it soothe my frazzled nerves.
“I want it all, Em. The case to be over, our lives to go back to normal, a happy future with you at my side. I want to see my son, safe and sound. Yet I don’t want to lose anything in the process.”
Craning my neck to peer up at his worried expression, I try to summon a look of reassurance. “You won’t have to.”
“All love is loss, red. Didn’t I tell you that before?”
“Well, I was kinda hoping you’d revised your opinion by now.”
“I have.” He ducks to press his forehead on mine, tangling our breath together, lips a torturous inch apart. “I’m willing to gamble everything because I love you.”
I wish the kiss he plants on my mouth didn’t feel like a goodbye. I wish I could whisk us all away from this place, going somewhere no danger lurks and our enemies cannot circle, baying for blood. I wish I could give him all that he wants without the possibility of loss.
But I cannot.
All I can do is fight for the people I love.
We separate at the din of raised voices emanating from the room behind him. The strategy meeting is in its eleventh hour of arguments, competing ideas and torn-apart schemes. Hyland looks as exhausted by it as I feel.
“Sure you don’t want that nap?” A tendril of hope colours his tone.
“I wish. Someone has to keep all these hotheads in line.”
“Hope you’re not including me in that statement.”
“Baby, you’re the biggest hothead of them all.”
His hips jerk forward, pressing pure strength into me. “Just the way you like it, right?”
“I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
Another searing kiss and I reluctantly step back, grasping his huge paw instead. We enter the room together, immediately hit with competing voices arguing back and forth across the huge, snack-littered conference table.
“Stealth is the only option!” Obviously frustrated, Blaine holds up a shaking fist.
“And give Madden the opportunity to escape again?” Warner fires back. “I don’t think so.”
“Blaine is right.” Kade pinches the bridge of his nose. “Going into his estate all guns blazing is a sure-fire way to guarantee more casualties. We have to consider the remaining assets still being held.”
“Then send a team solely for extraction while we form the advance party,” I suggest while making a beeline for the coffee cart. “He’s hiding in the countryside for privacy. Let’s use that advantage.”
Nodding, Blaine flashes me a tiny smirk. “Exactly.”
“Who do we trust?” Warner laughs coldly. “The Falcon Team has been decimated!”
“Not exactly,” Hudson replies around a mug full of coffee. “We’ve added to their ranks.”
That news almost causes me to spill black nectar all over the cart. “What? Who?”
“Gunnar Slaughter requires a permanent placement in our company if he is to stay at Sabre. With your team looking a little full, I thought him best placed to replace Kyle as their lead sniper.”
Perched in a quiet corner, Axel loudly chokes on a can of Coke, shooting brown liquid from his nostrils. I wince at the display.
“You officially inducted him into Sabre?” Axel swipes his wet face.
“Technically, he was inducted when he signed on the bottom line,” a familiar voice responds, strolling into the room.
Tom looks more like himself than I’ve seen of late. Crisp, white dress shirt, a perfect pinstriped tie, clean-shaven with his hair neatly combed. Someone’s clearly feeling better.
“What are you doing here?” I baulk at him.
“Hunting you down since you don’t bother to answer your phone.”
“We’ve been running off burners since the attack,” Warner remarks in my favour.
“Irrelevant. My sister’s home gets blown to pieces, she finds a way to call me. That should be a given.”
“I am sorry,” I offer sincerely. “It’s been a bit hectic.”
“I know. Come here, trouble.”
He opens his arms for me to step into, enveloping me in the scent of legal textbooks and fresh peppermint. I grant myself a moment to relax and enjoy my brother’s comfort.
“You holding up?” he whispers.
“Just about. Ready to end this case.”
“Me too, Em. I don’t like this idea, but I appreciate that we’re out of options. It can’t go on like this.”
“Thank you for trusting us to do this.”
“I learned my lesson last time I doubted you. It won’t happen again.”
Tom smooths my hair, much like he used to when we were kids. I gently peck his cheek, rubbing a non-existent smudge left behind. After everything, it’s so good to see him well and moving around again.
“I’m not here with good news.” Tom tucks me into his side then faces the room. “Should Nolan Madden not be offered up on a platter in the next forty-eight hours, Sabre Security is going to come under fire for the penthouse explosion.”
“What?” Hudson slams the table hard.
“The attorney general needs to offer the public a scapegoat. Using gang warfare was only going to buy you so much time. With recent violence across the capital, he intends to blame an ongoing investigation under your jurisdiction for the deaths.”
“Son of a bitch.” Kade digs his thumbs into his temples, wincing a little. “They always turn on us in the end.”
Tom nods solemnly. “We need to give them a closed case file… Now.”
“How can anyone blame Sabre for doing their job?” I frown in outrage.
“Easy.” Kade rubs underneath his bloodshot eyes. “We are the law, Ember. Ultimately, any civilian casualties leave a bloodstain in our ledger. It must be answered for in the end.”
“That isn’t fair!”
“It’s business.” In consolation, Tom squeezes my bicep. “But we have the chance to give them a bigger fish.”
“I never agreed to turn over my father alive,” Blaine cuts in.
“You don’t have to. A body will suffice.”
“How about body parts?” Axel’s cheeks puff up into a jovial grin.
Releasing me, Tom sets his sights on caffeine. “The manner of presentation is your prerogative, Mr Slaughter. Bring me a head on a stake, and I’ll keep this company afloat a little longer.”
“You got yourself a deal!”
“Good, then it’s settled.”
“Fucking hell,” I mutter. “This is insane.”
Honestly, I never gave much thought to my brother’s legal ju-jitsu until now. I’ve always known he’s a badass solicitor and crazy good at his job. But this level of legal manoeuvring is downright impressive, albeit slightly unnerving.
“Then it’s now or never.” Kade gives a decisive dip of his chin. “Summon Gunnar. We need to make contact with his friend and set the plan in motion. A full-scale raid, victim evacuation, clean up the loose ends.”
“That simple?” Hyland snorts.
Pierced brow cocked, Hudson slurps the last of his coffee. “If only we could click our fingers and have this mess squared away just like that. I miss my wife and my bed.”
“Our wife,” Kade corrects him.
“Right. Our wife.”
“I’ll locate Gunnar,” I volunteer.
“Thank you, Ember.” Kade nods at me.
“Be right back.”
It’s an opportunity to step back out and take a full breath. This raid is happening much quicker than any of us anticipated. I’m relieved for Gracie and the rest of us stuck in limbo, but I hope to God we’re ready to face Blaine’s father for a final showdown.
Pacing into the next long corridor, my path is intercepted by three figures. Gunnar must have some psycho third sense. Seeing him walk in my direction flanked by his new teammates is quite disconcerting.
“I was coming to look for you.”
“Axel texted me.” He lifts a shoulder, appearing non-plussed. “Are they done bickering?”