Page 126 of Salvaged Hearts

Lord willing, every aspect of this op was clicking into place, and we’d end the evening with at least sixty suspects in FBI custody. The count would’ve been higher if they hadn’t forced our hand. In my opinion, some evils deserved fifty cents of lead, not a plush cell and three meals a day.Alas. Checks and balances and all that shit.

Nodding as they moved through the plan, I confirmed the next step. From what I could see, Neal and Odessa had unsuccessfully attempted to flee out a back window. My concern was whomever they had inside that room with them. “Primary targets located in the back office. Alpha, hold positions. Bravo, shift to support. Watch for crossfire.”

As if I’d prompted the confirmation, Mitchell came through next, and our lines were blessedly clear. “Confirmed visuals on Neal and Odessa Gilbert. Proceed with caution. There are hostages.”

With a few tapped keys, I changed my display. My new visual confirmed a woman held like a shield in front of Neal, with a gun to her head. Fucking coward. What was the end goal here? He’d already fucking lost. The question waswhohe held.

“Run this through facial recognition and get me an ID,” I demanded as I watched the Gilbert’s back into a literal corner like rabid fucking animals.

They both needed a bullet between the eyes, and as long as we got the innocents out of there, I kinda wished that’s how this ended. If the information in their minds wasn’t as valuable as it was, that’s likelyexactlyhow their story would end.

Pulse hammering in my ears, I watched, rapt, as Bravo adjusted their formation, and my mind ran through the million and one ways this could play out poorly.

Mitchell was barking commands about a negotiator as Viper ordered Neal to release the hostages and surrender. I did my best to keep eyes on the others, but my focus kept coming back to the confrontation in that back room.

“Sniper team, I want a clean shot if necessary.”

“Negative,” Bullseye responded, and I watched him scramble to shift his position and re-aim, blowing out a breath when he confirmed, “I’ve got the shot.” The man could shoot a shadow off a horsefly. Pretty sure he had a gun in his hand by age six. If he said he had it, he fucking had it.

“Wait for my command,” I ordered as a familiar chill of determination stilled my hand. But it wasn’t needed. I watched in disbelief as Neal put his hands up and backed away from the woman before slowly lowering his weapon onto the floor.

It was only once they were both cuffed on the slick, unforgiving concrete—too kindly, if you ask me—that I finally inhaled, scanning the screens again for any other threats. “Alpha, secure hostages and sweep for intel. Bravo, regroup at the side entrance and prepare for exfil.”

With my hands laced behind my head, I focused on my breathing as our team executed the plan bit by bit. But it was when my tablet screen lit up with that first green light that Ifinally threw my hands up in victory. Because this warehouse was one of six targets today.

The second was secure.

Pacing, I watched as the building was cleared and evidence was collected.

Grey and Alice were probably losing their fucking minds. Couldn’t blame them if they were. I had eyes on the progress, and I was getting frantic.So close.We were so close to dismantling a ring of fucking monsters, and I couldn’t afford to hope until every one of them was in custody. The problem with having our hand forced today was that now the rest would know we were coming, making our long-term goal infinitely more complicated. It didn’t matter, I supposed. I’d still shred them to pieces before my time was up.

Even as I watched more green lights mark targets five, three, four, and eventually, six, as secure, my gut twisted like I was forgetting something.Missingsomething.

Brick by brick, we robbed these fuckers of the empire they’d built on the suffering of innocents, and it wasn’t enough.

I watched as our teams regrouped and finally marked our op as complete on the tally board. Feds rolled in to collect their prizes and I watched for what must’ve been hours, but felt like days, until every one of our men was accounted for.

“Nice work, everybody. Stay alert. All units stand by for debrief.” Even saying the words and watching them eventually exit did little to ease the sense of trepidation. By the time we debriefed, and I looked over our next steps—irritated this was now a federal issue and I wouldn’t be getting the goddamned resolution—I decided it was just the fact that I was handing it off that had a knot tying my guts up.

The hum of my now empty monitors lulled me into complacency as I watched reports roll in, and only once I had all six, did I reach for my phone. Time to update the boss.

27

Persistent Pain In My Ass

ALICE

With an irritable huff, I rolled over and tossed my head onto the pillow for what had to be the hundredth time in the last few hours. Every inch of my body was restless with the need to act—to dosomethingof value—which made attempting sleep a unique form of torture. This is why so many people live to run. Hell, if my mind didn’t settle, the treadmill downstairs was sounding more and more appealing. It could at least provide the momentary illusion of forward progress where there was none.

After their very direct attack on our family’s legacy,Thunderstrikewas moving onObsidianin a matter of hours. Their primary focus would be homed in on the Gilbert family within our city. I might not have been privy to every scrap of information Greyson’s men had on Neal and Odessa Gilbert, but I had enough to fear this going very wrong. What they’d shared with me was damning evidence of their involvement in launderingObsidian’s capital and ongoing connections with the organization’s higher-ups, the least of which was Noel’s ex’s family. I’d never imagined living a life where a man who nearly kills his partner in a scramble to keep control is the least of the evils. But they were all right there—under our noses, plasteredover tabloids the people salivated to get their hands on. The devil in plain sight.

“Breathe, beautiful,” Greyson ordered huskily. The man was even bossy about how I should rest. Somehow, that was annoying, adorable, and entirely on brand for him. “I’ve got you. Get some sleep.”

“You’reawake,” I pointed out, earning a snort of amusement a beat before the mattress silently shifted below his weight as he rolled over to scoop me into his arms, dragging my body into the warm cocoon of his. With a sigh, I relaxed into the muscled embrace of my husband as he peppered kisses over my shoulder.

“My men are running point to keep my family safe when I can’t,” he said bitterly. “Of course, I’m awake.”

“What’s yours is mine, handsome.”

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