Page 75 of Green Ravens

Zorion shot closer, and Valor extended his other arm.

Their fingers caught and locked, and the extra weight sent a jolt of excruciating pain up Valor’s arm and through his chest, but he held on tight.

“I got you!”

Zorion’s expression was calm, his eyes full of trust. “I know.”

The rappelling system activated and pulled them both upward. Valor tightened his grip even more because if Zorion fell, he’d let go too.

The moment they were inside, the helicopter banked hard, gaining altitude as the facility blurred below them.

Zorion crashed into his chest, their bodies pressed hard together, hearts pounding in unison. Zorion’s breath was hot against his neck, his arms tight around his waist, as if afraid to let go and find out their escape was all a dream.

Valor cupped Zorion’s chin and tilted his head up. Those soft green eyes were full of emotion, and without a word, he closed the distance and their lips met with a fierce, desperate electricity.

Valor savored the deliciousness of freedom on Zorion’s tongue, and he didn’t stop until he heard someone clear their throat.

Chief Aiken Oakley

Valor

The helicopter’s engine was a comforting drone.

They were free.

Valor sat close to Zorion in the spacious cabin as Jo motioned for them to put on the padded headphones hanging beside them.

She was still clad in her sleek black ninja gear as her voice crackled through the headset.

“We pulled this off because of some kickass teamwork.” Jo nodded to the others in the back seats. “Meet the people who helped make your escape possible.”

Valor scanned their faces. The first two he recognized immediately. Dr. Santana and Dr. Pheung gave hesitant waves. They’d left behind the lab coats and were now dressed in dark-green tactical jackets and pants.

Next to him were two men he recognized from Cipher’s team. One was from the combat wardrobe team, a lean man with an inquisitive gaze and short curly black hair. He wore a sleek black outfit with reinforced material, looking more like a field operative than someone who designed warfare gear.

Beside him was the weapons specialist. He believed her name was Sable. A beautiful Black woman with jet-black hair and a scar running from her right brow to her ear, as if danger had always been her occupation.

Jo pointed to a young guy slouched in his seat wearing a different set of headphones than the rest of them as if in his own world. His fingers flew across the keyboard of the compact computer in his lap.

“That’s Glitch, my tech expert. A reject from MIT. Not because he wasn’t smart enough, but because he was too damn smart. The professors hated him for always calling them out on their mistakes, so they convinced the administration he was cheating.” Jo laughed. “Anyway, he’s the one who caused the blackout.”

Glitch briefly glanced up, pushing his round glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. His ruddy-auburn hair was a mess of chaos, and he wore a hoodie covered in cryptic symbols that Valor had no clue what they meant.

“You’re welcome, by the way,” he muttered, then returned his gaze to his monitor.

The last person Jo gestured at was a stunning woman.

“And this is Virginia. She’s from the Browns’ shadow division.”

Virginia crossed her arms—which were tattooed with stalking black panthers and snakes wrapped around dozens of knives—over her huge breasts. She had short, spiky hair dyed a variety of bright colors, from red to blue to pink, then silver. Her eclectic appearance was attractive, and if he’d preferred women, he would’ve asked for her number right then and there.

Zorion glanced in Valor’s direction before turning to Jo. “Where are you taking us?”

Jo exhaled. “Off the grid. The director is obsessed with you two. Out of all the Ravens, you are his crowning…million-dollar experiment. Meridian and Ex are wildcards, and the Browns are blindly loyal to the cause of righting wrongs in the world and still unaware of the director’s corruption.”

“For now,” Virginia chimed in. “But once Grace discovers who he’s been killing and that he’s now on the wrong side of right, his wrath will be unstoppable, and he’ll level that facility to the ground.”

“And our so-called handler, Cipher, does he have a way to track us?” Zorion asked.

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