Page 56 of Braxton

Suddenly, Cross had everyone’s attention.

“You always thought I chose my career over you and Addie, but that’s not true. After things fell apart with your mother, they couldn’t be salvaged. Unlike Braxton and Quinn, we were beyond a second chance. And then I met someone else…”

A forlorn look passed over Cross’ face.

“I met Monique on a joint secret op with French forces—a lot like these two, I’m betting.” Cross looked over at Brax and Quinn, then continued, “We fell in love and she confided her true identity to me.”

“Papillon,” Quinn whispered.

“That’s right.”

“We thought you died on a mission ten years ago,” Ryland said between clenched teeth. “If Camille is your daughter, that means…”

His voice trailed off in disgust.

“Yes, I had an affair. I fell in love with Monique and I don’t regret one moment of our time together. After becoming pregnant with the twins, she retired and lived here. Eventually, I made a choice. I don’t expect you to understand.”

“I’ll never understand,” Ryland growled. “You lied to me and Addie.”

“I had to. Two years ago, Monique’s true identity was discovered and” —his voice took on an ominous sound— “I blame the ten people upstairs for her abrupt death. They all played a part, coming together to hunt her down and take her life. They considered her a threat, much like the CIA did Quinn. Unfortunately, Monique didn’t escape.”

“How did she die?” Ryland asked.

“A bullet to the head,” Cross stated. “I’ve spent countless hours preparing for this moment, for my revenge, and nothing is going to take it from me. But it wasn’t supposed to happen this way, Ryland. My original intent was to use Ex Nihilo to take out The Agency after their purpose was complete—whether that was for their connections to intel or money. Because as I’m sure you know, reliable intel isn’t free, and billionaires and drug lords have access to an endless supply.”

“You needed to bankroll your mission and you convinced power-hungry people to join your elite group, but they had no idea what you were really up to.”

“Use their money, eliminate them and bring you on board. Other than Dr. Grendel, everyone else was a loose end. Believe it or not, I didn’t want to fight you. I truly wanted you to join us.”

Ryland let out a snort of disbelief. “Why not just sic us on the people upstairs? Why bother with Zaitsev and Novichok?”

“Because he’s honoring Papillon,” Quinn murmured, and Brax looked over at her. So defiant, so beautiful, so damn intelligent.

Cross nodded. “She told me about Novichok—how easy it was to use, if you could get your hands on it. If delivered in the right dosage, no one would suspect a thing. The death would be swift and chalked up to nothing more sinister than a heart attack. It was brilliant.”

“Things didn’t go quite as you planned, though, did they?” Brax asked.

“Nothing ever goes as planned,” Cross snapped. “That’s why you learn to adapt.”

In a lightning-fast move, Cross swung his pistol up, pointing it at Ryland. As father and son faced off, Brax noticed Quinn had pulled one of her wrists free. They exchanged a quick look and didn’t need words, relying on a connection that ran so much more deeply.

Exactly on the same page, Brax gave her a slight nod then launched up from his chair, snapping his zip ties and tackling Cross down to the ground. It had seemed like a pretty good plan until gunshots popped. Brax’s head snapped up as Camille fired a round, hitting Ryland in the chest. His blue eyes widened as he slammed back against the wall and clutched his chest.

He’s wearing a vest, Brax reminded himself. It would hurt like hell, but Rip would be fine.

The thought barely finished crossing his mind when Cross swung his gun hard and hit Brax in the side of his face. At the same time, Camille fired again, this time her bullet hitting Ryland’s shoulder, knocking him off his feet. As he went down hard, Quinn was up, one wrist still tied, and swinging her chair at Grendel.

More gunfire echoed through the room and chaos ensued.

Goddammit. Brax shoved Cross back, attempting to wrestle the gun from his grip, but the man was strong and put up an epic fight.

“Stop!” Camille yelled. “Or she’s dead!”

Brax froze and looked up to see Camille’s weapon an inch from Quinn’s temple. Not far away, Ryland lay on the ground,not moving, his vest soaked in blood. Cross shoved Brax away and stood. Brax didn’t dare make a move. Not yet, anyway.

Grendel was holding his arm where Quinn had rammed him with the chair and it looked broken.Good.

Camille turned her attention to the doctor. “Finish them off, doctor,” she sneered in that strange whispered slur, “and have fun. My father and I have guests waiting.”

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