Page 45 of Raven's Claw
“Trust me, Kash was only a breath away.”He nodded at Bodie.“Perimeter’s clear.We should head over to Bodie’s office — decrypt this intel.But we’ll all keep our damn heads on a swivel because I agree with Jordan.Something’s off.”
“It’s the air.”Jordan stepped back and wrapped her arms around her chest.“It’s heavy or has a hint of… something.”
“That’s just Kash pumping out the pheromones to let everyone know you’re his.”Chase dodged Kash’s slap.“Your side okay, Jordan?”
“Fine.Really.”
Chase shook his head, then followed the team out, constantly scanning the area, his gun just a breath away from being ready.Kash waved Jordan on, trailing behind, always guarding her six.As if he thought it was easier to take a bullet meant for her if she wasn’t watching him.But she couldn’t take her gaze off him.Not overtly, but it always drifted back like the tide following the moon.
They reached Bodie’s office, cleared it like they had the hangar with pairs of them moving through the building and circling the perimeter.They’d gathered in the main room when Bodie’s phone rang.He frowned, answering it as he turned — got a bit of distance.Just enough his words didn’t carry.
That voice in her head started shouting, again, and she knew, this call was the part of Rook’s plan she’d missed.
Bodie returned, mouth pinched tight, eyes narrowed.“That was Greer.She wants all of us over at the Lighthouse Café.Said it’s urgent.And no, she didn’t give me additional details.I got the impression she either didn’t think it was safe, or she simply didn’t have enough to share.”
Jordan’s stomach dropped.“Shit.”
Kash turned.“What?”
“It’s him.It’s Rook.”
“You don’t know?—”
“Yes.I do.I said I’d missed something, that he always had a plan for every eventuality, and this is it.”She shook her head, any hope of a future fading into the realization that she wasn’t getting out of this alive.That she’d always been destined to pay for a past she couldn’t change.“I never should have stayed.”
“Hey.”Kash stepped in front, gave her no other choice but to meet his gaze.“If thisisRook, then we’ll deal with it, and him, like we always do.As a team.So, get that thought of facing him alone out of your head.We all agreed on the plan.If we missed something, then it’s on all of us.”
“My handler.”She tapped her chest.“My mistake.While I love you for trying to bear this weight, if he hurt anyone, it’s on me.And sooner or later, you’re going to have to accept what I’ve known all along.”She pushed past him, stopping at the door.“There’s only one way this ends — bloody.”
“Jordan…”
She kept moving.Walked out the door, headed to Zain’s truck then waited.Half-considering just hoofing it all the way to the café.Anything to stem the restless roil of her stomach.
This was bad.
She felt it.
The hint of something that had been lingering in the air in the hangar.She recognized it, now.Licorice.The same scent as Rook’s gun oil once it sat for a while.She’d gotten so used to it, she barely noticed it anymore.But it had clung to the surfaces inside the hangar.Waiting, like him.
Kash marched out a moment later, each step marking his displeasure.He stopped behind her, knuckles cracking.A measured exhale breezing past her.
She glanced at him, noting pinched lips and narrowed eyes.Slashes of red across his cheeks.“I promised you I wouldn’t run.”
“I came out here to finish our talk, not because I thought I’d have to chase you down.”
“I thought about it.I…” She let her head tilt back.“I don’t know how to do this.How to be Jordan and take on Rook.How to be part of team when every instinct wants me to face him alone.To end it by whatever means necessary.”
She took a breath, met him head-on.“How to love you without hurting you.”
He closed the distance.“How about you start by living?Because that’s all I need you to do.We’ll handle whatever this is.If Rook hurt people?We’ll make sure he pays.But sacrificing yourself when we have options isn’t the answer.”
“And if we run out of options?”
“Let’s see that we don’t.”He turned when his teammates bustled out of Bodie’s office, sporting only sidearms.What she assumed was necessary in order to meet Greer without looking as if they’d just waged war.
Kash focused on her, again.“We’ll listen to what Greer has to say.Go from there.However, it might mean bringing her into this.”
Jordan opened the door.“If this is Rook, she’s already part of it.Might as well give her a fighting chance at making it to the other side.”
