Page 107 of Carrick
Niko’s brow twitched.
“I was already planning it,” she added. “I was done waiting.”
“That would’ve been suicide,” Deacon said.
“Maybe,” she said. “But at least it would’ve beenmy decision.”
Everyone went quiet for a moment. The tension in the air felt stifling. When Deacon spoke, even his quiet voice felt like a gunshot in the silence.
“So what happened? Did you find anything that made this insane risk even remotely worth it? Or did you just threaten the lives of everyone in this room for nothing?”
I glanced at Bellamy and took a deep breath, bracing for impact. They werenotgoing to like this part.
“Rayden was there.”
The words hung there in the silence for a moment, like a nuclear missile falling silently towards the earth.
Then, the explosion.
“What the fuck, Carrick?”—“Are you fucking kidding me?”—“Was he alone?”—“Why didn’t you bring him back here?”—“He saw your fucking face?”—“Why was he even there?”
I couldn’t even tell which question came from who—and I didn’t care. Voices overlapped, rising and colliding, a barrage of disbelief and fury. But I wasn’t looking at any of them. My eyes stayed locked on Nikolai, who sat silently through the storm, staring back at me with eyes like the center of a nuclear blast. Steady. Blazing. I could swear I felt the heat on my skin.
Then, without raising his voice, he lifted one hand. The room fell silent.
“Details,” he said. Just that.
I’d known this man for decades and still didn’t understand how he did it—how he could command a room with a single word. I was a seasoned soldier, hardened by war and blood, but one look from him still made me feel like a green cadet on his first week at basic.
I straightened my spine, locked my hands behind my back, and fell into the rhythm of a military debrief without thinking.
“When we arrived on-site, we observed a partially open window. Upon entry, we found the apartment ransacked. The scene was unstable, so I moved to high alert and initiated a room-by-room sweep. Bellamy maintained tight formation—no deviation.”
Deacon grunted, shaking his head, but didn’t speak.
I pressed on. “In the bedroom, we located Rayden actively searching the space—pulling drawers, likely looking for cash. Initial contact was tense, but non-hostile. He was suspicious of me but accepted Bellamy’s story—that I was a friend helping herretrieve a few belongings she’d left behind when she vacated for safety reasons.”
Jax cut in. “Based on what you’re wearing, either Rayden’s an idiot, or he knew she was lying. For our sake, let’s hope it’s the first.”
Bellamy started to speak, but Niko held up a hand. She went quiet. He looked at me again, waiting.
I drew another breath and continued. “Rayden said he escaped Dom Krovi custody and was trying to gather enough money to pay back what he lost. This was his second escape attempt. The first one… that’s what cost him his finger.”
“We advised him to stand down and go into hiding. He declined. Wouldn’t budge. Eventually, I negotiated a fallback option—convinced him to leave the city and make contact with my sister in Chicago. In order to gain compliance, I had to hand over my emergency cash reserve.”
That finally got a response from Nikolai. “You gave him youremergency fund? That is to be used only in the event of direpersonal threat. Have you completely lost your mind, Carrick?”
I cringed inwardly, but pushed forward, finishing my report. “No other options were on the table at that point. After Rayden departed the location, Bellamy retrieved a few personal items. We exfiltrated without further incident and returned here.”
Jax let out a low breath and dragged his hands through his hair. “God, this is a fucking mess.”
“Agreed,” Sully said lightly, still leaning against the counter. “But for the record, we’ve survived worse.”
Everyone turned to him.
Sully shrugged. “What? I’m just saying. A little insubordination, a little domestic terrorism, a little emotional implosion—it’s a Tuesday.”
Maddy rolled her eyes. Bellamy let out a startled, deflating laugh, the sound brittle and soft. But Niko didn’t smile. Helooked at me, and for the first time in a long while, I didn’t see my brother in arms. I saw my commanding officer. And behind his silence, I saw the barely restrained effort it took not to call me what I was dangerously close to becoming.
