Page 83 of Beta Team-The Saviors: Part two
Tivon stands up so fast that his chair tips backward and smacks the floor, making Jason jump. “Like hell you will.”
“Tivon, it’s the only way?—”
“No. Fuck that. We’ll get to him another way, but you aren’t putting your ass on the line to do so.”
“Tivon—”
“I said no. There has to be some record about where he is. We can call in whoever can help, and split them between Abraham and Aharon. But no way in hell am I sending you in by yourself with that man.”
“Did you forget that this is my team?”
“Did you forget that you promised to let me take care of you? You aren’t thinking straight. You see the end game, and you want to go balls to the wall. You’ll be walking into a deathtrap.”
“He doesn’t want me dead!”
“No? What do you think he’ll do when you tell him you won't take over?”
By this point, Ari and Tivon are standing toe to toe, staring each other down. There isn’t much difference in their size, but something about Tivon commands that you sit down and listen. The longer the staring contest goes on, the more Ari wilts under Tivon’s gaze.
“Fine,” Ari says, and I hear Jason let out a breath. “What’s the plan, then?”
“Your father has to be close to Abraham. They can’t risk you escaping again before he can try to force you back to Israel. We send a team into the prison while the other is watching around the location. He has to show his face eventually.”
“If we can get control over the situation with Abraham, we can force him to contact Aharon,” Keon adds.
“Aharon will have plans in place for everything,” Ari argues. “He’s not going to just walk into that prison. He’ll want me brought to him.”
“Even better,” Tyler says. “Then we can take out whoever is with him, too.”
“I should still have the matching gear at the first safehouse. We infiltrate. Take one out and replace them one by one. They don’t wear name badges to protect their identity, so we can stay unnoticed until we’re in place.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Kira comments, and Tivon rubs his hand down her cheek.
“None of this will be easy,Yafah. While we’re doing this, you’ll be locked away somewhere with Kane. We can’t risk leaving you alone.”
Jason clears his throat and all eyes turn to him. “I think we should go back to New York with them until it’s over.”
“Sweet cheeks?—”
Jason smiles, but it’s sad. “We’ve put enough people in danger. It’s the least we can do to make sure Kane and his family are safe while they are protecting us.”
Ari drops to his knees beside Jason’s chair and grabs his hands. “You don’t have to do this, but I love you for even offering.”
“We’ve already talked about it,” Kira announces. “You’ve spent so much time making sure we’re safe, it’s our turn toreturn the favor by giving you two less things to worry about. I have no doubt that you will come out on top of this, Ari. And when you do, we’ll be waiting for you.”
Tears gather in Ari’s eyes when he reaches to grab her hand too. I know what he’s feeling. My heart feels like it’s shattering to pieces at just thethoughtof them leaving. “There’s no promise that we’ll make it out of this alive.”
“You will,” Jason says harshly, grabbing Ari’s face. “You will come home to me because you promised you would never leave me. I believe in you and this team, Babe.”
“Fuck,” Ari chokes out, burying his face in Jason’s lap. Jason runs his fingers through his hair and looks around the room.
“Let us do this for you. Kane is just waiting for the call, and he’ll have us on the next plane out of here.”
Tivon takes a breath and rakes his fingers through his hair. “Do it. If we don’t succeed, there will be blow back. I don’t want you two caught in the middle.”
The air in the room changes to something so somber that I can barely catch my breath.
But it also makes us more determined to finish this.
