Chapter 37

The days pass with a peacefulness that I didn't know existed. I grew up in New York. There was always noise and commotion. Never, in my wildest dreams, would I have thought the middle of nowhere would offer so much mental relief, but there's a certain kind of comfort on the compound.

It clearly can't last forever.

Ranger runs a team for Assurance, and from what I've gathered, he normally works out of DC.

Tanner and I are interested to see how we'll fit into that puzzle.

Our illustrious leader has already made it clear the three of us aren't allowed to work in pairs, like Maverick and Gunner. If, God forbid, the worst happened, it would limit that loss to one, which still would have devastating effects on Laken, but hopefully, she could recover.

For literally inspiring fear in the hearts of some of the country's most dangerous criminals, he sure is losing his shit over Laken's missing sister.

He rakes the team he assigned to Miami over the coals during a very uncomfortable meeting held at the Assurance Security compound.

The owner of Assurance, Carrigan Mercer, attempts to apologize in person for refusing me a meeting with Ranger, but that's water under the bridge at this point.

Laken is in the main house with Vale, baby Aurora, Karma, and the Kate I've heard so much about.

I'm not really sure why Laken worried so much about the woman. She's got an attitude, and she and Ranger barely tolerated each other during the five minutes they spent together. It doesn't matter.

At the end of the day, I'm always going to have Laken's back, even if the pregnancy hormones make her a little irrational at times. From the looks of it, though, she and Kate buried whatever weirdness was between them.

Tanner and I accompanied Ranger to the command center, but I know we're both itching to get back to our omega. He has more knowledge of who some of these guys are because of the mission they ran together when saving Laken.

I get the introductions, but there are so many faces, it's impossible to tell who is who. Or even who is important enough to remember their name.

A massive guy with a thick blond beard and man bun jogs into what I would consider the employee lounge as Ranger says his goodbyes.

I'm pretty sure the newcomer is one of Vale's alphas, but even that is just my assumption after seeing them together in the house earlier.

He strides directly toward Ranger, and my hackles rise.

Tanner bumps his forearm against mine, but I'm already on full alert to assess the situation.

"You need to take the call in the conference room," the giant alpha growls. "It's for you."

Ranger sighs. "Of course, it is. May I ask who's calling?"

"They didn't give a name, but they've got Laken's sister. They want to make a trade."

Ranger's eyes narrow, and in an instant, the mask is gone. His shoulders pull back, and he gives a clipped nod. "How intriguing." He makes eye contact with me and Tanner before striding out without a backward glance. "Come along, gentlemen. We have a hostage negotiation to manage."

Tanner sighs, jogging to follow Ranger. "Sometimes I really miss Vegas."

I don't miss Chicago in the least, but I do get the sentiment.

"You have thirty seconds to convince me this call isn't a waste of my time," Ranger says in a cold, dead voice that's usually reserved for the basement. He clicks a button on the phone in the conference room, and the sound of breathing fills the air. There's no response for so long, he frowns at the phone as he places the receiver in the cradle.

Mercer and the blond man-bun guy followed us in. They stand by the door, pensively watching.

"Tick tock," Ranger taunts. "Why don't you start with who I'm speaking with?"

"You're not in control here, asshole!" The voice echoes around the room. "I've got your woman's sister."

"That's nice. Best of luck keeping hold of her," Ranger says. "That one is quite slippery, and I know from experience that she does what she wants."

"Is he purposely trying to get Laken's sister killed?" Tanner whispers against the shell of my ear.

I shake my head and twist to speak directly into his. "No. He's setting the tone and trying to convince them they have nothing of value."

He's doing a damn good job of it too.

They called us.

They clearly want something.

My guess would be Braxton, but the voice on the phone doesn't belong to either of my brothers.

It's also not anyone else from my family.

"How would your omega take it if she knew you got her sister killed?" the guy hisses.

"Not well," Ranger concedes. "What exactly are we negotiating for?"

"Not what! Who! This chick for Braxton."

"How do I know she's alive?" Ranger asks.

"You'll just have to take my word for it."

Ranger swipes a hand through his brown curls. "What state is the transaction meant to take place in?"

"We're in Virginia. Lyra told us you live around here," the man says.

Ranger's jaw tenses. "Fine, name a town and a time."

"How do we know you won't just try to kill us?" the guy asks.

Ranger gives the phone a dubious look. "You don't. The same way I don't know if you'll attempt to kill me. However, this is a simple trade. I have no further use for Braxton. Set the terms, and let's be done with this."

"Do you really think they're going to hold up their end of the bargain?" I ask, following Ranger as he stomps through the house.

"Kurran or Adair made the call directly to Assurance from Adair's cell phone. We're not dealing with the brightest of criminals." He sighs. "I truly have no idea. The only comfort I can find is that they want to meet nearly an hour away. I can only hope Lyra told them the state, but not the exact location of my home." He hits the basement doors and begins to work on the intricate set of locks. "What's confusing me is that, based on the information Merrick gathered, it seems to be just the two of them. Why isn't your family with them to retrieve Braxton?"

I frown, shaking my head.

It's a good question, but one I don't have the answer to.

"Maybe they're still in lockdown and are hoping Kurran and Adair will handle it so they don't have to?" I speculate as Ranger rips the door open and heads down the stairs. We hit the bottom, and he opens the false panel that leads to the hallway that houses the actual dungeon. This basement is huge, with multiple corridors and sections. When all the secret tunnels are closed, it's basically impossible to tell they exist in the first place.

"I don't want to move," Ranger says, striding down the hall. "I like this place. Sparrow finally came home, and she's close by. Laken will have feminine support from Sparrow and Vale once the baby is born."

"Don't go planning anything outlandish just yet. Let's see how it goes." I stop just behind him as he begins to unlock the next door.

"I hope they know what they've gotten themselves into," he growls, ripping open the door. "I'm annoyed. That never works out well for people."

Will's moaning fills the air, but Ranger strides over, grabbing the keys to Braxton's cell. I'm not sure if he's planning another round of torture for my cousin, or possibly, it'll be our responsibility to clean him up.

Braxton truly is on his last leg.

They won't be satisfied with their trade.

Ranger rips open the cell door and walks over to pull the bag off Braxton's head. "Shit."

"What?" I ask, jogging over. My face twists into a grimace as I take in the sight. "Shit, indeed."

"What a hell of a time for him to finally expire," Ranger growls, kicking Braxton's kneeling corpse in the gut.

My cousin's nude body falls with a thump.

"What now?" I ask, scratching my jaw.

"Now we find a replacement and call in reinforcements."

"I'll do it," Tanner says with a shrug.

"No," Ranger growls. "Absolutely not."

"Laken can't lose you," I remind him. "Losing a bond while pregnant…" My head shakes. "No fucking way. We'll shove a bag over his head and bring Will in Braxton's place."

"What if they don't fall for it?" Tanner asks, glancing at the stairs in the living room, like he's expecting Laken to come down at any moment.

"We're not using Will. He's one death rattle away from meeting his maker." Ranger scoffs. "Grady will take Braxton's place. They're of a similar build."

"You're willing to risk your sister's bonded alpha?" Tanner's jaw falls open.

I'd laugh, but with the situation, it hardly seems appropriate.

"Grady has more lives than a cat," Ranger says, rolling his eyes as the front door slams open.

"Watch it," Grady says. I've only met him once, when he brought Annika over for a visit. "That sounded dangerously close to a compliment. Keep talking sweet about me, and I'll think I've actually worn you down."

Several others follow him in, including Ranger's sister.

"By my calculations, you're on at least your eleventh life. That means they must have reset after nine," Ranger quips.

"Who are we killing?" Annika asks, planting her hands on her hips.

"A few stragglers from the Andretti massacre," Tanner says.

"I knew you guys were trying to block your feelings in the bond," Laken says, peeking around the half wall at the top of the stairs. "Someone needs to tell me what's going on."

My stomach drops.

Shit.

The house gets considerably louder as Annika and her alphas make themselves at home.

Ranger reluctantly fills Laken in on the situation.

"You want me to play this out for everyone?" Grady offers, chuckling. "She's going to ask to come with us. He's going to say something along the lines of absolutely fucking not,and then they'll hash it out until she eventually gets her way."

"You think?" Annika laughs. "I bet he locks her in his bedroom and leaves without telling her. Kinda like how he played me that night at the Andretti compound."

"It's my sister. I would like to go, so I can comfort her after everything is said and done." Laken stares up at Ranger's face with a pleading look that pisses me off.

In no way is he the only one with veto power to keep her home.

"You're fucking pregnant," I growl, stomping over to their side. "No."

"No way!" Annika squeals from behind me, making me grimace. "You assholes work fast."

"Thanks for sharing that with everyone in the room," Laken grunts.

"He's not wrong," Ranger says, brushing his fingers over her cheek. "I'd feel more comfortable with you staying at the Assurance compound with Vale. I would trust her pack to keep you safe in my absence."

"I would prefer not to be told to sit on my hands back at home like a good little wife," Laken says, raising her eyebrows.

"How about a compromise?" Annika suggests.

"What do you have in mind?" Ranger asks.

Annika walks over to stand on Laken's other side, but she looks at her brother. "Laken and I come with you to wherever you're heading, but not to the meetup itself. Once you've handled the problem, Laken will be close enough to reunite with her sister within a few minutes."

"That sounds dangerous," he growls.

"Kane and Grady can go with you to the meeting point. Ward, Tanner, Cas, and I will stay with Laken." Annika bumps her shoulder against Ranger's. "I give you my word, I'll protect her with my life."

"I appreciate the sentiment," Laken says. "But could you not do the thing where you talk about me like I'm not here?"

Annika snorts. "It makes me really happy knowing you're going to call my brother on his shit for the rest of his life. And you're right, I should have spoken directly to you. It used to drive me crazy when people did the same thing to me. What do you think? Is that a decent compromise?"

Laken weighs her options, and it filters through the bond. She finally nods. "I can live with that."

We arrive late the same night. There are hotel rooms waiting for us, and it's wild to see everyone carry in duffel bags full of weapons, like they're not highly fucking illegal.

Karma stayed with Vale and her pack for the night because she's nowhere close to being ready for this kind of operation.

I grab my bag of clothing and move around to the trunk of the SUV to collect some of the bags filled with the gear.

Ranger comes to a stop close to my side. "I know my sister recommended Tanner stay with Laken, but I'd prefer if it was you."

"Why?"

"He's capable," he says, clearing his throat. "But he's not as ruthless as you or me. Tanner would never be able to make the call to sacrifice someone else to save himself. It's just not in his DNA. He could be the poster boy for we live or die as a team."

I nod, fully understanding what he's saying.

"I will keep Tanner alive. You do the same for our omega, and we can all make it back to the hotel tonight," he says, keeping his voice low.

"Just to be clear, you want me to choose my life or Laken's over anyone else we're with…" I'm a little surprised because she and I will be with his sister and a couple of her guys. "You want me to choose saving myself over, say, your sister?"

Ranger's jaw tenses. "I don't think I should answer that, but you know the answer. Sparrow has her own alphas who will be completely focused on protecting her. I would, however, suggest you not allow it to come to that."

"Got it," I agree with a snort.

I'm of a similar mindset.

Laken and the baby come before anyone else, but I have no intention of letting it get to that point.