1. Kavanaugh

1

KAVANAUGH

“We take him alive. Is everyone clear on that?” Cash asked over comms.

“Affirmative,” I answered, though I really wanted to smash his face in right now.

I tapped Red on the shoulder, letting him know I was ready to move. Our boots barely made a sound as we crossed the tiled floors. At any moment, an alarm could go off, signaling our presence. We were relying completely on Dash to ensure our movements were masked.

Not that he couldn’t do it.

But if the bickering on the other channel said anything, it was that Rae was goading him into failing. It was a thing—a very annoying thing they did in the height of battle.

Or, you know…just a simple mission that should not require this much arguing. But it was how they worked.

“Just so we’re all clear,” I muttered, “I really fucking hate this mission.”

“We’re aware,” Red retorted. “And we think you’re really brave for even taking this on.”

The sarcasm rolled off him in waves. I held my middle finger high, knowing he would spot it. I heard his chuckle across the room, but kept moving. Sweat trickled down my spine as we neared the wing that was sure to cause me nightmares. Spots danced across my vision, but I took a deep breath and moved on. I would not be cowed by my fears. I had withstood so much, fighting off the demons from my past, overcoming my father’s ambitions, and surviving life with these fuckers at OPS. This was child’s play.

“Approaching the target,” Eli whispered. “IRIS, how do we look?”

“We are clear and ready for takeoff.”

“Negative,” Cash hissed. “We are not clear for takeoff. There will be no takeoff.”

“Uh…Fireworks are set and ready to go.”

“There are no fireworks,” Cash hissed. “I repeat, that’s a negative on the fireworks.”

“What’s that?” IRIS said. Then the comms started going in and out. “I—hear—negative. Copy?”

“IRIS!” Cash hissed.

“Alright, alright! Geez, no fireworks.”

I could practically hear Cash’s grumble from across the room. “It’s not that fucking hard to follow orders.”

I snorted in amusement at that. “Yeah, not that hard to follow orders.”

“Do we have a problem or are we going to finish the fucking job?” Cash snapped.

I actually would prefer to do neither. I had no desire to work with Cash right now, but he was my employer. Whether I understood his intentions or not, he had still screwed me over, and it was going to take some time to wrap my head around that.

I heard him cursing me as I continued the path to the end of the gallery. My eyes flicked to the right where my certain demise lay. Encased in a glass tomb was a sarcophagus…a very golden sarcophagus. I shuddered and forced my gaze ahead. We were almost there.

“For a rich guy, he really has shitty taste in tile. You would think he could have chosen a better color than puke,” Eli grumbled.

“Let’s focus on getting the man out alive and not on the interior,” Cash snapped.

I gritted my teeth and did my best not to mouth off. We were going to have a come-to-Jesus moment. I just wasn’t sure when it would happen yet.

“On my count,” Cash said.

I waited for the countdown. I moved into position. Lights blared as we moved into the study. Cash was on him first, yanking him from his chair and throwing him on the ground. I watched the whole fucking thing happen as if in a movie. With his gun shoved in the man’s face, Cash looked every bit the boss I always knew. But inside, there was a dark hatred simmering that was infesting him and taking over.

As I watched him cuff the guy, I already knew what awaited him. And Fox would do it. He would do fucking anything for Cash, and he wouldn’t regret it for one single instant. But the moment Cash looked up and his eyes met mine, I knew there was a line I wouldn’t cross.

And Cash was getting awfully fucking close to that line.

I was just about to walk out when an explosion tore through the house, ripping out an entire wall and sending us all diving for cover. The fire burned out in just a minute, barely leaving anything in its path. The tiniest scrap of paper floated down in front of me, a small sizzle of fire going out as soon as it hit the tile. I stood and brushed the ash from my clothes, glancing around to see if anyone was injured.

Then IRIS stepped out from behind a wall that appeared to have another room behind it. He held his arms wide and grinned. “I found the hidden room. Not bad, huh?”

Cash glared at him. “I fucking said no fireworks.”

IRIS frowned at him, attempting to look properly chastised. “Oops-a-daisy.”

Lights flickered in the distance as the firetrucks pulled away. The op hadn’t gone exactly as planned, but nothing ever did when IRIS was involved. I finished packing our equipment, then tossed it in the trunk of our minivan and hit the button to close the door. When I turned, Cash was waiting for me.

“Something you need?” I asked, shoving past him.

He grabbed my arm, halting me in my tracks. “Are we going to discuss this?”

“You mean, how you manipulated me to get what you wanted?”

His jaw clenched, but that was the only sign my words had any effect on him. Then he shrugged like Rafe would, completely dismissing his part in the whole debacle. “You only did it because you wanted to. I couldn’t make you take the job with your father.”

“The senator,” I corrected.

“You said you wanted to do it to help me. We’re family. That’s what you said.”

I stared at him, trying to find the man he once was. A member of my family who would do anything for me. The man who went to great lengths to save the woman he loved. But instead, all I found was a replica of his brother.

Cold.

Unfeeling.

Calculating.

He wasn’t the man I knew, but I couldn’t blame him for that either. He was struggling to survive, struggling to live. I wasn’t sure how I would have reacted if I were in his position—if I’d had to kill my twin brother.

But that still didn’t excuse the way he used me. “Let’s get one thing straight, Cash. If you need me to do something, you fucking ask me. Be upfront with me. I can respect that. What I can’t fucking respect is you knowing what you’re sending me into and not fucking warning me.”

“You survived just fine,” he retorted.

I gritted my teeth, promising myself I wouldn’t fucking punch him in the face. “We all have our demons, Cash. The difference is, I would never use yours against you.”

I thought I saw just a flicker of regret in his eyes, but it was quickly washed away as he stepped toward me. “I will do whatever I have to do to bring down these fuckers. I won’t let anything get in my way.”

I gripped his shoulder tightly, leaning in close. “It’s good to know that I’m expendable. At least now I’ll be able to see the blade coming as you stab me in the back.”

I walked away from him, joining Red and Eli. They watched me cautiously, their eyes flicking to Cash. But when I didn’t explain, they took it for exactly what this was.

A gigantic fucking fissure splitting the company in two. We were either on Cash’s side, or we were his enemy. I hadn’t quite thought how this was going to play out yet, but I knew whatever fucking happened, it wouldn’t be pretty.