Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

January 26 th

9:31 A.M.

"We're late," Zander said as they walked through the front doors of Prey.

"Mmm, yep. A whole one minute," Lucy teased. Actually, she usually hated to be late. Her parents were the kind of people who left more than enough time to make it somewhere at least fifteen minutes early, and then left another thirty minutes or so before that. As a kid, they'd spent so much time sitting in the car waiting for an acceptable time to go inside wherever it was they were going that they were all experts at car games.

Today, though, she didn't care about being late. Because she wouldn't have traded the hours she and Zander had spent together for anything. They'd managed a couple of hours of sleep in her bed, tangled in one another's arms. Then showered together and made waffles for breakfast.

Those moments were even more precious because not only were they getting to know one another and starting to make memories together—good memories rather than those of running for their lives in Mexico—but they could so easily not have happened.

She'd come dangerously close to losing Zander before he was ever even hers.

Never would she take for granted a single second with this man who held her hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.

There was still a chance she could lose him. He was battling his demons the best way he knew how, but Lucy knew he was struggling, doubting himself and his place in the world. All she could do was be there for him and hope and pray it was enough. Despite what Zander thought, the world wouldn't be a better place without him in it. He was not responsible for what happened to his team, and of course, there was a darkness inside him after living through an ordeal like that.

Already, she could feel tendrils of darkness inside her own soul, and she hadn't suffered half as much as Zander had.

But they were home, they were safe, and they were together, and for now that was enough.

"One minute now." Zander threw a quick glance at her. "But by the time we get in the lift, and get up to the third floor, and then into the conference room?—"

"We'll be maybe four minutes late at the most," she finished for him.

"Lucy!" Dora Hibbert came out from behind the reception desk and threw her arms around her in a crushing hug. While definitely a sweet woman, Dora had a habit of being a little too touchy feely, Lucy knew it sometimes made the guys, who were all happily married, a little uncomfortable. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried when I heard that your plane went down, and then hearing that you were captured." Dora shuddered. "So awful. I'm so glad you're home safely now."

"Thank you, Dora." Lucy returned the woman's hug. Despite her over-demonstrative personality, and the fact that she was the hub of office gossip, they all knew that without Dora, things would not run so smoothly around here. "This is …" she trailed off, realizing she'd been about to introduce Zander as Scarlett's brother, but call her selfish she wanted to introduce him as hers. Only her what? "My …"

"Boyfriend," Zander supplied, and she stared up at him in shock. Was he ready to call himself that? It was what she wanted, but she was surprised he'd said it like it was no big deal, especially after what he'd been considering last night.

"Oh." Dora looked confused as she glanced at their joined hands. "I thought you were Zander Madden, Scarlett's brother."

"He is," Lucy said.

"Oh," Dora said again, this time with a hint of reproach like Lucy was doing something wrong by dating her friend's brother.

Was that how everybody else saw it?

Did they think she was betraying her friend by going out with Zander?

She sincerely hoped that wasn't true because she wasn't giving Zander up. Not for anybody, not even Scarlett. Zander needed her, and she needed him, too.

"We've got to get upstairs, Zander doesn't like to be late." She shot him a teasing smile so that he knew she was okay with Dora looking down on her, nothing was making her walk away from him. She'd made him a promise and it was one she intended to keep.

When they got into the lift, she could sense Zander emotionally withdrawing, and since she was having none of that, she literally threw herself at him so he had no choice but to catch her. Once he did, Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, wrapping her smaller body around as much of his as she could.

"Don't pull away from me, Zander. I don't care what Dora thinks. I'm here for you. Not because I have to be, not because I owe you since you saved me, and not because I feel sorry for you, although my heart does break for what you've been through. I'm here for you because I want to be, and because there's nowhere else I'd rather be."

When he smiled and she felt some of the tension ebb out of his body, she relaxed, knowing she'd gotten through to him. "Do you read minds, sassy girl?"

"Yep, sure do," she teased, and then because she couldn't be this close to him and not kiss him, she leaned in and brushed her lips across his.

Framing her face with his hands, his fingertips swept across her cheekbones. "Thank you doesn't seem to be big enough for how I feel about you being here for me."

"I said the same thing to you when you saved my life, and you told me there were no thanks necessary," she reminded him.

"You really are a sassy girl, aren't you, babe?"

"Only with you," she whispered, which was absolutely the truth. Serious, that was the word most people would use to describe her, but with Zander she felt freedom not to have to prove herself. If he didn't believe in her, he wouldn't have come to her when he was at rock bottom.

"That you feel free to be yourself with me means more to me than you can ever know," Zander whispered back, and then his lips were on hers and he was kissing her in the same way he had last night, like he was pouring his whole heart into it. Was there anything better than when someone kissed you with their whole being?

"Eww, my eyes, why are you two making out in the elevator?"

The voice had them both breaking the kiss and turning to find Grayson "Chaos" Simpson standing in the open lift door grinning at them. The man was a top-tier prankster who loved nothing more than making the lives of everybody around him his playground as he looked for ways to outdo himself. From the grin on his face, he was obviously pleased to have been the one to break up their kiss and embarrass them.

"As if I haven't had to watch you and Juliet make out a million times," she tossed back as Zander set her on her feet and reclaimed his hold on her hand.

"Hey, that's because we're adults, and you two are still kids," Chaos said.

"There's not even ten-years difference in our ages," she reminded him as they all headed for the conference room.

"Ten years is a lot, kiddo." Chaos ruffled her hair as he walked along beside her making her take a swing at his shoulder and miss when he dodged out of the way.

"You are impossible, I don't know how Juliet puts up with you, and now you have two little munchkins you're training to be just like you. Poor Jules."

"My woman loves me and the fun I bring into her life," Chaos said with another grin, and it was absolutely true, the couple was madly in love, and their two little boys were adorable, even if the three-year-old was following in his daddy's jokester footsteps.

"Nice of you to join us," Owen "Fox" LeGrand said as the three of them entered the room. Although her boss didn't look angry with them, he did look stressed. Not a good thing.

Actually, everybody looked stressed. The rest of the guys who ran Prey's East Coast office along with Fox and Chaos, Ryder "Spider" Flynn, Eric "Night" McNamara, Logan "Shark" Kirk, and Charlie "King" Voss, all had tense expressions. As did Rocco's SEAL Team who were also in the room. Decker "Gumby" Kincade, Beckett "Ace" Morgan, Cole "Rex" Kingston, Forest "Phantom" Dalton, and Bubba.

The tension in the room quickly wiped away any joy she'd felt in the elevator a minute ago. Something bad was going on.

"Told you we were going to be late," Zander leaned down to murmur in her ear, and since she knew he was trying to get her to relax, she forced out a breath and calmed herself.

"I don't think they care," she murmured back. "What's going on? Is it bad news? Did we find the mole?" That would be both good and bad news. At least the threat would be over, but they'd all have to face the fact that someone who had worked with them had betrayed them.

"No news on the mole. Or Raul Castillo," Fox added.

"Then what?"

Fox's dark eyes shifted to Zander. "The weapons deal went down last night, right when and where your intel said it was going to."

Zander didn't relax or rejoice at the news because they both knew something else was coming.

"But?" Zander asked.

"But Zafir Mostafa's younger brother was able to escape with a handful of men before their camp was raided," Fox informed them. "Zimraan wasn't among the dead or those taken into custody, and word is, he's out for vengeance against the man he believes to be responsible for his brother's death."

Fox didn't have to name names.

The Syrian terrorist wanted revenge against Zander.

January 26 th

12:19 P.M.

His head was still reeling from everything they'd discussed at the meeting.

Zimraan Mostafa was out to avenge his brother's death and he was placing the blame squarely on Zander's shoulders.

That meant he wasn't safe.

Worse than that, it meant Lucy wasn't safe.

As far as he could tell there were only three options. One, he hunt down the Syrian terrorist himself. Two, go into hiding and just disappear, something that was absolutely doable, if he wanted he could just fall off the face of the Earth and nobody would ever find him unless he wanted to be found. Or three, he stayed there, watched Lucy's back, protected what was his, and trusted that Prey had his back.

Trusting anyone was hard after what he'd been through. Just because it wasn't betrayal, just faulty intel that got him and his team captured, it didn't mean he hadn't lost faith in the system. His faith in everything, most importantly himself, had been shattered.

Running was what his brain was urging him to do. The darkness inside him as well. It whispered insidiously that he couldn't protect Lucy, that he'd fail her just like he failed the rest of his men.

"We can do this, Zander. We have your back. All of us. I know you lost your team and having another one must be terrifying, but these guys are some of the best, just as skilled as your guys were. Prey will be there for you, every step of the way. Please don't run. Trust us, or at least trust me, to have your back."

Looking down at Lucy, at her imploring blue eyes, there was no way he could say no to her.

"I'll stay, baby. But I think you're the only one here who wants to be on my team." Zander couldn't help but feel like the others were only tolerating him because of Lucy, looking down on him for betraying his sister like he had.

"No," she said, shaking her head so firmly her blonde locks went swishing about it. "Absolutely not. If Eagle didn't trust you, there is no way he would have let me get on a plane with you. And if these guys didn't trust you, then you wouldn't be here. Trust me on that. Prey is a family, and you are part of that family. Because you're important to me, sure, but I'm not the only one who you're important to."

When Lucy looked over his shoulder to the other end of the long conference table, Zander reluctantly shifted so he could follow her gaze.

Scarlett was sitting there along with Tate, and all throughout the meeting she'd been shooting him looks he couldn't decipher. Zander no longer knew how to read his twin sister's expressions, even though it used to be as natural as breathing.

"Every single one of these guys knows you were in an impossible situation. They all understand why you faked your death, and I don't think any one of them could say they wouldn't do the same in your situation. You should know," Lucy added, "that Tate had your sister arrested because he thought it was the right thing to do under the circumstances."

"He did what now?" Zander growled, making Lucy chuckle.

"Everyone makes mistakes, Zander, because we're all human. Go talk to your sister, she misses you, and she's scared of losing you again, it's why she's pushing you away."

"Did she say that?"

"Yeah, she did. Go."

With a nod, he slowly pushed away from the table. Scarlett watched his approach, only looking away briefly when Tate whispered something in her ear and dropped a quick kiss to her lips.

Since she didn't tell him to get the hell away from her, he pulled out the chair beside her and took a seat. The SEAL guys had left about ten minutes ago as had the Prey guys, so it was only him, Lucy, Scarlett, Ella, Cassie, and Tate left in the conference room. The others had gathered down near Lucy and no one was looking at him and his sister, and he appreciated them giving the two of them some space.

"I'm sorry, Scarlett," he said. It didn't seem like enough for what he'd put his sister through, just like it hadn't seemed like enough this morning when he'd been with Lucy. But it was all he had to give her. There was no going back and doing it all over again. What was done was done, and they all had to live with the consequences of his choices.

"I don't understand why you'd tell Mom and Dad you were alive but not me." The raw pain in his sister's voice tore at his heart, ripping off the scabs of wounds that were only just beginning to heal and making them bleed freely all over again.

Somehow, with the two of them, it always came back to their parents.

Just because they'd never been physically abused didn't mean there weren't a lot of scars littering both of them. They'd been neglected, lived with strict rules, and been pushed to do things most kids their age had never heard of, like learn to fight hand-to-hand combat, shoot weapons, use a knife, and survivalist training. They'd been shoved into the foster system, and both of them had learned over and over again that their parents didn't love them.

Dragging his hands down his face he met his sister's eyes, his eyes because while they might not be identical twins, couldn't since they were opposite genders, they were carbon copies of one another. No one could mistake them as strangers, they looked as much like siblings as it was possible to look.

"It wasn't like that, Scar. I swear it wasn't. My team and I were captured. We were kept in the hot sun, chained up in a dusty courtyard. One by one, they killed my team in front of me. Cut their bodies to pieces while they were still alive."

Scarlett gasped, a hand flying to her mouth.

Part of him wanted to censor what he was saying, but he knew she had to hear it to understand.

"We were there a week. They killed one man every day. They took pleasure in their pain, wanted to punish me for not giving up intel, and refusing to beg and plead for our lives. I carry the pain my men suffered on my shoulders. I never expected to survive. They didn't feed us and gave us only enough water to keep us alive, by the time we were rescued, I was in bad shape. I didn't want to live, fought the team that was trying to save me because I wanted my blood to spill in the same place my team's did."

"Zander." Scarlett's hand covered his, squeezing tightly, and he felt and heard her pain. They were twins, they shared a bond not many people could understand, they were tied together from their very conception.

"I didn't call Mom and Dad, Scar. They're my parents, I'm not married so they're considered next of kin. The military notified them not me. They reiterated every single doubt and fear I had, told me I was a terrible soldier and I should have died with my team. I couldn't face you, Scarlett, I couldn't take the chance you would feel the same way. That would have broken me."

"Oh, Zander, that makes me so much madder at you and breaks my heart all at the same time." The next thing he knew his sister was fighting her way onto his lap, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. "I'm your twin sister, I love you, for so long it was just the two of us against the world. I would never say those things to you. Ever. How could you think I would?"

"Wasn't in a good place, Scar. I wasn't thinking clearly."

"I wish you didn't care so much about what Mom and Dad think about you."

"I don't. Not anymore." He'd learned the hard way not to bother trying to earn their love. "When I was approached about the undercover op, I didn't want you to have to mourn me twice, so I just left things as they were. Plotting my revenge was the only thing that I could think about, and I believed you were better off without me in your life anyway."

"I'm not better off without you, Zandy. Not ever."

Lucy had said the same thing to him, and when he glanced over he saw her watching him and Scarlett with a smile.

"You really like her, huh?" Scarlett asked, following his line of sight.

"I do. A lot. Is that okay?" Zander wasn't sure he could break things off with Lucy for anyone, not even his twin sister.

"It's more than okay. I love Lucy, she's like a sister to me, and if you two wind up getting married, then one day she really will be my sister."

That made him laugh. "One day at a time, Scar. One day at a time." For now, that was a good mantra. It would take time for him to heal, time for Lucy to heal, too, and they weren't in any rush. They had the rest of their lives to be together. "So, am I forgiven?"

"Are you planning on putting me through thinking you're dead again?"

"No, Scar, I learned my lesson. Family is what's most important. Real family not the kind that's yours only through DNA. You, Lucy, that's what's important to me, I don't ever want to lose you."

"You won't, Zandy. And Lucy will be good for you, I think you'll be good for her, too. I'm happy for you, for both of us, we both managed to find someone despite our example of relationships and love growing up."

They had both been lucky, but someone was threatening his family, and he didn't take kindly to threats. Zimraan Mostafa, Raul Castillo, and the mole at Prey were all going down.