34. Fox

34

FOX

"Why the fuck are you here?" Cash snapped as I walked through the doors of OPS. "You're supposed to be with your team."

"I went rogue."

"I can see that. Why?"

"Because I had something to do."

"You had something to do?" he yelled. "You're on a team for a reason. You disappeared without a word. I've been getting calls all fucking night from your team because they don't know where you are. They thought you were taken!"

"Like that would happen," I muttered, walking to the elevator. Cash followed despite my attempts to leave him behind.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Don't walk away from me!"

I punched the button on the elevator and hoped the doors would close before he followed, but I wasn't that lucky. He slipped through the doors at the last second, destroying my attempts at leaving him behind.

I rolled my eyes as he stared at me. My mood had soured considerably since my trip to Pennsylvania. The Kamau was not who I thought he was. In fact, I wasn't sure he was worthy of the title any longer.

"Are you going to tell me what the fuck happened or?—"

I turned and grabbed him by the collar, shoving him up against the wall of the elevator. I saw the surprise in his eyes and realized I was fucking with the wrong person. Not that Cash would ever hurt me. We were family, and that was precisely why it was so wrong for me to put my hands on him.

"Sorry," I muttered, removing my grip from his shirt.

"Fox…this isn't like you. What happened?"

The doors opened and I walked down the hall to the kitchen. "You know that feeling when you think you know someone and then they fail you miserably?"

"Yes, I've been there a time or two. So, what happened?"

"I went for help. I thought I knew someone who could help us with Rafe. It turns out, I was wrong."

"You asked Knight."

I shrugged. "No big deal, right? We can do this on our own."

"Then why did you go to him?"

"Because it's Rafe." I opened a cabinet and pulled out a bowl, then grabbed the oatmeal, pouring some in with just a touch of brown sugar. Cash watched me intently, probably waiting for me to add something really weird, but all I was in the mood for was something normal.

I poured milk into the bowl and stuck it in the microwave to warm it up, then leaned on the counter as I stared off into space in thought.

"That's it?"

I shrugged. "What's the point?"

"Fox—"

"It's fine. He didn't want to help. Who gives a fuck?"

"Rafe can take care of himself."

The microwave beeped, but I didn't move to open it. Instead, I stared at my boss and said what we were both thinking. "We both know that's not true in this situation. He got himself into trouble, and he won't be able to Rafe his way out of this."

"That's his problem."

"That's your problem, which makes it my problem—and everyone else's. Boss, we take care of each other. And even though Rafe is a royal pain in the ass, he's still your brother. No, he's your fucking twin. I know what it would do to you if anything happened to him. We have to get him back, and I wanted the best shot at that."

His eyes dropped as he nodded. I knew the weight of Rafe's decisions were bearing down heavily on Cash. Even though he was a royal pain in the ass, he was family, and all of this had been for his half-sister. Maybe none of us would ever agree with Rafe's methods, but no one could doubt his motives.

"We'll do it on our own," Cash said. "We'll find a way to get him back."

"And your sister."

I looked up and saw Michael standing with Claire in the doorway. The three J's were behind them, standing guard like someone would attack at any second.

Cash shoved back from his chair and stood. "Did you get the call?"

Claire nodded. "I sent the message, but—I might have messed it up. I don't know if she'll get the message to Rafe."

That was really fucking bad. We were already on a time crunch, but if she couldn't get the message to Rafe, how the hell would we get them off the island?

"So, we wait," Cash said.

"I don't know about you, but I could really fucking use a drink," Michael sighed.

I turned and grabbed a bottle off the shelf, then a few shot glasses. It was still early, but there was no time like the present. After pouring the shots, I held mine up and looked right at Cash. "To Rafe."

"To getting them back," Cash added.

We all drank our shots and I poured another round. I noticed the J's all gathered together, looking like they were conspiring. I slipped away from Cash and his father, wandering over to the other group.

Jack looked over at me, nodding. "What's going on?" I asked.

He looked at Michael, then back to me. "We're putting together a plan."

"We have a plan."

"This is a last-ditch effort. Rafe was fucking stupid for going rogue."

"He always goes rogue," Johnny pointed out.

"Yeah, but this time, he's really stuck his foot in it," Jason sighed. "We can't leave him down there."

"How the hell do you propose we get them off the island?" I asked.

"Extreme measures," Jack answered, sending a chill down my spine, which was fucking hard to do. "Any idea where IRIS is?"

I would have burst out laughing if it wasn't so fucking depressing. "He won't go for it."

"Then you need to fucking convince him," Jack spat.

"You're talking about doing something that would not only cause massive destruction, but would most likely kill everyone on the island."

"We were hoping for a targeted attack," Jason said.

"But you don't know where the fuck everyone is," I reminded them. "If you fuck this up, you'll kill them. There's no fucking way to even warn them. We tried that, and we still don't know how that's going to turn out."

"I know Rafe would rather die by our hand than by Zavala's," Johnny snapped. "If we leave him there, he's going to end up dead or worse."

I knew worse. I was worse. But a man like Rafe could withstand anything. He was meant for this work. "No."

"Only as a last resort," Jack hissed. "We're not talking about doing this tomorrow. But if it comes down to it, Rafe would prefer it."

"And how the hell would you explain that to Claire?" I asked. "How the hell would you look at Cash and explain to him that you killed two of his family members without any thought?"

"Do you really fucking think I want this?" Jack snapped.

"I think you wouldn't mind a little revenge. After all, he did force feed you drugs and shock you nearly to death."

Jack came at me, but Johnny held him back. He gritted his teeth as he stared me down. "And you think I would get my revenge by killing him?"

"I don't know what you would do. The three of you are always off on your own, doing your own thing. You've never really joined us."

Jack shrugged Johnny off, taking a moment before he responded. "Look, we know what's at stake. We're not talking about doing anything right now. But Zavala has to go, and if there's no way to save Rafe, we have to end this."

"Just as long as you don't get trigger-happy. Cash is my family, and if you do anything to hurt him, I will take you down in my dungeon, and I'll make sure you see the light slowly dim as I take you apart piece by piece. M-kay?" I added for a cheery note.

Just as I turned back to Cash, I caught sight of a dark figure looming in the doorway. My hand immediately went to my throwing knives, but I instantly recognized the outline of his hair and the build of his frame.

"Holy shit," I whispered. "It's The Kamau! He's made a reappearance!"

A grin split my lips as he stepped into the light. He was carrying a leather jacket and his boots—the very ones I tossed on the floor at his house. He didn't look at anyone but me as he walked closer. It felt like I was in one of those sappy romance movies and I was the only person he saw in the room. I was in love.

"You came."

"You left my boots and jacket behind. I figured I'd return them," he said, handing them over.

I took them, eyeing him warily. "Does this mean you're going to help us?"

He gave a stiff nod, not saying another word.

I slung my arm around his neck and turned to Cash. "He came."

"I can see that," he said dryly.

The Kamau shrugged my arm off his shoulder and stepped forward. "Dad? What the fuck are you doing here?"

I looked at The Kamau, then over to Cash in confusion. But it wasn't Cash who responded. Michael stepped forward, looking uncomfortable as hell. "Hudson, what are you doing here?"

"I came to help with Rafe. What are you doing here?"

I looked between the two of them with huge eyes. Was I hearing this right?

"I came to help also. He's my son."

My head swiveled back to The Kamau, my eyes fucking huge as I saw the shock on his face.

"Your son." Then his eyes slid to Cash. "He's your father?"

"He's yours?" Cash retorted.

"Holy shit," I whispered. "Do you know what this means?"

"You're my brother," Knight retorted.

"We're brothers!" I shouted, flinging my arms around The Kamau, hugging him tightly. I picked him up, shaking him up and down. "I always wanted a brother!"

When he finally regained his wits, he tore my arms from around his and pushed me away. "We are not brothers."

"He's your brother and he's like my brother, which makes us brothers!"

"How the fuck did you not tell me this?" The Kamau snapped at Michael. "I have a brother?"

"Two," Cash said.

"Three," I interjected, not wanting to be forgotten about.

"And you have a sister," Michael added.

"Holy shit," I said, running my fingers through my hair. "I have three brothers and a sister all in one day! This is the best day ever!"

"We're not brothers!" The Kamau snapped.

"I beg to differ, but this is your big reveal."

"Son—"

"Son?" The Kamau scoffed. "Now I'm your son? I haven't heard from you in years."

"You haven't exactly been easy to contact. You changed your name."

"Yeah, but you're the Shadow," I cut in. "I'm sure you could have found him."

"You're Shadow?" The Kamau scoffed.

"Explains a lot, right?"

"Like why you were never fucking around. Like why you bailed on Mom."

"Larissa was never?—"

"Never your fucking wife," The Kamau snapped. "Yeah, I knew that. You never fucking loved her."

"Ooh, been there, done that," I nodded.

"You fucking left. The last time I saw you was the day I left for boot."

"You were better off without me," Michael explained.

"Yet, you stuck around for your other sons."

"Another fair point," I agreed.

"You fucking walked out of my life."

"You made it impossible to be in your life," Michael retorted. "After what you did—I didn't want to put you in more danger. If anyone found out that you were my son, you would have had a bigger target on your back. I had to disappear from your life."

I was on pins and needles, waiting to find out what would happen. This was too good to walk away from. It was better than any musical I had ever seen.

"Fox, could you give us a minute," Cash said.

"A minute to what?"

"To talk," Cash gritted out.

"Oh, I'm a part of this. See, you're my brother. Knight's my brother. I have brothers!"

"We're not fucking brothers!" The Kamau hissed.

"But…you gave me your leather jacket and shoes. That has to mean something."

"It was a peace offering."

"As my brother," I prodded.

"Fox!" Cash snapped.

"Fine," I grumbled. "But this isn't over."

I turned on my heel and walked out of the kitchen, but I was grinning the whole fucking time. The Kamau was my brother. I should have seen it before. We were so alike. We could go on the road and have an act. I'd torture them and he'd kill them. It would be fucking perfect.

And he came back for me.

This day just couldn't get any fucking better.