Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

SETH

S eth's flight back to London had been uneventful, a strange contrast to the storm of thoughts raging in his mind. As the plane descended over the city, the familiar skyline came into view, shrouded in the gray light of dawn. London had always felt like a city on the edge, balancing between its rich history and the demands of a modern world. Today, it felt like a reflection of Seth's own state of mind—a mix of tension, purpose, and an underlying sense of foreboding.

He knew what awaited him at Baker Street. The mission had been a success in many ways, but his decision to pursue Valente alone would not sit well with Hope. She would be furious, and she had every right to be. Seth had gone rogue, acted on instinct, and now he had to face the consequences—not from Cerberus, but from the woman who meant more to him than anyone or anything else in the world.

As the car carried him through the waking city, Seth leaned back against the leather seat, closing his eyes for a moment. His mind replayed the events since he'd left Hope in the helicopter. She was going to be pissed. The adrenaline was still humming in his veins. He had accomplished what he set out to do—captured Valente, secured critical intel—but at what cost? Hope was safe, but the way he had left her with barely a word, gnawed at him. He could still see the look in her eyes, the fear, the anger. She had always been strong and resilient, but Seth knew that strength had its limits.

The car pulled up to 221-A Baker Street, and Seth stepped out, the chill of the early morning air hitting him like a slap. He paused for a moment, looking up at the building's fa?ade. It was deceptively quiet, but he knew the hive of activity that buzzed within its walls. He was certain Cerberus operatives were already at work, piecing together the information they had wrested from the cartel, and what had been learned from Valente as they strategized their next move.

Seth pushed through the doors into the building and made his way up to the offices of Cerberus on the top floor. As he entered the bullpen, the familiar hum of energy surrounded him, banishing the exhaustion and worry that had plagued him since he'd landed and infusing him with focus and energy. He nodded at a few passing operatives, but his focus was singular: he had to face Hope.

Every step toward the conference room where the others were being debriefed felt like a step closer to a confrontation he both dreaded and knew was inevitable. He had acted decisively, but he wasn't blind to the fallout.

When he entered the room, his heart skipped a beat at the sight of Hope standing by the window. She was staring out at the city, her posture rigid, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. The tension in her shoulders was palpable, and Seth knew immediately that she was barely holding it together.

"Hope," he said quietly, his voice betraying none of the turmoil he felt inside.

She turned around slowly, her eyes locking onto his with an intensity that made his chest tighten. The others in the conference room shifted between them. There was no mistaking the fury in Hope's gaze, but there was something else too—something that cut deeper than anger. Fear. It was there, lurking behind the steel in her eyes, and it twisted Seth's gut in ways he hadn't expected.

"Seth," she replied, her voice dangerously calm, like the eye of a storm. "I hope you have a damn good explanation for why you thought it was a good idea to go after Valente on your own."

"Now, lass, take a breath…" started Fitzwallace.

Hope whirled on him. "Shut up, Fitz, and don't call me ‘lass.'" She turned back toward Seth. "What are you staring at? Answer my damn question."

God, she was sexy. It wasn't the first time she'd locked horns with Fitz, and it kind of turned Seth on.

He held her gaze, knowing that this was a conversation they had to have, knowing that nothing he could say would fully ease the sting of what he had done. "I did what I had to do, Hope. Valente needed to be taken down, and it was the only way. I'm sorry."

"The only way?" She took a step closer, her anger barely restrained. "You left me! You left us without a word, without backup. Do you have any idea what that felt like? Do you have any idea what it was like wondering if you were dead or alive?"

"I know you're pissed," Seth said, his tone measured as if trying to defuse a bomb. "And you have every right to be. But I wasn't going to let Valente slip through our fingers. We needed him, and I made the call to go after him. You were safe, the prisoner was safe?—"

"Safe?" Hope's voice rose, the cracks in her composure widening. "You could have been killed, Seth! And for what? To play the hero?"

Seth took a breath, trying to keep his own frustration in check. "I wasn't playing the hero, Hope. I was doing my job. You know what's at stake here. We're talking about lives—hundreds of thousands if not millions of them. I couldn't risk letting Valente escape. You know that."

Her eyes flashed, and she shook her head, turning away from him. "But what about us, Seth? What about me? I've lost too much already. I can't… I can't lose you, too."

The raw emotion in her voice stopped him cold. This wasn't just about the mission or the danger they faced—it was about the fear that had been gnawing at her, the fear of losing him. Sick as it was, he kind of liked knowing he meant that much to her—that she loved him with the same depth and intensity that he loved her. Seth moved closer, his heart aching at the sight of her shoulders trembling, her back to him as if she was trying to shield herself from the vulnerability she'd just exposed.

"Hope," he said softly, reaching out to gently turn her back to face him. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm here, and I'm not leaving you. Not now, not ever. You have to trust me on that."

She looked up at him, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. "How can I trust that when you keep throwing yourself into danger? How can I trust that when you act like you have nothing to lose?"

Seth cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs brushing away the tears that had begun to fall. "I'm not trying to be reckless, Hope. I'm trying to do what needs to be done, for us, for everyone. But I swear to you, I'm not going to leave you. Even if I do something stupid and get myself killed, I won't leave you—not really. I'll haunt you forever. I'll run off any other man, Dom or not, who tries to take my place. I'll make sure you know you're still mine and that I'm still around."

A soft, choked laugh escaped her, even as more tears slipped down her cheeks. "You're such a bastard, Seth. You get that, don't you?"

"Yeah," Seth agreed, a small smile tugging at his lips. "But I'm your bastard. And you know what? As sorry as I am that I frightened you, I wouldn't do anything differently."

Hope punched him—not overly hard, but hard enough that he felt it.

"Not the right answer, lad," chuckled Fitzwallace.

As one, Hope and Seth turned on him and said in unison, "Shut up, Fitz."

"Punching me notwithstanding, I'm sorry I scared you, but I'd do it again. You were safe, we saved the girl, and I knew we had to get Valente to pull down the cartel, find the mole, and stop the Cobra."

Hope sniffed, wiping at her eyes as she tried to regain her composure. "I hate that you make sense sometimes."

Seth grinned, pulling her into his arms and holding her close. "You're going to have to get used to it. We're in this together, and that means we have to trust each other, even when it's hard."

She buried her face against his chest, the tension slowly melting away as she let herself relax into his embrace. "Just… don't scare me like that again, okay? I can't handle the thought of losing you."

"I'll do my best," Seth promised, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "But you know me—I'm not exactly the cautious type."

Hope sighed, but there was a hint of a smile in her voice when she spoke again. "I know. And I guess that's why I love you."

The words wrapped around Seth like a lifeline, grounding him in a way nothing else could. He tightened his hold on her, savoring the feel of her warmth against him, the steady beat of her heart. They had come so far, but they still had a ways to go. But in that moment, they were together, and that was all that mattered.

But the moment was short-lived, as moments like these often were. A knock on the door shattered the fragile peace they had found, and they reluctantly pulled apart as Nigel entered, his expression as serious as ever.

"Sorry to interrupt," Nigel said, his voice carrying the weight of urgency. "Did I miss something?"

"All kinds of things," said Wyatt. "I'll fill you in later."

Nigel nodded. "I talked to Sawyer, and I've been going through the information Irene shared with us. It's not much, but I think we've got something."

Hope straightened, all traces of her previous vulnerability vanishing as she shifted into professional mode. Seth found that sexy, as well.

"What is it?" she asked.

Nigel gestured for them to follow him, leading them down the hallway to the central operations room. The atmosphere inside was tense, the room filled with the low hum of conversations and the rapid clicking of keyboards. Irene, the American journalist they had rescued, was seated at one of the consoles, her eyes focused on the data scrolling across the screen.

"We've managed to retrieve the information Valente was trying to keep hidden," Nigel explained as they approached. "Irene's been a huge help in decrypting the files. What we've found is… alarming."

Seth and Hope exchanged a glance, the tension between them now redirected toward the mission at hand. "How bad is it?" Seth asked, his voice grim.

"Bad," Irene replied, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she pulled up a series of maps and diagrams on the monitor. "The Obsidian Cartel is planning a coordinated attack using Sarin gas."

"That jibes with what we already know," said Hope, looking over Irene's shoulder.

"They're targeting the water supplies in several cities: San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, and New York City," said Irene. "The plan is to introduce the gas into the public water systems, which could result in mass casualties."

"I thought Sarin was a gas," said Wyatt, who'd followed the others.

"It is," explained Irene. "Sarin is a water-soluble chemical warfare agent. That means that Sarin can contaminate public water supplies, and people can be exposed to it by drinking or touching contaminated water."

Seth felt a cold knot of dread settle in his stomach as he took in the scope of the threat. "Do we know when this is supposed to happen?"

Irene nodded; her expression grim. "Three days from now. They've synchronized the attacks to happen simultaneously. We don't have much time."

Hope's eyes were fixed on the screen, her mind already working through the implications. "Do we have any leads on where the Cobra is? Where this is all being coordinated from?"

"We've traced communications from Valente's network to a location in the French Alps," Nigel said, pulling up another screen with satellite imagery. "It's remote, heavily guarded, but if we can get in there, we might be able to take down the Cobra and stop the attack."

Hope's voice was steady, but Seth could see the fire in her eyes. She was ready, focused, and determined to see this through. "Three days isn't much time. We need to move fast."

"We've already started mobilizing teams," Nigel continued. "But we'll need Seth to lead the assault…"

"No way," said Hope. "I'm not getting left behind…"

"Your experience," started Seth.

"May not be as recent as yours, but I was a field operative long before they brought me in. Keep in mind, I'm the one who brought Cerberus in."

Nigel looked at Seth, who finally nodded. Sighing, Nigel said. "You two will lead the assault. This is your op, and no one knows better than the two of you what's at stake."

Seth nodded, his resolve hardening as he looked at the satellite images. They were up against the clock, but they had a chance to stop this—to save countless lives. And there was no way he was going to let the cartel win.

He turned to Hope. "I don't suppose you'd consider sitting this one out and staying here in London where it's safe."

"I don't know, do you ever plan to use those balls of yours for something other than doing something stupid?"

"Point taken," said Seth with a grin. "We're in. We'll stop the Cobra, and we'll put a serious dent in the Obsidian Cartel."

Hope was already moving, her mind focused on the mission ahead. "We need to gather as much intel as possible before we go in. If we can stop the Sarin from getting to the States, that would be best, but if not, we'll need to identify the specific targets in each city in order to secure them and neutralize the attacks."

Seth nodded. "Stopping the Sarin before it gets off the ground is the safest bet."

Fitz agreed, already issuing orders to the team. "I'll get everything ready. We leave in two hours."

As the room buzzed with activity, Seth reached out and took Hope's hand, squeezing it gently. "We're going to get through this," he said quietly, his voice filled with conviction. "Together."

Hope squeezed back, her expression softening as she looked up at him. "Together," she echoed.

As they prepared for the mission, they felt the enormity of the outcome pressing down on their shoulders, Seth dismissed it. They had come too far, fought too hard, to let the Obsidian Cartel win.