A Night of Redemption (The Redemption Saga Book 5)

by Kristen Banet

  And since no one wanted all three big animals in one room, she couldn’t room with Elijah and Quinn. She was with Zander and Jasper instead.

  She was still cranky with them.

  “Going to ignore us this entire case now?” Zander asked, dropping his suitcase next to hers.

  “Considering it,” she replied. She had too much to worry about, and now them? Leaving the fucking team? She was stewing and she knew better than to stew. They had shit to do. She couldn’t be wrapped up in this. This was something they needed to deal with after the case.

  And yet, she wanted to rail at them. Leave the team, over her dead body. They needed to keep the team together. What would the rest of them do without Zander and Jasper? Zander was their healer. Jasper was one of their most intelligent and reliable.

  “Let’s get some sleep,” Jasper said with a sigh.

  She glared between the two beds as each guy claimed one. “Why don’t you two share?” she asked.

  “How about we don’t?” Zander fired back, pulling a blanket over his head. “Come to bed, Sawyer. We can argue about it tomorrow. Or weeks from now. There’s no reason to be pissed off at this exact moment.”

  No reason? She wanted to agree, but her heart wasn’t accepting it. They were at least here for now. That was something, right?

  “You’ve left me before and now you want to leave again. I thought this was supposed to be our second chance and now-”

  “I’ll repeat this again, then,” Zander snapped, sitting back up. “We’re not leaving you. If we can’t live with you, we’ll buy a house down the street if we have to. We’ll build something right on the edge of the damned property. We’ll always be with you. We’re just looking to change careers.”

  “And what about us?” she demanded. “What if we have a case and you two aren’t there and we need you? What if Elijah gets hurt again? Or Quinn, or Vincent, or me?” She had to know what they were going to say to that. She relied on them. She didn’t know what was going to come after Axel, but she had never figured it wouldn’t include some of them. She always figured she would keep them all or lose them all. Not bits and pieces falling away from her, slipping through her fingers like sand. That’s what this felt like. That Jasper and Zander were slipping away and she couldn’t catch them and hold them close. “We need you.”

  “We’ll work it out when it’s time, Sawyer.” That was all Jasper had to say.

  She shook her head, finding a chair near a small table. She would sleep later, after they woke up. She didn’t want to deal with them.

  One of them turned off the lights and she reviewed her files in the dark. So many things to worry about now. They were going after a man named Alfie. Powers were fire manipulation and illusions. Some said he tortured prostitutes he brought in illegally by actually burning them a few times, then making a strong enough illusion to make them think they were burning alive. It was a psychological torture that made Sawyer sick to her stomach.

  Between Alfie and the problems behind her in bed, she wasn’t much looking forward to the next few days. Tomorrow, they would raid Alfie’s San Diego home, while the other teams went after someone in London and another down in Brazil. And Alfie wasn’t even the worst. Just one of a group of men and women that thought they could do as they pleased with Axel’s backing and a little magic to help them subjugate and control everyone around them.

  “Sawyer,” Jasper called softly. “Come to bed.”

  “I’ll need to sleep in tomorrow if I want to be fresh for a raid at night,” she reminded him. “I’ll come lay down in a few hours.” She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep.

  And she never did. The guys woke up in the morning, hurrying to go about their business, and she just waited, staring at files as the sun began to leak in from the window.

  “Take a nap today,” Jasper suggested gently when he kissed her forehead after he got out of the shower and Zander went into their bathroom.

  “I will,” she promised. “The plan is simple. We know where he lives. I’ve been reviewing his blueprints all night. If-”

  “I know the plan, Sawyer. We talked about it all day yesterday. We know. We’re just spending today to make sure everyone has what they need.”

  He was right. They had planned these raids in only a few days, and the idea was solid and simple. The guys would approach the front, a standard arrest. They would make it known they were coming in and anyone who didn’t surrender would be considered enemies of the WMC. Sombra would run with Quinn and the wolves, patrolling the property around the compound in case they had to stop any runners.

  They were a distraction. Sawyer would already be on the property and she was gunning for Alfie. Her main objective was to bring him down and put handcuffs on him without any casualties and before he could deliver orders. If she took control of him and the compound’s speakers, it would make it clear to anyone else that they should just surrender. They had already lost.

  “I’ll get some sleep,” she promised again.

  Eventually, with both the men out of the room, she did. Not a lot, but enough.

  Sawyer slid into black leather pants and a fitted black turtleneck. Next, thick black socks and her best boots, with steel toes, just in case. She walked to her bathroom mirror while she slid on her gloves. In the mirror, she tamed her hair, making sure it was straightened and in a slick bun, out of her way. It couldn’t be in her way tonight.

  Alone in the small hotel room, she took her time to prepare for the raid, continuing to wander around as she worked. It was a ritual. It always had been and always would be. There were some changes, though. While she had slept, Elijah snuck in and took care of her blades. She knew they would be sharp and ready thanks to him.

  She slid a belt through her leather pants’ hoops. She attached her daggers’ sheathes and then made sure it was all secure. Next, her shoulder holster, for the sidearm. She never wanted to be the type to carry a gun, but she had relented finally and added it to her ritual. On the same thick leather band going over her chest, she carefully placed her throwing knives. Testing the position, she pulled one out and threw it across the room. It hit the target, landing in the center of a reproduction canvas. The IMPO could replace the cheap art.

  She didn’t bring her kukri. It seemed excessive at that point. She opted instead for a third dagger on her thigh and a thin one for a boot sheathe, a place she could pull it out in case something sent her to the ground or to her knees.

  Then she opened her bag, staring at the last piece. Picking it up with care, she walked back into the bathroom.

  To an average viewer, it looked like a black ceramic mask with eyeholes and small nose holes. They had no idea.

  She looked at her own face one last time, took a deep breath and put the mask on. Activating it was simple enough. It recognized that she could sublimate and something in it, an enchantment she didn’t understand, pulled on that. It became nearly fluid as it wrapped over her face, covering and darkening her features to the point where they were indistinguishable. It slid underneath her jaw and down her neck just enough that there was no gap between the turtleneck and the mask. Paired with her dark eyes and hair, the dark outfit, and her general visage, she was exactly what everyone had always called her.

  A shadow.

  Apt.

  She stared for a long time at her own reflection. This was how she had done it all without anyone knowing who she was or what she looked like. There was no way to discern what sort of face lay under the mask, since it was just that deep of an inky black.

  With another deep breath, glad she could still use it after so long, she touched it and pushed outwards with her magic, practically forcing it off. She didn’t need to wear it yet; it would scare people. While that was the intention, she didn’t need it yet.

  A knock at the door meant her time was up. She had to be ready.

  She was.

  “Coming,” she called, walking out of the bathroom. She pulled open the room door and Vincent stood silen
tly waiting on her. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

  He didn’t move, his eyes falling to the mask. “Why?” he asked softly. Why was she bringing the mask?

  “I want them to know,” she answered honestly. “I need them to know and I need them to be scared of me.”

  He didn’t reply, just backing out of her way. She had no idea how he felt about it, but that wasn’t going to change her mind.

  They walked out the hotel through the staircase and out the backdoor. She looked over the team, nodding at them in appreciation. All black. IMPO official uniforms. Handcuffs and weapons ready for anything.

  “We’re ready, then?” Elijah looked between her and Vincent.

  “We’re ready. Sawyer, we’re going to drop you and Quinn a mile from the property. You can make that distance in…” Vincent trailed off. She knew he didn’t forget, but wanted her to clarify again, so they all knew the time limit.

  “Seven minutes,” she answered. “Without magic. It won’t even wind me. I’ll be fine.”

  “Which means we won’t go in for twenty-seven minutes. Twenty minutes. That’s what we’ll give you to get to him and begin securing him. If you run over a little, we’re going to think you found more trouble than expected and it’s going to get personal.”

  “It’s not already personal?” she asked, managing a small smirk.

  “I’ll rephrase,” Vincent murmured, leaning close to her. “If you get hurt or don’t report in on time, the team and I are going to get pissed off and I’m not going to particularly care if Quinn sinks the entire damned compound under the earth.”

  “That type of personal,” she whispered back, nodding. “Okay. I’ll make sure to get it done.”

  She hadn’t expected him to answer back with ‘I would kill everyone there.’ It was sexy and she was shocked it came from him. Vincent, who was so moody and all over the place recently, would kill everyone in that compound, not caring if they needed information. He would do it, and so would the guys, if she got hurt.

  Talk about crossing lines. Here she was, worried about what the case would lead her to do to succeed.

  “Let’s get moving,” he ordered, finally breaking eye contact with her.

  This was the first mission where they were letting her off the proverbial leash and sending her out to do what she did best. Infiltrate and eliminate on a solo mission. She hoped it didn’t come to what Vincent was talking about. She was rusty, but she wasn’t that rusty.

  They loaded into the two dark SUVs. The local IMPO agents were on standby, but they didn’t know why. They wouldn’t until Vincent made the call for the team to go into the compound. Which meant only the team knew she was going to be going into that compound before anyone else.

  It was the safest way, but as they drove, she could feel how uncomfortable the team was. She rode with Vincent and Jasper and neither spoke until they hit the drop off spot.

  “Be safe,” Jasper told her. “Please.”

  “I can do this,” she promised, leaning to kiss him in the front seat. It was sweet, a reminder of the wonderful things he gave her. Normal and loving. A piece of a real life, like the ones everyone else had. She turned to Vincent next in the driver’s seat. He kissed her next and she wanted to melt from it. She hadn’t touched him in so long and the kiss held all the secret emotion Vincent never showed anyone but her. And even then, sometimes she couldn’t see it either. “Quinn is watching my back out here.”

  “We’re not worried about your trip to the compound,” Jasper reminded her.

  “Yeah, I know.” She jumped out then, not wanting to get sucked into the worry. She had this. She could do this. This was her life. It was her career. Thief to assassin back to thief. Until the guys caught her, this was the only thing she ever knew how to do and she had the magic and skill to be the best at it.

  “We’re going to do perimeter runs,” Quinn said as they began to walk into the wildness towards the compound. “Sombra is on a capture, don’t kill order until the wolves and I get to her. It’s the best I can do.”

  “She needs the work and she’ll do it well. I believe in her. I just can’t take her into the compound. She won’t be able to follow me the entire time and disappear like me.” Sawyer rubbed her jaguar’s head. “Happy hunting, girl.”

  The jaguar made a noise and Sawyer almost thought it was the same sentiment back at her. Happy hunting, Magi.

  She took off, running towards the compound, leaving Quinn and the wolves by themselves. Sombra ran beside her for a moment then tore off down a different trail. Sawyer heard her for just a second as the cat climbed into a tree and disappeared into the night.

  She felt bad for any fool that came in contact with that cat. There weren’t many trees in the arid land of Southern California, but it was dark enough that Sombra could hide in any of them and no one would know.

  And it was dark enough for Sawyer to put on her mask as she ran and disappear herself. She shifted into smoke over a long stretch of barren land and slid between shrubs, dodging the flood lights as she grew closer and closer to the concrete wall of the compound. It was actually just a mansion with a high security fence. There were several things like it peppering California, which meant no one really paid it any mind. Several rich people loved to live in such seclusion.

  She was at the bottom of the eight-foot concrete fence when she stopped for the first time. A mile. She didn’t have a watch but she knew she made great time. The adrenaline of the hunt was coursing through her, focusing her. It was almost supernatural. She felt like a predator in that moment, a beast, as Quinn always used to describe her. Something about this made her feel alive in a way being an agent never had. She had loved this. The mental and physical work. She had hated the killing at the end of it.

  Looking up, she blinked to the top of the fence. She knew other Magi would feel her, but they would never find her. That’s what had made her so deadly. They could only catch the aftermath of her, but never pinpoint her location. She moved too fast for people to nail down. Very few Magi even paid attention to the magical feel of others the way she did, and almost none were tuned to it like her.

  She dropped down on the other side of the fence, landing as smoke so she didn’t risk any injury or sound. Reforming, she began to creep. She could feel them, though. Her Source reached out and found them, letting her magic know they were there. There were ten Magi guards roaming the yards around the mansion. She was at the vent she wanted before any of them knew she had snuck through without an issue.

  Sublimating, she slid in and followed the path the blueprints told her would be best to get to Alfie’s office.

  She slid in, knowing he was there doing paperwork on the other side of the room.

  As she reformed, he looked up with a frown that quickly morphed into a wide-eyed look of terror.

  “We never met, but I’m sure you know who I am,” she greeted him.

  He nodded slowly, standing up. She stepped closer, pulling out not a dagger, but her handcuffs. They had never let her carry them before, but those rules had been tossed out the window.

  “And why are you here?” he demanded.

  “I work for the IMPO. Why do you think I’m here?” She glanced quickly at the clock on the wall. She still had twelve minutes. “Obviously he didn’t send me, not like the old days. No, I’m here for my own reasons. You know where he is?”

  “I don’t.” Fire formed in the palm of his hand. She didn’t feel too threatened by it. In such a small room, full of paper, he would cause himself more trouble than her. “I never did anything to you. My part of the organization doesn’t matter. I’m sure we can cut a deal.”

  She blinked in close, snapping one of the handcuff sides on his extended wrist. The flame died out, no longer fueled by his magic. He was still stunned by her sudden move as she connected an elbow to his jaw and sent him into the wall. Before he could find his own balance, she used the handcuffed wrist to twist the arm behind his back, forcing his face into the wall next. In a s
econd, she had his other hand and cuffed it as well. Then she dropped him on the floor, knowing he was too shocked to stand on his own.

  “I’ll give you whatever you want,” he said frantically. “Please. I have money. You and I could rule this place. We can take him down together. I know you want Axel. I know you do. Please don’t take me down with him.”

  “There’s nothing I want,” she informed him patiently. “In fact, I already have everything I need or want. The only thing between me and that life is Axel.”

  “Why not just go after him?” Alfie stared at her incredulously.

  “Because he took everything from me, and it’s time I finally returned the favor,” she whispered, squatting in front of the drug lord menacingly. “I’m going to take his pawns, bishops, and knights and then I’m going to take his king.” Him.

  “He says the queen is the most powerful piece on the board,” Alfie mumbled, understanding her reference. Anyone who ran with Axel knew his obsession with the game.

  “I am.”

  There was a confidence oozing from her that she couldn’t hold back. Alfie had been easy. She didn’t think they would all be this way. Once news was whispered in the morning that this happened, their security would ramp up. She didn’t mind. She had dealt with tough security before.

  “My men are going to come in here and get me.”

  “No, they won’t. In ten minutes, the IMPO is going to flood this nice little piece of land you have. They’re going to free the poor women you have in the basement. They’re going to arrest everyone here. Anyone who tries to run is going to meet a pack of wolves outside your fence, ready to take them down.” She smiled. “And your closest guard is…” She felt for it, closing her eyes for just a moment to focus. “Ten yards away and below us. The floor below us, probably at the bottom of the stairs.”

  “How…”

  “I was Axel’s best killer for a reason,” she reminded him. “Settle in. We’re going to be here for a moment. And when the IMPO shows up, I’m going to jump on your comms and let your boys know to just put their weapons down. We don’t want anyone dying unnecessarily here.” That wasn’t the point of the mission. They wanted to capture all of these rats and fleas without killing any of them. She had a point to prove. She could be an agent. Capture, detain, and win the right way.