A Night of Redemption (The Redemption Saga Book 5)

by Kristen Banet

  She came hard, screaming for them, her legs shaking as she couldn’t hold on anymore. Zander didn’t last a second beyond her, following her into bliss and happiness.

  She had both of them pressed against her when her eyes closed. They would deal with the weirdness when they woke up. There would be some. Jasper had been a virgin only a few weeks ago. She could blame all of this on Zander and then disappear for the raid while Jasper was forced to get mad at his best friend for whatever just happened.

  That seemed like a good idea.

  17

  Elijah

  Elijah stared at the wall, a grin on his face, like the fool he was. Hell, they were all staring at the wall, listening in some degree of abject shock and amusement.

  “Well, I wasn’t expecting that,” Elijah said, unable to wipe the grin off his face.

  “You did tell them, and I quote, ‘shower that woman in some love.’” Vincent put his book down, probably tired of trying to pretend to read.

  “Yeah, but I thought that sort of love was up to Quinn and I.” Elijah began to chuckle. Quinn joined him, unable to contain the weird sort of elation at the sound.

  “I think they needed that,” the feral Magi said softly, his wolves lying around him. “They needed to show her they aren’t leaving. That’s good. She was skittish of them the last couple of days, and now we know why, and now she won’t be. It’s good.”

  “But Jasper?” Elijah looked between his friends, hoping he wasn’t the only one who thought this was completely out of the blue and madness.

  “Maybe he’s drugged,” Vincent said, shrugging. “And before you get the idea one day there will be more of us together like that, absolutely not. I’m not into it.”

  “Why not?” Elijah’s mind had been going places. It always went places.

  Vincent raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m a private person. I like intimacy and quiet. The idea of sharing a bed with a rough and ready man and her absolutely doesn’t appeal to me.” Vincent shrugged. “Why are we talking about this? We should be working.”

  “I mean, we have our plan. We’re setting her up with an earpiece and microphone for this one, but not much else changes.” Elijah eyed their leader. “Why are we setting her up with electronics?”

  “I didn’t like not having contact with her.” Vincent sighed, moving his book around like a bored boy. “I didn’t like not knowing where she was or what she was doing. She could have been captured by the time we got there. I was bluffing outside the compound. I had no idea if she was successful.”

  “But we trusted her to do it.” Elijah crossed his arms, leaning on the wall as Sawyer was still with her boys, filling the room with sounds they all knew well by now. He couldn’t bring himself to feel jealous. He wasn’t a jealous man; he never had been. Instead, he was just happy someone was getting some love while they were on this grind to capture several high-ranking members of Axel’s organization.

  “I still do. I just want to be able to get in contact with her or vice versa. I was uncomfortable. She agreed to it. It’s not up for debate.” Vincent narrowed his eyes and Elijah groaned.

  “I wasn’t trying to debate, just trying to find out where your head is. You worry about her, thank god. I was worried for a moment.”

  “Why?”

  “She’s going to kill him and I don’t know how you’re taking that,” Elijah whispered, studying Vincent carefully. Quinn smartly stayed quiet, reading whatever he had. Elijah hadn’t asked yet and probably wouldn’t. The feral Magi was now diving into scientific Magi journals, particularly about naturalism and how it was helping non-Magi scientists.

  Vincent’s face went from curious and confused to shut down in an instant as Elijah’s question hung in the air.

  “I’m fine,” he answered. “It is what it is.”

  “Are you sure?” Elijah stepped closer.

  “Elijah, I don’t know what to tell you. The WMC passed down the mission to her. She accepted. We’re helping. He deserves it. It’s time to end this. I’ll be okay.”

  “Okay…and will you and Sawyer be…okay?” Elijah could see it. The two of them were dancing around each other. They were like magnets that kept changing their damned charge. Sometimes he could see them drawing closer to each other, like there was nothing stopping them. Then there were moments they pushed and distanced themselves. It was unstable. Eventually, he figured they would crash together and it would either make them stronger or break them completely.

  And that didn’t bode well for the entire team.

  “Uh…I think when we get through this, we’ll be okay.” Vincent went back to looking at the wall. “I think I just need to get through this, Elijah. I have to get this done.”

  “Well, if you need to talk, I’m always going to be here for you,” Elijah reminded him. “I’m going to step out and get some fresh air.”

  “Leave them alone.” Vincent didn’t glance at him as he said it. Elijah got the message loud and clear though. “Quinn, go with him. Stay out of sight, as well. If anyone sees you-”

  “I know, Vin.” Elijah nodded towards his wolf Magi, who was looking up now. Together, they slid out of the room and wandered through the hotel, somewhat aimlessly.

  “What’s on your mind?” his friend asked him when they went out the back together.

  “What Zander said. About me nearly dying. About you nearly dying. About how many times Sawyer has been hurt. Vincent doesn’t mention it, but he was stabbed in New York. Since he was healed, we all just moved on, but…”

  “You’re feeling mortal,” Quinn correctly guessed.

  Elijah was feeling mortal. Too mortal.

  “He’s right, I think.” He kicked a stone, looking out into the dark jungle of the Congo around them. It was humid and sweltering, like the Amazon had been. It made it all too real, remembering the Amazon. He wondered if Quinn felt the same. He knew the feral Magi could probably point out the closest Druid within a hundred miles. There had to be one out there, maybe even one like that bitch had been. “I’ve been injured on the last two cases.”

  It had been Zander’s fast thinking to get them out and leave Sawyer and Quinn that had saved his life in the jungle. He’d been so mad at the time.

  “I know.” Quinn wrapped an arm around his waist. Elijah slid his own over the feral Magi’s shoulders. They had gotten more touchy-feely since Sawyer got involved, not less. Once he’d worked his shit out, they felt even more at ease, not driven apart.

  “I don’t want to lose anyone too young,” he admitted. “And Zander, gods save us all, is right. One day, our luck will run out.”

  “I know.”

  He didn’t like that Quinn was agreeing with him. He looked down at the darker skinned, earthy beauty with those ice blue eyes. He had always thought Quinn was attractive, but now? He seemed so much more comfortable in his skin that it was becoming unavoidable to acknowledge. Like Sawyer, there was something other about him that drew Elijah in. A strength and yet a strangeness.

  “But first we need to make sure the pack is safe,” Quinn continued, meeting his gaze. There was a feral anger in the ice that nearly made Elijah step back. There was a roll of power through the air and earth, a bitten, angry, cornered animal that promised danger.

  “Quinn?” He wasn’t sure how to proceed.

  “Axel can’t hurt them anymore. I was okay when James died. I’ll miss him and I’ll honor him. Life and death is a cycle and I can live with that. He saved so many, and that’s honorable and he deserves every ounce of our grief and praise.” Quinn bared his teeth. “But Axel hurts the pack and if no one else here can do it, I’ll be the strongest. I’ll do it. I’ll kill him, because he’s not allowed to hurt the pack anymore.”

  Elijah did move away at that point. “You’re angry.” It was a statement of fact. He had known Quinn was angry, but this…this was beyond what he had considered.

  “I am. Are you?”

  “Of course I’m angry!” Elijah sputtered, incredulous his best frien
d would even ask that. What he hadn’t expected was so much rage in Quinn’s eyes.

  “Good. Then we’re going to do this, and forget the rest. We can deal with everything else when the pack is safe.”

  Elijah took a deep breath. He had never seen Quinn like this, not this angry.

  “I’ve held back for so long,” Quinn whispered. “I could have killed him months ago when we captured him. I’ve nearly lost so many of you since then. My family. My only family. We’re going to get him this time, Elijah. We have to. We have to succeed in this hunt.”

  “You want us to stop talking about the future.” Elijah felt it hit him like a train. Quinn was in the same place as Sawyer and Vincent, he just had never admitted it. He was like them. There was only this and nothing past this.

  Elijah was angry, but he wasn’t short-sighted like this. He couldn’t be. He had done this once before when Blair was killed. He knew the repercussions of decisions made in rage without thinking of the future. This wasn’t healthy.

  But he could only really say one thing.

  “Whatever you need, Quinn, I’ll do.” He meant every word, because at least he would be by Quinn’s side to keep him safe. Even if it meant protecting Quinn from himself. Jasper and Zander would be there for Sawyer and hopefully she would keep Vincent in line. She was doing a decent job of it so far, even if they both had slip-ups.

  Quinn nodded, then fell silent. He had apparently appeased the wolf, thank god. Elijah wasn’t sure what to do. Vincent was upstairs reading chess manuals, sharpening his mind to handle Axel. Sawyer was pulling out her mask to go after these people. Quinn was next to him, barely restrained violence with very few outlets until the next raid. Upstairs, Zander and Jasper already had one foot out the door because they were breaking under the pressure of what the job had done to them.

  Elijah went back to looking out into the jungle. He wasn’t sure he could take much more of this. They were only on the second raid, and people were still interviewing Alfie, Janie, and Martinez, hoping to get any information from them that would lead the team to Axel.

  He wasn’t even sure the entire team was on the same page anymore. They were all going through these motions, but it felt like everyone had different goals. He wanted this over and done with, but he didn’t even know why. To keep Sawyer safe, to keep Vincent safe. The team. That worked for him. Jasper and Zander wanted to complete the unfinished business so they could get out, complete the only mission the team was ever really made for. Quinn was raging next to him, viciously protective of his people. To him, this was taking out a rival that was threatening the people he cared for.

  Sawyer and Vincent just wanted to bury their pasts once and for all.

  But they weren’t on the same page, not emotionally.

  And he understood Quinn’s question better. He knew Elijah was angry at all of this. The entire situation was driving the whole team nearly mad.

  He was asking if Elijah was angry enough.

  Cases weren’t supposed to be this personal. Elijah couldn’t shake the fear that someone dear to him was going to slip up and get hurt. He just couldn’t shake it.

  And he was feeling so terribly mortal.

  Elijah was suited up and ready as Zander and Jasper walked in with Sawyer for the last meeting. He wondered, trying to shake his fears, how it was for them, waking up. When it had been him, Quinn, and Sawyer, it had felt like a normal day. It had been easy to fall into the three of them waking up together, since they were so comfortable with the idea. He was glad she enjoyed it; that had worried him for a small moment.

  But Zander and Jasper? Zander was down for anything, but pulling Jasper into those sorts of things…Jasper wasn’t known for being the adventurous one of the team, that was certain.

  They were slightly uncomfortable. He could see it a few steps into the room. Jasper shuffled around, working, not looking at Zander. Sawyer was looking down, turning her mask over in her hands, thoughtful. Zander seemed to look guilty.

  He would need to talk to all three of them if this was going to linger, if they didn’t work through what they had done together. Elijah wasn’t sure if he should make light of it or ignore it for the time being. It was Quinn who made the decision, actually.

  “It’s good, to do things that strengthen the bonds between a pack,” he mentioned lightly. “Are you feeling better?” he asked Sawyer specifically.

  “How do you feel about it?” she asked back.

  “They aren’t leaving the pack. If you had talked to me, I would have told you the truth of the matter.”

  “You didn’t know yet,” she reminded him. Elijah resisted a chuckle. He knew what Quinn was about to say.

  “You could have come to me, instead of being angry with them.”

  “And what would you have said?”

  “They won’t leave the pack, since I wouldn’t let them. They know that too, which is probably why they didn’t tell me earlier.”

  She began to chuckle. Zander did as well. Jasper groaned, holding his face as he sat down on the edge of one of the beds.

  “He’s right,” Zander mumbled. “We knew he would just shrug and dare us to try to truly leave. Quinn is possessive like that.”

  “Oh, I know.” Sawyer was smiling now.

  “How are you, Jasper?” Elijah asked softly.

  “I’ll talk about it later. I just need to stay focused on this right now.” Jasper smiled wearily up to him, both tired and apprehensive. Elijah nodded. “Where’s Vincent?”

  “On the phone with the other team running tonight. They’re in Spain, and we’re going at the same time.”

  “Good to know they’re in position. The timeline of this is the worst.”

  “Happy New Year’s Eve, everyone,” Sawyer announced, ignoring the work conversation. “Are we ready to kick off the new year?”

  “Oh shit, that is right now.” Zander huffed. “We’ll finish the raid and have a drink together. Happy New Year, everyone!”

  “Woo!” Elijah played excited. Just another new year and the IMPO. He wasn’t sure he was really looking forward to it.

  “They’re ready,” Vincent said immediately as he walked in. “Put the holiday talk away, we’re working. Once this is over…” He trailed off, shaking his head. Elijah knew he didn’t even want to consider the after. Vin would need to eventually, but he wasn’t ready for it.

  “Let’s move, then. Are you going to wear that again?” Elijah pointed at her mask, meeting her dark eyes.

  “Of course.”

  “Why?” Zander asked. “Why? It’s hot and it’s cool as shit, but why?”

  “Because I want them to be scared,” she murmured, running a thumb over one of the cheeks. “I need them to be scared.”

  “You think the mask makes you scary?” Quinn was frowning.

  “They’re scared of Shadow, the assassin. Sawyer, my face…I was just Axel’s whore. I’m not a threat - but I am with this mask on.” She looked up at them again. “Plus, it makes me disappear in the dark easier. It’s just a good mask.”

  “Sure,” Elijah muttered. He wasn’t sure how to feel about the mask. There was a line he couldn’t see, but for some reason he felt like that mask was crossing it. It stank of enchantments he found disgusting. The mask had…hooks he could sense. It drained a Magi of their power every second it was worn. It bled them out. She must know and not care or had taken it into account.

  The Magi didn’t believe in dark magic. The Source and its abilities, whatever a Magi got were all equal. But the enchantments on that mask were one of the closest things he would have considered as dark magic. Like the healer in Texas, twisting his ability to kill with a touch instead of heal.

  And he watched her push the mask to her face and it went from solid to inky and covered her face. She changed. The moment it was on, he knew the difference between Sawyer and the enigmatic concept of Shadow. Her alternate personality. A shield between her heart and what she was doing.

  She wasn’t stepping over wh
atever line he couldn’t see. She was running over it with disregard. She was being everything Axel made her, and Elijah physically felt the pain of it in his chest. This was the sort of thing Axel drove his team to do. He drove them to their worst, not their best.

  And the nagging sensation in the back of his mind refused to abate.

  18

  Sawyer

  Sawyer waited next to the SUV as the team talked about what the plan was one more time before they split up.

  “IMAS is coming in with us here. They report directly to any of us and every decision must come to me.” Vincent’s tone didn’t allow any argument. “Unlike California, we’re treating this more like the Amazon. They will see us coming and be prepared for a fight. We’re talking arms dealers, paramilitary, and the rest of their ilk. Mercenaries, not thugs. They will put up a fight, even if Sawyer secures Leonard. We need to be prepared to take people down.”

  “Of course we will be. Quinn’s coming in with the team this time, right?” Jasper asked, looking over the map on the SUV hood.

  “Yes. The wolves and Sombra will stay with him as well. Unless…Sawyer, you sure you don’t want her with you?”

  She looked up from the blade that she had been flipping around in her hand. “I’m sure. She knows what to do. She’ll be a good assist to you all. If I need her, she knows how to get to me. This is close to her home range. Just a different type of jungle. I just can’t take her in with me. She won’t be able to follow me well enough.”

  A sense of pride came from her cat though. She didn’t agree, but she accepted her Magi’s decision again. She would protect the males unless Sawyer needed her. The pride in the cat came from the fact that Sawyer trusted her absolutely to keep the males alive. Sawyer would trust no one else to the task, especially not a bunch of fucking IMAS soldiers.