“Tell me where Henry is?” Vincent asked softly. “If you want to go out on one good note, tell me where he is.”
Axel looked up but said nothing. Sawyer nodded at Elijah this time.
“Twenty.”
Axel was breathing deeply. Felix was sobbing.
“Nineteen.”
She counted the seconds mentally now, ignoring Elijah’s words. She could keep a twenty second count.
Axel wasn’t moving. He was staring at Vincent, considering the question.
“We were never good to each other, not after Mom died,” Vincent said in Italian. “I never got to know him. I want to at least say good bye. If you do this, I’ll bury you next to him, if that’s something you want.”
Sixteen.
Sawyer’s throat threatened to close at the touching offer Vincent just made to a monster. One last plea for humanity.
Fourteen.
The silence was deafening. He said nothing, only turned his gaze on her.
Ten.
Vincent didn’t try to ask again. The clarity of Axel’s eyes in those last seconds was terrifying. She was locked in olive green, wondering if he had finally found something while facing down his own death. Some important piece of the puzzle he was always missing.
Five.
“He’s buried in the Castello Mausoleum without a name.”
Sawyer’s heart stopped.
He didn’t say it to Vincent.
He said it to her.
Three.
She would never know the answer to her question, her private wonder about what was going on in his mind.
Axel closed his eyes.
He fell forward.
She couldn’t believe her own.
One.
He was already dead when Elijah’s sword came down and made sure nothing could ever bring him back.
She fell to her knees, staring at the head that rolled away. That was it.
They stood in the grove of olive trees on the cold winter night without saying a word. Felix was loud and awful, whimpering and crying out for his master. He could put Axel back together, if they just let him go. He would give them anything.
None of the team moved. Sawyer stopped looking at Axel’s body after a while. Someone sat down next to her.
“We should take his body back to the other teams,” Zander whispered calmly.
“Not yet,” she murmured. “We should burn his body before leaving, too.”
“Why?” Jasper asked that time. Quinn fell to the earth next to her. She reached out and gently petted Scout.
“I want to watch the sunrise,” she answered.
Vincent and Elijah joined last, finishing setting up the funeral pyre. Her cowboy went to her back while Vincent lay in front of her. They all faced east.
It was hours later when others found them, took Felix away and left them alone with Axel’s burning body again.
And slowly, steadily, they watched the sun rise again.
“Tomorrow,” she whispered for them. “It’s finally tomorrow.”
It wasn’t over yet. Sawyer straightened her outfit. The team around her all still smelled like smoke and fighting, but none of them were letting this get pushed off. They had done it, and it was time for the WMC to follow through with their promise. The only two missing? Scout was with a Magi vet, making sure there was nothing that would cause him permanent problems except the leg, and Kaar, who refused to come into the building.
She thought she would feel elated, but she didn’t. She wasn’t sad either. There was a contented feeling in her chest. A feeling of readiness that had settled it. It was over. There was just one more thing to do.
They had driven to Rome before leaving Italy. Sawyer had written Henry’s name on his place and Quinn used his magic to make sure it was cut into the marble. Forever, Henry’s place would be there.
And forever, her place would be with the men who helped her find him and put him to rest. Who helped her get to this day, this moment.
They walked into the Council Chamber again. Only a few rough weeks since the last time they entered. This time, there was no heavy feeling in the room. If they tried to betray her, she would go public with everything that had happened and walk away from their employment anyway.
No, they owed her this.
“Miss Matthews, it’s an honor to see you on this day,” Councilwoman D’Angelo greeted her. “And I understand that…it’s time.”
“It is,” she agreed. They had Thompson pass along that message. He said none of the WMC disagreed.
“And his body?”
“Cremated and the ashes left in the Castello Mausoleum next to his son’s tomb.” It was Vincent who answered, since it was his idea. It was the best they could do. Elijah had burned him hot and they had refused to leave until they had something to take to Rome. It had made them very late getting to New York, but she didn’t care.
“Of course.” Dina nodded quickly, then looked around to the other Council members. They were still down those who had been killed, but elections were going to begin for emergency fills any day now. They had been working on that while the team went after Axel. “We’re all in agreement. Sawyer Cambrie Matthews, this is the official record of your crimes.” Dina motioned to a table set in the center of the room. “Next to it is the official declaration of your pardon. You will keep the original. All you need to do is sign it, and an enchanted copy will be stored here for as long as the WMC reigns.”
She didn’t wait. She walked evenly across the room, grabbed the pen they had waiting and signed her name to the document. Next to it wasn’t just the record of her crimes, but also the deal she had made with the IMPO. It lit up in flames and disintegrated, leaving her with only her pardon. The deal fulfilled at last.
Looking back for a moment, her mind wandering, it hadn’t really been that long. Caught in July, the deal was made in August. Or did she go all the way back to the original? That if she helped defeat Axel she would be free…
It didn’t matter. With this piece of paper, she was redeemed. Oddly, it struck her that maybe she never really needed it, except to those who didn’t matter. The ones she always wanted with her loved her with or without it.
She lifted the piece of paper and held it out. Waiting patiently, she watched Vincent walk forward and take it. He was the guy who kept all this stuff for everyone. She trusted him with it far more than carrying it around for herself.
Thompson began to clap and so did everyone else in the room, including her men, the only ones she had eyes for. Everyone else could fade away, but their pride and happiness mattered most. She wished they’d had time to get Charlie and Liam before the small event. It wasn’t even public. Quietly, later in the day, the WMC would release a press statement that Sawyer ‘Shadow’ Matthews was pardoned and left to her own life. What she would do was her decision.
She already knew. Only the team knew their plans.
“Special Agent Matthews,” Dina murmured kindly. “It’s been a pleasure to know you. I hope we continue to have a working relationship.”
“Actually, we won’t,” Sawyer answered, smiling politely. She reached into her back pocket to get the wallet she had grown accustomed to carrying around. Inside was her official IMPO ID and the badge. She held it out. “I’m not interested in the IMPO. I’m not sorry about it, either. You all can find someone else. There’s a ton of great agents, once you weed out the corruption.”
People gasped. Thompson began to sputter as Dina took her badge slowly. Sawyer looked back at the guys, grinning like a fool.
Together they pulled their own badges out, and dropped them in front of Thompson, who looked like he would have a heart attack.
“We quit,” Zander told him, smiling as well. “It’s been fun. Not really. We’re retired as of today. We expect to see our pensions for years of good service in the coming months.”
“Of-of course,” Thompson agreed quickly, looking between them.
Sawyer didn’t say anything
else. She reached down and felt the thick black fur of her jaguar. Together, they walked out of the Council Chamber, her team surrounding her.
They were going to go find tomorrows together. Tomorrows without the strain of the IMPO. Tomorrows without the possibility of Axel.
Just tomorrows.
37
Sawyer
Fifteen Years Later
“I think our time is up, Sawyer.”
Sawyer groaned. “Why? This is the best hour of my week. You know that.”
Her doctor chuckled. “Yes, well, we’ve discussed several times how you shot yourself in the foot by ending up in a long-term relationship with five men. What were you thinking?”
“For a man, you are always surprisingly perceptive about your own sex.” She eyed him.
“For a woman who’s been with five men for over fifteen years, I figured you would have figured us out by now.”
She started to laugh. Fifteen years. “Oh fuck, they lost their minds when I turned forty, Doc.”
“I know. I remember you stomping in, mad and needing to rant. Still that scared of being forty?”
“No, I’ve gotten used to it. The body slowing down and such. It was bound to come eventually, after everything I’ve put it through.” She didn’t try to move. She knew Doctor Larson had no one after her. He never did. He always left extra time in case she wanted to wait around and refused to leave.
“You didn’t have much to talk to me about today,” he noted. “Are you sure there’s nothing? I can spare a moment to hear it.”
“No, not this week. Be proud of me. I haven’t had a nightmare in a year. I bet one will pop up eventually, but it’s my new high score.”
“And how’s the rest of it?”
“Well, to be honest, I’m wasting my time with you because I don’t want to get home during homework time. Plus Zander needs a ride home from work. You know, the holidays are over and everyone is getting back to their regularly scheduled busy lives.”
“It happens to everyone,” he reminded her.
Sighing, she nodded. Yeah. It was a normal thing, a normal life.
She loved it.
“I’ll leave you then, if my company is so awful.” She said it playfully, teasing the older gentleman.
“If I thought your company was bad, I would have denied you as a patient fifteen years ago,” he retorted, closing his notebook. Solid point. “Tell them all hello from me.”
“Always,” she promised, grabbing her bag.
She strolled out of his office, and then out of the building. She was in her car in record time, knowing she was behind schedule. She was done with Doctor Larson thirty minutes before, and that had been the third time he’d tried to get her out the door. Zander was probably freezing outside the gym now, wondering if she forgot about him.
She could never forget, though. She had tried once or twice. Somewhat sadly, Zander Wade was a permanently attached tumor on her heart that she couldn’t get rid of. Not like she had ever tried very hard, but she had made a token effort.
She didn’t find Zander outside the gym, tucked in the center of the Bronx. She frowned, parking as she considered where he could possibly be. No one had told her through a text that they had picked him up.
She saw what was going on when she walked into the gym. He was chatting with some youths, all in their early twenties, probably fresh out of Academy. IMPO agents.
She didn’t say anything as she leaned on the door of the training room. One of them tried to start a play fight with Zander, causing him to react. She grinned as Zander, while very good, was outdone, landing on his back in a painful slam.
Age was making all of them a little slow. Seeing this every so often made her remember that.
“Don’t hurt my man,” she ordered loudly from her place. They all turned to her and she saw Zander’s pained expression turn into a grin.
“We were just having some fun before closing it out for the day.”
“And here I thought I was late,” she replied, raising an eyebrow. In his forties, she expected some maturity from Zander. Not all the time, just some. He was better than he had been in their wild youth, the same ages as the agents he now trained, but this was still Zander Wade. If he could make something a good time without anyone getting hurt, he would.
“Well, guys. I need to head out. The lady calls.”
“Wait, is this your girl? The…” One of the agents studied her.
“My name is Sawyer,” she told him softly. “And anything else you’ve heard…well, read the old news and draw your own conclusions.”
“Yes ma’am.” He nodded, looking away. “Well, sir, same time tomorrow?”
“Of course.” Zander wrapped an arm around her but she didn’t try to move with him, letting him finish his work. “Same time, and bring pads. We’re going to work on some things you all might enjoy.”
With that, she turned him to leave. She caught a glimpse of Charlie and Liam, waving. She was due in the gym the next day as well and would catch up with them then. They seemed to have their hands full with nearly a dozen young boys and girls, probably all between the ages of seven and ten. She felt a pang of sympathy, but not a big one. Tomorrow she was dealing with the teenagers because those two said they couldn’t keep up like she could. They had abandoned her with the passionate youths with smart mouths and half brains. She loved them, but they annoyed the shit out of her sometimes.
On the drive back to their home, she heard Zander groan and looked at him with concern.
“You shouldn’t let them throw you around like that anymore. You’re taking a beating.”
“They like to test me and see what kind of man once helped Shadow gain her pardon. You’re still a legend, Sawyer, and nothing is ever going to change that. So I put up with them. It’s not like their teams will ever be as good as ours.” Zander gave her a tired smile. “Think we’ll make it home after homework time?”
“No, but I keep hoping,” she answered, beginning to laugh. She wasn’t going to touch the other topic with a ten-foot pole. Every new group Zander trained was the same. Who was this guy with the retired, once-famous assassin as a lover? They had never gotten married, but the relationship was clear. She had never married any of them, but it changed nothing. They were her men, her family, and the world knew that. It was once an argument, where she tried to fight the reputation, tried to fight that it would be used for and against all of them.
At forty, she was done caring about it. One day she would be old, and she could admit she would still be a legend. She would be a legend among the Magi long after she died, she bet.
“I hope Elijah handled that. He’s good at it.”
“He is, isn’t he? Too bad Quinn is the worst influence ever,” she reminded him. That made him laugh too. “Do you think Jasper can pick you up tomorrow? Or maybe you can pick him up? Force him to get home earlier than dark o’clock?”
“I can try,” he promised. “You know how he is about his job. He loves it.”
“He does,” she agreed, humming an agreeing note as well. “But you know, just because the holidays are over doesn’t mean we don’t have family dinners together at least once a week.”
“Let’s be real. You want him home earlier because he’s the best at homework time.”
They were inside the house and they knew immediately that homework time was absolutely not over.
“JAMES HENRY MATTHEWS! You will finish your homework before your mother gets home!” Elijah roared, obviously out of patience with whatever her son was doing today. She winced.
“But Uncle Elijah! She’s going to be home soon, and I want to go play with the wolves before it gets dark!”
“You would already be done and playing with the wolves if you focused and did what I asked you.”
“It’s boring! I know all of this already!”
Oh, he was really going for every excuse he could. She and Zander walked towards the dining room gingerly, knowing Elijah’s fatherly temper woul
d explode if they caught James’ attention before he let them. Sure, James Henry was her son, adopted by her at birth, and raised by her, but that didn’t stop the men she loved from becoming his fathers. He called them uncle for the world, but they all knew he meant dad. The world just wouldn’t understand, and her men? They never took it personally. They loved him to pieces.
So interrupting homework time would only spell a worse day for Elijah and James. It was the only time any of them had to get on to him. He hated homework. He was a grade ahead in school already, only nine years old, and he still seemed smarter than everyone else in his class. Hell, half the time she wondered if her boy was smarter than her.
She peeked into the dining room, smiling. She waved at Elijah, who groaned.
“James, go say hi to your mother.” He sounded so defeated, his head falling down to the dining table with a thump.
“Mom!” James jumped up, looking her way like it was the first time he’d ever seen her. Her heart swelled like it did every day she came home to him.
He leapt for her and she caught him, realizing quickly he was getting too big for the action. She spun them in a quick circle before putting him down and cursing old age.
“Why isn’t your homework done?” she asked him immediately, knowing Elijah would get onto her for being too soft if she never brought it up. She was a soft mom, no doubt; it’s why she hated homework time. She also just didn’t care about homework. She thought it was a pointless endeavor meant to drive kids insane. Her son was evidence to the fact.
“Uh…”
“Yeah, now the excuses end,” Elijah muttered, making Zander behind her laugh harder than she would have liked.
“Uncle Zander!” James purposefully diverted, leaving her to hug Zander without really giving her an answer.
“Sounds like Jasper is going to need to give you a talking-to when he gets home, isn’t he?” Zander was chiding and yet also sweet. He lifted her boy and walked him back into the dining room. “Tell you what. If you get all your homework done, you can play with me on the game, how’s that? It’s too cold outside to play with the wolves anyway.”
A Night of Redemption (The Redemption Saga Book 5) Page 34
