The Redemption Saga Box Set

by Kristen Banet

  “What you did was quick thinking,” Quinn said, holding out an arm for Jasper to lean on. “Coming straight into our dreams and throwing us awake. Very smart. Without you, it would have taken even longer for us to rise.” Jasper tentatively took his arm. “It’s okay to lean on a packmate.”

  Something flashed over Jasper’s face as he nodded in return. Quinn eyed Elijah, who was watching them carefully.

  “You can help me too,” the cowboy declared. “We’ll do me, you, then Quinn. We’ve got plenty of time.”

  “What all are you thinking of taking?” Jasper asked, holding Quinn’s arm tightly. Quinn glanced down at the leg, noticing that it was so quickly put on that it seemed to be barely hanging on, wobbling hard when Jasper put weight on it.

  “Clothing, weapons. Not much for personal items. We need to keep this light in case we need to keep moving.”

  That started up a quiet conversation about what would be best as they made their way up to Elijah’s room. Once inside, Quinn closed the door as Jasper fell on the bed. It only took a couple of moments for him to fix his leg, something he could have done earlier.

  “I think I broke it,” he mumbled, looking down at a buckle.

  “Let me see.” Elijah reached out and called the leg to him. It flew across the room into his hands. “Yeah, you snapped a buckle, probably from rushing. No worries. Five minute fix.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You feeling any better about that stuff we talked about?” Elijah put the leg down on his desk. Quinn perked up, looking between them. They had talked about something? Now he was curious.

  “Yeah, a bit. She was pretty pissed off with me when I said something to her. She said some things that really set me straight.”

  “Told you.” Elijah grinned. “Dumbass.”

  “What happened?” Quinn couldn’t resist getting nosy now.

  “Jasper here thinks that he’s not needed by her. Or us. The idiot.”

  Quinn growled at the Magi in question. Jasper raised his hands in defeat immediately. “Not needed? You are my pack. You’ll always be needed.”

  “So everyone keeps reminding me,” he replied, lying back on the bed. “And tonight, you were able to get moving to keep her safe in the woods because I was able to wake you up quickly. I get it.”

  “Exactly. You might not be a great warrior like her or me, or Elijah, but you are a member of this team for your intelligence, like Vincent. You are better at people than most of us as well. You don’t intimidate them like Vincent, who meets someone new and considers how he can use them. You are just good.”

  “You’re not telling me anything she didn’t.” Jasper rubbed his face in exasperation.

  “I knew she was a good female.” Quinn huffed, looking back at Elijah. “And you? You’ve slept with her now. Did you tell her what was wrong? Was she mad at you for keeping it from her?”

  “Yes and yes. And she and I are going to try just going out and doing stuff together, to hopefully build something. Thank you, Doctor Quinn.” Elijah chuckled, shaking his head. “I wish everything came so easily for us as it did for you.”

  “Nothing came easily for me. I just didn’t deny it once it happened.” Quinn went to the closet and began pulling out clothing he knew Elijah would want. “Jasper, if anything I’m upset you felt that way, since I think everyone here has their place, and I also understand it now. Tonight, I was confronted with being useless. She was out there with him and I could only feel her. I should be powerful enough to feel anyone coming onto my land, and I couldn’t. We’re not perfect. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. This is why we’re pack hunters, not lone wolves.”

  “She’s a lone wolf,” Elijah muttered.

  Quinn turned back to him. “No. She’s a jaguar. There’s a difference.” He thought that was obvious. “She accepts the pack and she belongs with us, but her skills are formed and tempered by the idea that she’s working alone. It’s where her strength lies, being able to take care of herself.”

  “Then what’s her weakness?” Jasper asked softly.

  “Her weakness is that a group can take her down. She’s best in one-on-one fights. She can’t fight back against multiple attackers. Which is where we come in, if needed.” Quinn threw the clothing from the closet on the bed, then went to Elijah’s dresser. He knew the cowboy was doing a quick fix on the prosthetic. “Is this enough?”

  Elijah glanced over and nodded. “Yeah, that works. Here, J. New buckle on it.” Elijah sent the leg hovering back to Jasper, who grabbed it from the air.

  The conversation died off. They finished collecting everything for Elijah to pack then went to Jasper’s room to do the same. They would inventory, then bag it all up.

  When they were done in Quinn’s room, dawn was breaking. Sunlight was dripping in through his windows and he looked out to the woods. To think, he couldn’t go out to them since it was no longer safe. His own woods.

  “We should get the others moving,” Elijah said, sighing as he looked out the same window. “Want to check on everyone with me?”

  “No, I’m going to make sure I have everything I need. Just in case,” Jasper answered, leaving the room quickly. Quinn knew it was because he was uncomfortable in his space. Not many came into his room, not very often.

  “I’ll come down with you,” he said to the cowboy. Elijah nodded, and together, they walked down back into the basement. He checked on Sawyer first, sticking his head into the gym. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of Sawyer picking up her shirt off the floor, her bare breasts revealed to him at the door. He could smell sex and sweat, the heady vanilla that she gave off when she was worked up. “That’s one way to destress.”

  “Yeah,” she answered. Zander was next to her, pulling his pants up. She smiled guiltily, but Quinn only shrugged. He wasn’t going to give them a hard time, nor was he jealous. He would have her later. She would come to him, or the other way around. He was confident in the feelings between them.

  “We’re just checking on everyone,” he explained. “Begin collecting clothing and other items for relocation to a safe house.”

  “I’ll help her,” Zander said, looking over his shoulder. “Let us clean up in here.”

  “Okay.” He closed them in again, smiling at Elijah.

  “Should have known that was going to happen,” Elijah commented, chuckling. “Now for our fearless leader.” He opened the entertainment room door and the first thing Quinn heard was Vincent’s phone ringing.

  And ringing.

  And ringing.

  He walked in behind Elijah and his eyes fell on Vincent, who was sitting in front of the TV, looking terrified. He wasn’t moving. He rushed to the Italian’s side, trying to find out what was wrong. There were no injuries. What had happened?

  “Vin-”

  “Oh sweet Jesus,” Elijah mumbled.

  Quinn frowned and looked up at the screen.

  BREAKING NEWS

  TWO WORLD MAGI COUNCILMEN DEAD

  ASSASSINATED IN THEIR HOMES

  Something cold ran through him, something scared.

  “It…hit the news before anyone could tell me,” Vincent whispered. “That’s probably James.”

  Quinn ran for the phone, answering it as Elijah turned up the volume on the TV. “Yes?”

  “Oh, Quinn. Where the fuck is Vincent?” James sounded pissed off and harried. “Have you seen the news?”

  “Just now. Vincent is a bit shell-shocked. What happened?”

  “Someone leaked it as it was getting to us. We were just as blind-sided. There was no way to keep the news quiet anyway. Already, there’s a press statement going out saying that the Triad is responsible and that Sawyer was the third victim, also the only one to survive. I know we discussed a safe house, but right now, the Director is calling a Code Black. All Special Agents are hereby commanded to report to the main headquarters and join in the investigation and protection of the WMC. IMAS is flooding the city with guards already, ready to take orders from u
s. I’m sending Travis down to pick you all up in about an hour. Get packing.”

  “Yes sir.” Quinn knew this was the end of the call. They had their orders and it was time to move.

  “Godspeed to you all. I’ll see you when you arrive.”

  James hung up and Quinn pulled the phone down from his ear, slowly turning to Elijah and Vincent.

  “What did he say?” Vincent asked softly, still staring at the television.

  “We’re all going to New York. It’s a Code Black.”

  “May the gods have mercy on us,” Elijah whispered.

  For the first time in nearly two thousand years, members of the WMC had been murdered. Quinn was glad he’d finished up his schooling. Even he could understand the sheer weight and severity of the situation. The attempt on Sawyer’s life seemed to be a part of something much bigger now.

  He didn’t have the heart to tell her.

  “Someone has to tell the others,” he said, swallowing. It couldn’t be him. He wasn’t even sure what he would say. He didn’t know how to convey such severity to others.

  “I’ll tell them,” Vincent whispered. “When the news first broke, they were theorizing it was Sawyer.”

  “James said that the IMPO is about to put out a press statement saying she was the third victim, though she survived. That should clear her of guilt.” He should have said that first. Sawyer was more important than the orders to New York.

  “That’s good. She’ll be happy to hear that. I’ll deal with her if one of you gets the other two.”

  “I’ll tell Jasper and Zander. We need to get moving. Quinn, did he say anything about transportation?”

  “In one hour, Travis will be here to make us a portal to New York.”

  “Fuck, we need to move,” Vincent snapped, jumping into action. Quinn looked at Elijah as their leader ran out of the room.

  “I think he knows something,” Quinn said, hoping Vincent wasn’t in range to hear him.

  “If he doesn’t know something, he suspects something. It would explain why he hasn’t said anything. He doesn’t want us running with half-baked theories. Now, let’s get moving. Our holiday is officially over.”

  “That it is,” Quinn agreed, glancing back at the television. He turned it off before following Elijah from the room.

  16

  Sawyer

  Sawyer took a quick shower then got to work getting ready for going to this safe house they had planned. She hated that she was being sent out of her home, sent to go hide, but there wasn’t much they could do. She understood the practicality of it. It’s easier to protect someone in a secure and private location.

  But what was really bothering her was that she needed the protection. Again. This was how she met the guys, got caught. They had thought she needed protection from Axel. How right they had been.

  She went to her closet and opened the safe. She couldn’t leave any of this behind. She pulled out daggers, her kukri, and every other black weapon. She dumped it all on her bed without care, then went back for the mask.

  When her fingers grazed the front, she nearly pulled away. She didn’t want to take it, but leaving it meant it could get stolen, and the last thing anyone needed was someone pretending to be her. She was walking out of her closet with it when Vincent walked in, looking a shade paler than was healthy. She dropped the mask on her bed with the rest of her things and rushed to him, touching his cheeks.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. “Vin?”

  “We’re going to New York,” he whispered, sounding tired. “Oh, gods, Sawyer, we’re going to New York, not a safe house.”

  “Why?” she asked softly, wondering why he was acting the way he was. He seemed like everything had gone to hell.

  “The Triad’s other two targets were WMC Councilmen. Sawyer, someone hired the Triad to kill you and two members of the WMC. We’re in Code Black. All Special Agents are to report to New York to investigate and give manpower to the IMPO to protect the WMC.”

  Her hands began to shake as she released him. She took two steps back and sank down onto the edge of her bed. She didn’t move back far enough, her ass sliding off and sending her to the floor.

  She sat dazed for a moment, her mind reeling.

  There were hits that not even Axel would send her for, people he hated but would never kill. There were unbreakable guidelines to the Magi world, even for the criminals. There were unspoken rules in the lawless wild west of Magi crime. There were lines their people had never crossed, not for a very long time.

  This was one of them.

  “Oh my god,” she whispered, looking down at her hands. She pressed her face into them, rubbing, hoping to scrub off the news that Vincent just told her.

  “I’ll help you pack. Travis will be here in less than an hour to get us.”

  “Who’s packing for you?” she asked, not moving.

  “I did, while you were in the shower. Elijah and Quinn told the others, so don’t worry about them.” Vincent reached down for her and got her elbow. She looked up at him as he tugged. “We have to move.”

  “Fuck,” she groaned, grabbing him to haul herself up. She was thankful for his support at her elbow, since it helped stop her sway. “Here I was thinking I was going to get a nap eventually.”

  “I’ll find you a place when we arrive. They aren’t going to make you run on fumes, and I’m hoping they keep you minimally involved because of your status as a target.”

  She nodded silently as they turned to her bed. Now she was packing with a purpose, a goal. She knew where she was going and why. That made this much easier.

  “We don’t have a full Council anymore,” Vincent said, as if he was trying to convince himself that it happened.

  “No, we don’t.” She wasn’t sure how to feel about it. “This is only going to get worse before it gets better.” She began putting her weapons into a bag while Vincent got her clothes packed.

  “I know.”

  “With the Council on the menu, this is going to be a nightmare. If they can suddenly be killed, then it’s going to be free-”

  “I know,” he snapped. She stopped moving and looked over to him. He had closed his eyes. “I know,” he repeated softer. “This will put them in emergency state. They will be voting without a full Council. The magic will be weaker. Their lives are at risk. New York will be a madhouse with you right in the middle of it, since you were a target of the Triad, which means whoever is killing them wants you dead for some reason. That’s not taking into account the criminals who are watching this happen as well. A Code Black means we’re dropping whatever cases we’re working on all over the world. They will have no one keeping them in check.”

  “The wild west just got a whole lot more wild,” she whispered, looking back down to her hands. Once, she would have been on the other side, playing an event like this to the hilt at Axel’s orders. The amount of power he could have gained in a situation like this would have been indescribable, and he was already one of the most powerful crime lords on the planet. “You have any ideas?”

  “I do.”

  “Tell me. Between me and you.” She could keep a secret, depending on why it needed to be kept.

  “I think another WMC member is behind this.”

  She froze for a moment then continued like he hadn’t said anything. The very idea was treasonous. “Someone could arrest you for even saying that,” she reminded him.

  “I know, which means I’m on my own working it out. The IMPO is going to be completely focused on just catching the assassins, playing like they haven’t been paid. No one is going to ask the big questions until the threat has ended. I want to be able to hand them anything I’ve learned from now until then, hopefully leading to a speedy resolution. But I have to be careful. The guys can’t know. They aren’t careful and they can be distracted.”

  “Do you need anything from me?” she asked, holding one of her daggers. She tested its edge, considering what she could do to help him.

  “Ke
ep your eyes and ears open all the time. You’ll be under protection too, and you’ll know more about this sort of situation than most of the agents in New York. They’ll come to you for things, I already know it. But…be careful with what you say. I don’t want you dragged into the middle, Sawyer.”

  “Always,” she purred, smiling. She would never say the wrong thing in a situation like this. Keeping her mouth shut was a skill she’d developed over the years. Secrets were easy. Lies were child’s play. “I’ll help. I’ll bring you whatever I learn.”

  “Thank you.”

  They didn’t continue talking as she finished loading her small armory and he packed the rest of her clothes. She stopped at the mask again, her hand hovering over it. With a deep breath, she picked it up and laid it on top, zipping up the bag with its black visage staring back at her.

  “Are we ever going to come back here?” she asked softly, looking around her room, hoping she got to. This had become home for her, a place where she felt like she could be herself with a fucked-up family of men who were lovers.

  “Probably. It’ll take time for us to line up a new secure location to move into,” he answered. “And once we discover the person who exposed the location to the Triad, we’ll be able to remove them from the equation, hopefully keeping us safer longer.”

  “Yeah…” She picked up her bag and motioned for him to leave first.

  “I need to finish some things, then I’ll meet you out back.” He took her bag of clothes with him.

  Assassins and chaos. That’s what waited for them in New York. She wished her room goodbye in silence, just running a hand along the back of the couch as she walked to her door. She would miss it. She would miss the time they had on holiday, and the fun things they got to do. She wished she had confronted Elijah and Jasper about their issues sooner, had more time with them, exploring her feelings and whatever was going on between them all. Now they would all need to put their personal lives aside to deal with whatever was going on.

  She didn’t stop to check on any of the guys as she walked through the house to the back door. When she walked out, she was hit with Sombra through the bond. The feline had been kind enough to give her space since Naseem ran off and Sawyer disappeared with Zander. Now she wanted to make sure her human was really okay.