The Redemption Saga Box Set

by Kristen Banet

  “Yeah, we have a lot to do. We can set that up after this meeting. Thompson wants to talk to us today about the living situation too.”

  “Yeah, I know.” She sighed. It was time to get them all out of James’ space. Zander’s outburst made that apparent the day before. They were already rattled by the funeral. She’d thought she’d gotten Vincent to a good place, but he’d broken the moment they walked back into the condo. The space had driven him back over the edge again and she had to fight with him to get back into the world around him.

  She was thankful the guys hadn’t stormed in for that argument. It was for her to deal with. Axel was a subject only she could safely push Vincent’s buttons with. He wouldn’t listen to anyone else.

  And Zander? She was the best one to say what needed to be said. She wasn’t going to leave it up to one of the other guys, not while they hurt so much.

  She felt the weight on her chest. It had started before the funeral and it seemed to be growing. She would carry them. She could do that. She was strong enough. She would jump between them when they needed it, making sure each was okay. They deserved that from her, for giving her all the hope and joy and love they had offered her in the short six months they’d had together.

  As she thought about that, the rest of the team wandered in. Zander walked to her and kissed her cheek, with a groggy good morning. Elijah and Vincent just fell into their spots. Quinn checked the fridge for their animals’ breakfasts and she smiled.

  “I got it,” she told him, picking up two of the three full bowls on the counter. Huge servings of raw beef, unseasoned. A meal that would get them through the day, in case things got too busy to feed them dinner. “I think we should take them today.”

  “Me too. I wish they could have gone yesterday, but…”

  “Funerals aren’t a good place for animals,” she agreed. It had been hard, leaving her girl in the condo again, but it had been necessary.

  “We’ll get them out and moving around today.” He smiled at her, taking the bowls. She grabbed the last one, Sombra’s, and put it down by itself in the kitchen. The wolves were fed in the dining area with everyone else, but Sombra was food possessive.

  Breakfast was quiet and finished quickly. Then everyone came alive, finished getting dressed, and they loaded up.

  She hated that the day felt nearly normal.

  She wanted to go home. This wasn’t supposed to be normal. Normal was their remodeled plantation house. Normal was an early morning run through the woods with wolves on their heels. Normal was the gym and the garage.

  New York, James’ condo, and the IMPO headquarters weren’t supposed to be normal.

  “Where’s this meeting?” Zander asked.

  “In Thompson’s office. He and I agreed doing it at the firm wasn’t going to work. We’d rather be in a place we all know,” Vincent answered patiently. She eyed him. He looked healthier already. The night of sleep had done him good and she knew he’d slept through the night. She’d fallen asleep right next to him in bed to make sure.

  She tried not to think about how he moved away from her the moment he realized they were cuddling. She had slid in to give him a more pleasant wake up. She hadn’t been thinking sexually, just easy. Soft. Careful.

  And he’d jumped away from her like she was on fire.

  She sublimated to get out of the SUV before it stopped, reforming to breathe in the crisp winter air. It wasn’t normal either. It used to be, but she missed the clean air of Georgia. There had been no touch of city smog at their plantation home.

  “Y’all have a good meeting,” she told them as they unloaded. Vincent glared at her, probably for her stunt to get out of the vehicle.

  “And where will you be?” he asked sharply.

  “Getting stuff done for you,” she answered. Things she could do without him. She’d texted and talked to Thompson about it the night before. He’d checked the will. She wasn’t addressed in it and there were things she could start for the team that they didn’t need to worry about. Not yet, anyway.

  They just had to make it through this meeting on their own.

  “That doesn’t answer the question,” he retorted. The entire group was just waiting for the Vincent and Sawyer stand off to end.

  “I don’t answer to you.” She crossed her arms. “I’ll be safe and you can know all about it afterwards. When you are done with this. This is more important to all of you right now and it’s going to stay that way.”

  “Of course you don’t answer to me,” he mumbled, looking away.

  She reached out and poked his chest. “Don’t be an ass. Let me do this, Vincent. You go with the guys and get through this, and I’ll be waiting on the other side. I’m not going anywhere or doing anything dangerous.”

  He met her eyes again and nodded slowly. She moved to touch his face and he stepped away, walking swiftly away from the group. She hadn’t been able to say the words on the tip of her tongue. She had wanted to tell him that she loved him.

  She watched his back with wide eyes. While she wasn’t paying attention, someone touched her back.

  “Give him time. He’s not in a good place,” Quinn whispered to her.

  “I know.” She knew better than most. She collected her feelings and put them all away except one. She smiled to the rest of her men. “Love you guys. You can do this. I’ll see you later.”

  Quinn smiled kindly at her, kissing her cheek. Then he followed Vincent. Elijah followed suit, then Zander and Jasper.

  She waited for them all to enter the building, then pulled a set of keys from her pocket. She turned them over in her hand. They would be mad at her for this, but this was for her to do. She hadn’t lied to them, though. It wasn’t dangerous.

  She went to James’ car, left there since the morning after he died. It was being turned over to Thompson and he already had custody of it. He was letting her drive it for the day. He’d had someone drop the keys off at the condo building and she picked them up before she woke up any of the guys.

  The drive was quiet, with Sombra sitting in the passenger’s seat, just watching the world pass by, not giving Sawyer anything about how the big cat felt. She kept the radio off, her thoughts focused on her task. She had interviews to get through. When she parked at the prison, she knew the first one was already prepared.

  “I’m here for Missy,” she told the guard at the reception desk. “The doppelganger.”

  “Of course, Miss…”

  “Matthews. Director Thompson should have called ahead for me.”

  “Oh.” The guard looked up from his calendar and realized who she was. She patiently smiled as he jumped up and made a call.

  Only a moment later, another Magi guard walked out of a door and waved her to follow. She did, knowing he was leading her to one of the visitation rooms. He unlocked the door and moved aside.

  She didn’t enter immediately, listening. Missy wasn’t making a sound.

  “Did you get a real inhibitor on her?” she asked the guard.

  “Yes, ma’am. We’ve never had a doppelganger in here before, but we managed.”

  “What form is she in?”

  “Uh. The one from that day. She never changed into anything else.”

  Sawyer wondered if it was her original form. She had no idea how old Missy was, or what she truly looked like. It was always something she had wondered. Those curious questions would probably never be answered, and they weren’t the topic of the day.

  She walked in, phasing through the door, leaving Sombra in the hall. The cat didn’t like it, but didn’t make too much of an emotional fuss over it. Sawyer didn’t want to expose her beautiful animal bond to Missy when it wasn’t necessary.

  Missy wore orange and sat chained to the table. The inhibitor also cut off her inhuman strength and speed, something Sawyer was thankful for. The woman before her might as well have been human.

  “Look who it is,” Missy greeted her in a sing song tune. “No little Castello this time? He’s cute. No
Axel, but probably enough like him to make you feel like it is. Sadly, he’s just the younger, cheap imitation in the end, isn’t he?”

  “No, this is between me and you.” She slowly sat down in front of the psychotic bitch. “Vincent isn’t the Castello I want to talk about. Actually, I don’t want to talk about either of them.”

  Missy jerked back, startled by her. Sawyer rested her elbows on the table between them and spread her hands in a small shrug. It made Missy narrow her eyes.

  “What do you want?” the doppelganger demanded.

  “I want to know how you’re still alive, actually.” Sawyer leaned back, getting comfortable. “I saw the life fade from your eyes. I saw everything end in you. I sent you to hell, or whatever afterlife is out there, if there is one. I put a dagger in your heart. You shouldn’t be here.”

  “I see no reason why I should tell you that.” Missy shrugged this time. “Though you should have cut my head off. Would have worked better for you. Maybe.”

  “I’ll remind you that Axel switched with you knowing his execution was fast approaching.” Sawyer was about to drive her sharpest knife in Missy’s heart. While the doppelganger was absolutely off her rocker, she was passionately in love with Axel. “He probably never thought you would lose your temper and reveal the ruse. He left you here to die, Missy. Expendable, replaceable, worthl-”

  “Stop.”

  “Worthless past this. He never did want you the way you wanted him. And now he found the perfect way for you to prove your undying love. By dying for him. Expendable. No longer his-”

  “Stop!”

  “He’s never cared about anyone past how he could use them,” she continued, the words a bitterness flowing off her tongue. Her rage was only matched by the rage radiating off the doppelganger. “He won’t come save you, Missy. It’s too inconvenient.”

  “STOP! STOP, STOP, STOP!” Missy banged her hands on the table. Sawyer did. She slammed her mouth shut as the doppelganger unraveled, like she knew the woman would. “You don’t know! You don’t know the way he feels! You were just a tool! I’ve been there since the beginning. Since he was a boy! I knew Vincent too! You’ll never understand!”

  That made Sawyer raise an eyebrow. “What-”

  “I saw his potential before any of you. I helped him build who he is. He cares for me!” Missy was shrill and awful towards the end of that. “I found him Felix! I found him Talyn and the rest. I had those connections, being what I am. You gave him nothing. I gave him everything.”

  Sawyer tilted her head to the side slowly. There was a lot to process with that outburst, which was what she wanted. She hadn’t expected the information she received from it, but it had gotten her something.

  Missy had always been around. That was just a curious thing. She would need to ask Vincent if he remembered anyone from his childhood and the time when Axel was beginning to rise that would fit Missy’s supposed role in their lives.

  The second thing that stuck out was Felix. The Ghost she never knew much about, Sawyer was always bewildered by his place in the group. He was cowardly and strange. He was anxious. He was a weak Magi with very little in terms of abilities.

  Yet Missy mentioned him first.

  That was something she would need to dig into further, if Missy didn’t tell her anything more.

  “Felix?”

  “Ha. No. I’m not telling you anything.”

  “A pity,” she mumbled at the crazy woman in front of her. Missy’s eyes danced with a dangerous light. She knew so much and Sawyer could feel there was nothing else to gain. “I think I heard what I need to, though. I needed a lead and you just gave it to me. Thanks. For once, you’ve actually helped me.”

  The shock that took over Missy’s face was something Sawyer wished she could get a picture of.

  “Excuse me?” Missy practically squeaked out those words.

  “I’ve never thought to look into Felix. I even let him go when we captured Axel back in August. I didn’t think he was anything special. Obviously he is. I’m amazed I never thought to look into him deeper.”

  “No. NO!” Missy tried to stand, but the chains held her to her chair.

  “I pity you, Missy. I know what order he gave you, and I thought you would do it before now. He gave that order to everyone in case we were caught.” Sawyer kept all her emotions locked away as she spoke. She couldn’t give away anything. “You haven’t gone through with it, though. Do you honestly think he’ll come to save you? Really? He’s never saved anyone but himself, don’t you know that? He’s not coming. You’re trapped here and you just…” She shook her head slowly. “No…I think you get the point.”

  “I hate you,” Missy snarled. “You’ll never catch him again. He won’t make the same mistakes.”

  “I was never trying to catch him the first time. Just imagine what I can do with a little bit of elbow grease and all the dark lessons he taught me.” Sawyer kept her eyes locked with Missy’s. “Just imagine what I can do with the full weight of the IMPO, the WMC, and the IMAS behind me. Just imagine that for a moment. I have one goal in my life right now, Missy, and it’s not to catch him. It’s to kill him. Imagine what I can do with that.”

  Missy broke out into a sob and Sawyer realized it was over. She kept her emotions locked tightly away. She had to get out of the room now.

  She left quickly, looking back just once. She wanted to remember this.

  Missy would probably be dead tomorrow.

  It wasn’t Sawyer’s fault, by any means. It was the truth - and a harsh one. Axel had one order for any of his own that were captured: kill yourself before you give away anything. Missy had failed. The doppelganger wouldn’t allow herself to fail her master a second time.

  The door was closed and locked. She kept walking to the far wall and leaned on it as the first sob welled up in her chest. Sombra rubbed on her legs, sending waves of comfort and safety at her.

  There was a time, so long ago, when that could have been her. It could have been Sawyer sitting there, screaming and wailing for him to save her, knowing he wouldn’t. Knowing it was over. Knowing he would never come.

  If it wasn’t Sawyer, it would have been someone else having that conversation with Missy. They wouldn’t have known what Missy would do. She did.

  “Have someone watching her at all times,” she ordered the guard closest to her. “She’s going to try and kill herself. Axel would want her to so she doesn’t end up giving away any information. Make sure it doesn’t happen.”

  It was all she could do to make sure she wasn’t the thing that made Missy kill herself. She hoped it worked.

  This was why she had wanted to do this without the guys. Knowing this. She could knowingly push Missy to say something, so someone else didn’t do it accidentally and get hit with the shock.

  “Yes ma’am,” the guard responded sharply, and began saying something into a walkie on his chest. She didn’t listen anymore. She needed to collect herself and get ready for the next interview.

  She waited another ten minutes, composing herself, and then began to move to another room. “Bring me Naseem.”

  “It will take a moment.” The guard seemed startled she said anything. She hadn’t told them she intended to talk to the assassin.

  “That’s fine.”

  She could be patient. Patience was something she was good at. It gave her more time to prepare herself for what she was about to do.

  Her guys would be so mad at her, but she couldn’t fail this time. She needed to use every resource to make sure she could do the job given to her.

  In the back of her mind, the fear scratched. She was going to lose them like they lost James. Like James lost his last team.

  And it would be her fault, like it always was when Axel had anything to do with it.

  So she steeled herself and walked in the moment the guard gave her the go-ahead. Sombra didn’t make nearly the same fuss this time, knowing this was just how it had to be. There would come a point where her cat was
going to get back in the action, but this wasn’t it. She was there to give her Magi support and strength.

  Naseem, like Missy, sat handcuffed and chained on the other side of a steel table. The inhibitor he wore was apparent. It should have put her at ease. He wasn’t a danger to her.

  But then, she wasn’t scared of him, but what she was about to ask.

  He raised his eyebrows at the sight of her. She sat down silently and for a moment, they just stared at each other.

  “So you know,” he finally murmured, no emotion in his voice. Nothing gave away what was running through his head.

  “I do,” she answered softly. “I just spoke to Missy. You ever meet her?”

  “She’s missing a few screws,” he said, as if they were just passing gossip around.

  “Yeah, she is. She always had been missing something important. I think it’s the ability to think for herself past…” She trailed off as another wave of guilt ran through her.

  “I never understood,” Naseem commented mildly, “the fear people had for him. Not really. He was politically very powerful. As a Magi, he’s godlike in his abilities and his strength. But I never understood the fear that made people stop talking.”

  “And now?”

  “Excuse me?” He frowned, causing age lines to appear on his forehead. She realized he was a bit older than her in that moment. Probably in his forties. He’d been in their world for much longer than her. She was the young upstart in comparison.

  “You said you never understood. Do you understand now?”

  A beat of silence. One that was quick, but for a millisecond, it felt like an eternity.

  “I do.” He nodded slowly. “Why are you here?”

  “Teach me.”

  Those words hung on the air as she watched the realization dawn in his eyes. For just a second, his eyebrows went up, then he narrowed his eyes at her, an anger coming from him that she had expected.

  “Why should I ever teach you anything, Sawyer?” He sneered her name at the end.