I didn’t let him finish. My finger squeezed the trigger with a precision born from years of experience, the crack of gunfire echoing sharply through the space. Sinclair crumpled to the floor, and chaos erupted behind the glass. With two more squeezes of the trigger, the project leaders joined him.
When we walked into the lab, the three technicians scrambled, panic etched on their faces as they reached for the monitors. They were desperate to destroy evidence and save their own asses. But they weren’t fast enough. Not even fucking close.
Blaze took one of them to the ground, Rebel was on the second before he could blink, and King subdued the last one before he could reach the emergency alarm. Kevlar’s barrel pressed firmly against the man’s temple in case we needed him to get past a security layer. I moved straight to the bank of computers, wasting no time as I secured drives and extracted files, dumping them methodically into the bag I carried. Except the actual program. That would be destroyed.
We moved quickly, efficiently, gathering everything we needed to ensure the destruction of the override program was absolute. Backups destroyed, and servers wiped. We left no room for Aegis to rebuild or recover.
“Got everything?” Kevlar’s expression was hard.
I checked the screens one last time, ensuring nothing of value remained accessible. “Yeah. We’re done here.”
Kevlar knocked out the guy he’d been holding and tossed him into a heap with the other man and woman he’d been working with.
“Good.” King jerked his chin at Blaze. “Burn it.”
Blaze’s expression was calm, almost serene, as he methodically placed incendiary charges. It took only minutes before the hangar began to burn. Smoke billowed dark and thick as flames devoured the equipment and records.
We wouldn't leave a single loose end—no unanswered questions, no breadcrumbs leading back to the Hounds. We would construct meticulously detailed false trails for the six lives we’d just extinguished. Digital footprints, creating fabricated conversations, travel records, and financial histories to ensure their disappearances would seem plausible. And tie up physical details—vehicles left at airports, hotel rooms booked overseas, and paper trails matching their falsified plans. Each persona would vanish seamlessly, leaving behind narratives so believable that no one would question where they'd gone or why.
This was what we did—what we specialized in. To the outside world, a couple of those six people—already loners with no family—would simply move on, take new jobs, and relocate to new cities. One would go AWOL and become nothing but a dishonorable memory. And so on for all the rest. But their reality ended tonight, in the dark flames consuming the override program. Life would continue without interruption. No one would ever search for them because there would be nothing left to find.
Within an hour, we were away from the burning hangar, watching safely from a distance. The building glowed in the distance as I uploaded all the data we’d collected to a secure dummy server Wizard had set up for this mission. I sent it all in an anonymous report to military oversight. Every scrap of evidence straight to the people who could shut Aegis down permanently.
Then I closed the computer, dropped it into a burn bag, and tossed it to Blaze. He’d make sure it was nothing but molten metal so it couldn’t be traced.
Finally, the truth was out, delivered in a way that left no room for doubt or deception. The other people responsible for this operation would pay the price. Not with a bullet this time, but many of them would lose the life they had now.
As I stood there with exhaustion finally creeping in, the weight of what we’d done settled over me. Carson’s justice had been served, the pilots’ safety restored, and Linden’s protection secured.
The only thing left was to return to her side—the woman who had unknowingly become my everything.
When I turned my bike back toward the compound, I felt lighter, as if the weight I’d been carrying had finally lifted.
I was going home. To her.
20
LINDEN
I’d been waiting for what felt like forever, curled up on the couch in the common room, staring at the front doors like they might open if I willed it hard enough. When I finally heard the first growl of an engine, I jumped to my feet.
I was waiting near the door when it swung open, and Keegan strode inside.
The exhaustion on his face made my heart hurt, but in the very best way. He and his club brothers had gone to war for me. And for my brother’s memory, too.
I launched myself at him the second he was close enough. He caught me midair, his strong arms banding around my waist, lifting me clean off the ground. My legs wrapped around his hips, and his mouth crashed against mine.
I kissed him back with everything I’d held in since he left. All my fear, love, and appreciation. He groaned against my lips, one hand fisting my hair at the back of my head and the other sliding under my butt to lift me higher.
When he finally ripped his mouth from mine, we were both out of breath.
“You’re okay,” I whispered with a sniffle.
“It’s done, little dove.” He dropped his forehead against mine. “No more looking over your shoulder.”
It was exactly what I assumed his club business was about, but the relief still made my eyes sting. “Thank you.”
“Don’t need your gratitude, baby. You gotta know I’d do anything to keep you safe.”
