Chapter Eight
The two teams had settledinto their version of quiet—maps spread across tables, laptops open, and low voices trading strategy.Hogan leaned against a steel support beam, arms crossed, watching the different clusters form.
Marsh and Luca had claimed one corner, both hunched over an array of screens and parts, their conversation quick and animated.Wires, encryption firewalls, satellite overlays—half the terms flew straight past Hogan, but the grin plastered across Marsh’s face was mirrored in Luca’s.Two tech minds geeking out over toys and programs, happy as hell.
Across the room, Surge, Bateman, and Dev had their heads bent over a spread of maps and intel files.They barely spoke in full sentences—just clipped phrases, hand gestures, a pen tapped twice on the paper—and somehow they all understood.Hogan smirked, watching them volley half-formed thoughts like they were finishing each other’s sentences.
Kai slid up beside him, shoulder brushing his.“Tell me that doesn’t look like some weird Alpha inspired three-way marriage.Look at them—no words, just vibes.It’s disturbing.”
Hogan huffed a laugh.“You jealous?”
“Hell, no.I don’t do shared custody of brain cells.But if they start bickering about what kind of curtains belong in their war room, I’m out.”
Hogan snorted, shaking his head.“You’re an ass.”
Kai grinned, the corner of his mouth tugging up like he knew damn well he was.The sound of Marsh practically squealing and fangirling over some new drone hack punctuated the moment, and both of them laughed.
For Hogan, the laughter triggered memory.Not a flash exactly—more like the feel of a tide pulling at his feet.Last night still burned in his mind, the heat of Kai’s body, the taste of his skin, the certainty in his voice when he said I love you.But layered through it were other fragments, other nights, other moments.One rose clear—the moment he’d called Kai Rip.
He turned his head, eyes on Kai’s profile.“You know why I called you Rip?Riptide?”
Kai blinked, wary but curious.“Why?”
“Because you don’t see it coming.You’re smooth water until suddenly you’re dragging me under, and once you’ve got me, there’s no swimming free.”Hogan’s chest tightened as he said it, the memory both raw and real.“That’s what it felt like.You hit, and I was gone.”
Kai’s breath caught, the humor sliding out of his expression.“Are you remembering, Hogan?”
“Hopefully,” Hogan admitted.“Pieces.Enough to know it’s real.”
Kai’s gaze shifted, something odd flashing across his face.A hesitation, a weight.Hogan frowned.“What?”
Kai’s lips pressed together before he exhaled.“I’ve got something I need to tell you.About back then.About the Bratya and the DEA.Stuff I didn’t tell you before.”
Hogan’s gut tightened.He forced himself to keep steady.“Does it have anything to do with what we’re talking about now?The teams, the op?”
Kai grimaced.“Kinda.Yeah.”
“And Surge knows?”
Kai nodded.“Yeah.”
Hogan blew out a breath, eyes flicking to where the three leaders were still bent over their maps like generals.“Then I trust you.Tell all of us at the same time.”
Kai’s brow furrowed.“Would that work for you, though?Me not telling you first?”
Hogan held his gaze.“Will you telling me in private change the story you tell everyone else?”
Kai hesitated.“No.”
“Then do it.Tell us.”
For a beat Kai just stared at him, searching.Then his mouth softened.He leaned in, kissed Hogan quick and hard, like a promise.“You might regret this.”
“Not a chance,” Hogan said, even as a coil of dread unfurled low in his gut.
Kai turned, shoulders squaring, and walked toward Surge, Bateman, and Dev.The shift in the room was immediate—Marsh and Luca’s chatter fading, the maps suddenly forgotten.Hogan stayed where he was, arms crossed, watching Kai move with that same mix of defiance and protection that had always marked him.
Kai stopped in front of the leaders, shifting his weight, eyes moving across each of their faces.Silence stretched.Surge tapped a pen, Dev raised a brow, Bateman folded his arms.Hogan could almost feel the tension thicken.Finally, Kai cleared his throat.
