The man moved forward from the shadows, rifle up.His face was half-lit by the flames—a calm, cold expression that didn’t belong to a hired gun.He stepped close, almost pressing the barrel against Kael’s temple.It was a cold and deliberate gesture.
Kael didn’t blink.“You should’ve stayed back, and kept that little language gift of yours a fucking secret if you really wanted it to pay off for you,” he murmured.
The man smiled faintly.“Not my style.”
A second figure emerged from the dark.Kael immediately knew this guy was the leader.Tall, composed, his expensive shirt flecked with ash.His grin was too familiar, too smug.He held a loudspeaker in one hand, a pistol in the other.
“Easy now, Makani,” the man said.“We only need one thing from you, and then me and my men, well, what’s left of them, will leave.Give up Hawkins, and this ends clean.”
Kael’s jaw flexed.“You think I believe that?”
Marcus shrugged.“Believe what you want.The Directorate doesn’t miss twice, and we do not like to misplace our assets.”
Drew moved before Kael could stop him, stepping slightly ahead, his weapon low but ready.“Marcus.”The name was quiet, but it carried weight.“Still playing the righteous crusader I see?”
Marcus’s eyes lit up, genuine amusement flickering there.“Drew Hawkins.You should’ve stayed dead, for real.”
“Yeah,” Drew said, voice steady, “you’d prefer it that way, wouldn’t you.I really would love to know the dollar value I have cost you in lost earnings over these past few years.”
Marcus’s gaze filled with hate.“ Too fucking much, and you need to pay for that.”He raised his pistol to aim it at Aunty’s head.
Kael’s blood turned cold and his grip tightened on his rifle, blood slicking his palm.“You hurt her,” he said evenly, “and you’ll never make it off this island.”
Marcus’s smirk widened.“You can’t win this.I’ve got a dozen men left, and you’re bleeding.My advice?Surrender.Give me what I came for, and we will leave.”
Kael’s finger hovered near the trigger.His mind raced.Too many angles.Too exposed.He could feel Drew’s energy beside him—coiled, ready.Black Tide had been in worse, but never with so much to lose.
Marcus sighed then racked his weapon to fire.“Ten seconds.Bring him here, or I’ll put a bullet in this woman’s head, and my men will wipe out the rest of you.”
The world shrank—to the shallow hum of floodlights, the men around them and his Aunty on her knees, no fear in her expression as she trusted her family to get her out of this situation.Ten seconds.
“Kael,” Drew said quietly.
“No,” Kael snapped, knowing what was coming.“Don’t you even—”
“She’s family,” Drew said, voice rough but calm.“You said it yourself.”
Kael shook his head.“You think I’m letting them fucking take you?”
“If you don’t then she dies.”Drew’s tone was steady, too steady.The resignation in it made Kael’s stomach twist.
Marcus’s smirk deepened.“Five seconds.”
Kael’s chest heaved once.He forced his hands steady.“You’re not taking him.”
The man behind him—the Hawaiian speaker—pressed the barrel harder to Kael’s temple.“Don’t be a hero, Makani.”
Kael’s voice dropped, low and lethal.“Too late for that.”
Drew holstered his weapon slowly and raised his hands.“It’s okay, Kael.”
Kael’s teeth ground together.“It’s fucking not, and you playing sacrificial lamb never fucking will be.”
“It will be,” Drew said softly.“Trust me.”
Kael’s heart pounded, every instinct screaming to fight.He met Drew’s eyes—steady, unflinching—and knew the man meant it.He’d rather die than see anyone else hurt.It was why Kael loved him, and why this moment felt like a knife.
The man behind him shifted, breath quickening, his gun wavered slightly.Drew took a single step forward.
