He studied the man again. He’d seen the effects of torture, and Archer wore the hollowed-out mark of what had been done to him in this house.
But his eyes were clear and the set of his jaw was the same as Ellory’s.
Into his comms, he said, “I found her. Safe. And another civilian.”
He looked at Archer. “You okay?”
He gave a single nod, indicating he was functional, not fine. Ash understood the difference without needing it explained.
Only then did he allow himself to pull Ellory into his arms. She pressed into his length, trembling and chilled.
“Sinner,” he grated to his backup.
“I’ll make sure Archer gets out safe.”
When Ash lifted Ellory, she buried her face in his chest and let him carry her out of that place. In another room, her captor was being zipped into a body bag. A man who’d terrorized many, including those associated with this team. The mass destruction of bombings and the annihilation of the entire Blackout Echo team. He’d killed thousands to mete out punishment for the death of his mother in Syria.
As he carried Ellory out of the house, her skin pebbled with goose bumps at the cold air.
“Angelo…”
“I got you. You’re safe. No one is ever going to hurt you again.”
“Cipher—”
“He’s dead.”
He felt her still at that information.
“You’re sure?”
The incident replayed in his head like a movie reel—Cipher reaching for his weapon, knowing damn well that he couldn’t fight his way out of a room full of SEALs.
“I’m sure.” His voice was a rasp.
He reached the van and opened the back doors, steadying her with a hand as she climbed in. He located a blanket in their supplies and wrapped it around her shoulders. She was shaking harder from the drop of adrenaline, and he gathered her close to share his body heat.
He’d give her the world if he could. He’d find a way to pull the moon and stars out of the heavens if she asked.
After her shaking subsided a little, he examined her hands properly.
His stomach sank.
“Talk to me.” His tone was quiet and low.
“We were handcuffed. We had to dislocate our thumbs to slip the cuffs.” Her voice was shockingly steady. But when she dropped her chin to glance at her hands, he stopped her with a knuckle beneath her jaw.
“Archer put his back in. Then helped me get free. But…”
He searched her eyes for a long moment, not even trying to hide what he was feeling because she’d see through it. She always saw him.
Mason appeared at the van door. In a blink, he clocked the situation with Ellory’s thumbs and started forward, prepared to use his skills as a medic.
Ash held up a hand. “I got her.”
Mason backed off without a word.
Ash sat in the van and lifted her onto his lap. She twisted her face into his neck as he worked fast, because the faster he did it, the sooner it would be over.
