For the first time in weeks, he felt light. Despite everything that had happened, Daniel’s insistence that he not isolate himself anymore took a weight off his shoulders. Ashmedai letting himseehim, the Sentinels accepting his apology for what he’d done, acceptinghim, was exactly whathe needed. They were right; he couldn’t do this alone. Pushing them all away had only made it harder for him to follow the right path. He needed a light in the darkness, and that was them. It was riskier, sure, because there was always a chance he’d be discovered, but he’d lose his mind if things kept going as they were. He’d losehimself.
He found Kyle’s car in the parking lot when he arrived and parked beside it. His heart was pounding as he cut strips of tape from the roll and layered it onto the back of the phone. The cell was on silent mode, and he double-checked that he’d erased all incriminating evidence from it. If Kyle found this on the underside of his car, they might realize someone in the guild was looking for the kids. What would they do then? Move them? Kill them?
All he could do was pray. He glanced around to make sure no one else was in the parking lot, and then got out. Fumbling his keys on purpose as he shut the door, he let them fall to the pavement so he could kneel down to pick them up. Then, he pressed the burner phone to the underside of Kyle’s car, as far as his arm would reach. The duct tape was layered on thick, and he pressed the edges hard to get it to stick in place.
Then he stood, pocketing his keys, and focused on taking calm breaths as he walked toward the administrative building. It was done. With any luck, the burner would stay put until Kyle left HQ—at least long enough for the Sentinels to get someone to tail him. They had no idea how often he was going to the Alvarez kids or if he was even going to their location at all. But it was the only lead they had.
Inside the newly rebuilt foyer of the administrative building, James was waiting by the stairs. His cool gaze gave nothing away, but he greeted Nicolas just like always.
“The others are already upstairs with Sloan. We’re just waiting for Ashton and Patrick now.”
“Oh, okay, good. How, uh—how are you doing?” Losing a squad member was never an easy thing. Nicolas hadn’t been with this team for very long, but the rest of them had been together for years. No matter how cruel they were to the undeserving Sentinels, they were still human. Losing Casey couldn’t have been easy for any of them, and it cost him nothing to feel sympathy for them.
James shook his head curtly. “I never wanted to lose a man, but losing one like that… to thosetraitors.” His jaw pulsed, and he pinned Nicolas with a hard stare. “I hope you don’t harbor any leftover fondness for that brother of yours, Garcia, because he’s going to pay for this.”
And just like that, the sympathy vanished. James couldn’t see how his own choices had assisted in Casey’s death. If they’d been hunting monsters like they were meant to, they never would’ve confronted those three that night. Daniel never would’ve thrown himself into the fight and stabbed Casey to protect Alex. It was never the guild’s fault for attacking first. It was always the Sentinels’ fault for defending themselves.
Nicolas straightened, steeling his spine and funneling every ounce of hatred he felt for these people to the surface. “Don’t worry, sir. I’ll do what needs to be done.”
James nodded, clapping him on the shoulder. “Good man.”
Ashton and Patrick arrived together, and the four of them trooped upstairs to join the others. They filed into Sloan’s office, which wasn’t exactly designed for a full squad. Sloan stood as they entered. James, Patrick, and Ashton stood closer to the desk, and Nicolas seized the opportunityto stand in the second row with the others, his shoulder brushing Tony’s.
Sloan looked from face to face before settling on James. “Thank you all for coming. I wanted to extend my condolences for the loss of Casey Harlan. He was a good man, and he’ll be missed.”
Nicolas nodded robotically with the others, bowing his head.
“I read James’s report about what happened, and I want you all to know that I am as appalled and outraged as the rest of you. It was one thing for those traitors to flaunt their sins in our faces. But now? To attack our people while we’re on patrol, protecting the city?”
Was that what James had said?
“We’ve let them get away with this for too long. We’ve lost too many good men to those monsters, but now we know for a fact that it’s not just their demons killing our people. Daniel Garcia raised his blade against us, and that will not go unpunished.”
Oh God, oh God.
“We know where their home base is. It’s time for a major strike. We will outnumber them three to one when we attack, and they’ll stand no chance. By the time we’re done, they will be nothing but ash.”
Nicolas had to hope the demons were as powerful as they claimed. Three to one was bad odds.
“Paladin Garcia.”
He looked up, startled. “Yes, sir?”
“Give me your phone.”
Prickling with unease, he obediently drew his phone from his pocket and handed it to James, who passed it to Sloan. They weren’t allowed to use passcodes anymore, soSloan had no problem unlocking it. He spent some time looking through it, and Nicolas’s face burned as the silence extended. They still didn’t trust him—and they were right not to. He’d been religiously deleting everything off his phone that could incriminate him. Daniel’s number wasn’t there anymore. He had it memorized, but he hadn’t dared to text or call for exactly this reason.
After a few moments, Sloan nodded and handed the phone back to him.
“I understand that you’ve been a model soldier these past few weeks, Garcia, and I’m pleased to see there’s been no activity between you and your brother. I expect it to stay that way. For security purposes, someone will be following you until we can set our plan into motion, just to make sure you don’t have a crisis of faith and try to warn your brother.”
Nicolas forced his face to twist in disgust. “I wouldn’t, sir. I’m appalled by what he’s done. He’s a monster, and I want nothing to do with him.”
Sloan’s mouth curled into a slight smile. “I’m glad to hear that, but surely you understand why I’m taking these precautions.”
He sighed. “Yes, sir.” He straightened, giving Sloan an easy smile. “Time will show you the kind of man I am. I’m not worried.”
“Good. I’ll dismiss you all for now, then. Casey had no living family, so we’ll be cremating him in the morning and placing him in the vault with the other fallen soldiers. The ceremony will take place at nine AM, if you’d all like to attend.”
