Page 61 of Fighting Salvation

“I honestly never did, but the thought of you having my child, of us raising a family together just fills me with something I can’t explain. I’ve never felt like this before, Valentina. This, what we have, is special. It feels inevitable somehow like we were always meant to be. Does that make sense at all or am I turning into a major simp, as Lotus would call it?”

“Yeah, I get that. I feel it too and you’re not a simp.” She smiled but deep down she knew the time was coming for her to be honest with him about their shared connection.

He parked the car, saw the extra vehicles, and felt a heightened sense of awareness in the air. Things were about to start moving fast and it terrified her as much as it excited her. She always knew when things were moving faster, the air around the team changed and this time it was even more important because it was someone so dear to them all.

The door opened and she was nearly knocked on her ass when two huge fur balls rushed at her, giving her licks and kisses. She dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face as Niall watched on with the rest of the team, Snow and Charlie were left at home because of the little humans relying on them.

“Oh my God, I missed you.”

The response was more wet kisses from Scout and Monty. It might seem silly to others but having them there gave her a sense that things would be okay. Some might call it a crutch but she called it love. The two boys would die for her or any member of the team because they were pure love. She trusted them with her life in a way she didn’t trust any other person.

She looked up at Niall and mouthed thank you, knowing he was behind this. He knew she missed them and needed them. He’d gone out of his way, probably breaking so many laws to get them there for her, and she loved him for it.

“We found him,” erupted from Hurricane and then it was chaos.

Chapter 17

“Where?”

Bás rushed past his team, the room stilling for a split second before energy hit the air and it was all action. He peered over Hurricane’s shoulder to see Lopez sharing his screen.

“They have him about forty minutes outside Pretoria, in a little township called Diepsloot.”

Bás nodded. “I know it. Where exactly?”

“We believe in this building here.” Hurricane pointed at a small building that was no more than a shack slap bang in the middle of a residential area, surrounded by families and children playing in the street. It was smart because Hansen knew he’d want to keep innocents safe, but that the residents would also not react or could be easily bought off because of the poverty they faced.

“Let’s get some surveillance up. I want to see what we’re walking into.”

“Will is already on it.”

Will Granger was the money behind both Shadow and Eidolon and, for the most part, worked for Fortis. The man was on par with Watchdog for his skills with anything tech-wise and the two had formed a tight friendship so this was personal for him too.

“Bás, can we get a minute to discuss that other thing you asked me about?”

Dread landed heavily in his gut at Lopez’s words and he knew he wasn’t going to like it but he had a responsibility to his team, and that involved transparency no matter the cost to himself. “You can talk in front of the team.”

He could feel them at his back and glanced back to see Val with her eyes locked on him, a soft look of love in her eyes. She patted the heads of her furry friends who were now seated next to her, fully alert and back in work mode. It was amazing to him how she could do what she did so efficiently, the connection she’d formed with them was something to behold. Not that he was surprised, she was special.

“So I looked into your family background, going into detail. It seems that your mother had a child before she married your father that she gave up for adoption.”

His fist tightened as he tried to maintain a stoic expression and not react like he wanted to, which was to put his fist through the wall.

“Now, obviously, I don’t know the details except that this was three years before you were born and a year before your parents married.”

“What do we know about the child?”

Lopez pursed his lips and he knew what he was going to say, just by the sheer fact his friend didn’t want to speak it. “He was adopted by Bernard Hansen and his wife, Sarah.”

Bás let his head fall, the weight of the knowledge almost too much to bear. Joel Hansen, the man who’d killed his entire family and who had made his life a living misery, was his half-brother.

He leaned on his hands on the desk, not wanting to see the pity or accusation on his friends’ faces. Val’s touch was light but he gripped her hand like a lifeline when she threaded her fingers through his.

“It’s okay, Niall. We’ll get through this.”

“Yeah, boss, this changes nothing for us.”

He lifted his head to look at Titan who was watching him without pity, only steadfast support. His eyes moved around the team and he saw each and every one of them looking the same and nodding, including Jack and Reid, and even Rafe, who’d brought Monty and Scout. He drew strength from them, fighting back the sting of emotion so he could keep his shit together.