Page 41 of Beta Team-The Saviors: Part One

“I’m just watching over you.”

“Watching over me or watching me?”

I drag myself to my feet, tired and defeated. “I just wanted to make sure you were safe. I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving you.”

“You can’t keep doing this. Not after what you told me last night.”

“I get it. I just have something to say, and I’ll leave. I care about you. I’m not sure what that means for me, but being with you, even for this short amount of time, has made me the happiest I’ve ever been. I hope one day you’ll hear me out.”

I tuck my hands in my pockets and make a fast clip down the hallway so I don’t pull him into my arms and demand he forgive me. I jump into my truck with one thought in mind. I need to get some of this off my chest.

I pull into Axel’s driveway twenty minutes later and knock on his door. He pulls it open with a confused look on his face. “It’s time.” That’s all he needs to know before he steps back and sweeps his arm toward the living room. Chelsea runs to hug me as soon as she sees me.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers.

“Maybe I’ll just steal you away.” I hear Axel growl and get some sick satisfaction out of pissing him off.

I kiss the top of Chelsea’s head and sit in the chair in front of the window. “Whole crew is here then?”

“What the fuck is going on with you?” Sean demands. “You look like you’re about to explode.”

“I have something to say. Something that I haven’t said in a long goddamn time.” I sit forward and brace myself. I feel like saying the words will bring them down on my head. “My real name is Aryeh Cohen.”

“Wait,” Nolan says. “I thought your real name was Ari Levy.”

“That’s a cover of a cover. It’s the name I used when I joined the army, and Ari Smith is my Savior’s name.”

“So, why so much cloak and dagger?” Cole asks. “And why didn’t we know?”

“Because it’s not just a name. I can’t tell you anymore than that. Just know that name will alert every government agency you can think of.”

“It’s that big of a risk?” Kai asks in disbelief. “How the hell did that even happen?”

“I cut ties with a certain part of my life. I changed my name, and my final fuck you was joining the army. I busted my ass to be a part of the black ops team and even harder to become its leader.”

“How were you dishonorably discharged?” Chelsea asks softly.

I look at Axel, and he nods, letting me know it’s okay. I thought I had long forgotten this part of my life, but talking about it makes it feel like it just happened. “We got word that a shipment was coming into port. Our intel was weapons. We staked it out and soon realized it was much more than that.”

“It was human trafficking,” Sean guesses.

“It was. Only when we reported back what it was to my commander, he told us to pull back and not engage. He told us it wasn’t our job, and he was calling in federal agents.”

“And you ignored a direct order?” Cole asks.

“Not at first. We watched it for a while, and I saw a familiar face. I begged my commander to let us go, and he shot me down each time. My team and I decided to take it down anyway, even though it was a threat to national security because we weren’t on American soil.”

“Who was the familiar face?” Chelsea asks, tears already in her eyes.

“It was my little sister, Avina.”

“Oh my God, Ari,” Chelsea says, clapping a hand over her mouth. “What happened?”

“We took down the entire transport and reported back what we had done. My commander had us thrown in their form of prison and then threw us out of the army.”

“Wait a fucking second,” Sean says, sitting forward on the couch. “You served your country, took down a human trafficking ring, and were still thrown out?”

“Stripped us of our medals, benefits, and everything. I met Charlie shortly after, still very pissed off and looking for blood. That’s how my life started as a Savior.”