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The following night…

R eal hated the fact that he would be separated from Azrael.

While the Genesis active and non-active military cut through the night toward the fortress, YA and Aries would be at a secure location nearby.

He had to believe that Azrael would be safe with Aries. He trusted King, Levi, and Nash, but had to say the words now.

“If anything happens to him,” Real warned, catching Levi’s gaze before moving to Nash and then finally King.

“We got this,” King assured him. “It’s not our first rodeo.”

“I heard you guys did a joint op with the DEA,” Rip said from where he stood next to Real.

“We did,” King said.

“How’d that go?” Rip asked.

Real was curious as well since Aries didn’t normally work with law enforcement. The unit was designed for taking out crooked high-powered politicians.

“Really well, my girl saved the day,” Levi answered this time.

“I heard you’re a bodyguard now,” Rip told Levi.

“I am, in fact. I retired from Aries in January. They,” Levi jerked a thumb at King and Nash, “work part-time as bodyguards with my company out of Seattle. I’m just here as a favor to Will,” Levi said. “You guys should come up to Seattle and visit.”

“Let’s talk about that shit another time,” King drawled and turned to Real. “Don’t worry, we will keep YA and any victims safe,” King told him.

Rather than answer, Real pulled Azrael to him and smoothed his hands over the ultra-thin bulletproof t-shirt vest.

“You should have worn another one over this,” he muttered.

“Hey…” Azrael looked up into his face. “You have to trust me.”

“I do.” Real sighed and drew the young assassin into his arms. “It’s just the rest of the world I don’t trust.”

This right here…Azrael in his arms, was all he’d ever wanted, and he tightened his grip.

They may seem mismatched to most of the world, but when they were together… they fit. They fit better than any puzzle piece ever could.

Azrael was the other half of his soul…a half that Real hadn’t even realized he was missing.

And now that he understood the power of them being together, he was loath to part, even for a millisecond.

But the mission had to be done, and they each had jobs to do. And as much as it was killing him, he had to walk away, if only for a short time.

Reluctantly, Real released Azrael, cupped his beautiful face in his rough hands, and planted a kiss on the younger man’s lips.

“Stay safe,” he said, the words coming out raw.

“You better come back to me,” Azrael whispered tightly.

After one long last look, Real jogged toward the team that stood waiting in the shadows.

“You ready?” Crow whispered when he approached.

“Yeah, let’s get this done.”

Micky’s fortress was really more of a large reinforced estate that sat behind eight-foot-high cinderblock walls lined with barbed wire along the top. The hillside on the outskirts of Scottsdale, Arizona, was surrounded by trees and shrubs.

He pulled at the collar of his shirt, but there was no relief from the heat, and he wasn’t sure if it was his anxiety about Azrael or the weather.

The days were warm in late April, but it was still cool at night, and right then, the skies were dark with storm clouds.

Moments later, rain began and picked up speed, pounding the trees, shrubs, and ground. It would make their approach much easier. Any sounds of movement would be drowned out.

So…the sweat pouring down his forehead was mixed with rain. The sweat was his nerves about leaving Azrael, he knew it. There was no denying it.

He took a deep breath. What he needed to do was get a fucking grip. Where the hell was his steely resolve? Where was his calm, take no shit, keep his emotions out of things attitude?

All of that was left in the palm of Azrael’s hand.

His whole fucking world, his whole heart was back there with one slender assassin and as a result, his universe had altered.

Right then, though, he needed to keep his promise to Azrael. He needed to come back to his love…because that was what it was. There were no more thoughts of hero worship, there were no more thoughts of age gap, and there were no more thoughts that Azrael could do better than him.

Now, the only thought was that he loved Azrael and would never love another more.

His only regret at that second was that he hadn’t said the words.

He vowed that when this mission was over, he would say the words and lock Azrael to his side forever.

“Real.”

His name being spoken by Stone was a surprise, but he snapped to attention.

“You good?” Stone squinted at him.

“Yeah…why are you here?”

Stone smirked. “I’m not sitting this one out.”

“Where’s Dave?” Real glanced behind Stone and around as if expecting the former SecDef to be lurking.

“He’s back at the ranch,” Stone said, studying the automatic rifle in his hands.

“Did he want you to sit this one out?” Real asked and smirked at Stone’s look of surprise.

“He did,” the man said slowly.

“And you said?”

“Hell no,” Stone grumbled and Real snorted.

And Dave was probably pissed to high hell, Real thought.

What Dave didn’t realize was that Stone couldn’t be controlled. Just like he couldn’t force Azrael to sit this one out, neither could Dave ask the same of Stone.

Not that Dave and Stone were an official couple or anything like that, but they were very protective of each other. In fact, Real would say they were possessive of each other. He wondered if either man had made a move yet.

“So he knows you’re here,” Real said, drawing Stone’s gaze from his gun.

“Yeah, but it’s really not his call.”

“Um…he’s your boss.”

“Yeah,” Stone grimaced. “There is that.”

Real almost snorted. He didn’t want to be a fly on the wall when Stone got back to the ranch. He made a mental note to avoid both men after this mission…for a while, at least.

Several familiar men walked through the darkness toward them, all dressed in black, and Real recognized Wrath and Rogue. Behind the pair came Ice, Echo, Fisher, and Justice.

And while he was surprised to see the Erebus assassins here, he knew with their help that tonight would be very productive.

“Real,” Wrath said, clasping his outstretched hand. The others gave him a chin nod and a waggle of fingers.

“I didn’t think you’d be here,” Real told Wrath. In truth, he was glad because having the former military medic here would make tending the wounded much easier.

“We wouldn’t miss putting another asshole in the ground for nothing,” Wrath murmured.

“Remember, we need them alive to find out where they are keeping the kids,” Real said.

“Got it,” Wrath said and circled his finger in the air to his crew. When Savage was absent, Wrath took charge, and the others never argued. Like a well-oiled machine, the assassins of Erebus melted into the darkness.

“Let’s move,” Viper said, his voice low and growly.

When most of Genesis followed Viper through the darkness, Real took up the rear along with Stone, Winter, and Rip. The others fanned out, staying off anything that looked like a pathway. Taking a trail was the quickest way to get to the estate, but also the fastest way to get dead.

They reached the fenced border and from there, they split up into already assigned teams. Each small unit took a section of the estate, and they would breach simultaneously.

In their small team of three, Stone’s bullet from his sniper rifle took out the watch tower guard on the east side while Rip stood watch. Once it was clear, Real scaled the side of the block wall and snipped the barbed wire when he reached the top.

And even though he couldn’t see Azrael in the dark, he glanced one last time in that general direction before he slipped over the wall and dropped below into the darkness.