Page 13 of Deadly Hope (Hope Landing: New Recruits #2)
After leaving Olivia in Izzy’s capable care to gather what she needed from her office, Axel found Ronan in Knight Tactical’s secondary command center wrapping up a video call with his lady-love, Maya.
Their newest recruit, the former NCIS detective was away on a girl’s week with friends from LA.
Her smile lit up the monitor, dark eyes sparkling as she teased Ronan about working late again last night.
“Just because Knight Tactical can afford fancy coffee machines doesn’t mean you need to live there, babe,” she said.
Axel couldn’t help grinning at the way Ronan’s usual stoic expression softened.
“Hey Maya,” Axel called out, dropping into view behind Ronan’s shoulder.
“Back me up here, Axe,” Maya laughed. “He needs to remember there’s life outside that command center.”
“Copy that, Detective.”
“Former detective,” Maya and Ronan corrected in unison, sharing a look that made Axel’s chest tight with happiness for his friend .
“I’ve tried to kick him out for hours,” Axel said.
“Traitor,” Ronan muttered, but his eyes never left Maya’s face.
Watching them, Axel couldn’t help thinking what a dream come true Maya had been for Ronan.
From that first mission when they’d extracted her from a corrupt NCIS operation, something had clicked between the former LAPD detective and his typically reserved teammate.
Now, barely two months later, Ronan had a brightness about him that Axel had never seen during their SEAL days.
“Get some rest,” Maya said softly, signing off.
His friend stared at the blank screen, features frozen in a goofy expression. “Love you too.”
Axel still couldn’t get used to the fact that he and his former SEAL team had been recruited by a top-of-the-line outfit like Knight Tactical. But watching Ronan—seeing the man’s bright, happy future unfolding—made it feel even more like a dream come true.
“So,” Axel started, aiming for casual, “remember how you always say I need to work on my impulse control?”
Ronan turned to face him. “What did you do?”
“Technically, nothing binding.” Axel perched on the edge of the desk, earning a look that would have intimidated anyone who hadn’t seen Ronan stress-eat an entire package of Oreos during their first stakeout together. “I just maybe suggested. No. I strongly implied we’d handle Olivia’s security.”
“You did what?” Ronan’s voice was carefully neutral.
From his workstation across the room, Kenji let out a low whistle. “And here I thought I was the one making poor life choices.”
“You are,” Griffin murmured without looking up from his weapons maintenance. “He’s just giving you competition. ”
“Hey!” Kenji protested. “That thing in Marseilles wasn’t my fault. Mostly.”
“Gentlemen,” Deke’s deep voice rumbled from where he sat cleaning his rifle with methodical precision. “Perhaps we should let them discuss this professionally.”
“Thank you, Deke,” Ronan said.
“Besides,” Deke continued with the faintest hint of a smile, “we can mock Axel thoroughly later.”
“ Et tu, Pastor ?” Axel clutched his chest dramatically, but sobered under Ronan’s steady gaze. “Look, you saw Olivia’s office. The guy just walked?—”
“Round the clock surveillance and an investigation? We don’t have the manpower for this.” Ronan rubbed his temples. “The main team is on that Belgrade situation. They’ll be tied up for weeks.”
Zara’s fingers stilled on her keyboard, though she didn’t look up from her screens. The dark circles under her eyes suggested she’d been hunting their intruder’s digital trail all night.
“I hear you,” Axel said. But he didn’t agree. “How about you guys stick with investigating the perp. I’ll handle the protection detail myself.”
“No chance.” Ronan’s expression softened slightly. “You know that’s not how we operate. We’re family. Everyone’ll take their assigned shift. I didn’t say we wouldn’t do it. Just know Christian and the rest of the old guard will give us grief for it.”
Family. He remembered the moment it had hit him—three days into Maya’s case, when he’d woken up thrashing in the break room after another nightmare.
Instead of the awkward silence he’d come to expect, he’d found Deke sitting quietly nearby with a cup of coffee, Ronan working in the corner like nothing had happened, and Kenji’s horrible playlist filling the silence .
No questions, no judgment. Just quiet acceptance.
Now, watching his team work in their upgraded command center, that same acceptance wrapped around him like armor. The familiar tap of keyboards, the low hum of equipment, even the ancient coffee maker gurgling in the corner—it all meant safety. Home.
Which was exactly why he had to make them understand about Olivia.
“Speaking of family obligations ...” Axel cleared his throat, studying the tension in Ronan’s shoulders. His friend hadn’t moved from the surveillance feeds in hours. “We need to find her a secure location. For client sessions.”
“Dude. Seriously?” But there was a hint of amusement in Ronan’s exasperation now, his reflection in the monitor showing the slight quirk of his mouth that meant he wasn’t actually angry. “Anything else while we’re at it? Maybe a beach house in Maui?”
The question hung in the air, and Axel could feel the shift in the room’s energy. His team might give him a hard time, but they were already problem-solving. Already protecting what was important to one of their own.
“Actually,” Zara’s voice drifted over from her workstation, where multiple monitors cast a blue glow over her focused features.
Her fingers never stopped moving across the keyboard, but Axel knew she’d been listening to every word.
“I might have something. That empty floor in the Meridian building? The one we were going to convert to additional training space?”
“Perfect location,” Kenji chimed in, swiveling in his chair. His usual playful expression had been replaced by the tactical assessment that reminded everyone why he was their infiltration specialist. “Clear sightlines, multiple exit routes, easily secured.”
“And walking distance to that chai place she likes,” Deke added from the doorway. The former chaplain’s massive frame somehow never seemed imposing when he was offering these small kindnesses. He grinned at Axel’s surprised look. “What? I pay attention.”
The surveillance feeds cast shifting shadows across the concrete floor as Ronan finally turned away from them.
“You’re all enablers,” he muttered, but Axel could see him considering it.
The same look he’d worn when Christian first proposed forming their team.
“Fine. I’ll talk to management. But you?—”
The sharp crackle of the comlink cut him off, the sound slicing through the room’s comfortable atmosphere like a blade.
“Guys? We’ve got a situation.” Griffin’s voice was tight with tension, the kind that made everyone’s combat instincts snap to attention. “Message just came through on a secure channel. Military-grade encryption.”
Axel’s blood ran cold, his fingers automatically checking the placement of his sidearm. Around him, his team had gone still with that predator’s focus that meant they were all thinking the same thing.
The message Griffin read out confirmed their worst fears. “Knight Tactical’s newest charity case? How sweet. Tell Olivia her brother would be so proud—right up until the end. Tick tock.”
“That’s not possible,” Zara whispered, fingers flying over keys with renewed intensity. The monitors reflected off her face like war paint. “Those encryption codes ... they’re classified. Unless?—”
“Unless he’s one of us,” Axel finished grimly, his mind already cataloging everyone who’d have that level of access. “Someone with access to our resources.”
“There’s more,” Griffin added. Something in his tone made Axel’s combat instincts ratchet higher. “Security footage from the airport just went dark. All of it.”
Blind panic clawed at Axel’s chest, threatening to overwhelm his training.
Then he forced himself to breathe. Izzy was with Olivia.
The woman might be small, but she packed a huge punch.
Literally. One of the best operatives at close quarters combat he’d ever seen.
Man or woman. She wouldn’t let anything happen to Olivia.
But the relief was fleeting. If someone with their level of access was targeting Olivia ...
Ronan met Axel’s eyes, all traces of their earlier banter gone. In that moment, they weren’t just colleagues or even friends. They were brothers-in-arms, and someone had threatened their own.
“Get her,” he said simply. “Now.”
Axel was moving before the words finished echoing through the command center, his team already shifting to support positions without being asked. Family didn’t need orders. They just acted.