Page 65 of Lash

Every so often, I catch her glancing at me, frequently seeming surprised. But then, when I use the bathroom and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror a while later, I am surprised at myself.

The man in the mirror is a stranger to me. It has been…how many years? Six? Seven? It is hard to remember. I have been with the Broken Arrows for three years…I think…and I wandered the earth aimlessly for two or three years before encountering Inez. So yes, six or seven years.

In those years, I have changed. Crow's feet crease the corners of my eyes, where before they were laugh lines. I am leaner in the face, my jawline sharper, my eyes deeper. I look harder. Older.

If I look closely, I can still see the Nicolae Dragos I remember, he’s just…older and harder.

In short order, it is time to meet the others on the base for our departure to Colombia. Tatiana and I, having been up early anyway, are the first to arrive at the specified hangar near the specified runway on the Manaus airbase. An aging but well-cared-for Huey is on standby outside the hangar, the pilot and co-pilot going through pre-flight.

A few minutes later, a vehicle brakes to a precise halt near the hangar, and Solomon, Scarlett, and Lorenzo emerge.

I feel for Lorenzo—he has a faint limp from a previous injury, and his arm is in a proper sling against his torso. He has his color back, however, and despite the limp strides with confidence and determination toward the Huey.

He reaches me first, eying me. He nods. "Looks good. We are ready?"

"Thank you, and yes." I pause, waiting for Solomon and Scarlett to reach us so I only need to update everyone once.

Solomon stares at me for a long time. "Damn, dude. You clean up good." A shake of his head. "I seriously didn't recognize you at first."

Scarlett snorts. "I just met you, so I wouldn't have known you from Adam.”

I glance at Tatiana, let out a sigh, smiling at her. "It was time. I am letting go of the past.” I look back at my friends. “Which means I am putting Lash to rest."

"Nicolae Dragos," Solomon says. "I heard Nils use your real name."

I nod. “Yes. Nicolae is the name of my birth. I adopted the moniker Lash after my family was murdered. Nicolae was dead with them, so I became someone else. I am no longer that man, however. I have resurrected Nicolae Dragos." I pass my hand over my hair and jaw. "Which also meant this."

Sol pulls me in for a resounding embrace—I go stiff for a second, unused to such physical affection from my brothers in the Arrows, and then I force myself to loosen and return the hug. "Does this mean you'll stop being so damn mysterious and standoffish, now?"

"Who is mysterious and standoffish?” I say, faking a blustery offense.

He grins, shoving me away playfully. "Right, right. Not you, certainly. I mean, it's not like I've known for you three years and am just now finding out your real name and literallyanydetails about your past."

I wince, letting the playful bluster go. "I am sorry, my friend. I felt…I long assumed I would find a way to get close to Pugli, kill him, and die in the process. I saw no point in getting close to people who would just lose me when I died."

"So when you were pushing us to hunt down Pugli, you always assumed you would get killed?" Scarlett asks, frowning. “What about the rest of us? What about Inez?"

I shake my head. "I cannot excuse that. I meant to send you all on without me at some point or leave you in the night to finish the job. But I…" I look at Tatiana. "I was shown the error of my ways. I now see a better path."

She sighs, her expression full of understanding and sympathy. "I get it, Lash…or Nicolae, I guess I should say. I lost everyone I ever cared about. I lived my life assuming I'd die sooner than later and not caring. And I found someone who showed me that life is worth living. So…yeah. I get it."

The helicopter is starting, now that the pilot and co-pilot have finished their pre-flight checks. The rotors begin to spin, slowly at first and quickly speeding until they're a blur of black overhead.

At that moment, Solomon’s burner rings. He puts a finger in one ear and the phone to the other. "Yeah?" he shouts. Listens. "Leaving Manaus now. Tolemaida Airbase. Right. Yeah, we've got Lash. No, we've got firepower covered. See you soon."

He ends the call, shoves the phone in his pocket, and then twirls his finger over his head. "Let's bug out!”

We board the helo, strap in, don headsets, and then we're airborne, at last en route to springing Inez from the clutches of the world's most dangerous cartel warlord.

This should prove to be most entertaining.

the gang’s all here

TATIANA

Our rendezvous with Nils' contact is brief, a liaison of less than five minutes in a clearing outside a village in the rainforest some twenty miles from Manaus. The contact is a local from a native tribe who emerges from the forest as we touch down. He is short, slender, and hard-eyed, lugging two huge black duffel bags, staggering under their weight. Solomon and Nicolae leap out of the helicopter and jog to meet him, taking the bags from him. He nods, waves, and trots back into the jungle.

Once airborne, the men open the bags and examine the contents.