Page 69 of Lash

"So, my thinking is we send a few of us out for recon,” Solomon says. “Get the lay of the land, sniff out patrols, and seeif we can get eyes on the compound itself for some intel so we can make a plan."

Lorenzo scans the group. "I think it should be myself, Scarlett, and Lash—sorry, Nicolae."

"Reasoning?" questions Kane.

"Very simple. We three are not bound by the oath against killing," Lorenzo answers. "And we need the patrols neutralized, not just incapacitated. We can't afford some hard-headed asshole waking up and giving us away."

Nicolae's hand goes to the back of his neck at Lorenzo's words.

Rev is the first to speak, after a long, stunned silence. "Wait…what? Scarlett and Lorenzo, you're not Arrows. No brand, no oath, so I get it. But Lash? What thefuck, dude?"

"I had hoped to avoid this conversation till after," Nico says, sighing. "But we may as well get it out of the way. Yes, it is true. I took the oath of loyalty to the Broken Arrows, but our employer did not, in my particular case, demand the oath against killing. I did not know that was unusual until after I joined you, for one thing, and I was not given reasoning, for another. I took the oath that was asked of me. If it had included the injunction against death, I would have sworn to that. I did not ask for that exception. I never saw a point in telling you. I worried it would only muddy the waters, or cause resentment. Which I can see it has."

Rev shakes his head. “Not resentment, man, just…I dunno. Maybe a little. We've all had to do this shit with one hand behind our back, so to speak. It's a lot fuckin' harder when you can't kill 'em."

Nicolae nods, shrugging. "I know. When we have the luxury of time and safety, I will tell you all the backstory which will explain, I believe, why I was not required to take that particular oath. For now, we have work to do. I am your brother. I will livefor you, fight with you, and die for you if required. And when this is all over, I will take the oath again, with a new brand to mark the occasion."

Rev nods, satisfied with the answer. “Well then, let's fuckin' go."

Nico rummages in one of the duffel bags and produces a suppressor for his pistol, which he screws on. From the other bag he finds a long knife with a black, serrated blade; he whips off his belt and fixes a holster for his gun on one side and the knife and sheath on the other, and puts the belt back on. Once more into the bags, coming out with a thick black bulletproof vest. He slots magazines into the front of the vest, and then grabs one of the assault rifles; his has a short, thick barrel, which he explains is a built-in suppressor. Thus armed and armored, he is ready to go.

I catch his arm. "Nico, please be careful."

He grins, confident, cocky even. The hard, angry, closed-off mask of Lash is gone, leaving only the charming breeziness of Nicolae. “This is what I do best, my love."

"What, exactly?" I ask.

He gestures at the surrounding jungle. "Infil, recon, target elimination, and exfil, without being seen."

He catches the back of my neck and pulls me to him, crushing my body against his and slashing his mouth over mine in a hot, demanding kiss. "Stay close to the others while we are gone. Listen to them when they give you instructions. And above all, do not—"

"Hesitate," I say, overlapping with him. I kiss him again, rubbing my hands along the hard line of his jaw. "I learned that lesson."

His expression darkens. "I am sorry you learned it the way you did."

"I will not make that mistake again." I scratch his jaw. "I like this. The new you—I like him."

He looks away, thinking. "I am not so sure it is a new me."

"It must be, Nico. The old you died. Then, you were Lash. Now you are Nicolae again, but what made you Lash is not gone. Nor is what has remained of the old Nicolae. You are a bit of both. A new you."

He shifts his gaze, considering, then looks back at me. "You are not wrong."

Lorenzo and Scarlett are similarly armed and attired.

“We have to go, Nicolae," Lorenzo says. "My gut is telling me time is short."

Nico kisses me once more. "See you soon."

After a brief murmured conversation, Lorenzo stalks forward down the path, Scarlett cuts to the right into the jungle, and Nico goes left.

Chance sees me staring after Nico and comes to tower over me. "He'll be fine."

I nod. "I know. I still worry."

His huge, heavy hand rests on my shoulder for a moment. "I'm glad he found you. He's different. Better."

"I am glad, too."