Page 44 of Mariposa (Queens Command #1)

KADE

I ’m watching and researching The Surgeon.

Ella Winters, a Navy Officer in intelligence, granted me access to the evidence we have on him—a war criminal, leader, extremist, murderer.

I sound like a broken record, but it’s important to remind myself of the facts. It keeps us all fired up to stop him.

He recorded himself beheading and torturing several captured Special Operators.

I sit in my office, pushing the glasses up the bridge of my nose and drinking…

watching. General Miller encouraged me to do more intensive research.

Hours of meetings after meetings and training, and I’m not even close to tired—it only fuels the drive.

I can’t get enough of working. It’s what I breathe, the reason for the blood in my veins, and the reason why I’m so sharp, motivated to keep and represent the military’s finest trained operators.

Winters hovers behind me, and I quickly glance over her.

She leans on my cabinets, her hands behind her back, dressed head to toe in uniform.

Her intense gaze zeroes in on the screen before me, clearly as angry as I am that we haven’t caught this evil target.

Her throat rolls as her hands ball into fists.

My eyes return to Daegan Hannibal, Operator Creature—the best sniper in the military with a pristine, polished record of never missing a shot. The six-foot-six Navy SEAL is one of the most lethal assets in special operations, known for his reputation for silence and dark humor.

He’s on the laptop screen, captured…before the scars and the permanent mask he likes to wear.

I watch him being tortured for the next few minutes.

He’s tied up to a pole naked, on the floor, with bruises and blood all over his body.

The eye where he’s rumored to be blind is completely shut and heavily swollen.

He’s getting stabbed over and over again all over his body by The Surgeon, and still, he doesn’t scream.

I don’t know how he managed to go through all of that and keep his reputation for being silent.

Nausea creeps into my senses as I watch this man being mutilated.

His dark black hair is wet, but it’s not from sweat.

It’s from being waterboarded so many times.

After the first three slashes down the one side of his face, the surgeon gives him the most prominent one—the one over his brow and into his shut eye.

Blood fills the white of his other ice-grey eye.

The laptop closes shut, ending the video before I can see the rest, but quite frankly, I think I’ve seen enough. Winters drags the laptop off my desk until it’s tucked beneath her arm. She holds it tight and clears her throat.

“Now you know.” Her voice lowers to an edge. “Now you know why you’re after him.”

Giving her a swift nod, I grind my teeth until it hurts.

I broke into her room again to watch her sleep.

I can’t help it. She has me wrapped around her finger, and I can’t seem to stay away.

It took every single ounce of willpower I had in me to push her away the night of her first mission.

It didn’t feel right, and when we fuck, I want all of her mind, body, and soul…

all of her attention. I crave her with insatiable desire.

Her plain black blankets are curled up to her chin. She sleeps so beautifully. I want to wake her up with my cock but refrain.

Would she be into that?

So far, she’s matched my dark desires so perfectly that the lines that divide us are so seamless, I feel like we’re connected divinely.

She welcomes every single part of me—the parts I was told were worthless.

I thought I was worthless . As confident as I am with my job and everything else that makes me, me, when it comes to opening up, I shut myself down.

She makes me feel like maybe that part of tying myself to another soul is an option for me again.

Violet starts to whimper.

“Dad, help me!”

“Dad, I’m sorry! You didn’t have to jump in after me.”

“I’m sorry!”

My brows pinch together, and the urge to wake her gets stronger the more she talks in her sleep. I can’t fucking see her like this; it’s too painful to watch her suffer. I stalk over to her, prepared to rip off her blankets and throw her into my arms, but when I reach her bedside, I’m stopped.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I silence it before she sees that I broke into her room again.

It’s another meeting.

She stirs around, flipping onto her side until she’s facing the blinded window.

I rush out of the room stealthily, silently. Closing the door behind me, I raise my phone to my ear.