Page 26 of Monochrome (ORCA #4)

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SIX

ETHAN

The heaviness in my chest lingered as I rolled out of Julius’s arms. We’d maybe gotten three hours of sleep, but every hour had been plagued by nightmares filled with worst-case scenarios I couldn’t seem to shake off even in the bright light of day.

The scent of coffee wafted up from downstairs, and I was grateful I wasn’t the only one awake.

I wondered if whoever had started the coffeemaker had even bothered going to sleep.

“Come back to bed, E. It’s early, and we have time.” Julius patted the space beside him, then wrapped an arm around my waist, trying to pull me back down.

“I can’t close my eyes again. All I see when I do…” My words broke off on a sob as images from my worst dreams played on repeat in my head.

After this, the twins weren’t the only ones who were going to need therapy.

“Okay. Then let’s get up. We can make breakfast.”

My stomach roiled at the thought of eating, but I could do my part to help prepare a meal for the people who were going to help me get the twins back.

Julius gave me an odd look, and I wondered what he was feeling through our bond.

I wasn’t sure I could even name the emotion.

I just felt numb. Empty.

Like someone had taken a melon baller to my soul and hollowed me out so completely that there was nothing left.

Wordlessly, Jules held out a hand and helped me to my feet.

We dressed in sweats and quietly made our way downstairs in case anyone was still trying to catch a few precious minutes of sleep.

But we needn’t have bothered.

Everyone who had stayed at the estate was gathered in the kitchen and the living room.

The rooms were silent except for the gurgle of the coffeemaker.

Today, there was no good-natured teasing or brotherly banter.

Instead, we were met with grim faces and expressions of solemn determination.

Julius crossed the room to the fridge and pulled out ingredients to make omelets, and for a little while, we got lost in the repetitive motions of washing and chopping vegetables and whisking eggs.

It was helpful to have something to do with my hands that required enough of my focus to keep my mind on the task at hand instead of wandering into what-ifs.

Everyone ate in shifts as the omelets were served.

Quin and Dimitri helped by manning the toaster, and by the time Jules and I finally sat down to eat, I was actually hungry.

Conversation hummed quietly around us, everyone feeling a little better after the meal, but the atmosphere still felt charged, pregnant with the anticipation of what was left to come.

Only half my omelet was left on my plate when my phone chimed, and instead of grabbing it, I immediately turned to Felix, who had remained bent over his laptop even as he’d eaten.

He nodded, and the eggs, veggies, and cheese I’d managed to choke down threatened to make a reappearance.

“We have a time and a location. Noon at the warehouse in the industrial district.”

Everyone assembled breathed a sigh of relief that the fucker who’d taken my twins had picked one of the spots we’d planned for, and the smallest glimmer of hope flickered to life in my heart.

Nero immediately snapped into leadership mode, checking the time on the oven clock.

“That gives us a little less than three hours to get into position. Let’s go over the plan again.”

“Cal and I are ready. We have identified two spots where we can set up with sniper scopes and rifles. We’ll each take one, which should give us a good view of everything that happens on the warehouse floor. As soon as we’re done here, we’ll head out so we can ditch Cal’s Jeep away from the warehouse and get into position.” Jack looked at Cal, who nodded once, his game face firmly in place.

“Before you go, grab an earpiece from me. I don’t have enough wearable cameras to give everyone one, but we’ll at least all be connected via an audio channel.” Jack and Cal both nodded at Felix.

“I’ll be running coms from Nero’s Suburban. We’ve already identified a small copse of trees that offers a view of the main road but will keep the SUV out of sight. Marcus and I will head to the location with Nero.”

“Ethan and I will make the handoff. I have the painting and the documents Quin created.” Julius looked to his brother, Quin, who nodded.

“You have a full certificate of authenticity and attestation of allocation and provenance. I called in a favor, and they are officially stamped and sealed, so they should pass even a fairly rigorous on-site screening.”

“Plus, I’ll be there to verify the painting is real.” Dimitri’s involvement had been a point of contention and heated debate during the previous night’s planning session.

Quin was worried about his mate putting himself in harm’s way again so soon after his escape from the man who’d held him prisoner in Amsterdam for more than a year.

But the sweet chameleon shifter had put his foot down.

Dimitri, Julius, and I were going to be the boots on the ground for the handoff.

“I’ll also have the gun Cal picked out for me, so we’re ready. We’ll arrive at the warehouse at quarter to noon. We’re taking Ethan’s car, but Hade is going to drive. He’ll be in the car out front monitoring the road.”

Nero lifted his chin in approval.

“I’ve got Eli.” Marcus tapped the screen and set his phone down in the middle of the table.

“Go ahead, babe.”

“SPD is ready. We’ve got plainclothes guys on site already. They are across the inlet near the cranes. They look like dock workers but will stay out of sight as much as possible. Detective McMahon said he would, and I quote, ‘Gut that asshole, Nero Hunter, like a fish,’ if he wasn’t part of this op, so he and several of his guys are going to be in fishing boats farther up in the sound and farther south toward Georgetown Reach.”

The corner of Nero’s mouth tipped up in a half-smile.

“Tell McMahon thank you and that I owe him one.”

Eli laughed, the sound a little tinny through the phone’s speaker.

“I’m pretty sure that’s what he’s counting on.”

Marcus picked up his phone, took Eli off speaker, and ended the call.

“That just leaves me.” Nero sighed and looked around the table at all of us.

“I’ll be out near the water too, in case the asshole comes by boat. Having McMahon’s guys as backup will be good.”

“And me.”

As one, we all turned to stare at Quin.

He’d already done his part first by forging the painting years ago and then by getting the documents to support its authenticity in order.

“Quinny,” Cal started, but Quin raised a hand, cutting him off.

“Shut up before you even start, Caligula.”

Shocked gasps echoed around the room.

In the short time I’d spent cohabitating with the Hunter family, I’d learned that no one ever used Cal’s full first name, and Quin’s use of it now meant he was serious.

“Respectfully, fuck you all for not including me in this after everything you all did to help me get Dimitri out from under Dasselaar. Those babies are family. They are part of all of us. Of course I’m going to be there. I’ll be on the water with Nero.” His tone brooked no argument, and he crossed his arms over his chest, daring anyone to challenge him.

All three of the other Hunter brothers and the two Hunter cousins stared slack-jawed at Quin, waiting for someone to break the silence.

So I did. “Thank you, Quin. I appreciate that.”

Nero was the next to break.

“Okay, so Quin and I will be on the water.”

Cal was still staring at his twin, even as he nodded too.

“And Athina and I will be here on coms.” Ben smiled at Athina, who looked marginally better than she had last night, but she still looked wrecked, and I could relate.

Nero clapped his hands and stood.

“Okay. We’re set. Everyone stay in touch over coms.”

Slowly, the crowd broke up, everyone heading off to do whatever they needed to do to get ready and get to the warehouse.

For our part, Julius and I went back upstairs to shower and change, then Jules disappeared into the garage, and when he returned, there was a barely noticeable bulge under the back of his suit jacket.

By ten thirty, my heart was in my throat and my hands were sweating.

Hadrian and Jules loaded the painting in a travel crate into the back of my car, and I watched from the window until Jules poked his head back inside.

“It’s time. Let’s go get our babies back.”

The ride out to the industrial area of the city was made in silence.

Dimitri had taken the passenger seat while Julius and I sat in the back.

He seemed content to watch the scenery fly by as we drove.

I’d learned Hadrian was usually a man of few words, and he didn’t try to make small talk as he navigated us away from the estate, the natural beauty of the forests and the shoreline of the sound giving way to monolithic steel cranes and stacked cargo containers.

The closer we got to the meeting location, the harder my heart started to beat in my chest, and Jules tried to soothe me by running his thumb over the back of the hand he’d been holding since we got into the car.

“We’ve got this, E.”

Dimitri turned around, fire in his eyes.

“Hell yes, we do.”

Hadrian put the car into park at exactly quarter to twelve, just like we’d planned, and Hadrian gave Felix the update.

“We are on site. Looks like we are the first to arrive.”

Cal’s voice echoed in my ear.

“Jack and I are in position inside. Door to the left of your position is open.”

Hadrian and Julius unloaded the painting and carried it into the building through the door Cal had indicated, with Dimitri and me right behind them.

Knowing whoever had taken the twins would want to see the painting, Hadrian pulled it out of the crate and leaned it against a steel support beam in the middle of the room.

“We have eyes on you,” Jack said, and it was all I could do not to look up to try to find them.

Felix spoke next. “I have no surveillance on the property. My only visuals are from our own feeds. This guy really doesn’t want anyone to know what’s going on here.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, so I stayed silent, listening and waiting for the next cue.

“Quin and I are in position. I’ve checked in with Eli’s guys, and we saw McMahon and his team on the way in.”

Eli was on coms not far from where McMahon was waiting on the water.

“We’ve got a boat coming your way. I can’t make out who is inside. Might not be our guy, but heads up.”

In my ear, I heard everyone confirm they understood and were ready.

“I think this is our guy. I have eyes on. He’s slowing near the warehouse.” Nero paused for a second.

“Yes, he’s backing into the slip at the rear of the warehouse. Looks like he’s prepping for a quick getaway.”

“I see him.” Jack swore.

“I don’t see the twins.”

“I don’t either,” Nero confirmed.

“Could be they are being kept inside for now. I have three men. One driving the boat, one on the dock, and one on the rear deck.”

“Anyone we recognize?” Cal asked.

“I’m running facial recognition from what I can grab from the camera we put on the dock, but I’m not getting much. I can’t see the guy’s face, and there is a shadow.” The frantic clicking of keys followed Felix’s statement.

“The guy from the deck is heading your way. The two others are staying with the boat.” Nero cursed.

“Just saw a flash of metal. He’s armed. Be on your guard.”

I almost didn’t hear the last part as the blood rushed in my ears, my heart pumping overtime as I waited for whoever had taken the twins to make himself known.

But there was no way in hell I could have been ready.

There was no way what I was seeing was real as a man emerged from the shadows, gun drawn.