Page 17 of Raven’s Claw (Raven’s Cliff #2)

Chapter Eight

Shit, shit, shit.

This couldn’t be happening.

He couldn’t be here.

Jordan stared up at Kash, chest heaving. Every nerve strung tight. He didn’t budge, holding her captive, staring at her as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted to lean down and kiss her or help her up and tear her a new one.

She swallowed, coughing as it struggled past the lump in her throat. The one still mourning his loss. He released a weary breath then shifted, gaining his feet then offering her his hand. She practically flew off the floor, hitting his chest before he grabbed her shoulders — steadied her.

She glanced around the room, expecting some of Rook’s men to crash through the walls, but it was just the two of them. Standing there. Each waiting for the other to break the oppressive silence.

Her training caught up with her, and she gave Kash a shove. “What the hell are you doing here? Were you followed? How do you even know where I live?”

Kash grabbed her shoulders, again, checking the room before looming in close. “What do you think I’m doing? Stopping you from going off half-cocked on some suicide mission, because God forbid, you let anyone help you.”

“What if the place had been rigged? Or there’d been some of Rook’s men waiting in the damn living room? What if I’d shot you, myself, before I realized it was you?”

“Not my first rodeo, sweetheart. I’ve actually entered enemy strongholds before, though you seem to keep ignoring my twenty years in the service.” He leaned in impossibly closer. “Ten of those as a Ranger. And you’re far too savvy not to recognize me.”

“I haven’t ignored them. You and your teammates impress the hell out of me. But this isn’t the kind of battle you’re accustomed to.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yeah, I do. Because I’ve spent my entire adult life running Rook’s missions.

Paying the price of his disappointment. There were no pats on the back.

No jobs well done. You either succeeded or had the failure ‘trained’ out of you.

This isn’t the brotherhood you have.” She tamped down the roil of her stomach.

“It’s a tactical cult. And those who don’t believe… ”

She did her best to distance herself. “That’s why I left you behind. So you didn’t end up stuffed into a black bag with nothing more than a damn toe tag to show for all that honor.”

“Don’t you think I should get a say in what I think is worth dying for?”

“Not this time. I can’t…”

She took a step back. She’d left him once. She wouldn’t be able to leave him again if he stayed that close. Kept looking at her as if she’d already hurt him. “Go. Please. While there’s still a chance I can redirect his focus.”

“Not until we talk.”

“Christ. You just don’t know when to cut your losses.” She turned, scouring the room. “Talking will have to wait until I check the cabin.”

Kash scoffed, looking too sexy standing there with a tactical vest accentuating his wide shoulders and narrow waist. “Pretty sure if there was a tango hiding in your shower, he would have come out while we were rolling around on the floor.” He arched a brow. “Is that how you approach every fight?”

She gave him a quick glance, carefully picking her way around the room. “I’m not built like a tank. My only real advantage is agility. I get in close and keep them off-balance. And I’m not looking for tangos .”

“You have way more advantages than that.” He moved in behind her, shadowing her every move while guarding her six. “Fine, I’ll ask. What are you looking for?”

“Proof he’s been here.”

“So, you did recognize the guy on the video.”

“No. I saw what you did, but…” She stopped searching for a moment. “As I see it, there’re only two possibilities. Either your team didn’t round up all of Striker’s men, and they’re messing with you, or I’m burned. It’d be nice to know which way it’s leaning.”

“But, either way, you’re gone.”

“Kash…” Jordan drew in a shuddering breath before pushing it out. “Are you going to help or just stand there, growling.”

“I’m not growling.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What should I look for?”

“Nothing overt. It’ll be behind a photo or inside a drawer. A message. But check everything before you open it.” She motioned to the back of the room. “I’ll take the bedroom. You take the bathroom.”

“So, you can ditch me, again?”

Jordan stopped — faced him. “I didn’t leave because I don’t care. I left because I do. Because I wanted to save you. So, I wouldn’t put your brothers at risk. But now that you’re here, I’d never leave you behind.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Pretty damn sure I wouldn’t abandon the man I?—”

She caught herself, but it didn’t matter. The way he inhaled, his eyes widening, he’d known what she was going to say.

She pushed out a rough breath. “I’m giving you my trust, Kash. You should know what that means.”

She turned, making her way into the bedroom. Ignoring the heavy weight of Kash’s stare until she’d moved out of his sight line. The floorboards creaked in the bathroom. Proof he was searching the other room.

She focused on the small space — what seemed so sterile compared to Kash’s.

Nothing appeared out of place. The pillows, the sheets — exactly the way she’d left them.

Even the socks she’d tossed on the floor hadn’t moved.

Of course, Rook wouldn’t send anyone to mess with her who wasn’t capable of the task.

Assuming he hadn’t ventured inside, himself.

I’ll come for you myself.

His words played in her head as she combed through every book, every drawer, every possible spot he could have left a warning. She was in the process of slowly inching up the mattress when Kash appeared at the doorway.

“Jordan. You need to see this.”

Her stomach fell. The pinched lips, the narrowed eyes. He didn’t like whatever he’d found.

She drew herself up then walked over to him, following him into the bathroom. He went over to a small mirror on the edge of the counter, then flipped it, stepping back so she could read the word on the frame.

Ember.

Nothing earth shattering or covert. Just her code name printed in bright red. Not lipstick unless Rook had brought some. Blood maybe. Likely hers, from one of the bags the Scythe doctors had bagged for emergencies.

She let the truth sink in, then grabbed Kash’s arm. “I’m burned.”

She darted into the bedroom, prying up a board in the closet, then removing a small metallic box. She put her thumb on the print reader, tapped in her code then waited for the voice prompt.

“Access authority Archer five seven two six.”

It popped open, and she palmed the decryption drive as Kash stood inside the doorway.

“What’s Ember?”

“It’s not a what, it’s a who.”

“And?” He scoffed when she didn’t answer. “You? Your code name’s Ember?”

“We can talk about this later?”

“What’s on the drive?”

She froze, then held it up. “A decryption algorithm that opens the kind of intel people kill for.”

“Is that why they’re after you?”

“Mostly. And it’s definitely the reason I chanced coming back here.” She held it between her thumb and forefinger, then offered it to him. “You should hold onto it. Just in case.”

He stared at her hand, then slowly reached up and grabbed the drive. He didn’t say anything, but he got the message. She was entrusting him with the one item she needed to have any chance at a life. “I’ll call my team. Get them to meet?—”

“Not here. For all we know, Rook’s got a damn parabolic mic outside. Or a predator drone overhead. Maybe a satellite feed zeroed in on this cabin. We take the bike, get as far away as possible, and if we’re still breathing, we’ll go from there.”

“Jordan…”

He jerked his head around, shoved her against the far wall then grabbed the door — slammed it against the asshole trying to creep through. The guy bounced off the frame, giving Kash another chance to coldcock him with the door before he hit the ground. A few kicks and a hard cross, and he was down.

That had Jordan racing out of the bedroom — heading for the main door.

Two men dressed in black tactical gear busted through while she was a few feet back, AR-15s notched in their shoulders.

She shifted her next stride, kicked off the wall then caught the guy on the right with a massive left hook, the force from the leap spinning him into the wall.

A twist and a jump, and she was on the other guy’s shoulders, just like she’d done with Kash.

Two hard claps to his ears and a tilt, and they hit the ground, all her weight crashing the back of his head into the floor. An elbow and a strike with the butt of his rifle, and he stilled.

Kash had the other guy in some kind of choke hold, waiting until he went limp before grabbing her by the hand and pulling her to her feet. He picked up one of their rifles, offering it to her, but she shook her head.

“We can’t risk it. He’ll have trackers on everything.”

“Seriously?” He cleared the door, nodding toward the brush. “You lead.”

She took off, sprinting across the yard then onto the narrow trail winding through the trees.

Shouts rose from the forest, bullets cutting through the walls of the cabin behind them.

She veered right at the next junction, bounding over a few downed logs as the dirt bike appeared in the next clearing.

Kash swept the area, boots pounding up that same trail. Twigs snapped somewhere off to their right, branches and brush shaking against the weight of something. She opened one of the panels on the rear cowling — retrieved twin Berettas and a few mags.

He caught the key she tossed, straddled the bike, then kicked it on before looking back at her. “Are you gonna be able to hold on?”

She settled in behind him. “You just drive this baby like you stole it and let me worry about the rest.”