Page 20 of Raven’s Claw (Raven’s Cliff #2)

Chapter Ten

Kash leaned against one of the walls, watching Jordan stare out the window.

Calm. Focused. Not quite how he’d envisioned she’d be while waiting for what would undoubtedly be a tough conversation with him and his team.

He’d expected her to be edgy, aloof. Looking for the nearest exit in case all that training kicked in and she ran, despite her promise.

That she’d become Ember. Operative, and the woman destined to be his undoing.

Jordan must have felt him staring because she inhaled, then glanced over her shoulder. And damn… The smile she flashed him. It had him pushing off the wall — closing the distance. Her head tilted back as she kept her gaze locked on his, still smiling when he stopped a breath away.

He reached out and tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear. “You okay?”

She glanced at his teammates and Bodie as they walked in from the other room and gathered around them. “Fine.” She arched a brow. “No one’s going to try and kill me, right?”

He chuckled. “Glad you’ve still got your sense of humor. Just remember… We’re all friends, here. The guys can get a bit intense when they’re talking shop. But it’s because they care.”

She scrunched her face as if she thought he was crazy.

Or maybe it was disbelief that he’d said his buddies cared.

That she was worth risking their lives for.

Especially after she’d admitted that no one had ever told her they loved her.

Not that he was truly surprised, but it had cut deep.

Had highlighted how much trust and faith she’d already placed in him.

What it had taken to give him that decryption drive. And he wasn’t going to let her down.

A throat cleared behind him, and Kash glanced over his shoulder, nodding at Foster. The guy was still their unofficial leader, and it appeared as if he was ready to get down to business.

Jordan nudged him. “Guess your buddies are done waiting.”

“Remember what I said.”

“Right. All those gruff expressions come from a place of caring.”

Kash sighed, then turned. He thought about venturing back to where he’d been standing but couldn’t get the signals through. Instead, he gave her a hint of space, then whistled for Nyx. The dog trotted across the floor — settled between him and Jordan. As if she was showing her loyalty, too.

Jordan leaned over and gave Nyx a scratch. “At least Nyx doesn’t look as if she’s about to have a stroke.”

Foster chuckled. “We’d be less uptight if we hadn’t needed to swoop in and grab you two amidst a firefight.” He gave her a pointed look. “And there’s the part where you lost a liter of blood in the back of the chopper.”

“Technically, the only person shooting at that moment was Zain. And I’m still breathing so…” She held up her hand. “But that’s not the takeaway.”

Jordan drew a breath, then straightened, and it was as if she’d flicked a switch.

Just shifted into Ember in front of Kash’s eyes.

The way she stood, how she gazed around the room…

It all seemed instantly different. Colder, maybe.

Definitely more calculated. As if she’d lifted off the mask she’d been wearing.

Kash reminded himself it didn’t matter what vibe she gave off. That under all the training and missions, she was still the woman he’d fallen for. That it was her form of body armor.

His teammates obviously noticed it, too. They responded in kind, standing taller, any hint of amusement gone.

Jordan looked at him, then at everyone else.

“Before I lift the veil and let you see the other side, you need to be one hundred percent sure this is what you want. Because once I lay it all out, you’ll be in the crosshairs, too.

And there’s only one way this ends with us still breathing. If we fail…”

She shoved her fingers through her hair, wincing when it obviously pulled on her side, before she blew out a rough breath.

“We’re either dead or on the run. And there’s no corner of this Earth that’s safe.

No jungle hut or mountain cabin he can’t find.

So, be very certain you want to jump on this train because there’s no getting off until we either burn them or die in the fire. ”

Foster stared at her for a few moments, then gazed at Zain, Chase, Bodie — finally ending with Kash.

“I’m pretty sure we’re already in the crosshairs.

If our assumptions are correct, they’ve already been to the house.

And it won’t take a covert agency long to figure out who was flying the chopper, so…

No one’s getting off the train, Jordan. And we sure as hell don’t plan on losing.

So, tell us what we need to know to bring these fuckers down. ”

Jordan stared at Foster. The man seemed genuine.

His eyes weren’t shifting off to one side, and he hadn’t looked at any of his teammates, or even Bodie, as if he was worried they’d overrule him.

Sure, she knew Kash was onboard, but the rest of his team didn’t owe her anything.

Could write off the rescue to saving Kash’s ass, with hers just being a lucky by-product.

Yet, they all stood there, shoulders back, chins high.

And she knew this was simply who they were.

Men who’d spent their lives in the fray and who weren’t afraid to jump back in.

She pushed down the riotous roil of her stomach — the ghostly echo of Rook’s voice telling her she wasn’t worthy of their devotion.

That she’d never be anything other than Ember — the woman who’d sold her soul without question.

“I think you’re all a little south of normal to voluntarily jump in, but I could definitely use some of that. ”

She took a breath. This was it. A reckoning of sorts with her past on display, and she couldn’t help but wonder if the truth would change their minds. “What do you know about Shadow Ops?”

Zain chuckled. “Damn, I hate when Kash is right.”

She snapped her focus to Kash and inhaled at the hint of a smile beneath the stoic facade. He’d thought she was Shadow Ops all along? And he’d still asked her out? Taken her to bed? Said he loved her?

Kash leaned over. “Breathe, sweetheart.”

She jolted back from her thoughts, sucked in an embarrassingly loud breath.

Zain grinned, and she had the urge to smack the guy up the backside of his head. “We know the basics. Deep underground. Highly secretive. Missions that skirt the line between what’s legal and what’s necessary, though, I suspect they lean far more toward the latter.”

Jordan nodded. “The division I worked for operates beyond standard intelligence channels. It specializes in missions that require surgical precision, zero oversight and complete deniability. Its operatives are considered assets, not people. Once they enter the program, their previous identities cease to exist. They’re given new code names, new mandates and very few restrictions.

Failure isn’t tolerated on any scale, and if they make a mess or become too visible, they’re disavowed and put on a termination list.”

“How long were you with this agency?”

“Twenty years.”

“Twenty?” Kash nearly choked the word out. “But you’re thirty-two. That means you were recruited when you were twelve.”

“From that group home you heard me telling Zain about.”

Zain shook his head. “How the hell did this agency find you at a group home?”

“I had an uncle. He was an Army Ranger who’d reportedly died on a mission when I was two.

Except, he wasn’t killed, he was recruited.

I guess he kept occasional tabs on me, and when he learned my parents had died and I was in the system…

” She scrubbed her hand down her face. “He went looking. Got me pulled out on the condition I was indoctrinated into the organization, and the rest, as they say, is history.”

“Jesus. How old were you when you went on your first mission?”

“Sixteen.”

“Shit.” Zain raked his fingers through his hair, making it stand up in every direction. “That guy in the Hummer. Was he your handler?”

She swallowed, barely keeping it down. “He was my entire existence, if I’m being honest.”

Foster took a step forward. “I realize this can’t be easy for you, but do we get to know his name? What agency you worked for? Or are we just gonna dance around it?”

She glanced at Kash, wondering if he’d heard of Scythe. If learning the truth would change his mind, too. Because despite Rook’s efforts, she knew there were rumors of Scythe’s existence, even if it was mostly an urban legend.

She didn’t know if she’d looked at Kash funny or if the jerk had suddenly learned how to read her mind because he leaned in — got lover close.

“Nothing’s going to change what we talked about last night. Promise.”

“It’s just…” How did she explain that it made it all real. That, once she’d divulged that last bit, she wasn’t just Jordan, waitress and someone worthy of their trust. She was Ember.

Foster sighed. “Jordan. Let’s simplify this. Did you roam the world killing people for the sake of it?”

She scoffed. “Of course, not. I was given missions, which included intelligence monitoring and retrieval, asset acquisition and, when required, elimination.”

“Did you think these missions were sanctioned?”

“Yes.”

“Then, however things went sideways isn’t on you. But we need to know who and what we’re dealing with if we have any hope of helping you.”

She took a breath. Then another. Until she’s pushed the last of the “new her” beneath the surface. Had finally made the transition back to Ember. “I worked for an agency known only as Scythe.”

Zain inhaled, glancing at his buddies before shaking his head. “Scythe? Seriously? Shit.”

She held her ground. “I assume you’re heard of it?”

“Only rumors and damn… It’s considered the original ghost cell. What every other shadow agency has strived to become and failed.” Zain shoved his hands in his pockets as if he wasn’t sure what else to do with them. “Who was your handler? Nathan McCoy? Or…”