Page 21 of Raven’s Claw (Raven’s Cliff #2)

Another raspy inhale at her continued silence as Zain scrubbed his hand through his hair. “Damn. Rook Donovan?”

“You know him?”

“Know him? The guy was a legend. Army Ranger. Green Beret. Transferred over to the CIA’s National Clandestine Division then…

vanished. As in record completely erased.

Old mission logs rewritten. Every last trace of him — gone.

A few of us suspected he’d gone dark. Heard whispers that it was to Scythe, but no one talks about him or Scythe unless they want to end up dead. ”

“Now you know why I was reluctant to say anything. Scythe isn’t just an organization.

It’s a militarized cult with Rook Donovan as their leader.

You either pledge your unconditional loyalty to him, or you end up on the wrong side of a bullet.

There’s no middle ground. No questioning his authority, and no backing out. ”

“So, what happened that made you stop drinking the Kool-Aid?” Chase held up his hands when Kash glared at him.

“I’m not judging. In fact, based on how you ended up there, you weren’t really given a choice.

But you were obviously loyal to them — to Rook — for nearly twenty years, and I can’t help but wonder what changed?

What justified having him come after you, himself. ”

Jordan let her head tilt back. “I’d like to say it was me, but…

I’d been questioning the validity of the missions for a while.

Things were just off. Briefings were lacking vital intel.

Targets seemed random, almost personal. And Rook went from micromanaging every detail to barely showing up, at times.

Then, on my last mission, I was shown proof that Rook and Scythe had gone fully dark side.

That they were using us to infiltrate cartels and acquire weapon systems for their own agenda.

We’re talking black market racketeering on an unprecedented scale.

Hell, Rook had me neutralizing my own damn people.

I saw that and…” She shook her head. “I knew I had to burn it all to the ground.”

Kash reached into his pocket and removed the drive she’d given him. “You said this is a decryption drive. So, where’s the intel?”

“It’s in a secure server at my last remaining dead-drop site. Not too far from here. Rook’s beaten me to all the others I tried to access. Destroyed everything before I got the chance to download the evidence then run it through that program.”

“What makes you think he hasn’t done that already to this site?”

“Because he doesn’t know about this one.

It was my uncle’s, and when he died for real, it activated some kind of Hail Mary protocol that sent me the access codes for it.

” She sighed. “He’d already linked our servers.

Not sure how, but I’ve never been there.

And my uncle wasn’t Rook’s subordinate. He was his equal.

One of the first agents Scythe recruited. ”

Foster motioned to her. “What was your uncle’s real name?”

“Cross. Thomas Cross.”

“No, shit.” Foster shook his head. “He was a legend, too. Ran maneuvers in Africa. Hardcore. Story was he went MIA during an op.”

“No one gets to keep their past. I’m sure my mere presence caused him a bunch of backlash, but… He tried to save me, and for that, I owe him.”

Zain cleared his throat. “Right, so, where’s this dead-drop site?”

She sighed. “About that…”

“We’re not going to like it, are we.”

“It’s in a cabin up in the forested hills about an hour outside of town.”

Zain frowned, looking at his buddies. “And that’s a problem because…”

“Because I haven’t been able to easily access it.

The only suggestion of a trail I could find was washed out.

The forest is insane, even by my standards, and the whole thing’s surrounded by steep, slick cliffs.

And I suspect that once I do reach the place, there’ll be surprises I’ll have to disarm, or at least avoid, before making it to the door. ”

Jordan ran her fingers through her hair. “It’s not that I can’t, and given the right motivation, I will. But it could easily be a one-way trip.” She shook her head. “Maybe several months on the outside has taken a toll. Maybe I’m not as savvy as I once was.”

Zain chuckled. “Or maybe, your heart wasn’t fully in it.”

She glanced at Kash. Smiled. “That, too. Which is another level of crazy. Scythe and Rook have only two rules. Unconditional loyalty and no attachments.”

Kash reached out and grabbed her hand. “Then, it’s a good thing you’re not with Scythe, anymore. And that the guy you broke that last rule for, has friends who fly helicopters.”

She looked over at Foster and Mac. “Rook knows I’m here, now. He’ll have satellites constantly scanning the area. I doubt he’ll miss a chopper hovering over a secluded section of forest. I wouldn’t put it past the man to have a damn Apache on standby.”

Foster grinned. “Won’t be my first encounter. Doubt it’ll be my last, so… You worry about avoiding bombs and how you’re gonna download everything, and leave getting there to me and Mac.”

“Nyx will make short work of the bombs.” Kash gave her head a scratch. “She’s trained in various scent work, explosives being one of them.” He nudged Jordan. “It came in handy grabbing assets from enemy strongholds. Which only leaves the tech side of things.”

“Pretty sure I can handle that. I did spend fifteen years running missions.” She tapped her head. “I know my way around a computer.”

“Or, you can let me handle it.” Bodie stepped up. He’d been noticeably quiet throughout the meeting, and she couldn’t help but wonder how he fit in. “There’s not much I can’t hack my way into.”

“I don’t plan on this requiring any hacking.”

“Which is your first mistake. There’s always hacking.”

She eyed Kash, then nodded at Bodie. “Are you saying that as part of this team or as Greer’s deputy?”

Bodie arched a brow. “Does it matter?”

“I assume you have a different set of protocols depending on who’s holding your leash.”

“You really do see things differently. I’m just here to help out Foster and his crew. They pulled my ass out of a nasty situation once upon a time, and I still feel like there’s red in my ledger.”

Foster clapped the guy on the back. “We’ve been over this.”

“And we still disagree.” Bodie crossed his arms. “We good, Jordan?”

She eyed him for a few moments, but he seemed genuine. “Golden.”

“Why doesn’t that make me feel better?”

She simply shrugged, then looked Kash’s crew in the eyes. “Not to be a broken record, but are you all sure…”

“Too late. We already know your secrets. No backing out now. Though… I do have one last question.” Chase stepped closer. “What’s your code name?”

She sucked at her bottom lip.

Chase sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. You don’t have to tell us.”

“Ember.” She pushed out a slow breath. “That’s what Rook called me. He claimed I had a spark no one could tame. Said it made me uniquely qualified, which doesn’t sound all that positive, now.”

“Oh, I don’t know. It kinda sounds like he suspected you might be the one to burn it all down.” Chase pointed to her side. “I should check that before we head out.”

He nodded at Kash then turned, the rest of the crew following after him, leaving her standing there, staring, until Kash reached out — took her in his arms. She melted against him, hoping he didn’t let go.

He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, holding on until even she knew they were out of time. “It’s going to be okay.”

“You’re damn straight because if it comes down to my life over any of yours, I’m making that call.”

He pursed his lips and looked as if he wanted to argue before he nodded. “Then, let’s see it doesn’t.” He stepped back — tugged her hand. “C’mon. We’d best catch up before Zain and Bodie devise some insane plan.”

“I meant what I said, Kash. I can’t live with more blood on my hands. If it were yours…” She wouldn’t survive it.

“Men just like Rook tried killing us for twenty years. And despite his experience, his inflated ego, he’s never faced a team like ours.” He smiled. “Or an agent like you. We’ll get that intel, and you’re gonna see Rook and Scythe burn.”