Page 24 of Raven’s Claw (Raven’s Cliff #2)

Chapter Twelve

Jordan reran the evening’s events, the night rushing past the window in a ghostly blur, as Mackenzie started her approach to the hangar landing pad. A layer of fog hung above the water, the thick clouds gathering on the horizon promising more rain.

Unease slithered down Jordan’s spine, roiling through her stomach in nauseating waves that had nothing to do with Mac tossing the chopper around or the firefight she’d left behind.

Something was off.

Despite their apparent victory, Jordan couldn’t shake the scratchy feeling between her shoulder blades. That voice in her head nattering that it had been too easy.

Or maybe, too predictable.

Sure, Rook was meticulous and exacting, and she’d been running missions for him long enough to know his different strategies intimately.

And this one wasn’t sitting right. Especially if he’d known about the cabin.

In fact, the more she replayed everything, the more it struck her how little Rook had accomplished, other than assuring the intel had been downloaded.

That it was now on a piece of tech he could acquire, instead of stuck on her server.

Kash nudged her, Nyx at his feet. He brushed a few wisps of hair back from her face, his knuckles lingering against her skin. “Hey. You okay? I kinda thought you’d be a bit more relaxed now that we have the intel, but you look as if you might crawl out of your own skin.”

She could lie. Tell Kash exactly what he wanted to hear. That it was leftover adrenaline. Or having to work as part of a team. Give herself time to figure out what was eating at her and how to fix it.

Except, where he’d trusted her. Had her back with little more than his gut instincts that she wasn’t the one with the deadly agenda.

That she wasn’t the monster.

“Okay, now you’re scaring me.” He inhaled, started patting her down. “Were you hit? Are you bleeding?—”

“I’m fine. You’re the one who shoved me to the ground when that Apache started firing. If anyone got hit, it was you.”

Kash frowned as he straightened. “Vest, sweetheart. I’d already told you I’d be jumping in front if bullets started flying. So, what’s wrong? And don’t tell me nothing because your nose gets these adorable creases when you’re trying to figure something out.”

“It’s nothing concrete, I just…” She huffed and ran her fingers through her hair. “What’s his backup plan?”

“His backup plan?”

“Rook never does anything without backup plans for all the ways an op could play out. And one of them was us making it back, alive, with the intel. So, what am I missing?”

Any hint of a smile faded as Kash looked at his buddies, then back to her. “You think he had enough resources that he might have a squad waiting at the hangar when we land?”

“All I know is that this feels wrong.”

Kash turned and tapped Mac on the shoulder. “Is it too late to do a fly by? Jordan’s concerned we might have a fan club waiting for us.”

Mac peeled off, banking the chopper over as she soared above the hangar — giving them a clear view of the parking lot below. Then she followed the long twisting driveway before angling it back. “There’s an SUV at the end of the drive. That could be trouble.”

She hit another button — started talking to someone else. “Okay, Foster’s close. We’ll land together, and you can storm the hangar while we’re shutting down.”

Mac circled around, Foster’s machine coming in hot beside them before they flared off the speed and planted the machines on the tarmac.

Kash and his buddies jumped out before the aircraft fully touched down, hoofing it toward the hangar door. Jordan trailed behind, watching their six. Ensuring Rook didn’t have a squad camped out on the rocks beyond the property, waiting for the right moment to climb over the edge and open fire.

Zain showed the countdown on his fingers, then they busted in. Zain and Bodie going high and left, Kash, Nyx and Chase going low and right, leaving her to just barrel up the middle. Face any threat head-on.

Darkness filled the massive space with only a couple dull emergency bulbs adding any hint of light.

Jordan headed straight for the door leading to the main office, ready to slide along the floor or kick off a wall if some asshole in black tactical gear came bustling through.

Reaching the other side without a suggestion of trouble didn’t sit well. Had those voices in her head screaming.

Something was definitely off.

Kash darted through the doorway a moment later, his weapon sweeping the area, Nyx primed for a fight. He cleared the room before shuffling over to her, his gun still notched in his shoulder. Muscles tense. “Hangar’s clear. Zain and Bodie are checking the perimeter.”

Jordan moved to the door, peeking out the window without presenting enough of a target someone might cap her through the glass. “I know you probably think I’m crazy…”

“You’re not crazy. If your gut’s telling you we’ve missed something, then we treat every location as if it might have been compromised.”

She stared at him, wondering if he was real or if she’d fallen into a coma somewhere between that compound back in the Catskills and Raven’s Cliff.

If this was all in her head because she’d never had anyone put their faith in her the way Kash did.

And despite wanting to brush it off to the by-product of their night together, she doubted any sex was great enough to account for his actions.

That he’d actually meant what he’d said before.

That he loved her.

Kash sighed, lowered his weapon, then brushed his thumb along her cheek. “Still doubting everything, huh?”

Jordan glared at him. “Would you stop reading my mind? And no, I don’t want to know when you were suddenly gifted the ability. But it’s annoying, in case you were wondering.”

“I’m not reading your mind. More your expression. And the fact that I know you. Which I’m sure you’re going to claim isn’t possible. That you’ve barely told me anything about your past, and what you have is only a small part of it.”

“Which is why it’s impossible.”

“Sweetheart. I know all the important details. That you’re strong.

Intelligent. Insanely skilled. That you’re willing to put your life on the line in order to do what’s right.

You could have walked away. Left that intel rotting on your server — disappeared into the ethos.

I know you said nowhere’s truly safe, but I’m betting some beach hut in the Maldives would have been exponentially safer than hanging out here in the hopes you’d get a chance to take Rook out. ”

“Hate to burst your bubble, Kash, but I didn’t hang around this long out of honor.”

The jerk grinned. “Which is the most important trait of all. No one with utter darkness in their heart, would risk it all over coffee dates and a kiss that shifted the Earth’s axis.”

Jordan reached up and brushed his jaw. “You’re more than worth the risk. So, don’t freaking die on me, okay?”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

He kissed her forehead, holding her close when the rest of his team walked into the room.

“You know, if you two are going to make out whenever you think people aren’t watching,” Zain thumbed at Foster, “just like Foster and Mac, I’m gonna start carrying my taser.”

Jordan merely smiled at him. “I’m disappointed you aren’t already. And we weren’t technically making out.”

“Trust me, Kash was only a breath away.” He nodded at Bodie. “Perimeter’s clear. We should head over to Bodie’s office — decrypt this intel. But we’ll all keep our damn heads on a swivel because I agree with Jordan. Something’s off.”

“It’s the air.” Jordan stepped back and wrapped her arms around her chest. “It’s heavy or has a hint of… something.”

“That’s just Kash pumping out the pheromones to let everyone know you’re his.” Chase dodged Kash’s slap. “Your side okay, Jordan?”

“Fine. Really.”

Chase shook his head, then followed the team out, constantly scanning the area, his gun just a breath away from being ready.

Kash waved Jordan on, trailing behind, always guarding her six.

As if he thought it was easier to take a bullet meant for her if she wasn’t watching him.

But she couldn’t take her gaze off him. Not overtly, but it always drifted back like the tide following the moon.

They reached Bodie’s office, cleared it like they had the hangar with pairs of them moving through the building and circling the perimeter. They’d gathered in the main room when Bodie’s phone rang. He frowned, answering it as he turned — got a bit of distance. Just enough his words didn’t carry.

That voice in her head started shouting, again, and she knew, this call was the part of Rook’s plan she’d missed.

Bodie returned, mouth pinched tight, eyes narrowed. “That was Greer. She wants all of us over at the Lighthouse Café. Said it’s urgent. And no, she didn’t give me additional details. I got the impression she either didn’t think it was safe, or she simply didn’t have enough to share.”

Jordan’s stomach dropped. “Shit.”

Kash turned. “What?”

“It’s him. It’s Rook.”

“You don’t know?—”

“Yes. I do. I said I’d missed something, that he always had a plan for every eventuality, and this is it.

” She shook her head, any hope of a future fading into the realization that she wasn’t getting out of this alive.

That she’d always been destined to pay for a past she couldn’t change. “I never should have stayed.”

“Hey.” Kash stepped in front, gave her no other choice but to meet his gaze. “If this is Rook, then we’ll deal with it, and him, like we always do. As a team. So, get that thought of facing him alone out of your head. We all agreed on the plan. If we missed something, then it’s on all of us.”