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thirty-one

Daphne was a genius.

Davey found her and the rest of the team—Elliot, Dom, and Sabin—in the computer lab.

Sullivan was still missing.

Davey could only hope that wherever he was, he wasn’t doing something stupid.

Sabin sprawled in one of the empty computer chairs, his long legs stretched out, his hands folded over his stomach. He looked like he didn’t have a care in the world, but Davey knew better. Sabin’s relaxed posture was a front, a carefully crafted facade masking the sharp intelligence and constant vigilance that made him such a valuable asset to the team. His eyes were sharp, darting between the multiple screens Daphne was furiously typing on.

Elliot still looked pale and slightly nauseous as he sipped from a bottle of water, and Dom prowled the room in restless loops, muscles tight with unused energy. He wasn’t pacing like a man waiting for a fight—he was pacing like a man who needed to move, or he’d explode. Davey could practically feel his frustration crackling off him like static.

And he wasn’t the only one wrestling with frustration.

Around the room, the rest of their family waited, tense and ready.

Fiona, WSW’s lead counsel, sat primly at one of the empty workstations, her legs crossed, her black hair pulled back in a sharp ponytail, her business suit still as tidy as the moment she took it off the hanger that morning. Her dagger-sharp red nails clicked as she typed on a tablet, no doubt already working to legally cover their asses from the fallout of Brody’s betrayal.

Cade was there, too, hanging back by the door with his siblings, Tessa and Weston, flanking either side.

Daphne’s twin, Celeste, had pulled up a chair beside her sister. Where Daphne was a perpetual storm cloud, Celeste was a rainbow. She rolled a lollypop around in her mouth as she nodded at whatever Daphne was doing on the screen. “Oh, that’s good, sis.”

Liam’s younger brother, Bridger, stood with his arms crossed, jaw clenched like he was grinding down a molar. He was as tall as Liam but leaner, built more like their dancer mother than their tank of a father. His dark hair, usually kept so neat, was a mess, and stubble darkened his jaw. His gaze was fixed on the screen like sheer focus could bring Liam home.

It was like a damn family reunion. The only ones missing were Fiona’s brother, Griffin, who was on an op in France, and, of course, Liam. And they were all kitted up, ready for war—primed like a loaded gun, waiting for Daphne to aim them in the right direction. A stack of weapons sat on one of the long conference tables.

“… really thought he could make us believe Liam is a traitor?” Bridger was saying as Davey and Rowan stepped through the door. His voice was as calm and measured as always, but the fury in his eyes betrayed him.

“Brody mistook quiet for suspicious,” Daphne said, glancing over her shoulder. She did a double-take when she spotted Davey and Rowan, and a smile tipped up the corner of her mouth. “Someone took my advice literally.”

“Hey, I ate,” Sabin drawled, stretching like a cat full up on gumbo, lazy and content. “And I’m breathing just fine, thank you. I even tried fucking, but wouldn’t you know—some folks got no appreciation for my generosity.” He tipped a smirk toward Fiona, who didn’t so much as glance up from her tablet. “Ain’t that right, cher? Shot me down so cold, I damn near caught frostbite.”

Fiona didn’t even blink. “You’d have a better chance arguing a contract clause with me than getting me in your bed, Cavalier. And we both know how that would go.”

Sabin let out a low whistle. “Oof. Y’all hear that? Brutal. She’s got a mean streak, that one.”

Fiona flicked him a cool glance. “Not mean, Sabin. Efficient.”

Sabin grinned, unbothered. “Efficiently breakin’ my heart, sugar. But I like a challenge.” His grin turned wicked as he eyed Davey and Rowan. “Glad at least someone got to relax.”

Rowan’s cheeks flushed. She cleared her throat, glancing anywhere but at Sabin as she smoothed a hand over her hair. “So, uh—Brody. You found him?”

“Actually, I’m looking for Liam, but Brody is definitely with him.” Daphne turned back to her computer, typing rapidly. Several of the wall screens filled with data, maps, and an overlay of a city grid.

Davey walked forward to stand beside Bridger. He settled a hand on his cousin’s shoulder, squeezing once in a silent show of support before shifting his gaze back to the screens. “How?”

Celeste popped the lollipop from her mouth. “Liam’s cochlear implant,” she said, twirling the stick between her fingers. “He had us add some fun upgrades to it last year because he was struggling to wear an earpiece during missions, so we integrated BlueLink.”

Davey’s pulse spiked. “GPS?”

Daphne scowled. “No, but you can bet I’m gonna patch that in as soon as we have him back. I’m slapping hardcode GPS on all of you.”

Sabin raised his hand. “Uh, question. Is that mandatory?”

“Yeah, no,” Dom said and finally stopped pacing. “Definitely passing on that.”

Weston spoke up. “Wholeheartedly seconding that no.”

“Third,” Cade said.

Daphne grumbled something about pain-in-the-ass cousins under her breath.

Celeste patted her shoulder in sympathy and then turned toward the group. “BlueLink is our internal encrypted short-range communication system. It’s what connects all of your earpieces when we’re on an op, and we rigged Liam’s implant to connect directly to the system, his gear, and any nearby WSW devices. No earpieces, no lag, no jamming. Unhackable. Well…” She stuck her lollipop back into her mouth and grinned at her sister. “Unless we’re hacking it.”

“You hacked his implant ?” Bridger asked, enunciating each word in disbelief.

“That’s like hyper-blackhat bullshit,” Weston muttered, rubbing his jaw. “I mean, I’m impressed but also mildly concerned that you can hack medical equipment implanted in someone’s skull.”

“You should be,” Celeste said sweetly. “Nothing is completely safe.”

“ Mon Dieu . You’re cute, but you are utterly terrifying,” Sabin said with a shake of his head.

Celeste curtsied. “Thank you.”

“Okay, but how does this help us find him?” Davey asked to get everyone back on track and scanned the maps on screen.

Daphne barely spared him a glance as she typed at lightning speed, the screens shifting to display a new data overlay. “It helps because I can hear what he hears,” she said like it was obvious. “BlueLink isn’t just a comm tool—it’s integrated into his implant’s audio processing. Even damaged, it still transmits, which means?—”

She hit a key.

A wave of static-filled audio crackled through the speakers.

For a second, nothing but distortion. Then, through the garbled noise—a voice.

“Plan A was to frame Cade. I figured with his and Davey’s history, it was a done deal, but Davey had to be all fucking noble and go hear him out.”

The room went still.

Bridger exhaled sharply.

Dom stopped pacing.

Elliot leaned forward, eyes sharp.

Cade growled.

“Is that—?” Rowan started.

“That’s live,” Daphne confirmed. “That’s happening right now.”

Another voice, clearer this time.

Liam. Alive.

“You poisoned Elliot. Your best friend.”

Davey’s stomach tightened.

“And I hate my twin brother. So what?” Brody’s voice was light, almost amused.

“I don’t get that,” Celeste whispered and looked at her sister with her heart in her eyes. “How could you hate your twin?”

Daphne shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Fiona lifted her gaze from her tablet for the first time. Her tone was all business. “I need a recording of this. It’s a confession. I can file charges the moment you bring Brody in.”

Cade let out a quiet laugh, but there was no humor in it. “We’re not bringing him in alive.”

Fiona glowered at him. “You did not say that, Cade Wilde. I did not hear that. Nobody heard that, understood?”

“Heard what?” Sabin asked innocently.

“Exactly.”

Davey ignored them all. “Do we have Liam’s location?”

“Nearly there. A few more seconds…” Daphne’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “I pulled the last five minutes of Liam’s audio logs and ran a location scan alongside them. The implant still has a weak BlueLink signal—it’s not transmitting at full range, but it’s giving me pings from nearby devices.”

She tapped another key, and a red marker blinked on the city map.

“And there he is.”

Bridger took a sharp breath. “That’s underground.”

“Yep.” Daphne pulled up a schematic of old subway tunnels. “That’s why it took me a minute—his implant was glitch-looping off old network infrastructure before I could isolate the core signal.”

Celeste popped her lollipop back into her mouth and mumbled around it. “That’s a real pain in the code.”

“Tell me about it,” Daphne muttered. “But—” She zoomed in. “That is an abandoned subway station.”

Cade let out a sharp breath. “Fuck.”

Sabin rocked forward, all lazy charm gone. “That where we’re goin’?”

Daphne nodded. “That’s where you’re going.”

The room snapped into action.

Bridger turned on his heel, already reaching for his rifle. “I’ll drive.”

“Finally.” Dom grabbed extra mags from the table, practically vibrating with energy. “Let’s move.”

Sabin grabbed his rifle, grinning. “Gonna be a real shame if Brody’s face accidentally meets my fist.”

Celeste popped the lollipop from her mouth and grinned. “Better make sure it happens at least twice.”

Mags snapped into place, the metallic clicks crisp and certain.

Velcro ripped as vests were tightened.

Weapons slid from their holsters, checked, loaded, secured.

Boots scuffed against the floor as the team shifted, tension crackling like a live wire.

Daphne met Davey’s gaze. “Go. I’ll keep the audio live.”

He grabbed her in a quick hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “You’re a genius.” He did the same to Celeste. “You both are.”

Celeste crunched down on her lollipop. “I know. But I never get tired of hearing it.” She bumped her shoulder against Daphne’s. “Now go raise some hell.”

“Copy that.” He turned, locking eyes with Bridger, Dom, Elliot, Sabin, Cade, and finally, Rowan. He took the rifle she held out to him, chambered a round, and nodded once. “Let’s bring our cousin home.”