Kira was a hot mess of nerves. She didn't have a clue why the team had hauled ass out of the bar, but she knew it couldn't be good. In the blink of an eye, every last one of the men had gone from laughing and joking to deadly warriors. BAM! Just like that. They had morphed into SEALs right before her eyes.

A shiver of apprehension danced up her spine as if someone was watching her. Glancing over her shoulder, a quick survey of the room showed it was full of sailors as usual. No one, in particular, seemed to be paying her any attention though she did receive a few smiles and nods of recognition. She smiled back since her fear of these men was long gone.

Even though she was alone, she knew that the sailors wouldn't approach her. Kira had discovered that the beach bar had unspoken rules. A couple of tables were permanently reserved for SEAL teams, and no one else ever sat at them. Any female associated with a team member was treated with the utmost respect, and completely off limits.

That rule did not apply to frog hogs.

Frog hogs were the SEAL equivalent of rock star groupies who just wanted the bragging rights for fucking a team member. As far as she was concerned, they were a bunch of skanky, half-naked man-hungry bitches with no moral compass whatsoever. Kira absolutely despised them and didn't mind letting them know it.

Fortunately, Jax did a good job keeping them off of him. If she found one sitting on his lap like she'd seen happen to other women, she'd be hard-pressed not to rip the bitch's head off. He was hers, and she'd be damned if she'd share him with anyone else. Especially the barely dressed redhead standing at the end of the bar.

Not long after she and Jax got together, the brazen hussy had cornered her in the ladies room and warned her not to get too comfortable in Blade's lap because she'd be taking her seat back soon. Kira was not a woman prone to violence, but if Jenna hadn't intervened, she would have punched the bitch in the face.

Oddly enough, her reaction hadn't shocked her in the least. She'd never been jealous of a man before, but she'd also never known one like Jax either. He was a man worth keeping. A man worth fighting for. He was also the man that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with because what they shared was special.

To both of them.

Jenna and Char had happily informed her that a frog hog had never set foot inside his condo, which backed up Slade's claim that his father had never brought another woman into their home. The young man had also assured her that as the only woman his dad had ever introduced him to, she had to be important to him.

She knew it was true. Jax had never said he loved her, but she could see it in his eyes, feel it in his touch. Kira didn't know if it was his natural reserve that held him back, or something else, but she ached to hear those three little words from him. Three simple little words that would make her the happiest woman alive.

Sure, she could say it first, but she didn't want him to feel pressured into reciprocating until he was ready. Or even worse, if he said nothing at all. Yeah, that would really suck. So she bided her time knowing that the day would come when Jax would look at her with love shining in his blacker than night eyes and say…

"Yo, Kira. Get your sweet ass over here."

Her head swung to the left, and she stared at Jax in shocked disbelief. He was standing at the end of the bar with one arm around the red-haired frog hog! And his hand was blatantly cupping her saline enhanced double D breast. What. The. Fuck? When she just sat there staring at him, mouth agape, he started walking toward her.

Bringing the skank with him.

That was when she realized the bar had become unnaturally silent. Tearing her eyes away from the spectacle before her, she looked around and saw that every eye in the room was trained on her. Some of the sailors looked amused while others appeared to be concerned. A few of them actually looked pissed.

Kira didn't know what to think. Or how to react. So she just sat there and waited until Jax and the frog hog were standing next to her. Conscious of their audience, she hissed quietly, "Jax, what the hell are you doing?"

He flashed her a full dimpled smile and said, "I told you that I had big plans for you tonight, Vixen. It's gonna be a night you'll never forget."

"It already is," she snapped and narrowed her eyes at him. "I think we need to discuss your plans. In private."

"No need for that," he denied, and the frog hog squealed in delight when he smacked her ass. "Shelly's gonna help us make a fantasy come true."

"What fantasy?" Kira demanded.

"A ménage," he announced and shot her a truly wicked wink.

He had to be kidding. They had recently discussed a romance novel that featured a man and two women and decided against reading it. She had told him that she found the whole idea morally repugnant. That his cock was hers and she had no intention of sharing it. "This is a joke, right?" She responded and was not amused.

"Fuck no," he denied with his full dimpled smile. "It's every man's dream come true."

Her temper ignited when she realized that he was serious. "Have you lost your fucking mind?" Kira hissed as she shot to her feet.

"Aw, come on, Kira," Jax cajoled. "Sex is getting stale so let's spice it up."

Stale? He thought that sex with her was getting stale? Outraged at the insult and more furious than she could ever remember being, she snapped, "You're smoking crack if you think I'm sharing you with that skanky ho!"

"Who're you calling…" Shelly began hotly, but Jax cut her off with, "I got Shelly for you, Vixen. Girl on girl action is fucking hot."

She stared up at him in stunned silence as the full implication of his words hit her. Kira was so livid that she didn't even realize what she was doing until her hand connected with his cheek in a resounding crack. "You bastard," she seethed venomously. "How dare you suggest bringing that bitch into our bed? I thought you loved me."

Jax's handsome face took on the cold, implacable look that she'd rarely seen from him. "You thought wrong," he informed her bluntly. "We hooked up so I could protect you, remember? I kept you around because the sex was hot. Now it's not, so we either spice it up or end it."

She sucked in a shocked breath as agonizing pain sliced through her heart. Jax didn't love her? He'd just kept her around for the incredible sex? And now he wanted to spice it up or end their relationship? Christ Almighty, this could not be happening. His clinically detached expression assured her that it was.

Her dreams of having a happily ever after with him had been crushed in the cruelest way imaginable. "I fucking hate you!" Kira screamed before she snatched up her purse and stalked out of the bar as fast as her legs would carry her. Blinded by tears, she didn't even notice the police cars parked up and down the block.

Her only thought to escape as quickly as possible, she rushed into the apartment buildings parking garage entrance. Kira took the stairs up to the second floor, praying that she didn't run into any of the team or their women. She let herself into the condo and grabbed a box of trash bags from the kitchen.

Then she went into the bedroom, avoiding looking at the rumpled bed where she'd spent so many pleasurable hours. Once her clothes were shoved into bags, she grabbed her backpack and loaded her laptop, e-reader, and toiletries into it. She dragged everything into the living room and dropped them beside the door.

Tears stung her eyes as she placed the key on the breakfast bar.

Taking a look around the room, a multitude of memories flooded her. The framed photos of her and Jax stared back at her mockingly from the mantle. One had been made at Ashe and Cat's wedding and the second at Chaz and Jenna's. Both women had found the happily ever after that Kira had dreamed of having with Jax.

The happily ever after that would never be hers.

A sob tore from her chest, and she fought tears all the way down to the parking garage. Once everything was stuffed into her trunk, she slid behind the wheel and drove away without looking back. She hadn't been back to her father's house since the day she'd run away. It had been too painful to even consider.

Until now.

Because any type of pain was preferable to what she was currently feeling.

Kira entered the house through the kitchen door. It smelled a little musty from being closed up, but other than that, the place looked exactly like she remembered it. She'd kept the power on, but the cable and internet service had been disconnected for months. Which was just as well since she had no interest in watching TV.

She walked into the living room, stepped out of her shoes, dropped her purse on the coffee table and lost the tenuous control of her emotions. She curled up on the couch in the fetal position and fell completely apart. Her heart was shattered, her soul had been ripped asunder. It hurt so bad she could barely breathe.

Because Jax didn't love her.

Had never loved her.

She'd meant nothing to him.

Nothing at all.

Harsh, gut-wrenching sobs racked her body as she had the snot slinging mother of ugly cries. Kira didn't know how she could have been so wrong about them. About him. Christ Almighty. Jax was an even bigger bastard than his brother. At least Raven had been honest about what he wanted from her.

She wished like hell that she'd never met either one of them. The Caulder brothers had caused her nothing but pain. If Raven hadn't scared her half to death, she never would have met Jax, to begin with. Correction. She would never have hooked up with him. Oh, God. She'd been nothing but a hookup. She had meant no more to him than a frog hog.

The knowledge shredded what was left of her soul.

Because he meant everything to her.

Kira cried until there were no more tears left to fall. That was when she decided to put the past behind her and concentrate on the future. A future that did not include Jax. For the first time since she'd graduated from college, she was free to do whatever she pleased with her life. She actually had two goals in mind.

To never lay eyes on Jaxon Caulder again.

And to start a new life in some exotic and exciting location.

Both goals could be accomplished if she accepted the job with the bank. Kira opened her purse and grabbed the business card that Mr. Von Osterman had given her earlier that day. She pulled out her phone to call him, and the selfie of her and Jax saved as her wallpaper mocked her without mercy.

Within the next thirty minutes, she had accomplished a few very important things. She'd accepted the position and would be flying out of town with her employer on Sunday night. She'd quit her current job and requested a new phone number from her mobile carrier. Then she reset her phone to the factory settings, effectively wiping out everything Jax related.

Her break from the past had to be final.

Or she'd never survive it.

But first, she needed to tie up all the loose ends of her old life.

That was the last thought she had before she fell into an exhausted sleep.

 

***

 

To ensure that Wraith team and everyone associated with it stayed classified, Admiral Pierce had sent NCIS investigators and JAG attorneys to claim jurisdiction over the shooting. A hell of a battle ensued before Jenna and the team were transported to JEB Little Creek and detained in a secured facility for their safety.

Not the ideal situation under the circumstances.

Since Reed's wife had been kidnapped, the team had their hands full keeping him from going AWOL. Blaze went fucking ballistic at being put on lockdown instead of out looking for his wife. NCIS had begun a search for Char, but it seemed that she had simply disappeared without a trace.

Jax understood some of what Reed was going through because he was about to lose his shit worrying about Kira. If ever a man regretted a rash decision, he did. Breaking up with her was the dumbest fucking thing he'd ever done. At the time, his only thought had been to keep her safe by distancing himself.

Now that he was on lockdown and unable to personally ensure her safety his nerves were shot to shit. NCIS had men watching over her, but that wasn't good enough. He couldn't even call her since their phones had been confiscated. If anything happened to her, they might as well put a bullet in him.

If he didn't do it himself.

Admiral Pierce had dispatched a SEAL team from Coronado to pick up Reed's sister, Esme in Los Angeles and Cat's sister, Raina in Nevada. A team from Little Creek had flown down to Miami to pick up Rico's sister, Marisol. By dawn the women had arrived, scared, confused and pissed off at having their lives disrupted.

At zero seven hundred, the team was airlifted to the Pentagon and delivered to Admiral Pierce's office. Once there, he briefed them about a terrorist organization known as the Illuminati. Surprisingly enough, it was a secret cabal that had existed entirely in the dark for hundreds of years.

The organization had infiltrated every level of society through politics, commerce, and intelligence. Anyone in a position of power was recruited into their ranks where they operated behind the scenes, manipulating global events to suit the cabal's agenda. Their ultimate goal was world domination.

The most shocking thing they learned was that the admiral believed this group had been behind the attacks on their women. And that they had been controlling Wraith's missions through their anonymous CIA handler. Jax and the rest of the team were outraged that they had been risking their lives for the enemy on those FUBAR missions.

But the worst was yet to come.

Because the admiral received word that Cat had been taken hostage.

Since the team were officially civilians now, they were not going to be allowed to go in after her. Ashe looked like he was going to pass out. Reed didn't look much better. Jax's anxiety over Kira's safety ramped even higher. When the admiral's aide turned on the television to reveal a live feed from the hostage takers, shit got real.

Terrifyingly real.

Their team's specialty was hostage rescue. It was what they had trained to do and had done successfully on numerous occasions. But no amount of training could have prepared them for the sight of one of their own with a shit ton of C-4 strapped to her chest. It was enough to send a grown ass man to his knees.

It did.

Ashe sank limply to the floor as he stared at the screen in absolute horror.

Because Cat had ripped the wires loose from the device. She had willingly blown herself up to ensure that no one else lost their lives while trying to save her. Specifically, her husband. It was the bravest, most selfless act that Jax had ever witnessed. He was awed by her courage, humbled by her sacrifice, and sickened at the loss.

 

***

 

Kira woke the next morning to the tantalizing aroma of coffee and realized that she was starving. She blinked sleepily before bolting upright. Why the hell did she smell coffee? And better still, who the hell had made it? She slid off of the couch and grabbed a baseball bat from the umbrella stand by the front door.

Creeping across the room soundlessly, her heart hammering like a wild thing in her chest, she peeked into the kitchen and saw one of the last people that she ever wanted to see sitting at the table. "What the hell are you doing in my house?" She demanded as she stepped into the room, the bat poised over her shoulder and ready to swing.

"Easy, tiger," Raven said in amusement and held both hands up in surrender. "I saw a strange car in the driveway and stopped to check it out. Imagine my surprise to find the kitchen door unlocked, and you curled up on the couch like sleeping beauty."

Kira honestly couldn't remember if she'd locked the door or not, so he could have been telling the truth about that. "So you just decided to make yourself at home, I see," she snapped.

The club president lifted the cup of coffee and took a swallow before answering. "That I did."

"Get the hell out Raven," she said as she stalked over to the door and yanked it open. "You have no right to be in my house."

"Legally, it's our house," he corrected and crossed one booted foot over the other in a relaxed pose. "When Crunch patched in, he signed half ownership over to the club."

The bat slid from her shoulder, and the tip hit the floor with a thunk. "You're lying," she accused as a sense of dread filled her. "Dad wouldn't have done that."

He shrugged those broad shoulders and folded his arms over his chest. "He did," Raven assured her. "Check the deed if you don't believe me."

"This is insane," Kira said as she slammed the door shut and lifted a hand to her aching head. "Why would he do such a thing?"

"As a show of good faith," he said as he stood and carried his cup over to the coffee maker to pour a refill. "The club was entrusting him with our financial records, so he trusted us with his home in exchange. Quid pro quo."

Kira leaned back against the door and closed her eyes to fight the tears. She'd cried enough in the last twelve hours to last a lifetime. And just when she planned to put the past behind her and start a new life, she's stuck dealing with Raven Caulder again. Son of a bitch. She just couldn't catch a break.

She opened her eyes, and the room started doing a slow tilt to the right. Or maybe that was her. Yep. It was definitely her. She would have face planted on the floor if Raven hadn't caught her. He swung her up in his arms as if she were weightless and carried her into the living room to lower her gently onto the couch.

She stared up at him as if she'd never seen him before. Because he looked worried. The heartless bastard that she had feared half of her life actually looked concerned. About her. Maybe he was human after all. Then again, she could be having a nightmare and any minute he'd change back into the devil she loathed.

"You okay?" Raven asked as he knelt beside the couch, his hand covering her forehead as if checking for a fever.

"I'm fine," Kira insisted and shoved weakly at his hand. "I just haven't eaten since yesterday morning."

A scowl covered his face before he whipped out his phone and made a call. Raven proceeded to order one of his lackeys to pick up some food and get his ass to Crunch's house ASAP. That said, he ended the call, slid the phone in his pocket and said, "Little brother needs to take better care of his woman."

"I am not his woman," she snapped before she thought better of admitting the truth to the man who had intended to make her his old lady whether she liked it or not.

His eyebrows shot up at that announcement as if she'd surprised him. "Does he know that?" He queried.

She laughed bitterly. "Oh, he knows," she admitted and glared at him in warning. "And I'm not looking for a replacement either."

Raven flashed her a wicked smile and laughed lightly. "The offer stands if you change your mind," he assured her as he rose and sat in the chair across from her. "I like feisty women."

Kira released the breath she hadn't been aware of holding and felt her body begin to relax. Maybe he was human after all. "Don't hold your breath," she muttered as she sat up slowly and swung her legs off of the couch. "If what you said is true then you need to know that I'm planning to sell the house."

The frown was back. "You sure about that?"

"I'm moving to Florida, so yes," she said seriously. There were too many memories that she'd rather not have to deal with on a daily basis. Like the fact that her father took his own life in the master bedroom.

"I'll buy it."

Now it was her turn to frown. "Why?"

"It's a preferred neighborhood in a prime school district. Finding available property is rare in the area." He laughed at her shocked expression and admitted, "You're not the only one with a college degree, tiger. I've got a BA in business, a contractor's license and I'm a licensed realtor. Flipping houses is profitable."

To say that she was shocked was an understatement. Kira was floored to learn that the Hell Riders president had legitimate business ventures. "Then why the hell are you…" she broke off the question because it was really none of her business.

"I took control of the club because it was the only way I could protect my brother and that's all you need to know about that," he said evenly. "Regardless of what you might think, I'm not the enemy, Kira. I'll admit I went about it wrong because I was pissed, but I really was trying to protect you."

"From what?" She asked curiously, and oddly enough, she did believe him.

"The club does business with some seriously bad dudes," Raven confessed. "If they had a clue that an outsider had her pretty little nose in our business you'd be dead by now. Making you my old lady was the only thing I could think of that would keep you safe."

"If they're that bad then why do you do business with them?" She demanded.

"Because I don't have a choice," he denied and rose when the doorbell rang. Raven opened the front door, grabbed the takeout bag and slammed the door in the other man's face without a word. He carried it over to her and commanded, "Eat."

Kira took the bag and glared at him. "I'm not one of your lackeys, Raven," she growled even as she dug into the French fries. "Don't bark orders at me."

He slouched comfortably in the chair and laughed heartily. "I do love a feisty woman."

"Thanks for the food," she said grudgingly.

"Anything for you, darlin'," he said with a devilish wink.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she warned just to be contrary. "You might find yourself packing my stuff and hauling it to a storage facility."

He gave her a long measuring look before responding. "Kira, I never make idle promises. If I say it, I fucking mean it," Raven assured her seriously. "You need help; you got it."

"Why?" She asked in confusion at the complete one-eighty. What the hell had happened to the scary as hell biker she'd always feared?

"Crunch was a brother," he pointed out. "That makes you family. There ain't nothing I won't do for my family. Feel me?"

Dumbfounded, she could only nod in agreement.

Over the next twenty-four hours, Kira got to see a side of Raven that she had never imagined existed. Like his brother, he could morph into a completely different man depending on the circumstances. She was shocked to discover that he could be laid back and easy going if a little bossy. The total opposite of the hardcore, ruthless club leader she had seen in the past.

He'd even taken her to visit her father's grave and held her while she cried.

After she had boxed up everything she wanted to keep, he commandeered the prospects to transport everything to a club owned storage facility. He'd even given her a huge discount on the rental fee. The prospects were also going to take everything that she didn't want to a thrift store that funded a local children's home.

Raven was going to email her the contract and have his bank wire the full market value of the house into her account on Monday. He also bought her car for the club bunnies to use for running errands. Then he loaded her suitcases into his truck and drove her away from the house that no longer felt like home.

Kira honestly didn't know what she would have done without his help.

When he dropped her off at the airport, Raven gave her a business card and told her to call if she needed anything. She thanked him for being so nice to her, and he'd laughed and tweaked her nose like she was a child. "Crunch was a good man, tiger," he said seriously. "The least I can do is make sure his baby girl is okay."

On impulse, she hugged him and said, "Thank you, Raven," before she slipped the card into her purse and walked away.

Kira boarded the luxuriously appointed private plane and didn't even bother looking out of the window after takeoff. There was no reason to. She'd severed all ties with her hometown and had no reason to look back at what she had left behind. From now on, she was going to live in the moment and look forward to the future.

The past wasn't worth the pain of remembering.

 

***

 

Jax was freaking the fuck out because he still hadn't been able to contact Kira. As soon as their phones were returned Sunday night, he called her and got a this number is no longer in service message. Mother fuck. She'd changed her number. Anyone else would have blocked his call, but his Vixen never did anything in half measures.

After the way he had behaved and the things he had said, he didn't blame her. Hoping against hope that she might have called him, to curse him to hell if nothing else, Jax checked his missed calls. There were several from his brother. He didn't have time to deal with anyone but Kira so he ignored them.

Then he saw that Raven had also left several voicemails. Wondering what the fuck he wanted, Jax listened to the last one. "Starting to get worried, bro," his brother's voice filtered through the phone. "You really need to call me." Fuck it. Jax figured he might as well deal with it and get it over with. Raven answered on the first ring.

"'Bout damn time," he complained.

"The fuck is it, Rave?" He demanded impatiently.

"You wanna tell me why I just put your woman on a plane?" He asked impatiently.

"The fuck?" Jax snarled in disbelief. The NCIS Special Agent In Charge had told him that she was safely tucked away at her father's house.

"Kira's gone, bro, and she ain't coming back," he informed him shortly. "She moved to Florida."

His world tilted on its axis, and he sank weakly into the chair behind him. Kira was gone. "Florida?" He asked hoarsely.

"Yep. She just left on a private jet with her new employer," Raven explained. "Don't know what the hell you did, but you fucked up big time, little brother. Letting a woman like her get away is dumb as fuck."

"No shit," he agreed and closed his eyes in anguish. "Was she okay?"

"Feisty as usual," he admitted. "But I could tell she was hurting."

He swallowed hard and asked, "Did she mention me?"

"She let me know real damn quick that she wasn't your woman, but nothing else," he confessed.

"How the hell did she wind up with you?" He asked when the thought occurred to him. As far as Jax knew, Kira despised his brother as much as she ever had.

"I saw a strange car at her place, stopped to check it out and she was there," he explained. "She told me that she was selling the house, so I bought it, helped her move out and drove her to the airport."

"So you helped my woman leave me," he bitched angrily.

"Don't you lay this shit on me," Raven shot back and sounded just as pissed. "If you'd answered your fucking phone, you could have stopped her. And if you hadn't fucked up to begin with, you wouldn't have lost her."

"Maybe it's for the best," Jax said heavily. She was safe, and that was really all that mattered. Even if losing her was ripping his fucking guts out. "Thanks, Rave."

"I'm sorry things didn't work out, Jax," his brother said seriously.

"So am I," he confessed and ended the call.

 

***

 

The country mourned for the vibrant, beautiful woman who had died so bravely at the hands of terrorists. Even though her remains had not been found, Catherine Barker Pierce was given a state funeral. The President of the United States spoke at the service, hailing her as a shining example of American patriotism at its finest.

The Secretary of the Navy proclaimed her an honorary member of the US Navy and posthumously awarded Cat the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism in combat. The SEAL's Sweetheart's death had been seen worldwide, so all the major networks were present and live coverage of the service was broadcast around the globe.

The procession route to the cemetery was a never-ending wall of white. Sailors lined both sides of the street, hands held over their hearts in respect as the hearse drove slowly past. Once they arrived at the cemetery, Navy F/A 18 jets flew overhead in the missing man formation. The honor guard gave a 21 gun salute. A bugler played taps.

Her grieving husband was presented a folded flag.

Nearly every SEAL on the east coast attended the funeral service; their tridents hammered into the lid of the empty coffin. Ashe had been the first one to pound his trident in place, the Navy Cross right beside it. Admiral Pierce and the rest of the team had followed suit with their own tridents.

It was their way of honoring one of their own; a woman with the heart of a warrior and the courage of a lion. A woman who had sacrificed herself so that others might live to fight another day. A true patriot that they all grieved the loss of.

Her husband had been inconsolable.

Cat had known that Ashe would willingly die to save her. So she had given her life to save his. In an act of bravery that he never wanted or expected. An act of love so pure and selfless that nothing and no one could ever compare. He was broken. Shattered. Utterly devastated by the loss of his wife.

There was only one thing left to do. Just one recourse to follow. To avenge the senseless death of the woman he loved more than life itself. To put an end to the secret cabal that played God with people's lives. To destroy the organization that thought they were above the law. To kill the mother fucker who had taken Cat away from him.

He had nothing left to lose.

That made him invincible.

Ashe secluded himself from everyone; his only communication was with Chaz regarding their security company. Plans were made, a location secured, weapons acquired.

It was time to rain hell.

 

***

 

Like the rest of the team and their families, Jax had been offered a new identity with WITSEC. Fuck that. No way in hell was he trusting a government agency again. Neither was the rest of the team. The CIA had been breached, so he had little doubt that the other alphabet agencies had as well.

After the funeral, Ashe had gone dark while he and Chaz hammered out the details for their private security firm. Considering the shit the Illuminati had pulled, Jax knew that their priority would be to bring those fuckers down. The admiral had assured them that they had his complete support and he would provide any help necessary to destroy the cabal.

Ashe's father gave them his personal jet and a private island located near the Florida keys to use as their base of operations. Strategically, they couldn't have asked for a more secure location. The island had its own fresh water supply, an airstrip, and there was an existing resort complex that would prove ideal for their needs.

Not to mention it would be easy to secure since the only way on the island was by plane or boat. The former SEALs were experts at breaching areas by air and sea, so they knew exactly how to defend it. The eight-foot fence that surrounded the resort made it even more defensible. Their new home was a veritable fortress in the midst of paradise.

The women would be safe there.

The island was bigger than Jax had thought it would be and looked like a tropical paradise. The facility had every amenity they needed, and a few they didn't. The three-story hotel was designed to look like a colonial mansion, and he knew that Kira would have loved it. God, how he wished she were there with him.

After the team arrived, Ashe made his presence known from his perch on the third-floor balcony, thirty feet above the floor of the cavernous room. But this was not the team leader they all knew and loved. Fury had consumed his heart. Loathing filled his soul. The light of battle turned his eyes to shards of ice.

The man standing above them wore a hardened, menacing expression.

And his tone was as cold as his call sign when he spoke.

"When Chaz and I decided to open a private security firm, it was with the intent of assembling an elite team to handle the missions that the government couldn't do. Every goddamn one of you has earned a spot on that team. You've proven yourselves repeatedly by following me through hell and back."

"We survived every FUBAR mission they sent us on because we were prepared for every fucking thing, every fucking time. But nothing could have prepared us for the enemy changing the rules of engagement," Ashe informed them in a brutal tone. "In the immortal words of John Rambo, 'They drew first blood.'"

"They went straight for the jugular without warning when they attacked our women. They declared war," he snarled as he started down the grand staircase, his booted footsteps echoing through the room like a death knell. Not one man moved or uttered a sound. The atmosphere was so intense they barely breathed.

"The mother fuckers have infiltrated everything. Except our team. Which means I trust no one but you. The men who've fought and bled beside me. The men who've got just as much at stake in this as I do," he informed them in a deadly lethal tone when he stood before the team on the marble floor.

"Our mission objective is the total annihilation of the Illuminati. To seek and destroy every goddamn one of them. To bring down their entire fucked up organization. No matter what it takes. Failure is not an option." Those icy cold eyes swept every single man before he asked one simple question. "Are. You. With. Me?"

A chorus of "Hooyah" echoed through the building.

Ashe's smile was as cold and hard as his eyes when he said, "Welcome to Invictus. Prepare to rain hell."

With a nod from his partner, Chaz stepped forward and addressed the men. "As you can see, this place is already a fucking fortress. It was built to withstand hurricane-force winds, so it's rock solid. Once the security measures are in place, this fucker will be impregnable. Our women are here, so it has to be."

"Dad's shipping us a fuck ton of toys for the armory. Everything that goes bang or boom," he stressed much to the men's obvious delight. Since Carrington Industries was the largest weapons and munitions supplier in the US, that meant they were getting some seriously badass weaponry to work with.

"His associates are hooking us up with all kinds of cool gadgets. NVG's, earbuds, skin tags, laser targets. The fun stuff that puts the black in ops," Chaz informed them. "The admiral is getting us a helo and access to a military satellite. And we'll have a computer room so high tech that it'll have Stealth sporting wood."

"I want everyone to do an individual recon of the island and the resort," he commanded and made eye contact with each of them individually. "Report any weaknesses, any vulnerabilities, no matter how small. If we fuck up and leave our asses hanging in the breeze, our women will be the ones who pay the price. Let's rock 'n roll."