Walking down the hallway beside Noah, I twist my hands around the strap of my laptop bag as it’s thrown over my shoulder. Noah’s excited and confident though I’m anything but that. Luca left so quickly this morning, we hadn’t really had a chance to talk about anything that happened.
I’m finding myself softening toward Luca with every moment we spend together, and after last night, I know now there are many different sides to him which he tries to keep locked up deep inside, afraid of appearing weak for fear of judgment from others.
I can’t help but smile as I remember how tender and caring he was, and the soft whispered words. Who would have known that the practical joker has a softer side, and a person who’s been broken down and crushed like he has, could actually be so gentle?
Nerves swirl inside me as Noah pushes on the meeting room door and holds it open like a gentleman for me to walk through. I hold my breath and take a step over the threshold, avoiding eye contact with the room and watching my feet as I walk up the front and begin to set up my laptop to the projector.
I feel his silent gaze on me, through all the noise and activity in the room, but I still can’t bring myself to look up and meet his eyes. Maybe I’m scared that after everything I felt last night he won’t look at me the same way. Perhaps last night was only a onetime thing. Personally, I’m not quite ready for it to end, even though I wasn’t ready for it to begin in the first place.
Noah clears his throat and comes to stand beside me, grabbing the attention of the room. He nudges my shoulder, and I look at him and smile. His wide grins tells me everything. Together we cracked the code, so to speak. We finally found something we can use, and shit’s about to get very serious. I can’t help but get excited.
This is why I’m here. I finally look up, and the first eyes I find are Axel’s. With almost purple shadows under his eyes, it’s obvious he’s worn and barely sleeping. Kenzi’s everything to him. I came here to learn, to help, and to make a difference in the world, even if it’s just one person’s world.
I try to offer him a supportive smile, but he’s like a ghost, staring straight through me like I’m not even here. Hopefully, this will give him something, at least a glimmer of the hope he needs to keep himself going and fighting.
My eyes move like they’re pulled by a magnet, and suddenly, Luca and I are staring straight at each other. My breathing hitches as I see that there’s something there, I’m not quite sure what yet, but maybe the start of something great. I smile and his eyes warm, just as Noah begins to talk beside me, drawing the both of us from our trance.
“So, we called this meeting this morning because Everly and I have had a slight break in the work we’ve been doing. With the new technology, we were able to enhance the photograph Ares and Ezra supplied of Kenzi, and Everly pointed out something in the shadows.”
I can’t help but notice Luca’s smile grow slightly wider as he looks to me with a look of pride on his face. I try not to smile like a fucking school girl, keeping my thoughts focused on the briefing as Noah continues.
“We spotted part of a face hidden within the picture, and so we ran it through the facial recognition software. Luckily, the man in the photograph has some very distinctive facial tattoos which allowed us to find a one hundred percentile match. The man has a criminal record a mile long.”
I reach forward, switching his file slide onto the projector so everyone can see who Noah’s talking about, and I cringe at his picture while Axel groans taking in the visual of the man while shifting in his seat clearly agitated.
Luca lets out a small chuckle, and we all glance at him as he rolls his eyes pointing to the screen. “Clinton Hendrix?” He chuckles again. “Who names their kid, Clinton?”
“That’s probably why he goes by the name Hendrix or Rix for short,” Noah cuts in. “Rix has been in the system since he was young. Juvie when he was fourteen for burglary and arson. And it’s only gotten worse from there… escalating into drugs and gangs and working his way up the food chain.
“From what we could find on him, the information points to Hendrix working for Garrick Gibbs. We don’t know much about him, or what he has his hands in, but he’s been on the watch list for a couple years now because of who he associates himself with.”
I continue to flick through a few pictures of Rix, giving examples of him through the years. “Rix and Gibbs have been seen to be dealing with the brass. Their association in the Sinclair Syndicate has them dealing with Chinese executives, Russian diplomats, and German politicians.” I flick through a few pictures of them with said executives, diplomats, and politicians. “We’re pretty sure these aren’t meetings about how their families are doing, there’s something a lot more serious going on here. Considering what the Syndicate had been up to with their lackey, Jimmy and how he was creating chemical warfare. Thank God we took him down, but we’re concerned about what could be going on here, and what they’re up to behind those closed doors,” I say as the rest of the room shifts uncomfortably.
“This is information Ares and Ezra can’t gain access to, because it’s separated from the Syndicate itself, like a different department run by a completely separate criminal organization,” Noah explains. “It’s like the bad guys have decided to stop fighting to be the best, and just banded together instead to create something bigger… better, more disastrous.”
“Do you know where this Rix guy is right now?” Axel asks, his voice raspy like he’s just holding it together.
Noah looks over at Jack, asking for permission, not wanting to let this information out there if we aren’t going to make a move soon and do something about it. We don’t want to give Axel any kind of false hope or reason to go out on his own and get himself killed.
Jack nods, giving him the go ahead, and Noah nods to me, allowing me to take the lead and explain.
“We put the Hendrix file photos through our specialized facial recognition software, so it would alert us to the fact when cameras register his face. Because his tattoos and facial structure are so unique, we got hits in the first hour that the system was set up.” I can’t help but feel a little excited over what we’ve discovered. I was an integral part of this mission, and it makes me feel good that everything my dad taught me, and everything I’ve spent hours learning myself, is finally paying off and is of some worth.
Axel sits forward in his seat, suddenly much more awake and aware than he was before. I can tell the information has almost breathed a new life into his lungs. He’d been grasping at straws, and now he finally has a firm hold of one, and he isn’t about to let it go.
“Where is he?” Axel asks again with impatience, his hands balling into fists.
Before Noah or I can answer, Jack steps forward and stands in front of us. “I’m going to clear the team to go and get her, but first we need to really discuss the risks, given the information that these two have found.” He turns to look at Axel directly. “I’m not sending in anyone who I think might lose their head the minute they see something they don’t like.”
“You know where they are. Why are we still sitting here talking? Let’s go and get her,” Axel demands, standing up and pacing from side to side.
Kace tries to grab him, but he shakes him off and looks up to glare at Jack. “Let’s fucking go.”
“And this is exactly why you won’t be going with them,” Jack snaps, pointing at Axel and causing him to freeze on the spot. Axel’s eyes widen, and everyone looks at Jack like he’s lost his damn mind. “You’re gonna take one look at Kenzi… if she’s even there… and you’re going to forget about everybody else. You’ll be a danger to her, to yourself, and to your fucking team. You know, those people who have always had your back no matter what. You want to get them killed?”
Axel’s face hardens, turning a bright shade of red as his chest heaves with the adrenaline coursing through his system. “You can’t leave me out of this. This is the reason I joined this fucking team… to get her out,” Axel protests.
“And now you’re going to forget everything they’ve ever done for you, and that you’ve done for each other because you’ve finally got what you want? I didn’t think you were that selfish.” Jack throws back, standing his ground.
Axel’s jaw wracks from side to side as he pants heavily. You can see Jack’s words have hit him right where they were intended, with perfect precision. Axel looks around, taking in each of his teammates and his body slumps more and more.
“Please,” Axel begs, his voice broken now. “Don’t keep me out of this one. I will put my life on the line for anyone in this room right now, you know I would do it in a heartbeat. Just please… don’t make me sit this one out.”
The room is silent.
I catch Jack looking at Kace with an eyebrow raised in question. I know Jack hasn’t been around for long, so it’s going to be up to Kace to decide whether Axel will be able to cope with the pressure of going in there without losing his head.
I expect Kace’s response to be quick and sure, but even he takes a few seconds to look over at his broken friend with skepticism and doubt. Hell, even I have doubts. Is this really someone you want fighting next to you? A man with his head so screwed up that he can’t even see straight? But that’s Kace’s choice to make not mine.
Kace shakes his head, and for a second I wonder whether he’s going to say no, but then he surprises me. “We need him. We as a team are stronger together than we are apart,” Kace explains.
Axel finally takes a deep breath, looking over at his leader with relief and thanks written on his face. The look on Kace’s face is pretty intense, one of warning, and Axel nods silently, understanding exactly what he’s saying with that one look.
Don’t fuck this up.
Jack speaks up again. “We need a little more info. So you have twenty-four hours to keep your shit together, and if I deem it safe for the rest of your team, I’ll let you walk out that door with them tomorrow. Go home, get some fucking sleep. You look like shit.” With that Jack turns to Noah and I. “Get us the information we need to finish this.” Then he walks out of the room, not looking back.
The team starts to file out, Axel first, his feet stomping against the floor in determination. He isn’t going to let this opportunity slide, I know that much.
Noah pats me on the back and looks down at me with a grin. “Awesome work, we’ll take a quick break, and I’ll meet you in the cave in say…” he looks down at his watch, “… twenty?”
Smiling back, I nod. “Yes, for sure.”
Noah gathers the technology and exits the room, leaving me with Luca and Kace who are both still seated, just staring at me. Kace has this intense look on his face as he eyes me up, a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty. The contrasting smirk on Luca’s face, tells me that Kace definitely knows about Luca staying at my place last night.
“Is this going to be a problem?” Kace asks, causing me to blush.
“I just went that whole meeting without one crude comment or groping her,” Luca mocks proudly. “My self-control is fucking impeccable.”
Kace stands from his seat shaking his head, but with a soft smile. “Well then, I’m happy for you two. But I get one whiff of it causing issues…” he leaves the warning hanging in the air as he heads for the door, closing it with a click behind him.
My gaze instantly snaps back to Luca, my breathing a little uneven. “I’ve been here all of a week, and Kace is already threatening my job,” I snap, my heart racing. “Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this.”
Luca shoots out of his seat and walks straight toward me, the smirk completely gone, replaced by something more caring, more intense. One of his hands goes to my hip, while the other cups my face. Leaning into him, I nuzzle against his palm while looking up into his eyes. “We will make this work,” he says softly, but with absolute surety. “We will make us work.”
I’m not sure why, but I instantly feel like I can breathe a little easier. “We’re an us?” I manage to whisper, trying not to smile. While it makes me nervous, and I’m unsure of what this might be or become, Luca makes me happy, that’s one thing I can’t argue with.
“I know you think I’m an idiot, and you don’t really like me very much, and I made a bad first impression…” he jokes, starting to trail off.
Wrapping my arms around his waist, I pull him against me tight. “It’s okay, pretty boy.” I laugh. “I think I’m starting to come around.”
A genuine happy smile lights up his handsome face, warming my body. He doesn’t reply, but instead dips his head and presses his lips against mine. It’s sweet and comforting, and my body instantly lights on fire.
His hand slips from my hip, around to my ass and he squeezes it, causing me to jump, breaking the kiss. He chuckles as I pull back, slapping him in the chest and frowning.
“We’re at work,” I scold.
“That’s what makes it more exciting,” he replies, wiggling his eyebrows.
Shaking my head, I turn grabbing my laptop bag and pull it over my shoulder before I spin around and head for the door. “I’ll meet you at the gym later,” I tell him as I take a step toward the door.
A resounding slap and painful sting on my ass cheek brings tears to my eyes, and I turn to him in horror. He rushes past me innocently kissing me on the cheek as he pushes through the door and disappears down the hallway.
“What the hell have I gotten myself into?” I ask myself, but I can’t help but smile.