Page 22 of Lay Me Down
He shouldn't be.
“What are you talking about? I missed,” I hiss through my teeth, and his face falls. As I jerk my knife back up, he leans back against the chair. So, I do the same, but I’m sure to move smoothly enough to keep my wife asleep.
Satori finally gets the hint and reviews the information in peace, while Kade looks like he wants to scream. His face is blood red, his eyes are a little too wide to be normal, and his brows are creased in worry. I’m sure it’s awkward for him to be caught in the middle of whatever silent war Satori and I have going on, but if the dumb mother fucker would just back down, this would go a lot smoother.
A small huff draws my attention again, and I can feel Satori’s agitation. Clearly, he’s still stuck reading the first paper in thestack, which I purposely placed as his own. It lists his physical attributes, as well as what his role will be, and his clearances and permissions—which is about the same as every other ground soldier we have and meant to knock him down a few pegs.
“This isn’t much access for someone with my experience,” he says tightly, but quietly, as if his cooperationnowwill actually get him somewhere. I don't even look up from the paper I'm reading when I reply.
“Fuck your access, and fuck your experience,” I say gravely, because I truly don’t give a shit. I respect what he’s done, and while I understand that he’s fully capable of handling and doing more, it’s more of a trust issue at this point.
He lets out an aggravated growl and shifts like he’s going to get up, but then he flops back down into the chair with a sigh.
“Look, I get it. I’ve been a bit of ass, but how would you feel if the roles were reversed? You think I like swallowing my pride and asking you for help? Do you think I enjoy admitting that I failed my men so badly that I have to take orders from another man?” he says aggressively, loud enough to count as a yell.
His words reach something inside me that understands, and I finally look up at him again, realizing that I should at least hear him out. His frustrations really hit home, and while it doesn’t make it okay, I suppose I can sympathize with him for a while. I open my mouth to speak, when Carter steps in through the door next, not even bothering to knock. While it’s rude as fuck, the serious look on his face means it’s urgent.
“We’ve got eyes on Popov. His face was just clocked at a toll near the capitol. What do you want to do?” His tone is sharp, obviously ready to act.
Normally I would just say fuck it and send out about ten vehicles to run his ass off the road, then shoot him in the head for good measure, but I think about where acting irrationally has gotten us before. As I look down to my entire world asleep inmy arms, I know the decision I need to make. It’s hard to wait, especially since this is our first real lead in weeks, but I have to swallow my pride and do what’s best for them. I nod to myself like I’m really nodding to her before I look back up at him.
“Nothing yet. Let’s see where he stops and for how long. I want to make sure we have a clean entry and exit plan before we take him.”
Carter’s eyes widen a little, but right after he glances down at Ashia, he nods once and walks in with his laptop. It’s not often we settle on situations like this, but it’s clear that we both agree on this. He always wants to take a more cautious approach, and it’s about time that I listened.
As much as that pains me to admit.
He quietly sits in the armchair closest to me. While I didn’t call him in here for this, I’m sure he can sense the tension in the air and wants to witness it. His fingers move quickly as he types on his computer, probably to notify Alex of my decision, but his eyes dart over to Satori a few times—proving me right. I look back over to the infuriating man, realizing now more than ever that I need to start playing the smart game, and as unfortunate as it is, that might mean just letting go a little.
“You want to work together? I need to see what you’ve got. Prove to me that this won’t be an issue and help me end this. My family needs this put to rest, and I won’t stop until it is,” I say to Satori with a stern tone, so he knows just how serious this is. He looks back at me with a confused glaze over his eyes, but then I see them harden, like he understands that this is also his one last chance at redemption.
“Consider it finished.” He nods with determination, and for the first time in days, it finally feels like we’re coming back up for air.
Chapter 10
Damien
Six Days Later
After quickly disposing of another guard, my mood is instantly soured, crashing and burning from the electric feeling before. Something isn’t right. The air is too clean, and it’s void of the harsh chemicals we normally encounter in these buildings. It’s also cold, like a stale cold that’s only present with the absence of life. Perhaps I’m thinking too much into it. The moles have never steered us wrong before, and the activity was clear from the outside, but I can’t just ignore this feeling. We have to move forward, but we need to do this differently as we approach the main working floor.
I raise my hand in a fist to signal my team to halt before I press into the earpiece.
“Proceed with caution, something doesn’t feel right.”
“Copy,” Zeke and Alex reply one right after the other, and we move forward.
This place is too quiet. There are no radio feeds or machines whirring, and while warehouses like this typically don’t have air conditioning, I don’t hear the sound of a fan running—even though it’s mid-July now. That could be because they didn’t want too many distractions during this meeting, but there’s about to be a lot more commotion than they wanted.
We stop outside the swinging doors to the working floor, and I wait for everyone to signal that they’re ready. My heart races, and I know that the importance of this is holding steady over my head. This is it. This one last fight, and everything will be okay. I just have to keep telling myself that.
“Engage.” I signal the rest of the teams, and we burst into the main area, aiming true and taking out the guards that surround the room. They drop one by one, barely having time to fire back, and once the last one drops, things get eerily quiet—too quiet, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.
I take one last look around the room, feeling the temperature drop to an almost-paranormal level, and my gaze catches Zeke’s from across the empty space. He’s looking up, and his face is almost horrified with his mouth lazily open and his eyes wide. I follow it, wondering what the hell has him so spooked, and my mouth drops open, mimicking his reaction to the sight above me.
Jeremy, Darren, and Bradley, all three of our moles, are strung up by nooses—their decaying bodies hanging from the ceiling, obviously a retaliation for what I did to Hugo’s first home and to Cooper. We all stare in disbelief, and my stomach sinks to the floor.
Images of Henry and the night he died come barreling through, and my chest aches. The sound of the fatal gunshot echoes through the space like a ghost’s wail, and I can still seethe void in his eyes when he passed. My friends, my men—they counted on me to keep them safe. I failed again. Their deaths were clearly dragged out and painful. While they’ve already started to decompose, the evidence of their torture still lingers.
