Page 48 of Hardline Torque
For half a second, confusion crossed his face—then it burned off, replaced by something bright and sharp.
He grinned.
Tane almost laughed aloud.
Around them, Black Tide went very, very quiet.Not frozen—focused.Kael’s eyes never left Tane.Neither did Victor’s.
Tane tilted his head.“Tell me something.You really think I’d sell out one of my mine?”
Silence.
Then his voice shifted—lazy, sharp-edged, unmistakably Hawaiian in its bite.“You must be out of your damn mind,haole.”
The line crackled, irritation bleeding through the polish.“Believe me when I tell you,” the voice said coolly, “that we can make this very unpleasant for you.”
Tane’s fist tightened on the edge of the table, knuckles whitening, the shark tattoo standing out.He leaned closer to the mic, voice calm, almost conversational.“You ever swim out past the reef?”he asked.“Looks peaceful out there.Deep blue water.No ripples.But that’s just where the sharks wait.You don’t see them until it’s already too late, and right now, you are in deep and there is already blood in the water.”
There was another pause before the voice came again.“So, it is a war you are after.”
Kael stepped forward, teeth bared in something like a smile.“Bring it.”
He slammed a finger on a button on the table and the line went dead.
For a heartbeat, no one spoke.
Then Tane turned and walked.
Out the glass doors to the balcony that ran the length of the command center.Out into the open air, where heat and salt hit his lungs.Rage coiled tight in his chest—controlled, leashed, but violent in its restraint.
He was beyond pissed at the situation.
At the bullseye he’d just confirmed on the back of the man he loved.Because, yes, he fucking loved Victor.
Footsteps stepped out behind him, and he didn’t have to turn to know who it was.
“Hey,” Victor said quietly.
Tane stopped, shoulders rising and falling once before he turned to face him.“They want you,” he said low.“And I just told them exactly where you stand.”
Victor stepped closer, close enough that Tane could feel him there without looking.“They already knew.”
Tane exhaled hard, anger bleeding off into clarity.
Victor touched his arm—solid, certain.
Tane nodded once.
When they entered back into the command center, Kael was already issuing orders, voice cutting clean.“No more reacting.We go on offense.”
Every voice answered, sharp and unified.
“Agreed.”
