Page 145 of The Spy
Lachlan just chuckled under his breath and Saint rolled his eyes as if he was trying to figure out what the hell my problem was.
My problem was that more than once I'd chosen my job over the woman I loved and that should not have happened. I was going to fix it. I'd been thinking about this for a while. This was the natural conclusion anyway, and given everything that had happened, it was time.
"I didn't mean to disrupt your briefing, Saff, but I have something important to add if you don't mind."
She sighed and nodded. "Yes, all right, Gabe has the floor. Even though he should be in bed."
Lock coughed under his breath, and Saint grinned at me.
"Yes, as my sister said, I need to be in bed. Which is why it's important that I make this announcement and get the fuck out of here. As you know, Rogues was founded by an Abott, and an blood Abott shall remain in command of this division for as long as it's possible. I have been the temporary Abott, and it has been my pleasure to serve each and every one of you. I couldn't be more proud of this team. The way we've worked together, bonded together, fought together. We make a hell of a Rogues team. Each of you exemplifies exactly what Rogues is meant to be about."
Tabatha swallowed hard, and she wasn't looking at me.
"However…"
Saff's brows snapped down then.
"However, I've made the difficult decision to step down as Ops Command. I have to hand over the torch to Saffron. I will still be directly below her as mission director and adviser, but I shall no longer be in Operational Command of the Rogues. That responsibility will be handed over to Saffron Abott-King, effective immediately."
My sister's eyes went wide as her mouth hung open. I winked at her. "Careful little sister, you're catching flies." And then I cocked my wheels and turned my chair around, rolling out and leaving Saff and the rest of the team staring in my wake.
Before we'd gone on the mission, I'd already put the paperwork in with Oversight. After what Gennifer had tried, they were relieved. No more attempted coups, at least for now. And if there was another one, I'd still be there backing Saff. But it was time for her to take the lead. Let someone else deal with the bureaucracy and the political nonsense. All the things I’d always hated about the Ops Command seat. Saff would be up my ass in no time. She'd come find me as soon as she was done with the meeting.
And you hope Tabs will come to find you too.
I did. And if she didn't, just as soon as I could fucking walk again, I was going after her.
Go as you are. As soon as she's done, find her. Are you really going to waste any more goddamn time?
Actually, that was a fucking solid point. But maybe first, I needed to take a nap. Chris had been right, I should never have gotten out of bed. That shit was exhausting. I just hoped to God that Tabatha, after everything, would have me.
Tabatha
What the hell was happening?
My heart was pounding rapidly.
When he rolled in the meeting in his wheelchair, I couldn’t believe it. He'd been shot two days ago. He was supposed to be resting.
I dragged my attention back to Saffron, trying to get a sense of redirection from her as to what the hell we should do. Instead, she looked shell-shocked. Which, in her defense, probably was not ideal either.
Lock was too far away to touch her, but I could tell his full concentration was on her. He turned his body toward her, gaze locked on his wife as if attempting to provide her some level of comfort. Anything.
What on earth had just happened?
Saff snapped out of it. "Um, in light of the new information, we are going to take a break. We'll reconvene here in two hours." She glanced around, almost as if waiting for someone to tell her what to do next and realizing that nobody else knew what to do either.
She gave a sharp nod and then stood. Everyone pushed to their feet after she muttered a dismissal under her breath. I got to her first, even before Lachlan. "Are you okay?"
"No, I am not fucking okay."
Her face was perfectly placid as she answered me, but her voice gave her away to people who really knew her. That was Saff. On the outside, it looked like everything was fine. On the inside, a whole lot more expressions and emotions were roiling around.
"You didn't know?” I asked.
"Does this look like the face of a woman who knew some shit?"
"Okay, okay. Um, I'll go talk to him."
