Page 82 of The Wrecked One

“Yas Island, also known as Fight Island. It’s in the UAE. We could stay with Diana in Carter’s fortress in Dubai until it’s time. It’s about an hour or so to Abu Dhabi from there,” Gwen quickly explained, and Mya immediately went for my arm.

Dubai was a hard no for me. Bad memories of being falsely accused of murder and all. And now I really am a murderer. Fuck my life.

“Abu Dhabi is where I first met Diana,” Carter said as if a memory unfolded in his mind as he massaged his temples.

“And Dubai is also where . . .” Mason’s words trailed off as the dark square on the call came back to life and Finn and Julia reappeared.

“Sorry we were gone so long, what’d we miss?” Finn arched a dark brow, hooking his arm around Julia.

“Just the fact it looks like we’re coming full circle,” Gray spoke up, his tone low and deep, eyes on me.

And I couldn’t help but remember how Falcon Falls was originally formed at Julia and Finn’s wedding. All because Gray and Carter had been arguing over whose team I’d work with, and they wound up uniting forces instead of either of them losing.

Full circle. Is that what this is? Or is this just how it all really ends?

32

OLIVER

“You can’t talk me out of this. Carter’s already rerouting his second jet to Canada to pick us up. It’s a done deal.” Mya’s casual demeanor and shoulder shrug had me closing my eyes and counting back from ten so I didn’t yell.

She knew I’d never let her step foot on that jet without me, and I was well aware of the fact I’d have to tie her up to stop her from leaving this place, and I couldn’t do that.

Even the memory of both of us being shackled in that room in Thailand was enough to make me sick. Not a chance in hell I’d allow this woman near cuffs ever again, not even in a “fun” way.

A deep breath later, I forced my eyes open to find Mya staring off at the lake, her back to me. She’d escaped to the deck after the arrangements for our flight had been made.

Wyatt’s off-screen phone call had been to pull together protection for his wife and daughter, as well as Gray’s and Jack’s families. Wyatt had every intention of coming to Zurich with Gwen, though.

Echo Team, which Wyatt ran as team leader, wasn’t currently on a mission for POTUS, which meant they were available to help keep an eye on everyone’s loved ones. He’d also requested POTUS’s other two teams, Bravo and Charlie, be on standby for backup in case we needed assistance in Abu Dhabi at Yas Island, aka “Fight Island.”

Despite returning to the call at the tail end of our group chat, Julia never did utter another word to me. I’d need to have that conversation with her later, but before I potentially died in our face-off.

My jaw strained as I resisted gathering Mya in my arms, knowing as strong as she’d been on that call, she was overwhelmed and hurting.

But I kept going hot-and-cold on her, and it wasn’t fair to keep doing that. I couldn’t tell her I was fucked beyond repair and then do things that gave her hope. Things like holding her hand. Hugging her.

The sun was starting to set, casting a glow behind her. Hell, all around her. How much time had passed in this never-ending day?

“If we hadn’t been tipped off about the pigeons that day, we may not have wound up in that room in Bangkok.” She slowly faced me, her tone tentative. “At the same time, we may never have connected the dots and found so many of the missing puzzle pieces.” She worked her lip between her teeth, allowing her nerves to take over for a moment. “I like to think everything happens for a reason, but it’s kind of hard to this time.”

I’d give anything to take back what happened in Bangkok, and I knew she felt that way, too. I also understood the path we were on now might help take down one of the worst criminal groups out there, the kind that hides in plain sight as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

When I didn’t talk, she continued, “What if this is actually why I am the way I am? My issues, I mean. What if I saw something when I was younger, and my parents made sure I forgot. And then when the nightmares started in middle school, they had me see a hypnotist to help me forget.” She leaned against the wooden railing, flicking at invisible lint on the sweatshirt. “Then when I fainted while falling, plus that headbutt, it jolted the memories free again.”

I stared at her in silence, unsure how to get through this conversation without giving in to the natural impulse to hold her. To promise her everything would be okay. Because what if it wasn’t going to be?

What if her parents were monsters, and they had lied to her? What if I had to kill them, too? Because if her dad had a hand in what happened in Thailand, I wouldn’t hesitate to slice his fucking throat. That thought, that image, terrified me. How quickly it’d come. How easily it slipped into place. I am a killer, aren’t I?

And what if we took out The Collective, but those motherfuckers had a spare tire ready to go? A new wheel to replace the other? Evil never just quietly died, not forever. It only ever seemed to go dormant for a bit.

“One step at a time.” I was sure those were the words I was supposed to say, at least. “We’ll figure this out, and we’ll go from there.”

“Together?” She lowered her hand to her side and closed the space between us.

Against my better judgment, I held my ground, refusing to take even one step back. “You know I can’t let you get on that jet without me, but I need you to understand, this will be my last mission.”

She pursed her lips, lost to thought before she hit me with what she knew to be the truth. A truth I never wanted to hear her acknowledge. “You plan to challenge Hugo to a fight, don’t you?”

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