Page 100 of Cohesion

“You be careful,” Six ordered thickly. “Watch your fucking back. Stay alert. Keep her safe, and keepyourselfsafe. Don’t be a hero, don’t take chances. If something feels wrong, move on.”

Greer didn’t talk back this time. “I promise.” Six cupped his cheek, and he turned into it. “You’re not the hero here either. Let Jericho take the bullet.”

Quinn fisted Jericho’s shirt as if he was going to take Greer’s advice right now and go and do his best to get shot.

“Thanks, man,” Jericho said sarcastically.

Six slid his hand down to Greer’s throat and applied pressure. “You make sure you come back to me, and I’ll make sure I’m here. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Greer and Olivia said their goodbyes to Hunter and then Jericho, the tension in the air thick and uncomfortable. Olivia gave them one last confused look as she walked out the door, her small hand in Greer’s much larger one. She talked a big game, but she was only six, and she didn’t really understand what was going on. They didn’t want her to.

Hunter sighed as soon as the front gates closed behind them. Greer would abandon his car and take public transport to a location that not even Hunter would know. Not having a clear destination in mind meant being unpredictable; it was the most effective way of staying off the grid.

“We don’t have the manpower to guard anyone else,” Hunter said into the silence. “We’re not a security business, and we’re not exactly running on full power. Getting anyone here from out of state would take too long. What are our options?”

With Spencer missing, Kendrick in the hospital, and Moira guarding Kendrick, they were at less than half capacity. Peyton and Jericho were too close to this; Jericho wouldn’t go anywhere unless it was after Sebastian or Spencer or involved his men. Peyton would feel the same.

Who the fuck were they going to get to watch Sebastian’s family?

“My team can do it,” Peyton said.

Hunter raised an eyebrow. “Yourteam?” he asked.

“The one I was with, back in spec ops. They’re my brothers; they’ll help if I ask them, off the books. One of them is my brother-in-law and one is myactualbrother, so I can guarantee it.”

“You served on the same team with your brothers?” Jericho asked. Was that allowed in the armed forces? They weren’t that lenient.

“Not at the same time. He took my place when I left. He’s also our team leader’s best friend and someone I’ve known since I was a kid. They’ll help, trust me.”

Hunter nodded. “Alright. Call them, get them coordinated. We’ll need to contact Sebastian’s family and let them know what’s going on.”

We’ll need to contactSebastian’s family.

How long had it been since Quinn had spoken to them? Too long. Years. They’d been cut off from him as quickly as Sebastian had. One minute he’d been part of their lives, and then he hadn’t been. Charlotte, Sebastian’s younger sister, had been eighteen and pregnant with her first child when he’d last seen her. The last he’d heard she’d become a nurse and had three children now. A girl and twin boys. Time moved too fast when he wasn’t watching it.

“I’ll do it,” he said. “They deserve to hear it from someone they know.”

He’d talked plenty of people through their grief when a loved one went missing. He knew the steps, knew what he needed to do. Being on this side of the fence was acutely uncomfortable, like walking through mud while wearing inappropriate footwear. No footwear at all, even.

Quinn took his phone out of his pocket and turned it over in his hand.

Will placed his hand over Quinn’s. Quinn tried to smile and hoped that he’d at least somewhat pulled it off. They were all feeling it, he knew. He couldn’t be selfish with this.

“I don’t know their numbers,” Quinn said. “I haven’t…”spoken to them since Sebastian walked away.He still had Charlotte’s old ones. He doubted they were the same. It was rare to keep a number for eight years, especially at eighteen. She’d gone through a few just in the time Quinn had known her. Imagining her now, a year older than Peyton, thriving and happy with afamily of her own, gave him a sense of both pride and immense sadness.

He’d never even gotten to be at the birth of her first child. He’d missed so much. And if Sebastian didn’t come home, andhemissed the rest of it, it would be all Quinn’s fault.

Six snagged a notepad and jotted on it before tossing it over to Quinn. “There ya go.”

“Thank you.” He glanced around the room. It was too big, and there were too many people. Everything closed in on him, a headache thrumming just under the surface. He couldn’t do this here.

Jericho squeezed his shoulder and then palmed Quinn’s neck before kissing his temple. “Down the hall. Any room. If you need anything...” He didn’t need to finish the sentence.Whatever he neededwas implied.

Quinn kissed him softly, his lips clinging and eyes fluttering closed. He wished he could pull Jericho’s strength into him. He was so fucking calm and in control in the face of everything happening. Quinn had always prided himself on being the same, but all he felt now was jittery, like his insides were trying to go in all directions at once.

Once he was alone and in Jericho and Peyton’s office, he took a deep breath and leaned against the door. Only a few days ago, he’d been having sex in here. So much had changed in such a short amount of time. This slow drowning would kill him.

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