Page 18 of Final Sins

“This is my mess,” Jason continued. “I’ll handle it alone. One last mission.” He ended the call.

Her temper boiled over. One last mission? Alone? Not anywhere near RAVEN headquarters.

She stood, chair scraping loudly against the floor, and stalked toward him. This cowboy was about to learn that in her world, no one rode solo. Especially not when they were putting her team and her client and her operation at risk.

The room fell silent, all eyes turning to watch the impending confrontation.

Fury radiated off her in waves, making her throat tight. “Who, or what, is this Seven-Five?”

He pressed a hand to his injured side. “The highlights? Rich bad guys. Secret cabal. Highly lethal.”

The weariness in his tone made Alex falter for a moment, but she quickly steeled herself. “And you led them to us? You just wore out your welcome, Army.”

“You can’t take on Seven-Five without help,” Jason argued.

Her laugh was sharp, cutting. “I’m not taking on anyone. I disappear people. Period. This Seven-Five crowd is your problem, not mine.”

Gabriel, ever the peacemaker, stepped in. “She’s just trying to protect us. It’s what she does.”

Alex’s glare silenced her cousin. She turned back to her screens, forcing the conversation back to the task at hand. “You flew your plane out of Redemption Creek to meet Gravy, right?”

Jason nodded, suspicion clear in his eyes. “So?”

“We’re sending you home, Army.”

His stance widened as if preparing for a fight. “Not until I know where Gravy’s heading.”

Ignoring him, Alex addressed Liv. “Can you arrange a turboprop ASAP?”

Liv jumped up, energized. “I’ll connect with Mondo right now.”

“He’ll have one passenger to Redemption Creek.” Alex stared Jason down.

The tension in the room rose a couple more degrees. Jason opened his mouth to protest, but she held up a hand, silencing him.

“Listen closely. You’re going back to your team. Gravy’s getting a new life. And I’m getting you both out of my hair.”

She turned to her team, a plan forming. “Mac, set up a decoy trail leading away from the Idaho house. Gabriel, I need you to create a digital footprint for our friend here.” She nodded towards Gravy. “Make it look like he’s heading to ... Bali.”

Gravy perked up. “Really?”

“Not even close,” Alex shot back. “But that’s what anyone who finds the digital trail will think.”

She faced Jason one last time, her expression unreadable. “You wanted to protect your team? This is how. You go back. Play bait. We’ll make sure Gravy disappears so thoroughly, even you won’t be able to find him.”

The challenge in her voice was clear. Jason held her gaze for a long moment before nodding slowly. “Fine. But this isn’t over.”

As he turned to leave, Alex felt a mix of relief and ... something else. Something she wasn’t ready to examine too closely. She shook it off, focusing on the task at hand.

“Alright, people,” she called out. “Let’s make a man disappear and a soldier reappear. We’ve got work to do.”

The room burst into action, screens flickering with data, voices overlapping as plans were made. And if Alex’s eyes lingered on Jason’s retreating form for a moment too long, well, that was nobody’s business but her own.

10

Jason eyedthe weight rack with a mix of determination and trepidation.

Mac had informed him it would take a couple hours to arrange a flight back to Redemption Creek, and Jason had too much adrenaline flowing to sit around. His muscles ached for action, but the dull throb in his side warned of limitations. He reached for a light dumbbell, his movements slow and deliberate. As he did so, he couldn’t help but marvel at the state-of-the-art equipment surrounding him. RAVEN’s headquarters was a far cry from the makeshift gyms he was used to in the field.

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