Page 65 of The Lies We Believe

My voice cracked and broke on the last word as I took him in. If someone had told me a year ago I had found the boy who became my anchor during some of my darkest days and that he would become my lover, my life, the centre of my universe, I would have hit them up the backside of the head and asked how much they’d had to drink.

My hands cupped his face, thumbs brushing over his flushed cheeks. I could admit I was drowning in River, suffocating on him, but who needed air when I had him? This moment felt pivotal, but I couldn’t fathom why. Overcome with desire, I sealed my lips to his. His sharp inhale allowed me access, and my tongue wrapped around his as a fresh wave of his taste burst across my tongue. River surged forward as he pushed up onto his toes, and his hand snaked around the back of my neck, his blunt nails trailing across my skin. Before I could deepen the kiss further and pull him into my lap, we were interrupted by someone hammering on the door.

River broke away, mirth dancing in his eyes. “No,” I grumbled and pulled him back to me. I felt his wicked smile against my mouth.

“Put that boy down, and get your ass out here, Benson!” Montoya yelled through the mailbox, making River snicker as I groaned and nuzzled into his neck.

“Why? Why me?”

“Shut up, you big softie. Today is the day. I’ll be in the car. You’ve got two minutes.”

My gaze swung to River, who looked suitably rumpled and good enough to eat. I leaned forward, but his finger on my lips halted my progress.

“But…”

“No.” He chuckled and shook his head. “The s-sooner you go, the sooner you can come home to m-me.”

“Fine.” Rolling my eyes, I pressed a kiss to his forehead, nose, and eyes before he pushed me away and ordered me out of the house, stating he had puppy cuddles to look forward to.

The station wasa hive of activity when we arrived. We headed to the situation room where everyone that was involved in tonight’s op was already waiting. Bower stood at the front of the room. The whiteboard behind him laid out our movements and locations down to the minute. He went over every detail with a fine-toothed comb before dismissing us with the order to get our heads on straight and gear up for the op.

Unusually for Davis, he had been quiet during the briefing, focused on his phone with a furrow between his brows. Warning bells rang in my head and got louder the closer I watched him.

Bower had saddled him with a couple of rookies, who would monitor the wider perimeter and notify us of any unexpected arrivals. Keeping Davis out of the action was an intentional move on Bower’s part, now that his suspicions had been raised after the fire and Barnes’s sudden resignation.

Montoya and I made our way to the locker room and did a final check of our equipment. A heavy sense of foreboding hung over us as the rest of the team slowly ambled in and did the same. This was our third raid, and I hoped against all hope this one was successful after the first two failed.

Dahlia herself had become a ghost and vanished off the face of the earth. River had said she had eyes everywhere, and I was starting to think he was right more than he knew. I couldn’t help but think Davis wasn’t working alone.

The two messages she’d sent me had upped the ante, and it had been harder than ever to get approval for this operation. If it failed, I feared it would all come crashing down on my shoulders, and then where would that leave River?

“Don’t go there, Benson.” Montoya’s hand latched onto my shoulder with a nail-biting squeeze. “We need to think positively, or that bitch wins.”

“I know.” My head hung forward as I braced my elbows on my legs. “I just…I’m?—”

“Scared?” I nodded. She sat down next to me, her shoulder brushing mine in support. “I get it. You’ve got more than any of us riding on this.”

“Mmmm.” I finally had someone to fight for and everything to lose. I refused to allow that reality to come to fruition. Our time was finite, and I wanted to spend every moment I had left with River. To love him through all the seasons of his life, to have the honor of watching him grow and discover new things and experience this blossoming love between us.

That’s why this raid had to work. I refused to accept failure.

“Bower won’t put you on parking duty if it turns out to be a bust.” She glanced around, a shifty look in her eyes. “I have?—”

“Don’t. I have a feeling I know what you’re going to say, and I have the same feeling. If the worst happens tonight, come to mine and we’ll talk it over before going to Bower.” She gave me a nod and left the room to grab one more hit of caffeine before our long night.

As night fell,a cold, starless sky watched as all the teams moved into position and checked in. Montoya and I sat on the roof of a nearby farmhouse, watching the high rollers come in their droves. Their blacked out cars crunched on gravel as they formed a line resembling a uniformed army of ants, crawling along after one another until they disappeared into the underground parking garage. The windows of the mansion were blacked out, and if it wasn’t for the guards patrolling the site or the torches lining the driveway, you would think the place was deserted.

A biting wind whipped up off the vast expanses of arable land surrounding us, burning my cheeks. I rubbed my hands together as my fingers slowly turned numb. I knew there was money in the skin trade—big money—but seeing the breadth of wealth that had arrived had my stomach churning like a savage ocean. Acid burned the back of my tongue, decimating River’s sweet taste. My heart was in my throat, and it felt like I was choking on air at the thought of the depravity taking place inside those stone walls.

I wanted to throw caution to the wind and storm down the gates with my gun raised, catching every one of them and making them answer for their crimes, but we had our orders. And orders were always followed. Our watches were synchronized, and tension bled into the air, thickened with anticipation and something I couldn’t quite pin down with each passing minute.

“The auction is about to start,” I murmured. Montoya glanced up at me with her binoculars in her hand as she tracked the guards’ movements. The night was deadly silent. The only sound apart from our shaky exhales was the eerie whistling of the wind.

“Go time can’t come soon enough. The wait is excruciating.” I hummed in agreement and flexed my fingers. “It seems too quiet, too calm,” Montoya mused, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

My hand shook where it rested against my gun. I couldn’t have agreed with her more, but we had to stick to the plan. Otherwise, mistakes would be made and lives put at risk, both those of our officers and the innocents being held inside. Casualties were bound to occur, but we wanted to keep blood spill to a minimum. It wasn’t long until Bower’s voice sounded through our comms as the first team moved into position to take down the guards covering the perimeter. We watched as each one was taken out silently before an alarm could be raised and alert those who were inside.

“Time to go.” I tapped Montoya on the shoulder, and we swept down from our vantage point. “Moving to hand signals. Stay on my six.”

---