Page 56 of Bound By Valor

Leora

I was pointing my gun at the front door as it swung open slowly. My hands weren’t shaking, and I was so damn proud of myself.

“Well, that was easy,” a low gravelly voice came through the door, followed by a man in a navy three-piece suit. He had chocolate brown skin and his shoulders were wide enough to fit maybe two of me. His face had a hardened look on it that showed he’d probably been through shit. But underneath it all, he was an astonishingly handsome man. He looked like he was Zarek’s age, similar build and height.

His relaxed demeanor threw me off, and I gasped as the squad lowered their weapons—I followed suit.

“Fucking hell, Blackthorn,” Kabir growled, his eyes narrowing. “What did you do to my security system?”

Blackthorn? Oh God. This was Sebastian Blackthorn, owner of Blackthorn Security, and the man who’s second in command was called a bitch by a puny little psychologist dumbass.

Floor, please swallow me whole.

“Sebastian,” Zarek nodded and walked over to him, “What kind of speak-of-the-devil entrance is this?”

“Aw, were you talking about me?” Sebastian’s smile was twisted with amusement.

The men shook hands, and I caught Logan muttering under his breath, “Zarek, your humor’s been dishonorably discharged.”

I couldn’t help but snort, drawing Sebastian’s gaze. He moved towards me, his presence looming like apredator eyeing its prey. Logan instantly stepped in front of me, blocking Sebastian’s path.

“Logan Carlton,” Sebastian spat the name as though it tasted sour.

“Sebastian. You’ll answer to my boss, or you can leave,” Logan’s voice was menacingly low, a tone I hadn’t heard him use before.

“Gunner,” Zarek intervened, his eyes darting between the two.

Sebastian gracefully turned on his heel and walked over to the kitchen cabinets like he owned the place. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey like he knew exactly where to find it and poured himself a drink in a glass that he had snagged from another cupboard. A cupboard he knew had our whiskey glasses, of course.

“I fly from New York like I’ve been summoned by the greatest squad, and this is the welcome I get?” He shook his head and chugged the whole drink.

“It’s ten in the morning, Seb. Maybe take it easy,” Dylan commented with a wry tone.

Seb? They’re on nickname terms?

Ignoring Dylan’s advice, Sebastian flashed a grin, then turned to Amelia, winking at her. “Hey, sweetheart! Miss me?”

Amelia’s face contorted with displeasure. Kabir, still busy at his laptop probably trying to wrestle back control of our security systems, shot Sebastian a dark look.

Zarek returned to the table, unfazed by the earlier commotion, and resumed eating his breakfast with a casual crunch of bacon.

What the fuck is happening?

“I heard you had run-ins with the Chinese mafia, Gao Ling. His shipments were intercepted and he isveryangry, boys,” Sebastian said, glancing around the room, his eyes finally settling on me with a half-smirk. “And girls.”

“So we’ve got a name now—Gao Ling,” Dylan remarked with a nod. “Who is this guy, Seb?”

Sebastian leaned back, considering. “He runs Gao Textiles, keeps his tech developments quite secretive. I hear he’s in with President Xi Xiaxu, meets him for drinks weekly. His U.S. contact? Garret Tyson—that’s your guy. Gao, though? He’s got money that a Saudi Prince would envy, all off the books.”

Zarek continued to focus on his bacon, his interest piqued. “And why come to us with this info?”

Sebastian shrugged nonchalantly. “Thought you might need a hand in tracking him down. I’ve got the tech, you’ve got the muscle. How about a collaboration?”

“Tell us the real reason, asshole,” Logan snapped, his eyes narrowing at Sebastian.

Sebastian, unruffled by Logan’s hostility, flashed a grin. “Delara Booth has been on their trail for some time now. It’s not just Crazon they’re shipping; there are other products going to Japan, India, the UK, and South Korea—all nuclear powers. That can’t just be a coincidence.”

Zarek’s face remained blank. He clearly respected Sebastian, but a slight twitch to his eye told me he didn’t trust him fully.

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