Page 126 of Savior

Bear was right.

I’d let the Sons push and pull me from one suspicion to the next, convinced they were nothing more than savages with no clear motive in mind.

But there was a goal.

Death is comin’ for you…

Hadn’t Hawk warned me? I’d seen it as an omen, but maybe it had been a clue. For years, we’d been strategically positioned like pawns on a chessboard. With Kate’s abduction, the final exchange was made, pushing us into the endgame.

Only, instead of going into the final showdown blind, I now knew exactly what it was that Saint wanted.

Me.

“Celia.” Lauren touched my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

I pointed to the card in Gloria’s hand. “Saint—I think Saint is Comedian.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Celia

“You’re sure this is going to work?” Dakota whispered from the trees. The only light around came from the moon, but even with that, it was a struggle to see her.

“It’ll work,” Lou responded from another spot in the forest.

“They might’ve started this war, but we’re gonna be the ones to end it,” Lucy said from somewhere off to my left, clicking her magazine into place.

Once we knew who we were dealing with, a plan was formed. Dakota had gone to work, camouflaging hers, Lou’s, and Lucy’s faces with makeup before scrounging up some of Mike’s hunting gear from the barn.

The three of them were now damn near impossible to find.

“Nate and Garrett are in position,” Carnage said softly from behind me, and I nodded.

The two brothers were in charge of securing the perimeter and checking the smaller buildings on the large property. We’d discovered Angel’s old truck hidden under a pile of branches during our initial search, but nothing else.

The thick trees that kept us hidden also prevented us from seeing anything that was going on inside the cabin. We might not have seen them, but there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that we were being watched.

Jimmy would have blown a gasket if he knew I was about to parley with the enemy. Hell, all of them would’ve if they knew I planned on exchanging myself for Jamie and Kate.

Molly checked her weapons before sliding them into the holster on her waist. “Did you see what Lauren loaned me?” she hissed, pointing to it. “Holds both of my Glocks back here. I feel like Lara Croft, ready to raid some tombs.”

I shook my head. “Is Lauren in position?”

“Should be close,” Molly said, pointing across the lake. “She said to keep an eye on the ridge just over there.”

I glanced toward the spot, waiting to see the signal from her flashlight. As much as I’d wanted her by my side when we confronted Comedian, I wasn’t willing to put her on the front lines.

We only had one shot to end this.

It had to be me.

The full moon cast an almost eerie glow on the water, and I watched, lost in thoughts of my husband. I’d always seen him as the sun and myself as Icarus, but that hadn’t been true in quite some time.

If Jamie was the sun, then I was the moon, each of us continually chasing the other. For years it seemed that no matter what we did, we were destined to miss one another. But on the rare occasions we met, the world was blinded by the power of our love.

I’d lost faith in most things, but if there was an afterlife, I’d wait for him there. Maybe then we’d truly be at peace.

The ridge lit up in a small burst of light before going dark again. As weapons were rechecked, I paused, listening for anything that didn’t belong.

---