Page 150 of Shadowed Hearts: Frost
Kade's head turns toward me with mechanical precision. "Excuse me?"
"I said no." I stand from my position near the wall, every eye in the room tracking my movement. "Vanessa stays."
The temperature drops ten degrees. In eight years of working for Roman and Kade, I've never directly contradicted an order. Never challenged command structure. Never put personal considerations above tactical decisions.
Until now.
"Cross." Kade's voice carries warning like a loaded weapon. "This isn't a discussion."
"You're right. It's not." My hands remain steady at my sides, but something fundamental shifts in my chest. Like a scope adjustment that brings everything into perfect focus. "Because I'm not sending her away."
Jax's casual slouch disappears entirely. Cole's tablet goes forgotten in his hands. The air itself seems to hold its breath.
"She's a liability to your judgment," Kade continues, using that measured tone that's ended careers and broken stronger men than me.
"She's an asset to this team. And she's mine."
The words hang in the air like smoke from gunfire. Final. Irreversible.
Kade steps forward, using every inch of his massive frame to establish dominance. "That moment in the medical bay when you were out of control proved my point. You beat the hell out of Xander and Jax because they were following protocol."
Heat floods my neck. The memory burns—Vanessa possibly dead, my team holding me back while rage consumed every rational thought.
"They were keeping me from her."
"They were following standard procedure. You lost complete control." Kade's voice cuts like surgical steel. "That's not tactical thinking. That's emotional compromise."
Around us, the team finds the walls and ceiling fascinating. Jax drums his knuckles against his thigh in nervous energy. Cole's fingers hover over his tablet like he's typing invisible reports.
"My response was appropriate to the threat level."
"Your response was unhinged." Kade moves closer, every word deliberate. "You attacked your own team members. Men who've had your back for years."
The accusation lands like a body shot. Because he's right. In that moment, seeing Vanessa pale and still, nothing else existed except getting to her. Protocol meant nothing. Team loyalty meant nothing.
"She makes you dangerous in all the wrong ways, Cross."
"She makes me better." Each word comes out clipped and precise. "And if you can't see that, then maybe you're the one who's compromised."
The accusation lands like a sniper's bullet. Center mass. Fatal to the chain of command.
Kade's eyes narrow to arctic slits. "You're out of line."
"Good." The response surprises even me. "Because being in line means losing the one person who makes me want to be more than just a weapon."
A heavy silence descended. In the distance, interrogation equipment hums like a funeral dirge.
"Everyone out." Kade's command voice fills the room. "Except Asher and Cole."
Chairs scrape against concrete as the team files out. Jax catches my eye as he passes, that sharp blue-green gaze carrying something between concern and calculation. The door closes with a finality that echoes through the space.
"James Williams," Kade slides a manila folder across the nearest table. "Financial consultant skimming from the wrong accounts. Client wants the problem resolved quietly. Forty-eight hours maximum."
I stare at the folder without touching it. "You're testing me."
"I'm giving you a chance to prove you're still operational." His voice carries measured authority that's broken stronger men than me. "Complete it clean, and we'll discuss Vanessa's status."
Cole shifts beside the wall, maintaining perfect silence. His presence feels deliberate—witness to whatever judgment Kade plans to render.
