Page 37 of Lost (Powertools: The Shields 2)

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They filed into the command center, Ruby taking her station at the computer brains for the audiovisual equipment, Jordan at the head of the table, and the rest of them scattered around. As easy as things had been in the dining room, they were nearly as tense then as when Kennedy was working on someone in the field.

Knox cleared his throat and spoke up. “What can I tell you?”

Jordan planted his elbows on the table, steepled his fingers, and leaned in. “Start talking, and as you hit on something that sounds interesting, I’ll figure out what I want to know more about.”

“Sure.” Knox took a deep, ragged breath. “I got involved with the Vipers when I was seventeen. I was recruited by the local cops when I expressed an interest in joining the force after graduation. They told me I’d almost surely get a spot in the academy if I could prove myself first by being a mole.”

“Son of a bitch.” Aarav clenched his jaw. “They didn’t look after you, did they?”

Knox shrugged. “I had to fit in to get any good dirt. That meant rolling with them when they smoked. Unfortunately, I apparently inherited my mom’s love of drugs.”

He stared at a spot directly in front of him, so Kennedy reached over beneath the table and squeezed his thigh. She was surprised when she did, that her knuckles brushed against Marcus’s as he did the same on Knox’s other leg.

“And the cops didn’t offer to help you?” Jordan cursed. “This is why so many of us left. Why we have our own code of what’s right and wrong. I’m sorry they used you like that.”

Knox nodded tersely, as if he might crack if he spoke his thanks aloud. He chewed his nails and Jordan didn’t press him, letting him inhale a few shaky breaths before proceeding. He glanced around the room, as if searching for the exit, until his gaze landed on Nolan’s throat flexing as he sipped from a silver can.

“Is that a beer?” Knox eyed it as if it were made of diamonds instead of hops and water.

“Uh, yeah. You know what? Shouldn’t have it at a work meeting anyway.” Nolan stepped into the bathroom and poured it down the sink without a second thought.

Knox sighed and resumed mauling his poor abused fingernails with his teeth.

The immensity of what they were asking him to do smacked Kennedy in the face. Could Knox handle the pressure? Would he crack and return to his old ways? Struggling with sobriety was hard enough. All this extra shit on top could send him spiraling into darkness again.

Now that she’d found him again, she couldn’t stand the thought of him being lost.

“Okay, so, anyway. Recently, the stakes have been higher. Those of us who oversaw large regions started getting shipments of special shit. We were told to charge double for it and only give it to our best customers. Problem was, it was too good. A lot of people, my ex and I included, couldn’t handle it. We both OD’d.” Knox swallowed and looked at the bathroom as if considering lapping the beer out of the sink. “For some reason, paramedics brought me back.”

He snatched his stare from the bathroom and instead looked at Kennedy. Was she really ready to be his purpose? Was Marcus?

“What happened to your girlfriend?” Jordan wondered.

“Boyfriend. He died.”

“Shit. I’m so sorry, man,” James said softly as the rest of the Shields added their condolences.

“So yeah, that sucked.” Understatement of the century. “It might also be important to know his name was Riggs, and he was Vex’s nephew.”

“Vex as in the head of the Vipers.” Jordan confirmed.

“Yeah.”

“So you have some special connection to the guy.” Jordan tapped his fingers on the table at that.

“Not really. I think he trusted me more because of it, though. Because he knew from Riggs that I was all in…until I wasn’t. Riggs cared more about advancing than I did and I went along with a lot of the plans Vex had for us because it kept things flowing. Once Riggs died, though, the memories from that night kept me clean and I lost the will to be involved. I didn’t touch one fucking bit of that shit you saw in the cabin the other day. It’s no joke. It’s going to kill a lot of people if it hits the streets.”

“What is it?” Jordan asked.

“All I know is our boss told us it’s a test. Only two places had the recipe and they weren’t fucking around, keeping a tight lid on it, so they can hopefully smash the competition once and for all.” Knox pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s why I ratted to that shitty agent when I found out one of the locations where they were cooking it.”

“They intercepted the delivery you informed them about and were able to shut down the plant. But they haven’t been able to locate the source of the remaining supply.” Jordan must have known at least some of what Knox was sharing. He’d used it to confirm Knox was being straight with them.

As much as Kennedy hated to admit it, she appreciated that. A sliver of her was still afraid to fully put her faith in him given how fragile his recent commitment to doing the right thing might be in the face of his addiction issues. He’d wrecked her once. If he didn’t live up to the high hopes she was already forming, it would destroy her this time around.

And now it wasn’t only her in the equation. She had to worry about the fallout harming Marcus too. Hell, even their professions were at risk. Her whole life.

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