Page 25 of No Fear

“What do you want me to do? Go knock on her door and start giving her advice about her love life? I’m sure that would go down well. That’s if she even opens the door.”

“I’m her best friend, Donnie. Trust me when I say, she might be mad at you, but you still have a place in her heart.”

Seriously? After what he’d done?

“The two of you have Nate as a bond. That means something. Someone needs to make her see she deserves better before—” She stopped abruptly.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up.

“Before what? What aren’t you telling me?” His protector instincts went on full alert.

Maddie stood, glancing toward Andrew who was still absorbed in the TV.

She turned back to Donnie. “Before things get worse.”

The tone of her voice made his heart race. “Has he physically hurt her?” The words came out like a growl.

When she didn't answer him, he had his answer. Every muscle in his body tensed.

“Where is she?”

Chapter Six

Sam studied the intel in front of him. He’d yet to share it with his own intel team or anyone at Onyx. He needed to be sure the information was solid before he would even consider presenting it to his team. This one was far too personal to everyone at Onyx.

Reborn had been coming at them for over a year and Onyx were more than ready to end their reign of terror, but not at the cost of any of his boys’ lives. He might be their captain, the boss, but they were family to him. They were a close-knit group and despite what the orders were, if he thought it was too risky, there was no way in hell he would send his boys in. He didn’t give a damn Onyx had been created to do the ops no one else would dare. He refused to send them on a suicide mission.

He studied the security monitors in his office at Onyx HQ, or the Farm as Ryan had affectionately named it. Raven were on down time and Nyx were out training, so there weren’t too many people on site. The monitors covered every room and angle of their facility despite their location on a protected Naval base. You could never be too careful.

He’d just gotten off a call with Washington. New intel had been gathered on the Aziz brothers, Omar and Hakim, the money and masterminds behind Reborn. He had a few questions regarding the intel he’d received. While Onyx were used to occasionally operating with gaps in intel, Reborn were too dangerous to not be thorough. He would have to move fast though. If this panned out, the team would need to be in the air next week. Washington didn’t want to give the Aziz brothers any chance of slipping away. He sighed, picking up his phone. There was only one person he could think of who would answer him honestly.

“Well, hello stranger.” Her silky-smooth voice never changed.

“Hi Tess. It’s been a while. How are you?”

“Oh, you know. Living the dream.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “I’m guessing you need a favor?”

“I could just be calling to say hello.”

“Huh. Right. Like you ever do that. What’s it been, three months since your last call? Go on. Tell me what you need.”

He winced. He should have stayed in touch more. She deserved better from him. But he couldn’t give her what she wanted, so their relationship was purely professional. Except when... He shook his head and focused on the file in front of him.

“Reborn. I’m assuming you know about them?”

“Of course. CIA have been working overtime to find the Aziz brothers. I gather you have the latest intel?”

“I do. Have you seen it?” While Tess had officially retired from CIA over a year ago, she was still very much working for them unofficially. CIA tended to do that. Lure people back, especially those as good as Tess.

“I haven't seen the file, but I can guess what’s in it.”

“Then you know why I’m calling. How solid is it?”

“Sam, you know as well as I do, no one can guarantee anything. Not even CIA. Onyx is used to ops like this. Why are you calling on this one?”

“Because this one is personal. I don’t want to send my team into an ambush.” His eyes scanned the file on his desk.

“I know it’s personal.” Her voice gentled. “I saw the reports of what happened in Daram. The team they killed. The woman they captured and tortured, that now works for you. The cargo ship, the FBI bombing, the sarin attack. Your team has been in the middle of it all. Perhaps you should step aside and let Delta handle this. Or CIA can assign Special Activities Division. Maybe it’s too personal. Washington would understand.”