A Shadow's Embrace (16 page)

She wanted to melt away into the carpet. Hot breath brushed across her forehead in a pseudo kiss that made her heart cease beating. She reached for Dagan when he settled in front of her, but he shook his head, dumped a pile of clothes into her hands, and motioned toward a door on the nearest wall.
 

“Bathroom. Change.”
 

“Dagan, I—”
 

“Later, babe.” His voice was a dull whisper resonating disappointment that sank into her marrow like a toxin. “I get that shit hit before you could duck, but don’t ever leave my bed when my dick is still wet with your arousal and my release is still in you. No one gets to see you all sexy and freshly fucked but me.”
 

His hand settled on her waist as he finally gave her the heated gaze she’d needed. Warmth settled in her belly as she nodded.
 

“Sorry. I knew you were exhausted. I didn’t realize this was gonna happen.”
 

“I get it, babe.” He cupped her neck and kissed her softly before pulling away and motioning toward the door again. “Change. Kaeden wants this done before your girl figures out something’s going down.”
 

“But I should….” She motioned toward Patch and Diaz.
 

“They’re good. Worried and pissed, but good. You get safe, they’ll be good. Go.”
 

“God, Dagan. I can’t believe she....” Tears ran down her face.
 

He cursed and dragged her into his arms. She looked up at him, tumbling into his soothing gaze.
 

“How could she do this to me? To us?”
 

“Ssh, now’s not the time to break down. It sucks, but we’re low on time and short on intel. Change so we can rectify that. We need to stay ahead of your girl.”
 

Devyn nodded. He was right. She headed to the bathroom on shaky legs.
 

Her girl. Devyn couldn’t think beyond changing into the clothes Dagan had brought. A part of her had been carved out with a dull butter knife, and the wound ached too badly to poke and prod with a by-blow of how, much less why, but she didn’t have a choice in the matter. The tsunami of betrayal had hit shore and was about to overtake her.
 

The hoodie and sweatpants swallowed her. She shuffled from the bathroom adorned in clothes six times too big, but she knew they represented the staking of a claim. She was Dagan’s. Her insides fluttered despite the heaviness of the moment. Settling into his arms, she waited for Kaeden to speak.
 

“A few moments ago, Devyn alerted me to a potential security issue, both for the Indigo Order and us. She was contacted by an empath on her crew, Mia. Mia is a level three, untrained operative who’s been with the Order since its beginning. She was in the same research facility as Devyn, Dare, Rider and Cadence .
 

“The most recent communication requested Devyn help resolve a conflict between Diaz and Patch, who I believe many of us are familiar with, now that most of our recent paychecks are in their pockets.”
 

The men laughed as the two younger psychics shifted their gazes downward with knowing grins. Yeah, they’d totally fleeced the SEO. A couple of the Shadows nearest the boys slapped them on the back as their crews guffawed and cheered their leaders on. At least the hell Conver had brought down on Devyn had one good result—these kids had more role models, an entire room full of Dares and Riders.
 

“Obviously, these two are peas in the same pod, which means something isn’t right with Devyn’s girl Mia. Ace is going to go through all the surveillance footage Devyn managed to recover, but, for now, we’ll work with this.”
 

The room darkened, and Ace punched some keys. Devyn’s nightmare rumbled to life.
 

“Look, you don’t get it. She’s not stupid. If I push too hard, she’ll know something’s up. She might’ve fallen for this ruse before all this went down, but she’s still raw from Rider’s capture and torture.” Mia’s voice boomed in the tension-thickened room. “She’ll call back, and I’ll get her. Just give me time.”
 

Silence descended on the footage. Betrayal burned Devyn’s insides, coating with a new lacquer of distrust. She’d been so damn stupid.
 

“You listen to me. I haven’t sat back and endured all this bullshit for years for you to turn tail and run now. We’re taking that cow and her crew down. I don’t care if she’s fucking Jesus himself. I’ll cover, and the SEO won’t be any wiser.” Mia’s agitated voice rose. Her words punctured Devyn. What the hell?
 

Mia paced in the control room of Indigo Order’s second compound. “Yeah, well, I handled Rider, didn’t I? You don’t think I can take her?”
 

Dare cursed from the other side of the room. She cast him her sympathy. How could Mia do this? Why? Devyn, Dare and Rider had done everything they could to protect Mia in the facility since she’d come across as the weakest of them all. Was that a lie as well?
 

Ace cut the feed, and Kaeden crossed his arms as he took control of the room once again. “As we all know, empaths are unpredictable at times and can be downright dangerous. Fortunately, she isn’t a level five or six. Handling her shouldn’t be difficult, but, since we don’t have proof of her grade, we need to be careful.”
 

“What do you mean about being dangerous? Doesn’t she just feel people’s emotions and shit?” Diaz asked. He flashed Devyn an apologetic wink for using bad words.
 

“Most empaths we’ve worked with are able to use their ability as a weapon, in much the same way a manipulator can. They can overwhelm a person with negativity—pain, sense of loss, fear, whatever they think will work to debilitate their opponent,” Trent stated.
 

“Higher levels can make it so realistic the mind never recovers,” Rex added. “We’ve seen it done. We’ve done it ourselves when needed. It’s an effective weapon with potentially permanent consequences.”
 

Oh, my God. Devyn had no idea. She trembled within Dagan’s grasp as she processed the past. She could sense Dare doing the same thing. His jaw twitched, and he shook his head. Yeah, she’d been fucking with them all for years.
 

Event after event shuffled through her mind. Like the time Mia had her thinking Rider was being overly assertive with the street kids. It’d been unfathomable to imagine him beating up on anyone weaker than him—especially kids. But the evidence Devyn had seen drove her to confront him anyway. It’d been complete bullshit, and Mia swore she had no idea who supplied the intel.
 

And the time Dare confronted her, claiming she and Rider were involved. That’d really set Rider off big time. The two men hadn’t spoken for a week afterward. Devyn never asked where Dare had  come up with that crazy notion. But it all made sense now. She’d seen him in a heated discussion with Mia after that.
 

And the computers. Cadence was going to go nuclear. Mia had ruined so many computers over the past couple of years they’d eventually banned her from the surveillance room unless she was with someone else. Hell, she’d even managed to “accidentally” delete folders of surveillance footage from the system before.
 

Her mind continued listing occurrences until she inwardly groaned. If they hadn’t happened so far apart and seemed so innocuous, she, Dare, and Rider would’ve noticed. Hell, even Cadence would’ve gotten a clue. But nothing had been serious. All footage had been restored, computers replaced, relationships mended. Maybe that’s why none of them had seen it. It had been small, incidental bullshit—just enough to rub skin but not enough to infect.
 

‘What’s the plan?” Corbin asked. “My team and I are ready to move out.”
 

It looked like the entire compound was. There were so many armed men—and a couple of women—in the room, she’d lost count somewhere around a hundred. The SEO was a much larger operation than she’d expected.
 

“Since she was attempting to acquire the location of the compound, we’ll beef up patrols here, leave most of the squads on alert and ready to roll out if needed. This will be a good opportunity for trainees to step up to the plate and prove themselves. Don’t shy away from running them through worst-case scenario drills while they’re on these patrols. Increase the durations, keep them all on high alert.” Kaeden looked down at Devyn. “We’ll use the same setup we did when securing Rider. Devyn’s going in alone.”
 

“Hell no.” Dagan tensed, his hands fisted at his side as he took a couple of steps forward. His gaze darted around the room, as though seeking someone foolish enough to argue. “We’ll discuss options, but she’s not alone for this.”
 

“I won’t be, not really. You’ll be there.” Devyn battled the fear rattling around in her. She had a room filled with enough Shadow Elites to take on a country. She’d be okay. What terrified her most was losing someone she’d considered a friend.
 

“I’m sorry, babe. I know this sucks,” Dagan said. “We’ll get through it.”
 

Everyone in the room chuckled when she smacked his arm.
 

“Funny. You just wait till tonight. Keep that smartass attitude up and you won’t be raiding anything but the fridge.”
 

“Damn. She got you good.” Ace whistled.
 

The other men laughed, and some slapped him on the back. Kaeden made his way to her.
 

“You ready to get this op started? You’ll contact her, establish a location.”
 

Her pulse pounded, her stomach pitched its protest as nervousness soured her insides. What if she screwed up and Mia sensed something? Subterfuge wasn’t her strong suit. “Maybe Dare should contact her. It’d make sense that I’d turn this over to him since he deals with Patch and Diaz more than I do.”
 

“No.” Kaeden shook his head. “You contact her. You wouldn’t shrink away from handling something like that on a normal day.”
 

A normal day. Had she had one of those?
 

You’re right.”
 

“You’ll do great.” Dare put his arm around her and kissed her temple.
 

Ace motioned toward the seat beside him. “Have a seat. We’ll use the secured line.”
 

Devyn’s breath ceased for a moment when the phone began ringing. Silence descended in the room.
 

“Hello?”
 

“Mia. It took me longer to get a secured landline than I expected.” She swallowed and forced a couple of breaths. “You have eyes on Diaz and Patch? They okay?”
 

“They’re stubborn assholes, Dev. I’m not cut out for this shit. I need your help.” Mia’s voice reverberated desperation, impatience. “What should I do?”
 

“Tell me where you are. I’ll secure a ride there.”
 

“No,” Mia shouted. “You know they don’t trust Shadows.”
 

“Yeah, I’ve had my fill of Shadows. I’m coming alone. Just tell me where to head.”
 

“We’re a couple of blocks west of the Indigo Order Kitchen. They wanted this done man-versus-man, so their crews aren’t here.” Mia lowered her voice. “Third floor. It’s the tallest brown building on the corner. You can’t miss it.”
 

“I know the one.” It had been overrun with druggies and pushers until Dare and Rider had started kicking ass and cleaning up the streets surrounding Indigo Order’s sector in West Englewood. “I’ll be there ASAP.”
 

The line disconnected. She stood and wrapped her arms around Dagan. “I wish we could fast forward and move past all this.”
 

“Me, too.” He cupped her chin in his hand and pushed upward until she met his gaze. “So, you’ve had your fill of Shadows, huh?”
 

Crap. She’d said that, hadn’t she? She smiled.
 

“Maybe. Maybe not.”
 

“Damn, man. That might be a record. We don’t usually run off a woman that fast,” Cash commented.
 

“No shit,” Corbin added.
 

The men all chuckled, and, before long, the volume in the room rose as the secondary forces of men she didn’t know filled the room with residual conversations that somehow calmed her. These operatives were all used to intense situations. This was their way of handling it.
 

“No response to that?” Dagan kissed her neck. “Go Lara Croft up before I decide to prove you’re nowhere near tired of me.”
 

She kissed his lips and pushed away with a smirk. Yeah, she wasn’t anywhere near tired of him. She doubted she’d ever be. Heading to the exit, she halted just outside. Dare stood in the corridor near the doorway. He crushed her against him before she could speak.
 

“This shit sucks hard, Indy.”
 

“Yeah, it does. I don’t understand.” She looked around and noticed both Diaz and Patch hopping around like jumping beans. “You have something to share?”
 

“You know there’s no love between that bitch and the street, Indy.” Diaz pocketed his hands and looked at Patch, as if seeking his approval. When the kid nodded, Devyn got gut-punched with apprehension. “We’ve been noticing some shit with her for a while. I had peeps on her, watching her with some of the groups who keep to themselves. She’s fucked up.”
 

“How so?” Dare asked.
 

“Someone saw her hurting a couple of little kids and laughing, like she was at a freaking circus or some shit. The kids are good now, but they’re still whacked on the inside, like that bitch twisted them up and they can’t unwind themselves. Plus people are poofing. One day they’re on the edge of our street, the next they’re ghosted.”
 

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
 

“’Cause she’s your crew. I wouldn’t want you telling me shit about my peeps,” Patch said.