Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 109245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Whisper was yanked from its cover, deadly steel flashing in the dim light, the movement so fast it barely disturbed the air.
The hostages all cried out, “No! Please. Mercy! Spare him!”
Meridian not only didn’t show emotion, but he also couldn’t hear it.
He raised his arm and snapped it forward.
Gage slid in from behind Meridian, threading the narrowest space with surgical exactness, snapped his cane out, and blocked Whisper’s path a second before it drew blood.
Carbon steel clashed with titanium in a hard, resounding crack that rang in Scar’s ear.
He rushed to his partner’s side, ready to defend whatever the fuck he was doing.
Meridian scowled down at Gage from beneath the shadow of his hood.
Meridian’s tone was stoic and frigid. “Move.”
Gage ignored him.
“Spare him.”
“No,” Meridian growled.
Still not lowering his cane, with his other hand, Gage yanked the guy’s covering off in, exposing a boy’s terrified face.
Meridian didn’t soften, but he did pause.
“Look,” he snarled back at Meridian, “he’s just a kid. Leave him be.”
A young, battered, dirt-encrusted face stared up at them. His sunken eyes were wide, not with hatred, with haunted dread.
Meridian’s jaw flexed once before he slowly lowered Whisper and tucked her back in her hiding place. He turned away as if the boy or his decision not to kill him meant nothing.
Gage crouched at the kid’s side. “You’re going to be okay. I promise.”
Meridian clicked on the comms. “Ravens check to command.”
“Check received,” Jo answered.
“Site secure. Collapse the line.” Meridian droned.
Spectre’s voice came next. “All teams. Clear and retrieve.”
The field support teams flooded in, forming a protective funnel, followed by medical transports.
“Hostages moving,” Gage said in their ears.
Scar walked with his partner as he guided them out of view of the massacred bodies.
A woman grabbed Gage’s sleeve, weeping and offering blessings, prompting the rest of congregation to do the same.
Scar could only stare as pride bloomed in his chest.
He’d thought Gage’s mercy—and his hard stand against murder—would get him or all of them killed, thought his Christian morals were a liability in a world so cruel.
He’d never been happier to be proven wrong.
Gage’s humanity was a line that kept the rest of them from crossing and becoming the very things they hunted.
Gage insisted they all wait as the medics covered every hostage with a blanket, then checked over each one—including the boy’s—vitals and tended to wounds. A few of them were pretty badly beaten, but no one had been fatally wounded.
“Ravens, you’re clear to exfil,” Corvo said.
Once they were gone, the Post Action Recovery Unit would come in, remove the bodies, and do whatever it is they did with them.
Scar didn’t care enough to know, but he was sure they didn’t receive proper burials.
All he cared about now was how fast that super jet could get him and his new husband home.
White Ravens
Gage
Gage had one thing on his mind when he rushed through the doors at headquarters.
Scar. Naked.
Jo had been concerned about the village’s security and requested they stay an extra three days to ensure no further retaliation, which made his and Scar’s no-touching rule feel like an eternity.
The staff was buzzing from the success of the mission and excited that all the Ravens were finally together.
Everyone wanted them to save the world, to fix all that was wrong, and he was all for it, but he refused to do anything else—no training, physical fitness, medical exams, or missions—until he was no longer a virgin.
Unquenched need twisted stronger inside him with every passing hour.
Now that they were back and only a few floors from his bed, his body thrummed with raw hunger, every nerve aware of Scar’s nearness and the intoxicating scent of sweat and gun oil that clung to his skin.
Their assistants—Rose, Joshua, Mina, and Calder—trailed behind them, voices overlapping as they rushed to debrief them.
“Gage, your latest retinal scan results came back, Dr. Rockwell wants—”
He waved a dismissive hand in her direction. “Not now, Rose.”
They reached the elevator just as the doors slid open.
Gage stepped in first, and Scar crowded close behind him—even that small amount of contact made his breath catch.
Their assistants piled in too, all four of them squeezing into the space.
“Are you fuckin’ shittin’ me?” Scar gritted.
Gage couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled up, laced with an irritated groan.
“Perfect timing, as always, Rose.”
“What?” she said innocently, wearing a shit-eating grin. “You don’t expect us to hike up all of those stairs, do you? We don’t have the stamina of a Raven, thank you very much.”
The others tried to hold in their snickering, but failed, as the elevator seemed to take longer than usual.
Finally, the doors dinged open on the third level, and the four of them stepped out.
“Have a good evening, boys,” Rose tossed over her shoulder.
The instant the doors shut, their bags hit the floor at the same time.
They slammed into each other, mouths fused in a kiss that was all fire and urgency.