Crimson Highlander (Onyx Assassins 2)

“What’s going on?” Her smile faltered as Alek walked by, giving us both a silent nod.

“We found Daphne.” The words tasted acidic, but they had to be said.

Valor’s eyes flew wide. “You did? Where? When? How?” She clutched my arms, and her heartbeat accelerated.

“Xavier called while we were out handling something else. One of his men stumbled onto a Sons facility in demon territory.”

“Where?” She swallowed hard.

“Over by the shipping yard, near the coast.”

“That’s why you’ve been gone all night,” she said softly, glancing toward the window. Dawn was only an hour, maybe two, away.

“Yes.” I rubbed the back of my neck, and her hand fell away. “Look. I know it’s your family, but any extra intel you might be able to give us would help.”

She opened her mouth like she thought about saying something, then closed it, her brow puckering. “I’ll help you in any way I can. Kyle is my family by blood, but not much else, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Daphne safe.”

I nodded, then took her hand in mine and pressed a kiss to her palm, breathing in her scent and committing every note of it to memory. Too soon, and she’d be gone. I needed to set up a safe house for her wherever she intended to settle. Needed to see to the security and access of the place. Even if she wasn’t my mate by choice, I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

“Come with me.” I barely recognized my own voice. It was so fucking tortured. Hold your shit together.

I walked her past the living room and down the long steps that led to our war room. “I’m trusting you, lass,” I whispered as I put my hand on the biometric scanner.

“I know,” she answered softly, stroking her thumb over the back of the hand that still held hers.

A click sounded as the giant door came unlocked, then swung open, revealing the war room.

“Damn, it’s like a safe,” she marveled, looking down at the various bolts that secured the door.

“It basically is a safe,” Alek said from the head of the table as Owen put two cups of steaming, black coffee next to my chair. “It’s designed to keep the royals and the families of the Order safe in the event of an attack.”

“Impressive.” Her eyes swept the interior quickly, then went wide as she took in the wall of computer monitors and the large map tacked to a bulletin board. “You’ve been holding out on me.”

I grunted.

“Can you blame us?” Benedict asked, shifting in his seat. “Your last name is Moorehouse.”

“It is,” she agreed softly. “But if that lock is anything like the one on Lachlan’s room, it probably would have let me in if I’d ever tried to access the room, right?”

“Yes,” Ransom agreed, leaning back in his chair to face us. “It recognizes you as Lachlan’s mate.”

A fierce jolt of protectiveness rattled through my system. She was my mate. The bond between us glowed so fucking bright it may as well have been paved in bricks and led the way to Oz. In that regard, she would always be mine, but in every other? I was hers.

“Right.” Valor nodded, leaning forward to study a monitor. “You found other facilities.”

Alek and I shared a look, then he nodded.

“Aye. You only know about the ones you’ve told us about. We’ve found them here and here,” I pointed to the monitor. “A weapons cache here. You already knew about the legitimate portions of the business here and here—”

“Oh God, did you…” She tugged her lower lip between her teeth as panic rolled off her, the scent of fresh cut grass flaring. “Did you…harm the businesses?” Her gaze flew to mine. “There are ordinary people working there. They have no clue what Moorehouse does, or the Sons.”

“They’re fine, lass.” I squeezed her hand. “We did some recon on the businesses but left them in place. They’re too valuable for potential future intel, and regardless of what you may think of us, we don’t harm civilians. Ever.”

“I know,” she whispered, worry flickering through her eyes. “I just…” She sighed.

“Trust but verify. I get it.” I leaned forward and brushed a kiss across her forehead. “Come sit.”

Benedict vacated the chair next to me, and Valor took it. I passed a cup of the coffee her way, and we began.

“Here’s where we stand.” Ransom typed on the laptop in front of him, and the monitors on the wall changed. “This is everything we know about Edgemont BioMed.” Pictures filled the screens, and a map blew up on the right monitor. “The building was bought five years ago by a trust. The law offices of Bryson, Craftsman, and Williams are listed as trustee—”

“As in Carson Williams?” Valor leaned forward, bracing her elbows on the table.

“Yes,” Ransom nodded.