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This web of links between them was what made their team so strong, but it was also a weakness. Because caring was terrifying. In that moment, Aarav realized he might have been the emotionless shell they’d accused him of, but only to protect himself. And those days had ended the moment he allowed Sola—and now Cash—into his heart.

His breath caught in his chest when Sola bounded from the jet, sending up a puff of that dry orangey dust that reminded him of a Martian landscape. For all he was able to help her now, she might as well have been on the other side of the galaxy.

She had been exactly right. He had to have faith in her skills and abilities and their training or he would lose his shit. He risked a glance at Cash, who’d taken the chair closest to Aarav and noted the grooves around the guy’s eyes and mouth. Whether it was to reassure himself or Cash, Aarav said quietly, “She’s really good at her job. She’s going to be fine.”

Cash nodded but didn’t peel his eyes from the screen where the team was stretching out between the jet and the SUV parked nearby. They started a chain, handing each other the heavy pieces of the disassembled DeathBot, working as quickly and efficiently as possible.

James kept a calm and steady stream of communication flowing to the team, letting them know how much time there was remaining until first light as they raced along the utterly empty roads. If they were spotted now, they would be in trouble. There was nowhere to hide and even the four of them, heavily armed, were no match for the gunrunners, who would far outnumber them and have endless supplies.

This—not the shot Aarav was still recalculating endlessly in his mind—was the part he was most worried about. He knew Sola would set his equipment up as meticulously as Cash made his tea, but didn’t know how he’d survive if she died doing it.

The command center was absolutely silent, a miracle for the gaggle of Shields remaining at headquarters. Jordan switched his comms so only they could hear and assigned a couple people to each of the field operatives. “Don’t take your eyes off your buddies as they assemble, mount, and level this thing. Make sure every step matches what we’ve practiced exactly. Call it out if you see something that doesn’t add up.”

Aarav was usually out there with them, covering them from afar. It was odd to be safely enshrined in the office, but comforting to know that they had his back in the field even as he had the rest of the team’s.

“We’re running four minutes behind.” James frowned as Tavish and Legend struggled to bolt the DeathBot to the rusted metal of the truck bed. It was massive and heavy as fuck. It had to be properly secured or it could shift. Even a few millimeters were too many when Aarav needed to rotate the barrel of the gun with his remote control. “First light in less than six. Come on. Come on.”

Ruby interjected, her voice going out to the team in the field as well as the Shields at home. “We’ve got a tractor approaching from the west. Fucking farmer’s early this morning. You’re going to have to be out of there in two minutes and seventeen seconds before he crests the hill and spots you.”

Liam flew from the truck bed and began gathering brush. He used some to obscure their tracks while covering the parts of the DeathBot they’d finished.

Sola joined Tavish and Legend, brandishing the hammer drill like she was part of James’s Powertools crew rather than the Shields. James gave her step-by-step instructions and when she got the damn thing in place, Tavish confirming it with a tug that didn’t budge the base, James said, “Nice work. I’m sure Devon will hire you if this Shields thing doesn’t work out for you. Now get the hell out of there.”

Sola planted one hand on the side of the truck bed, then vaulted over it to the backside of the truck, making sure their tracks were as discreet as possible as they chose their path back to their ride.

They piled inside and made it onto the road, where they drove sedately in the opposite direction of the approaching farmer. If he noticed their taillights vanishing down the country lane, he’d have no reason to suspect they were anything but a local or a random car passing through.

“How the fuck do you do this?” Cash’s ragged exhale cut through the room. He clutched his chest and bent over as the rest of the team celebrated with whoops, high fives, and even a sedate smile from Jordan.

Aarav felt better already, knowing Sola and her unit were about to be safely ensconced in the jet with Marcus, and Knox for additional firepower. They’d agreed the team would stay on the ground until the rest of the mission was complete in case something went off the rails and they needed to step in. Or maybe, Aarav hoped for Cash’s sake, if his father changed his mind and decided to accept Jordan’s protection.

The team had barely boarded when Ruby spoke up. “We’ve got movement on Mr. Kalykalaos’s phone. He’s leaving the hotel, heading toward Jay Barber’s estate.”

Aarav kept his hand laid flat on his jeans-clad thighs, unwilling to ball them up and let his fingers get sweaty. But nearly an hour later, he was resorting to meditation techniques including breath control to remain as impassive as this shot would require him to be.

The celebratory atmosphere that had followed the successful completion of phase one of the operation was replaced with anxiety about the second stage.

“Time to gear up,” Ruby told him as she tracked the flashing red dot of Cash’s father’s cellphone signal across the map. “You should have the first visual of the car in under three minutes and be in range in four minutes and seventeen seconds for a total of thirty-nine seconds based on their current speed. Looks like they’ve got cruise control on, and haven’t accelerated or braked since they left the city. The wind is currently five knots from the south and is being updated in real time on your heads-up display. Based on our earlier simulations, this gives you a ninety-six percent chance of success.”

Aarav nodded, then slipped on his headset and flipped down the visor, which was also his display screen. He didn’t relish the knowledge he was about to take someone’s life, but he reminded himself of the images of the slaughtered innocents in the market square and his hands were steady on the controls.

The rest of the room went silent around him. He wasn’t wearing comms so he couldn’t hear Sola and her team or anything beyond the command center.

He counted in his mind until the car was due to arrive in three…two…

The instant he spotted it, through the enhanced scope of the DeathBot, he knew something was drastically wrong. “Fuck!”

“Tell me,” Jordan commanded.

“Jay Barber isn’t driving.” Ruby must have displayed the visual input onto the massive command center screen because hushed exclamations zipped around the room behind Aarav.

“My father is?” Cash sounded confused. He hadn’t realized what this meant yet.

“I’m on the wrong side of the road.” Aarav’s guts turned to lead and beads of sweat spontaneously formed on the back of his neck.

“Forty-four seconds until they’re in range,” Ruby reminded them. There wasn’t time to think or to make a new plan.

“You can still get the shot?” Jordan asked Aarav.


Tags: Jayne Rylon Powertools: The Shields Erotic