Breaking Conviction by Greer Rivers

Chapter Forty-Two

Wes limped his way to his Trackhawk, ignoring how raw his knees felt from the tiny cuts and burns, and the glass splinter still in his hand. When he finally made it to his vehicle, he tried to peel Thea off him, but her muffled cries turned into ear-piercing screams again as she clung to him for dear life.

“Fuck it,” he muttered before banding an arm around her and hopping behind the steering wheel. Once inside, he unlocked the garage, bracing himself for anyone who could be on the other side, only to relax when no one showed up.

A nearly full water bottle sat in a cup holder, and he twisted off the cap around Thea to leak water into her wailing mouth before taking refreshing sips himself.

“I know you’re upset, princess,” he said, now able to make full sentences with a hoarse voice. He wrapped Thea’s fingers around the bottle. “But drink more of this for me, okay?”

Her small hand crinkled the thin plastic as she obeyed. Wes ordered the car Bluetooth to call Naomi. He didn’t know where the rest of his teammates were, but from checking earlier, Phoenix was the only other teammate in BlackStone.

“Wes? Oh my god, are you—”

“Mommy!”

“Shh, shh, Thea, it’s okay.” He cradled her head and spoke softly into her hair. “We’re okay,” Wes replied to Naomi, loud enough for her to hear, but quiet enough not to alarm Thea.

He shifted his vehicle in drive and stepped on the gas, checking the rearview mirror as he blasted out of the garage. Fuck, he hated leaving Phoenix, but he had to get Thea to safety. The only place he could do that was far away from the facility. His tires squealed as he raced out. Thea tensed against his chest and he patted her back, trying to smooth her fears away, but the poor thing was definitely traumatized.

“There was a bomb at BlackStone Facilities—”

“What?”

“Phoenix is still back at the facility. He’s the only one and he stayed back to get Ascot.”

“Okay, but where are you?”

“I’m getting us out of here. No one else is here, but I sent an alert to law enforcement and the team,” he explained.

Wes navigated the facility grounds, driving to the gate and typing his four-digit code into his phone to open the gate. As soon as he turned outside the gate, he heard faint sirens. Wes couldn’t wait around, though. He didn’t know what they were dealing with. Hopefully, Phoenix would be able to handle himself.

As soon as he thought it, a deafening boom seemed to make the ground under the Trackhawk quake.

“What the hell was that?” Naomi’s frantic voice barely registered as he swiveled his head to the side to find BlackStone.

Or what used to be BlackStone.

Wes’s heart throbbed and his breath caught in his lungs. Smoke billowed from the back of the building he’d once called home. Even from his distance outside the gate, he could see the corner of the building that housed the weapons room, gun range, and war room had crumbled to the ground, engulfed in flames from the blast.

Phoenix.

Wes slowed almost to a halt, desperately wanting to turn around to get his teammate. But Phoenix was a trained soldier, BlackStone was under attack by some unknown entity, and he had a four-year-old he needed to get to safety.

The sirens he’d heard whistled closer, making his decision. As much as it pained him, he had to leave Phoenix and hope first responders could help him.

“Phoenix is smart. He’ll be fine.” His voice was weak in his ears.

“Wes, answer me! What was that?”

“I’ll explain. I promise. I’ve left the facility. Where are you?”

“I’m on my way to BlackStone.”

Fear sharp as a knife cut down his spine. “No, stay the fuck away from here, Naomi. I’ll meet you somewhere safe with Thea.” He racked his brain for a location. “The QT gas station. The closest one near the facility. Meet us there.”

BlackStone was on the outskirts of town, nearly in the middle of nowhere. Wes was able to navigate the empty, crooked roads at breakneck speed until he arrived at the QuikTrip gas station. Those locations had the best video surveillance, hands down. In a pinch, with a faceless enemy, this was the safest place for him and Thea until everything got sorted.

“We made it,” he sighed, the words loud enough for Naomi to hear on the still open connection. “Thea and I are at the QT.”

“Okay, we’re almost there, too.”

“We?”

“Me and Nora.”

He paused before connecting dots. “How did you know we were in danger?”

Naomi huffed. “It’s a long story. Let’s just say Dean’s back in jail and I don’t think he’ll be getting out so easy this time.”

“How close are you—”

A horn honked and Naomi pulled into the parking space beside him. “We’re here.”

Wes checked all his mirrors and everything around him before gingerly stepping out of the car with Thea. The terrified child was hiccuping and crying, but at least she wasn’t screaming anymore.

Naomi tripped out of her Nissan and ran around the front of his Trackhawk, arms wide open. Wes readied himself to hand Thea off, expecting Naomi to take her from him, but to his surprise, she fell against them both. Her arms wrapped around them and Wes used his relatively uninjured hand to pull her close, whispering soothing words to calm Naomi’s hysterics.

They were collecting an audience, but Wes’s attention was drawn to Nora as she stepped outside of the passenger seat, a phone at eye level in her hand.

“I’ve got Hawk, Devil, and Jason on FaceTime. Everyone’s on their way.” She worried her teeth over the snake bite studs under her lip. “Phoenix isn’t answering.”

“Shit,” Wes swore, not sure what the next play should be. The sirens that brought him comfort before wailed in his ears as a stream of fire trucks, ambulances, and police units raced past the station. Wes kissed Naomi on the crown of her head before passing Thea off and retrieving his phone. He dialed dispatch and waited as they transferred him to the officer who was on the way to the facility.

“This is Officer Brown.” The man’s heavy Southern accent came over the phone and Wes released a heavy sigh.

“Henry, man, I’m so glad you’re the one on this.”

“Yeah, dude, what happened? I got the call and nearly freaked the fuck out.”

“BlackStone was bombed. I don’t know the details. The weapons room and war room were hit. Phoenix is still there.” He swallowed, hoping that was still true.

“Phoenix? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Why the fuck is Phoenix there still? Did you fucking leave him? Fuck!”

Wes never in his wildest nightmares thought he’d leave a man behind and admitting that to Phoenix’s best friend made him nauseous.

Wes lowered his voice as he spoke. “Is this your private line?”

“Yes. What the hell happened, dude?”

“We still had Ascot,” Wes replied directly into the receiver. “We promised him we’d keep him alive, and Phoenix went to get him. The bomb opened straight up to the war room. He was at risk, but hopefully Phoenix got them out. There was… there was another explosion as I was leaving. I think the attackers fled.”

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Wes realized he wasn’t sure. It was mostly just a hope. He’d seen them drive away, no doubt setting off the bomb with the cord they’d used to trip the detonator. That’s how Draco taught them to do it anyway. It was an easy way to set one off and drive to safety. But had they actually left? Or were they actually behind the second explosion, too?

“Fuckin’ A, okay. I see the fence already, so I’ll call you when I know somethin’.”

Wes nodded, even though Henry couldn’t see him. “Yeah, keep me posted. The rest of the team should be there soon.”

Wes hung up and turned to Naomi. Tears filled her firelight eyes, but it wasn’t sadness or fear there anymore. The warmth and gratitude radiating from her entire body eased the tightness in his chest and the way she clutched his hand made him wonder if she felt the same way for him as he did for her.

“Thank you, Wes. You saved my baby,” she whispered. “I don’t think I could ever repay you. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost her...” she choked before swallowing. “Either of you.”

“Come here.” He pulled her into his arms, squeezing tight around both of the new loves in his life, and kissed their foreheads before pulling back.

Tears still trailed freely down Naomi’s cheek, and he attempted to swipe them away before realizing he was bleeding. He quickly pressed his injured palm to the hem of his black shirt, hiding it from her view, not wanting to alarm her any more than she already was. Instead, he used the thumb on his good hand to dry the moisture from her cheek before bending to meet her teary gaze.

“I’ve only known you a few months, Naomi, and this definitely isn’t the right time. But you two have quickly become my world. She’s the light of your life, and you’re mine. I’m not going anywhere, love.”

Naomi grabbed his hand before giving him a watery smile, opening and closing her mouth like she was getting up the nerve to say something.

His phone rang and Wes winced, slightly annoyed that the moment had been interrupted, but more afraid of not answering it and missing literally vital information about Phoenix. He looked at the caller ID before he waved his phone at her. “Give me a minute.”

She nodded before giving his hand three squeezes. He closed his eyes, surer than ever of what she felt for him, before he turned, placing the phone to his ear. “Henry? What’s the status?”

There was a pause and Wes felt his brow furrow. “Henry?”

Finally, there was a choking sob on the other side of the phone. “He’s gone, dude. Phoenix is gone.”