"You took a big risk going in there solo," Zeke says, concern in his eyes. "But it paid off. This intel could expose all of Tane's operations."
I nod. "It was worth it. That bastard's done too much damage already."
"Do you think he'll figure out it was us?"
I shrug. "I don'tthink anyone saw my face, with my hoodie pulled down like that. But I'm sure he'll have suspicions he's unable to prove."
Dom's tattooed knuckles whiten on the steering wheel, and he lifts a hand to crack his fingers. "When do we take the fight to him? I'm done waiting around. Sneaking around has its uses, but I'm ready for these knuckles to come into contact with some skulls."
"Soon," Zeke assures him. "We just need to decipher these files, and find his weak spots."
Dom grunts unhappily but doesn't say anything further. He knows this plan is right, as frustrating as waiting may be.
We pull into the hidden garage of our command center. Home sweet home.
Devon and Rake are waiting for us inside, pacing anxiously. They rush over when they see us. "Well?" Rake asks impatiently.
"We got what we needed." I hold up the flash drive triumphantly.
He grins. "Well done, man." He slaps me on the shoulder and pain surges down my arm. I wince.
Devon shakes her head, her eyes fiery. "It's not worth losing you. None of this. I'm so glad you're safe." She gestures at my injury. "What happened to you, Sky?"
"Just a little gunshot," I shrug, and wince at the pain the action causes. "Nothing serious."
Her mouth flies open. "A gunshot? And you're playing it off like it was nothing? Clearly you're in pain."
"Hey, it was a graze. And it'll take more than that to kill me," I say lightly, though her concern warms me.
Devon squeezes my other shoulder.
Zeke nods. "Okay, let's debrief so we can start analyzing this intel with the rest of the team. We don't have any time to waste."
I take a deep breath and nod. Mission accomplished, but the real work is just beginning.
Ifollow Devon into a large open room filled with computer stations and monitors. The rest of the team is already gathered. They look up expectantly as I enter.
I toss the flash drive to Zeke. "Let's see what secrets this holds."
He plugs it into the main computer and gets to work decoding the encrypted files. Screens fill with data—financial records, communications, shipment manifests.
"Jackpot," Zeke murmurs. "This is just about everything we need to take down his operation."
I feel a fierce surge of satisfaction. After everything Tane has done to us, all the pain he's caused, we finally have him.
Satisfied with what he sees on his many screens, Zeke stands and approaches. He squeezes my shoulder, pride in his usually stern eyes. "You did good, man."
Zeke's opinion always carries extra weight with me, and I feel a little smile threatening to break out.
"Hell yeah he did!" Rake crows. "Now let's use this to make Tane sorry he ever messed with us."
I meet Devon's gaze across the room. In that moment, an unspoken promise passes between us. We're going to tear Tane's empire down, piece by piece, until there's nothing left. This ends so soon I can taste it. Aria's up next, her role filling in one more piece in Tane's evil puzzle.
My heart pounds with anticipation.
Tane took everything from us, but now we're taking it back.
And this time, we won't stop until the job is done.