Page 3 of Guarding Salvation

Chapter 1

TEN YEARS LATER

Bein hunched lower into his leather jacket as he pulled his collar up to cover his neck. He’d thought, after being brought up in the Highlands, the cold wouldn’t get to him, but the Black Mountains were cold as fuck on this October morning. Resetting the cameras that protected the place he called home should’ve been an easy task, but free climbing down an icy rock face was trickier than it looked. Good thing he was an adrenaline junkie and loved anything to do with climbing, bungee jumping, parachuting. If it was dangerous, Bein wanted to be involved.

Nestled on the Welsh border, the mountains made up part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. It reminded him of home, with the beautiful, almost wild landscape of the hills. Yet nobody knew that the Mountain Search and Rescue Centre that had set up on Black Hill just two miles north of the small village of Longtown was a front for what was the most secret black ops team in the world.

Bein stepped through the door to the centre and felt the warmth of the heating tickle his skin. He was used to the bite of the cold and knew it wouldn’t be long before he was stripping his shirt off.

The woman behind the desk looked up and smiled at him.

“Hey, Snow.” He ambled over and leaned on the counter that made up the main focus of the centre. In the back was everything they’d need for any kind of search and rescue mission and the front consisted of leaflets on local focal points and some safety guides. Snow was five foot nothing, petite with white-blonde hair and heather blue eyes. She’d been given the name because of her hair and how easily she could blend in with the snow and cold. A good thing for a former jewel thief.

“You drew the short straw today?” None of the team liked doing desk duty; public relations wasn’t really in their wheelhouse.

“Fucking Bás has a bug up his ass about something and I made a comment about it, so I got desk duty.”

Bein banged the desk with his hand and laughed. “You need to learn to keep your mouth shut.”

“And you need to fuck off before I clock you one.” Her French accent was always stronger when she was pissed, and she continued to mutter in French as he walked away chuckling. Snow was like an annoying younger sibling, full of energy and joy but boy did she have a temper on her when she was riled.

Moving past her, he went into the staff only quarters that accessed the true heart of the Shadow Elite operations and command centre. Using a retinal and palm scan, he stepped into the steel lift shaft that would take him hundreds of feet below the earth. It stopped with a smooth glide and he pressed his palm to the lift doors again to access the floor. It was an added safety measure in case someone ever tried to access the secure area.

He could hear voices as he walked into the well-lit corridor and headed in the direction of the offices. This facility also housed luxury living quarters kitted out for each member of the team as well as a war room where all the fun toys like grenade launchers and weapons were held, and a tech room, which was the domain of Watchdog, their resident technical genius and hacker. A large meeting room was next to the offices, and spare accommodation, including holding cells for any persons of interest they may need to detain.

He kept moving towards Bás’ office, the leader of Shadow Elite and a complete badass enigma to them all. Which was saying a lot considering every member of the team had a history that had been wiped clean the second they signed on with Shadow.

He leaned his shoulder against the door frame of the open office door and Bás noticed him immediately.

“Get your ass in here.”

Bein moved to sit next to Duchess. She was second in command at Shadow, and he knew she was ex-military but definitely not army because he’d never met her in his time. She was a good leader and more of a people person than Bás, which made them a good team. She was also stunningly beautiful, made all the more so by the array of tattoos on her body and neck. Anyone foolish enough to mistake her beauty and charm for weakness soon found out, the hard way, how wrong they were. She was deadly, silent, and better with a knife than anyone he’d ever met, except maybe Reaper.

Bás continued talking as if Bein had always been in on the conversation, leaving him to catch up. “Duchess, you continue working the Cavendish brothers, Jack wants that as a priority, and I agree. Carter Cavendish is getting out of hand with more bodies than ever turning up. I have a feeling if we keep pushing one of the brothers will turn.”

“Agreed, Gideon is warier, but I think Damon is at the end of his rope. He wants to float the company and with the current stirrings it will affect the stock price.”

“Good, work that angle but don’t push too hard. We need him to trust you.”

“Oh, he does, and he has a kink for my artwork. The more I say no, the more he wants me.”

Bein shook his head, knowing Duchess loved the attention she got and the power it gave her over the men she worked.

Bás frowned and Bein knew he didn’t like her getting so close to her target, but it was her call to make and her body.

“I want you to take Bishop and Reaper with you to London. They can work Carter and Gideon from the other angles.”

“Sure.”

Bein turned in his seat to see Lotus chewing her nail looking bored. He knew the nonchalance was fake though and she was taking in every word. Lotus had more history with Bás than anyone else on the team and she was a skilled killer and hunter, but not military. No, she had a much more interesting background. Beside her sat Titan, a giant of a black man who looked like he could and would kill you in a heartbeat and not break his stride, but he was probably the calmest of them all.

A former London gang leader, he’d been given a second chance and was making up for the wrongs he’d done by serving with Shadow. His path and outside influences had taken him places he regretted and turned him into someone he wasn’t. Now he was almost zen in his search for redemption.

“Bein, I want you, Lotus, and Titan to keep searching for Joel Hansen. He’s still in the wind and I don’t fucking like it.”

“I’ll talk to some contacts and see if I can get a read on him.” Lotus didn’t look up from picking her nails and Bein knew it annoyed the shit out of Bás which was why she did it.

Some of the team hadn’t only had their backgrounds wiped clean but their very existence. Titan and Lotus were both officially dead and so was Bás. The contacts they’d made had to be nowhere near their old stomping grounds in case they were recognised and their covers were blown.