Unlocked (The Alpha Group 3)

"I'm okay," I replied hoarsely. "I'm okay."

She let out a little sob. "I thought he'd shot you. I didn't understand what was going on. Are they...?"

"I don't know." Dragging myself off Trey, I reached out to check his pulse. He was alive. I suspected I'd just knocked him unconscious. I turned towards where I'd heard Liv fall, searching for any sounds of life, but the darkness stayed silent. I couldn't bring myself to try and confirm it. I'd already felt her death once. "I think we're safe," I said.

"What about them?" she asked, and I realised I could still hear the faint rattling of Trey's men trying to break their way inside.

"These doors are deceptively strong. We'll be fine in here until the cavalry arrives."

I searched until I found the gun. It was unlikely Trey or Liv would trouble us again, but I wasn't taking any chances.

By the time I reached her, Sophia had shed the rest of her bonds. She was shivering and, as she burrowed into me, I ran my hand up and down her arm, despite knowing it wasn't the cold that chilled her.

"What happened there?" she asked. "With the lights I mean? One moment I was sure we were dead, the next you were signalling at me, and then everything just went crazy."

"They had the wrong guy."

"So you're not the leader?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

She actually laughed. It was a tiny sound, but glorious too, and it seemed to release something inside me. "Then who the hell is it? Because I have to say, I was pretty sure it was you, too."

At that moment, there were several gunshots outside. Sophia tensed.

"It's okay. That'll be the good guys."

The door opened, and in stepped Joe, flanked by several guards.

"Well, aren't you two a sight?" he said.

It took her a few moments to understand. "No. Way. You're in charge?"

Joe grinned in amusement. "That's perfectly ridiculous, Sophia. After all, I'm just a driver."

But she wasn't having any of it. She turned to me. "Does that make you second in charge?"

"What happened to letting me keep some secrets?" I replied, but I kept my voice light. There was little reason to hide anything at this point.

Soon, the room was swarming with people. Once it had become clear how stacked the odds were, The Syndicate soldiers outside had thrown down their weapons and surrendered. We hadn't lost a single man.

Trey was still out cold, but nonetheless his stretcher was escorted out by an entire team of our best guys. I wasn't sure what exactly would become of him, but I was certain it wouldn't be pleasant. In our laws, the only crime worse than trying to kill a fellow brother is trying to hurt the group itself, and he'd committed both to extreme levels.

Liv, on the other hand, wouldn't have the chance to be punished. Trey's bullet had taken her through the neck, nicking an artery, and she'd bled out, there in the dark. I couldn't even stomach to look at her body. My mind was still reeling from discovering she was alive. Dealing with her death for a second time was the last thing I needed.

At some point, while everything was being dealt with, Sophia slipped away. I found her sitting on alone, on a stool, in the crumbling old bar at the front of the complex.

"This is where it all started," she said as I approached. "If I hadn't snuck through the door that night, all of this would have played out differently."

I nodded. I'd never believed much in fate or destiny. The idea of having no control over my life terrifies me to my core. But it was hard not to feel the divine hand of providence in all of this. How else could I have found the soul that so perfectly matched my own? The person that healed the wounds I'd thought were beyond repair?

"Do you regret it?" I asked. "That night?"

One side of her mouth curled up. "Not even for a second."

Part of me thought that made her crazy, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. I pulled up a stool and joined her.

"Is it over then?" she asked.

"I'm almost scared to say yes, but I think, this time, it actually is. We still have a lot of cleaning up to do. I expect once Trey tells us what we need to know, the group will be moving against The Syndicate ASAP. It will be messy, but it needs to be done. With any luck, things will be back to normal in a few weeks."

She nodded, and for about thirty seconds we sat in silence. "I'm sorry about Liv," she said eventually.

I exhaled slowly. "Now that was a surprise."

She reached out and took my hand. "Are you okay?"

I didn't answer straight away. After all of the betrayal and deception, and with all of the hurdles still to come, I felt like I mostly definitely should not be okay. But sitting there, with her fingers laced through mine, the worst of our problems finally in the rear view mirror, all I felt was a strange sense of contentment.

"You know, I actually am."

EPILOGUE

Sophia

The period after it was all over was a bit of a blur. Having learned my lesson, I stayed close to Sebastian for a few days, making sure all the loose ends were tied up.

When we were confident it was well and truly over, Sebastian moved back into his apartment and I went with him. He'd organised a crew to come through and fix the damage to my place, but I wasn't ready to go back there yet. Maybe I never would be. Sleeping alone still held a lot of terrors for me. I doubted I'd fully get over my experiences for some time.

Surprisingly, it was kind of difficult to adjust to a normal life again. After the constant adrenaline, the daily grind felt a little muted, a little dull. I wasn't stupid enough to actually miss all the peril and the betrayal and the men with guns, but there was a certain mystique to having been involved in that clandestine world that, in retrospect, I could almost romanticise.

Despite the fact that we were living together, Sebastian and I didn't get much time alone for the next few weeks. The Alpha Group was in turmoil over everything that had happened, and there was an awful lot of cleaning up to do. I missed him. After everything we'd been through together, that powerful sense of 'us versus the world', it felt strange to suddenly be apart once more. But I tried to use that time to focus on getting back into my old rhythm. My boss was pleased to have me back, and I assured him that this time it was for good. A few days later, the promotion he'd hinted at officially came through, and I became a senior associate. There was something extra satisfying about the idea of not just being promoted, but stepping into Jennifer's shoes. I had no doubt I'd be up to the task.

I even managed to fit in a little pre-hens night with the girls, which left me with a headache to rival anything Trey had injected me with.