I was starting to think I’d lost you,Conall said finally, his voice rough with suppressed emotion.
Never,Quinton replied with absolute conviction.You’re stuck with me, whether you want me or not.Both of you are.
Conall’s shock at the inclusion gave way to something that felt like hope.
The twin bond doesn’t get smaller just because there’s room for a mate bond too.
Relief flooded through their connection—not just Conall’s, but Quinton’s own.He’d been bracing himself for the inevitable loss of the most important relationship in his life.Instead, he was discovering that love multiplied rather than divided, that adding Nadine to their family unit didn’t diminish what they had.
It made it more.
Now,Quinton said, picking up his binoculars again,let’s go get our girl back.
Our girl.The phrase felt strange on his tongue but right in a way that surprised him.Not Conall’s mate or his brother’s woman, but someone who belonged to both of them in different ways.
Family, chosen and claimed and worth dying for.
For the next few minutes, they planned their approach with the seamless coordination that had made them legendary among pack guardians.Not just partners but two parts of a single organism, each automatically compensating for the other’s position and movement.
I can approach through the loading dock,Conall suggested, tracing their route on a rough sketch.Draw their attention while—
While I flank through the old equipment shed,Quinton finished.Classic pincer movement.
Except they’ll be expecting that.
So we give them what they expect but not how they expect it.Quinton worked through alternatives, searching for the strategic surprise that would turn Gregory’s trap against him.What if we go in together?Front door, no subtlety, maximum aggression?
Conall studied him with those dark eyes that were identical to his own.That’s suicide against this kind of defensive position.
Or it’s exactly what they won’t be prepared for.Quinton felt certainty crystallizing as the plan took shape.Gregory knows we prefer coordinated approaches with multiple contingencies.He’s prepared for us to be smart.
So we be stupid instead?
We be unpredictable.Quinton grinned, feeling something like their old partnership clicking back into place.Direct assault, maximum violence, no quarter given.Make them react to us instead of us reacting to their prepared positions.
The plan was insane, reckless, exactly the kind of frontal assault that tactical manuals warned against.But it had one crucial advantage—it would be completely unexpected.
Gregory had surely prepared for meticulous infiltration, for the kind of methodical approach the Stewart twins were known for.
He hadn’t prepared for berserker fury.
I like it,Conall said, and through their bond Quinton felt his brother’s recognition that sometimes the best tactics were no tactics at all.
Besides,Quinton added, checking his ammunition one final time,we’ve got something Gregory doesn’t understand.
What’s that?
We’re not just coming to rescue her.Quinton’s voice went quiet, dangerous.We’re coming to bring her home.And anybody who stands between a Stewart twin and his family is going to learn what a real mistake looks like.
Conall’s grin was feral.Wild.Let’s go make some mistakes.
They moved through the darkness with synchronized precision, their years of shared combat experience making verbal coordination unnecessary.
Whatever Gregory had planned, whatever trap he’d designed—he was about to discover that some bonds couldn’t be broken by neural interfaces or psychological manipulation.
Some family was worth any price.
And the Stewart twins had just decided Nadine Torrance was family.
