Marie Harte - Hale

He stopped suddenly and fired a round. A body hit the floor.

“A tech with a stunner. Not a friend,” Diego muttered. They left the hallway via a corner stairwell and descended in a run. Diego shot twice more, killing or wounding Circs, Evan wasn't sure. They didn't stop to check but instead raced toward the basement exit.

“We exit on three,” Diego whispered. “Whatever you do, stay behind me, and stay with me.”

Evan nodded. To his shock, Diego pressed a hard kiss to his lips.

“I still love you. So much,” Diego sighed. He counted back from three, then shoved open the door.

And all hell broke loose.

Robbie paced outside under the clear night sky, too full of nervous energy to sit still. Hawkins's announcement that Pearson Labs had been raided shocked everyone.

Circe's Recruits, and even Robbie, had always expected to be in on the assault when the labs fell. To sit here on the sidelines, fucking ordered by Shields not to interfere, pissed him the hell off.

“Would you sit down?” Roane asked, exasperated.

Roane had pulled guard duty while the rest of the group put their efforts into a general clean up. Hawkins, Tersch, and Fallon labored alongside the squad to clear the dead bodies from the house while the women took charge of sanitizing the place.

Everyone remained in shifted form, on edge and needing to feel empowered, Robbie guessed. He always felt like that, so what the hell did he know?

Hale remained unconscious down in the lab in one of Doc's sickrooms with Paige.

She worried over him, constantly touching him, talking to him. Robbie had tried to sit with his mates, but after an hour of constant nothingness, he'd lost it. Paige had yelled at him to go work off his rage before coming back.

No one else wanted him in the house because apparently, his attitude aggravated them too. Hawkins had the nerve to threaten him with bodily harm if he didn't leave the rest of them alone. And who the hell put him in charge?

“ That’s it .”

He glanced up at Roane in surprise, only to feel the Circ's mighty fist slam into his face. The asshole hit him right in the nose, and he was forced to take a moment to clear his watering eyes.

Roane had no qualms about taking advantage. He managed another punch to Robbie's kidney and a kick to his stomach before Robbie got his feet back under him.

“That's for threatening my men and dicking with Sabrina.” A small threat that kept her from Pearson Labs. Jesus. “I saved her life. Hell, I saved all of their lives.” Robbie grunted and ducked the next punch Roane threw, countering with one of his own. He socked Roane hard in the arm, then kicked his leg out from under him.

Roane rolled back onto his feet, as if he'd meant to hit the ground ass-first.

“Not bad. At least my sister found a mate who can fall with grace.” Robbie sneered and moved so fast, Roane couldn't follow. He beat the man again and again, until Roane lay panting on his hands and knees before him. Refraining from kicking the man when he was finally down, Robbie forced himself to calm down. His anger abated, his beast pleased with the skirmish. He reached out a hand.

Only to have Roane grab it, lever his weight, and use Robbie's size against him.

The damned Circ pushed upward and threw him into the trunk of a very thick tree. The wind knocked out of him, Robbie took a deep breath and found purchase on the ground, his knees surprisingly wobbly.

“Better, Weston. Good to know you're not as big a pussy as you look,” he rasped.

Roane started laughing. The bruises and cuts staining his face faded, and he gave Robbie a sincere grin. “You are such a pain in the ass. It's so fitting you're here for Hale.” He snickered. “I told him he'd find his mate when he least expected it. After all the shit he gave me about Caitlyn. Well, now he knows where she gets that mean streak.” His laughter infected Robbie.

Chuckling and feeling the tension ease, Robbie leaned back against the tree. “My sister loves you.”

“And I love her.” Roane paused. “You're mated to Paige and Hale. Hale's place is here, and with Doc her uncle, I'd say Paige's place is here too.”

“So?”

“So, if you're planning on staying here as well, we need to set some rules.” Roane stood, his power clear to see.

Robbie understood why Hale followed this man, why the rest of them followed him too. Roane commanded by simply breathing. He had an innate ability to instill trust and loyalty in his men. He'd won Caitlyn's heart, which was no mean feat.

“Go ahead,” Robbie sighed, needling the man. “Gimme this list of rules I'm not allowed to break, ever, upon pain of death.”

“It's almost uncanny how alike you and your sister are. That same sarcasm, that same need to poke fun, when you know you're going to give in at the end.” Robbie wanted to wipe the smug look off his face. “Do you ever shut up?”

“First, I'm leader here.” Roane ignored him. “I make the calls. It's not a dictatorship, it's a command structure. You want to stay, you fall in.”

“Aye, aye, sir.” He flipped Roane a one-finger salute.

“Dick,” Roane muttered. “Second, Caitlyn may be your sister, but she's my mate.

Soon to be my wife, as soon as I ask her. And you're going to be an uncle. You and I need to make peace. Because if we don't, she'll be unhappy. As will Hale, my best friend.”

They were in deep. Robbie hadn't realized how tight Hale and Roane were. “Best friend, hmm?” Speaking of which… “So I read a few of Pearl's files. Whatever went on between you and Hale before, it's done.”

Roane flushed. “Look, we're Circ. There was a reason for—”

“And so help me, though it makes me ill to think about it, if Caitlyn was ever involved with my mate, it stops there too. There's such a thing as too much sibling love.

I'm not sharing,” he rumbled.

“'Nuff said.” Roane held out a hand, and Robbie moved forward to take it. “This mean you're in?”

“If Doc and you guys are okay with it, I'd like to stay here with Paige and Hale.

But I work for General Shields, contractually speaking. I don't know what's next for me, jobwise. No offense, but if I had to take orders from you on missions, I'd probably kill you. My beast won't let me bow to anyone.”

“No?”

He remembered the feeling of Hale inside him. “Okay. Just Hale. But that fucker's strong, and fast.”

“I know.” Roane grinned. “You should have seen the first time he pinned me. Not sexually,” Roane hurried to add when Robbie scowled. “When we were testing out our new Circ abilities. I was bigger, and so was Derrick. But Hale moves so fast. One minute you see him, the next you don't.”

Robbie's smile left him. “You think Doc can fix him?”

“If anyone can, it's Doc. Hayashi called Hawkins a half hour ago. Said they have another hour to go before they're here. Oh, and he's bringing that antivenom. That'll help.”

Relief filled him. “Right. And Diego's coming too, eh? Imagine that.” Apparently, Diego had nearly gotten himself killed trying to save Doc's ass. He had a bullet lodged in his leg and another hole in his shoulder. But he'd live. “I bet Mike skins him alive when he finds out Diego disobeyed orders.”

“How so?”

“You really think General Shields told me to butt out, but he let Diego inside that place, knowing how attached Diego is to Doc?”

“So it wasn't all lies?”

“Far as I know, it wasn't. Diego's been like a sick puppy since Shields ordered him to pull back. Looks like I might not be your only addition.” Roane rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, about that… What do you know about Hawkins and his guys? Fallon, Tersch, and Hayashi? All of them SEALs and Circs?”