Christabel led the raid.
Not from the command center.
From the field.
With Cole beside her.
And Damien watching from the screens.
She was no longer the woman who needed protection.
She was the woman who gave it.
---
The compound was in the mountains.
Three hours from the city. Hidden. Fortified.
The cartels thought they were safe.
They were wrong.
Christabel had been planning this for weeks.
Not from the command center. From the basement. From the training room.
She had been training. Secretly. While Damien was fighting his war.
Cole had taught her. Jax had pushed her. Nia had corrected her.
She had learned to shoot. To fight. To move.
She was ready.
---
The team assembled at dawn.
Cole. Jax. Nia. Dmitri. Twenty soldiers.
Christabel stood at the front.
Not as Damien's wife.
As their leader.
"Targets are inside. Twelve hostiles. Armed. Dangerous."
She looked at each face.
"We go in quiet. We take them out. We get out."
Cole nodded.
"And if something goes wrong?"
She smiled.
"Nothing goes wrong."
---
The breach was silent.
Not explosions. Not gunfire.
Knives. Hands. Precision.
Christabel moved first.
A guard at the perimeter. He didn't see her. Didn't hear her. Didn't feel anything until he was on the ground.
Cole followed.
Then Jax.
Then Nia.
Then the others.
They moved through the compound like shadows.
The cartels didn't know what hit them.
---
Christabel entered the main building.
Three guards inside.
They saw her.
They raised their weapons.
She was faster.
Two shots. Two bodies.
The third guard ran.
She didn't chase.
She didn't need to.
Cole was waiting outside.
---
The leader was in the back room.
Carlos. Not Castillo. A different Carlos.
He was on the phone. Arguing. Screaming.
He didn't hear her come in.
He didn't see her until she was standing in front of him.
"Who are you?"
She didn't answer.
"How did you get in here?"
She didn't answer.
"You're dead."
She smiled.
"I'm just getting started."
---
He lunged.
She moved.
Fast. Faster than he expected.
Her knife found his shoulder.
He screamed.
She twisted.
"Where are the others?"
"I don't know."
"Where are the others?"
"I don't know!"
She pulled the knife out.
He fell to his knees.
"Please."
"Please what?"
"Please don't kill me."
"Then tell me where they are."
---
He told her.
Everything.
The locations. The names. The plans.
Christabel listened.
Then she stood.
"Thank you."
"Are you going to let me go?"
"No."
"Then why—"
"Because you're not worth killing."
She walked out.
Cole was waiting.
"He talked?"
"He talked."
"Everything?"
"Everything."
"What now?"
She looked at him.
"Now we finish this."
---
The raid lasted three hours.
Twelve hostiles. Neutralized.
No casualties on their side.
Christabel walked out of the compound.
The sun was rising.
The mountains were golden.
Cole walked beside her.
"You were magnificent."
"I was necessary."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
---
Damien was waiting at the command center.
He had watched everything.
The screens. The feeds. Her.
When she walked in, he stood.
"You did it."
"We did it."
"You led."
"They followed."
"Same thing."
"Different intention."
---
He pulled her into his arms.
"I love you."
"I know."
"I love you in ways I didn't know I was capable of."
She touched his face.
"I know. Because I love you the same way."
---
That afternoon, the team debriefed.
Cole stood at the front.
"The compound is secure. The cartel leader is in custody. The intelligence is solid."
Christabel nodded.
"What about the mole?"
Cole was quiet.
"We found her."
"Who?"
"Agent Reeves."
---
The room went silent.
Reeves had been helping them. After they rescued her sister. After she turned.
Or so they thought.
"She was working for the cartels the whole time," Cole said.
"The whole time?"
"From the beginning. The leak. The disappearance. The sister. It was all a setup."
Christabel was quiet for a moment.
"Where is she now?"
"Gone."
"Find her."
---
That night, Christabel put Lena to bed.
Not Damien. Her.
Lena was full of questions.
"Mama, why are you tired?"
"Because Mama fought bad people today."
"Did you win?"
"Yes."
"Are you a superhero?"
Christabel laughed.
"Something like that."
---
Damien appeared in the doorway.
"She's asleep?"
"She's dreaming."
"Of what?"
"Of you."
He walked to her.
Took her hand.
"Reeves is gone."
"I know."
"The cartels are going to retaliate."
"I know."
"We're going to be ready."
She looked at him.
"I know."
---
He was quiet for a moment.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Some of our people haven't gotten enough attention."
"What do you mean?"
"Jax. Nia. Tara. Zoe. Maya. They've been here. They've been loyal. They've been family. But we haven't told their stories."
She nodded.
"You're right."
"So let's tell them."
First Line of Chapter 185 (Teaser):
"The one hundred fortieth week, Damien and Christabel sat down with each of their people. To listen. To learn. To understand. And the stories they heard broke their hearts."