Indian Ocean

Sara awoke with a jolt, sitting on the bed, the covers falling to her waist. With heavy pants, she gripped at the fabric, knowing she was above the covers when she'd gone to sleep, making her brows drop. Her head snapped to her left when she heard the movement of fabric shifting, her green eyes landing on the sleeping form of Rafe beside her. He was asleep on his stomach, turned away from her, sleeping peacefully, utterly unaware of the nightmare that had just ripped her from her slumber. Looking away from him, Sara ran a hand back through her hair as she sighed. Sara had dreamed of her brothers falling deep into the sea's dark depths by an invisible anchor as the breaths were ripped from their throats. And here she was, dry and alive, in bed with a man both her brothers hated. She spared one glance at Rafe's body before she threw back the covers, discovering her legs bare and devoid of her pants and shoes, understanding that in her exhausted state, Rafe had unaddressed her as well as tucked her in.

Raising to stand, Sara went over to the wide window that looked out over the Indian Ocean. The storm had passed sometime during the night, leaving a calm morning as the sun began rising over the horizon in the distance. Rafe's bedroom wasn't facing the island that was their destination, but she'd seen it in the distance the day before in the wheelhouse. Sara just hoped her brothers had successfully survived their boat going under and made it to the island, despite that torrential storm. Sara had been so engrossed in her own thoughts and observing the horizon that she hadn't registered Rafe moving from the bed until she felt his arms wrapping around her middle, pulling her back flush against his naked chest.

"Thinking?" He whispered against her left ear, his lips brushing against the shell. His lips and the heat of his breath made a noticeable shiver run down her spine, making the man smile smugly, enjoying the effect he had over her.

"Am I that obvious?" Sara sighed, making him chuckle. She leaned back into his touch, her arms wrapping over his that held her waist tightly. "Have there been any updates?" Sara mumbled, voice weak. She needed to know if Rafe had any updates on her brothers; if he did, they were good. She couldn't handle any ill news.

"The storm was still raging when I joined you last night," Rafe answered, still whispering into her ear. "Nadine doesn't want her men going inland until this morning."

Sara sighed again, her eyes shut as she processed this information. In retrospect, she should be happy that there was no news of her brothers, that Nadine hadn't sent her Shoreline mercenaries to hack and blast down the jungle searching for the Drake brothers and the treasure. No news was good news, after all. But she needed to know they were safe and Nathan and Samuel were okay. The thought made Sara frown. While yes, she knew the boys were alive, they were Morgan's. Survivors. She did feel guilty that she argued for only Nathan's life.

"Come," Rafe's hold on her loosened as he pulled her away from the window, guiding her by hand to the bathroom. Sara let him lead her into the polished room and undress her, let him pull her under the heat of the water as it fell over their naked bodies. His hands roamed her body, gripping hard to leave more bruises on the skin before he would press her front up against the glass and fuck her hard, allowing the pleasure to wipe her mind of her troubled thoughts. Sara couldn't help but wonder if it was Rafe's way of easing her mind or if the man simply wanted to use her body for his enjoyment. At that moment, she didn't care, allowing herself to get lost in the orgasms he pulled from her core until she was a weak moaning mess as Rafe held her upright and pressed tight into the cold glass of the shower.

After finishing within her, Rafe scrubbed them both down, cleaning off the semen that had been running down her leg from her entrance as Sara struggled to catch her breath. After that, Rafe left her alone in the shower, stepping out of the hot water to dry off and shave his face. Sara watched him through the mirror as she stood under the water, observing each stroke he made with the razor as the blade glided perfectly across his skin. Rafe was all about his guise of being perfect. The way he spoke, held himself and dressed. Everything about him was the image he portrayed to others.

"Are you going to come out?" Rafe chuckled. He was looking at her through the mirror, his eyes traversing her wet form as he cleaned out the razor in the sink. Sara sighed, reaching over to turn off the water before stepping out. Rafe held out a towel for her, which she gladly accepted, wrapping it around her body as she stepped up next to him at the vanity. Sara had begun to comb through her wet hair as Rafe stepped out of the bathroom, the steam leaving the room as the cold air from the bedroom hit. A few moments later, he returned, standing in the doorway as he fiddled with a watch at his wrists, his hair not yet styled as it was a bit damp. "I'll be back shortly. You must be hungry. You didn't eat much yesterday."

Sara sighed, turning to face him. "Don't know if I'll be able to eat anything at all." She answered honestly, making him frown.

"You'll need to eat something," Rafe spoke, his tone a bit forceful. "We're about to embark on a journey of a lifetime, and you'll need the energy."

Sara scoffed. "I'd have the energy if someone could keep his libido down." She jabbed, leaning against the vanity. Rafe's brows twitched at the comment before he decided to settle on a smirk. Rafe chose to find her comment a compliment on his stamina as a lover rather than a tease on his demand for sex.

"You surely weren't complaining," His smirk grew as he stepped from the doorway, looming over her. "By those delectable sounds you were making, you were enjoying yourself." Rafe raised a hand, tucking a strand of her wet hair behind her ear. Sara pursed her lips, trying to refrain from acknowledging that she had, not wanting to feed the man's ego. Rafe gripped her chin harshly as he arched her towards him, his lips meeting hers in a bruising kiss that made her want to moan, but she held herself back once again. Her stubbornness wouldn't let him win. When he finally pulled away from her lips, he smirked down at her, but the look in his eyes revealed his annoyance that she hadn't reacted. "You finish getting dressed. I'm sure Nadine will want to head off as soon as possible." Rafe released her jaw and turned to depart, leaving her alone in the bathroom, still wearing only a towel and her damp hair.

Sara frowned, watching him go. There was a seething under her skin for the smug man. She quickly worked on drying her hair, using the towel from around her body to absorb the moisture before running the comb through the brown locks. Throwing the now-wet towel onto the vanity, Sara took the underwear and shirt from the counter and returned to the bedroom, finding her pants and shoes to begin dressing. With nothing more to do, than wait on Rafe, she made the bed and took the towel he'd left on the floor, hanging it up with hers on the towel rail in the bathroom. Sara had paused to look at herself in the bathroom mirror, her eyes and fingertips tracing over the light bruised left on her wrists and neck.

Rafe had clearly left his mark on her flesh, marks that didn't go unnoticed by Nadine and Shoreline. Every last person that worked under Rafe knew that he'd fucked her multiple times, yet they had kept their mouths shut on the matter. Only Nadine had spoken against it, but that was because the Brit didn't trust the woman. There didn't need to be trust when it came to sex as long as both parties consented and got what they each wanted from the act. Sara had filled a need she had, as had Rafe, and Sara was happy to believe in the illusion that there was nothing more to it, that the desire between the two had been nothing more than physical and primal. Sara wondered if her brothers would notice the bruises. Would they comment and assume the worst, that their baby sister betrayed them for the enemy, or would they think that Rafe forced himself on her? Despite being a woman in her thirties, her brothers would always see Sara as their innocent and weak baby sister, someone in need of their protection.

The bedroom door opening pulled Sara from her musing, making her look out the bathroom doorway to spot Rafe as he returned, a covered tray in his hands. They shared a look before Rafe moved further in, placing the tray down on his desk. Sara moved to the bathroom doorway, watching as he lifted the covering, exposing the food that was underneath. Sara's eyes landed on the buttered toast and red grapes, the very sight of the food making her empty stomach rumble. Rafe looked at her, his eyes challenging her. Sara sighed. Running a hand through her still-drying hair, she waltzed over, plucking a grape from the bunch and plopping it into her mouth, making Rafe smile as he watched her eat. Sara shot the man a relatively weak glare, serving only to make him chuckle.

"I see you've cleaned up the place again." He spoke, his eyes wandering over the bed and floor, noticing how she'd picked up his towel and straightened the bedding. Rafe looked back at her, noticing her chewing slowly on a piece of toast to keep her tongue from making an ill comment. Smirking, Rafe picked up his own piece of toast, twirling it in his fingers before finally taking a bite. "Nadine wishes to make landfall within the hour. She is already arranging her men into teams and sending out the first scouting party."

"Is she following the directions I set out on the map?" Sara enquired, swallowing the last of her toast.

Rafe smirked again. "While she doesn't like agreeing with you, she knows that it's the right course of action. She's ordered her men to follow the path you've set out." He watched her eat a few more grapes. "We'll follow up on the rear once her men have cleared the path—" Rafe said, raising a hand to silence Sara as she started to speak. "—by that, I mean assuring that the route is cleared of any dangers. I made it clear that I do not want any damages to the buildings or possible artefacts."

"Good." Sara barked, her gaze hardened as she remembered the times Shoreline had been using dynamite to obliterate historical ruins in their attempt to find Avery's treasure. Rafe observed her, knowing full well the reason behind the woman's look. He, too, didn't approve of Shoreline's love for blowing up ruins, but for him, it came from the fact that he needed to be able to shift through the ruins for hidden clues.

The pair continued to eat in silence until the familiar heavy knocking was pounding against the bedroom door, alerting them both that it was time. Rafe moved to the bathroom, still needing to slick back his now-dried hair as Sara made for the door, opening it to find the scowling face of Nadine, the two women squaring off.

"Ms Ross," Sara greeted, running her fingers through to pull the long brown locks into a ponytail with the spare hair tie from her wrist. "Good morning."

"Where's Rafe?" The British woman bit, ignoring the greeting. She moved into the room, storming past the brunette as she gazed around, stopping at the doorway to the bathroom, her eyes landing on Rafe. Nadine folded her arms as she watched her business partner, a scowl still on her lips. "We're ready."

"I figured," Rafe spoke calmly, his hands running over the flat surface of his now gelled hair as he observed himself in the mirror, his head moving side to side as he checked that no hair was out of place. Smiling when he was happy, Rafe's hands dropped to his side as he finally looked at Nadine, ignoring her pout. "Smile, Nadine. Today we finally find Avery's treasure."

Nadine scoffed. "Not if those Drake brothers find it first." She bit, her eyes moving to her left to stare down Sara, who hadn't moved from the entrance to the bedroom, her hand still holding the door open by its doorknob. Nadine wasn't sure, but she was convinced that Sara was still in contact with Nathan and Samuel Drake or was working an angle on Rafe to benefit those men. Many women had previously spread their legs for ulterior motives, and Nadine was sure Sara was no different.

"They won't," Rafe spoke, moving past Nadine and smiling at Sara as he approached her. As Rafe stood beside the brunette, his hand coming to sit on her lower waist, he turned to Nadine, gesturing to the woman to leave. The Brit only scowled as she moved, storming past her business partner and out of the bedroom with the couple following behind her. Sara kept close to Rafe's side as he continued to lead her with his hand still firmly on her lower back, his thumb occasionally rubbing at the fabric of her shirt. The three of them had walked to the wheelhouse, the island coming closer into view in the morning sunlight as the Shoreline mercenaries looked for a safe spot to anchor the large vessel. From there, the three of them headed to the back of the ship to the lower deck, where a small speedboat was waiting. Rafe had helped Sara step down into it as it rocked with the waters, its small size meaning it couldn't sit as still as the large yacht as the waves rolled back and forth into the nearby bay.

"My scout's have already gone ahead," Nadine said, sitting on one of the seats as she eyed Rafe, watching the man angrily as he helped Sara as the pair sat down opposite her. Rafe's full attention had moved to Nadine once Sara was situated next to him. "They haven't reported any sightings of the Drakes yet. If we're lucky, they joined their body at the bottom of the sea."

"Hey!" Sara barked, leaning forward, ready to pounce on the woman, but Rafe's hand was quickly on her shoulder, pushing her back into her seat. Nadine was grinning at Sara, enjoying upsetting her by wishing Nathan and Samuel harm.

"Nadine," Rafe warned, eying his business partner sternly. Nadine's smile dropped, once again not enjoying being told off. She wasn't happy with how comfortable Rafe was becoming with the historian, concerned with how it could affect them. Nadine knew that if it came down to it, Sara would choose Nathan and Samuel Drake in a heartbeat over Rafe, which would only infuriate the man. It would just be easier to get rid of the brunette and the Drakes now and save them the annoyance in the long run. But Rafe was letting his infatuation for the woman become a hindrance. "I know Nathan and Samuel. They're alive," Rafe spoke calmly, his tone even with just a small hint of annoyance. "And they're on that island."

"You did order your men not to shoot?" Sara seethed, staring hard at Nadine, the woman returning the look.

With a glance at Rafe, Nadine spoke. "Not unless those fools fire first, and not to kill, just incapacitate." Nadine watched Sara ease up, the tightness in her shoulders dropping as she leaned further back into her seat. The hand Rafe had on her shoulder also moved, now resting at the woman's back. Nadine's gaze stayed on Sara. "Since you're leading this expedition, where do we start?"

A smirk quirked at Sara's lips, her eyes travelling to the island as the boat was driven by a mercenary by the name of Knot. Sara's eyes scanned the island's shoreline, comparing it to the aerial scans she'd looked at the previous afternoon. Her brows furrowed as she thought, noticing that the area where the twelve leading pirates had built their homes was higher up, meaning that they would have to trek their way there from the city that had been built on the lower half of the island. "We need to find our way to the city first. Once there, we can find the road that leads to Avery's manor."

Nadine frowned. "Why should we go to the city? Why not just head straight to the manor?" She scoffed, folding her arms.

The actions of the British woman made Sara sigh. "Look," She gestured towards the cliffs, Rafe and Nadine following. "That's what we have to climb if we want to go straight to the manor. Now, I can free-climb, but I don't know about the rest of you." Nadine's frown lessened when she noticed that the woman was right. While Shoreline had excellent fighters and gunmen, Nadine's men weren't the best at climbing in any form. Not even she was competent in it. "As you can see, this is why we need to head to the city first. From there, we will clearly find a road connecting the city and the manors owned by Avery and the other eleven pirates."

"The woman's right," Nadine mumbled defeatedly, looking away from the cliffs and back to Sara, only to see the brunette mockingly smirking at her. Nadine bit the inside of her cheek to hold back her retort. "You better not be leading us into a trap."

"I probably will, regardless. The whole island is probably laden while boobytraps." Sara scoffed sarcastically, making Rafe smirk, his thumb again rubbing at her back's skin beneath her shirt.

He was looking at her again, admiring the woman as she educated Nadine on things that should have been obvious. Rafe didn't have to notice these things himself. It's what he paid others to do. He didn't even have to pay Sara, as all he had to do was promise her the safety of Nathan Drake in exchange for her services and knowledge, skills she'd built up supporting his rival in his past successes, and the added bonus of bedding the woman was just another boost to his ego. Rafe couldn't help but wonder if Sara had even been a past lover of Nathan's, judging by how close the pair were. But Rafe didn't want to think about that. The very idea of the woman next to him having been touched so intimately by Nathan irked him too much, despite the underlying joy of knowing that he had her now and not Nathan. There was also the thought that Nathan and Sara wouldn't be able to work as professionally as they had had they been lovers. Rafe couldn't see them keeping a civil relationship had they mixed business with pleasure.

Sara's brows furrowed, and lips pursed when she spotted Rafe looking at her so intently, his face unreadable. "What?" She asked him, leaning away from him slightly to take in more of him.

Rafe merely smirked, looking away from her. "Nothing." He answered, his thumb going back to rubbing at her back, Rafe being unaware that he had stopped the motion when he let himself get lost in his thoughts. Rafe was happy that Nadine wasn't paying them any attention, as the woman's focus was on her two lieutenants, Orca and Knot. Knot was doing his job of driving the speedboat while Nadine and Orca were looking over a map of the island, discussing where each team was positioned as they scouted the island. Orca also had a radio out, barking out Nadine's orders to the men as the woman gave them to the man.

"Doesn't seem like nothing," Sara spoke up, pulling Rafe's attention from the Shoreline mercs. "You didn't have a shit-eating grin on your face, a pissed-off look, or a calculating look." She smirked at him, watching a frown and furrowed brows form on his handsome face. "And there's the pissed-off look, which means I was right." She was almost chuckling as she spoke, her voice light enough not to gain the attention of Nadine and her two men.

Rafe tensed his jaw while he looked away from her. He didn't like that it had become easy for her to read him, or maybe he just never knew that he'd always been an easy person to read. Since childhood, Rafe found it simple to just put on a face to those he met in his parent's circle, to appear as the pleasant and charming man that was expected of him to the point where it became customary for him. "I was wondering how our eventual encounter with Nathan and Samuel will go." Rafe lied to the woman.

"Oh," Sara spoke, her cheeky smile dropping. Rafe was thrilled that she bought the lie but had only upset the woman with it. "It won't go well…" She answered, sighing as she played with the hem of her shirt. At that moment, she debated telling Rafe the truth that both of the Drake boys were, in fact, her older brothers. It scared her. Sara was unsure how Rafe would act if he would feel betrayed in some way and harmed her in aggression, and as for Nadine, that woman would be more than happy to put a bullet in her head. "Nathan–"

"We're here!" Nadine's bark cut Sara off as the small boat stopped at the beach line, the engine cutting off and alerting those onboard to the loud sounds of the waves crashing on the beach. While Nadine was already on the beach, Rafe helped Sara stand and wade into the shallow waters, yelling orders at the men who had gotten off other speedboats. Some men had been ordered to stay with the boats while others were to split into teams and make their way inland, and radio channels to remain open to report in at a moment's notice if anything happens or the Drake brothers were spotted. Nadine turned to Sara when she was done yelling at her mercenaries. "Well, woman? You going to lead or what?"

With a roll of her eyes and no comment, Sara stepped past Nadine, grabbing the map from her hands and the compass from Knot. She stared at the document, studying it and her surroundings until a smile formed on her lips, a heading in her mind that left her confident that she knew just where to find the ruined city of Libertalia. Glancing behind her to where Rafe, Nadine, Knot and Orca were standing, waiting for her to lead them. Sara turned, facing them fully as she took the four of them in. Looking at them, she felt the blood rush in her veins in excitement. It was now she truly understood how her brother, Nathan, felt each time he was stumbling upon something grand. While she had felt a similar rush while she was in Italy, Scotland and Madagascar, it was nothing to now, the treasure so close she could taste it. Sara never thought she'd be so excited over finding treasure, believing that it was only the thrill of discovering a long-forgotten piece of history that was causing her feeling at that moment, not the greed for gold like Samuel felt.

"Well?" Nadine yelled, crossing her arms at the woman.

Sara chuckled, shaking her head as she waved them over. "Follow me."


Over the next few hours, as the five of them had made the trek main settlement of Libertalia, Nadine had received several reports of encounters with Nathan and Samuel Drake, all ending with no response from her men. It had left the British woman fuming, to the point that Sara kept a vast distance from the woman. It had come as no surprise to Sara that her older brothers had created such havoc for Shoreline, cutting through the mercenaries like they were nothing and embarrassing Nadine to her two lieutenants and the rest of her men. Rafe had kept his mouth shut, not letting his disappointment in Shoreline be known, but Sara could see it every time she looked at the man's face. In order to try and control the situation, Nadine had ordered her men to all converge on the main settlement, following the GPS location from Nadine's phone for them to pinpoint where the central hub of the colony was. The five of them had waited on the outskirts of the ruined settlement for the teams to converge until an explosion rang through the air. Sara stood beside Rafe, the man instinctively stepping in front of her as the dome top of a large building began to collapse under the assault of continuous RPG and gunfire. Nadine didn't hesitate, the overpowered woman racing towards the destruction, leaving the couple and her two lieutenants to watch as the massive structure came down.

"Report?!" Rafe bellowed, his radio in his hand as he contacted the Shoreline soldiers who were no doubt leading the assault.

Sara was breathing hard, the blood rushing in her ears, leaving her unable to hear the response from whoever was on the other end of the radio. She knew what those soldiers were firing at. Nathan and Samuel Drake. Danger also seemed to find Sara's brothers, even when the two men didn't have to try hard enough, but what annoyed Sara the most at that moment was that once again, Shoreline was acting against the order Rafe gave, the mercenaries going out of their way to cause as most damage necessary to kill the men. Sara watched as building after building collapsed from the damage of RPGs and gunfire, knowing that bringing down the three-hundred-year-old ruins wouldn't take much effort.

The loud roar of an angry Rafe was the only thing that broke through to Sara, the brunette woman turning in time to see the man throw the radio into a wall of a ruined house, heaving as he let his aggression take control. Knot and Orca were barely paying attention as they kept their gaze ahead, waiting for a sign of the Drake brothers to come through the broken colony towards them, guns at the ready. Sara stared hard at Rafe's back, watching his shoulder move up and down as he seethed. She took slow strides towards him, a single hand reaching out to touch his shoulder. The moment the contact was made, Rafe had spun, ripping the woman's wrist from his back and rushing to slam her up against a wall, his other hand gripping her throat.

"Rafe…" Sara croaked out, her free hand clawing at the hand around her throat, desperate to ease off the pressure and get some air into her lungs. It only took a second of hearing her say his name for his eyes to focus on her, his hands releasing her wrist and neck.

With wide eyes, Rafe took hold of her shoulders as he scanned her face. "Sara…are you—?"

"I'm fine," She sighed, rubbing at her sore throat. Sara knew that Rafe hadn't intended to hurt her, that his rage had taken control. He was so used to being in power, of having everything play out the way he wanted it to, that when it didn't, he could help but act out. When Sara finally looked up at him, the hard stare he gave her made her breath halt. While his face was still set in a stern look, anger evident on his handsome features, his eyes gave away his genuine emotions. He was scared. Scared that he'd been so blinded by his rage that he hurt her, that he could have choked the very life from her lungs. "I'm okay, really." Rafe's hands dropped just above her elbows, his thumbs rubbing at the exposed skin of her arms. Despite her words aiming to comfort him, he was trying to comfort her.

"Boss."

Rafe turned away from Sara, his gaze now full of annoyance as it landed on Knot. The lieutenant was standing mere feet from them, gun lowered as he held his radio. Knot's eyes traversed the pair, slight hesitation on his face due to interrupting them. "Speak." Rafe barked, letting the muscular man know he was right to be concerned.

Knot pursed his lips before speaking. "Just got word from Nadine. She's found the Drake brothers."

"Good." Rafe smiled, his expression easing up as he looked at Sara. He might be able to fulfil his end of the deal as long as Nadine could control her own aggression toward the two idiots. "We have her GPS coordinates?" Rafe turned back to Knot, the lieutenant nodding. "Lead the way." Rafe waited for Knot to turn about around, speaking to the other lieutenant, Orca. With an arm on her back, Rafe guided Sara as they followed the two men, a device in Orca's hand that allowed him to track Nadine's GPS location.

The group of four had to carefully navigate through the wreckage of buildings caused by the gunfire and RPG to ensure that nothing moved out of place or hit them as they moved around. Nadine's GPS was fixed in place, only moving a decimal or two, meaning that there was a good chance Shoreline boss was currently engaged in some form of combat with Nathan and Samuel Drake, most likely hand to hand. Nadine had been a powerhouse when she'd gone up against both Nathan and Sara solo, so Sara didn't think that even her brothers would be able to take the woman, even if it was two versus one.

"Who ordered the men to use RPGs?" Sara hissed as Rafe helped her climb over a fallen building. Rafe snickered at the brunette's annoyance, knowing that she was miffed about the historical buildings being destroyed. "The order for no dynamite was given, but they were like 'fuck it, let's use a rocket launcher' like it wouldn't have the same outcome?"

"They are standard use, ma'am," Knot turned, yelling out to her. "Whether or not an order for dynamite use was given, all teams carry RPGs in case of dire circumstances."

Sara stared at the large. "Knot, I was being fucking sarcastic!" She watched his mouth open and close like a fish, the mercenary unsure of how to respond. After a moment, he simply turned back around, choosing to ignore her retort. Rafe was chuckling now, thoroughly enjoying the show that she was putting on. "Rafe…" Sara hissed, shoving him back slightly once her feet were back on solid ground. Rafe smirked as the woman pushed him back an inch, barely affecting him as he straightened up, a hand going back to rest on her back.

"I'm sure the buildings of a settlement aren't as important as the manors of twelve famous pirates," Rafe spoke, leaning his head down to her as he kept his eyes trained on Knot and Orca walking ahead of them.

Sara rolled her eyes. "That's beside the point. Those buildings are still history and could have held important information about the only pirate colony ever to have existed." She glanced up at him, noticing the smirk still playing on his lips. But it dropped when she finished speaking, his eyes moving to her. Rafe seemed to weigh her words. While the man didn't share her same passion for history, he was trying to see it through hers. For Sara, history held as much value as gold. Rafe opened his mouth to speak, but a loud crash interrupted him. Pulling his pistol from his holster, he left Sara's side, bolting ahead of Orca and Knot. Groaning with no choice, Sara raced after. She watched as the three men zigged and zagged around the tight stone hallways underneath a large platform that held more homes and raised voices in the distance.

"Whoa!"

Sara froze when she heard Nathan's voice. She couldn't hold back the massive grin that stretched across her face, her legs moving again towards her brother. When she rounded that final corner, she found Rafe, gun raised, standing in front of Orca and Knot, their assault rifles also raised. Sara carefully walked around the three men, her green eyes landing on Nathan before moving to Samuel. Samuel stood, holding Nadine hostage with a gun to the woman's head as his arm was tight over her throat, pulling the woman back against him as she struggled to stand.

"Sara!" Nathan smiled when he saw her, going to take a step towards her, but Rafe stopped him.

"Nuh-uh." Rafe tutted, moving his aim from Samuel to Nathan. "Nate," He greeted his old friend. With the gun still trained on the youngest Drake, he looked to Samuel, greeting the eldest by name. "Samuel." Rafe didn't seem phased by the situation at all.

"Put your guns down! All of you!" Samuel yelled, forcing Nadine to take a few steps forward.

Rafe scoffed, unamused by the man's threats. "No."

"Rafe, this guy's on edge." Nadine bit out, her head somewhat angled as the gun pressed harder against her skull. She was smart enough not to try moving, not wanting to risk Samuel pulling the trigger.

"Oh, don't worry about him, Nadine. These guys don't kill anyone in cold blood. It's just not their style." Rafe spoke calmly, taking baby steps towards the three of them. Sara was watching them all, the hairs on the back of her neck sticking up as her heart raced.

"You willing to bet her life on that?" Samuel hissed out, glaring hard at Rafe. "This is what's going to happen. We take Sara, and the rest of you leave."

Rafe pursed his lips, considering the man's offer as he looked at Sara. She was standing off to the side, watching the events unfold intently. As if sensing his eyes, she looked at him. While his gaze was unreadable to Sara at that moment, Rafe could read her like the many books she'd indulge herself in. He knew what she wanted to do. Rafe clicked his tongue, nodding at her to act.

With a breath, Sara moved towards her brothers, her eyes darting between the two men and Nadine. Nate smiled as he reached for Sara, coaxing her towards himself with an outstretched hand, one she gladly accepted.

"Sara…" Nate sighed her name lovingly, all fears of her betraying them forgotten as he stared at his baby sister and felt her warm hand in his own. "You're okay…"

She nodded. "Nate…" It made her guilty to look at him, to see concern and worry etched onto his handsome face as he gazed down at her, for all the secrets she was keeping from him in that instant, and for what she was about to do. With a final squeeze of his hand, Sara let go, her gaze now focused on Samuel. Her eldest brother's green eyes were shifting between Sara and Rafe. While the large man was thrilled to see his sister safe and sound, he still had to be concerned about Rafe. "Samuel…" Sara spoke, her tone flat as she approached him, her hand reaching out. Those around her assumed she was greeting the man, her hand placed gently on the arm that held the gun. She yanked. Hard. Samuel's head snapped to his sister as she forced his arm and gun away from Nadine, allowing the dark-skinned Brit to break free and manoeuvre to retrieve her gun from Samuel's weakened grip.

"Sara!" Both Drake brothers yelled, shocked by their baby sister's actions, but what shocked them more was what she did next. Sara's fist slammed into Samuel's face with enough force to fracture the bone and draw blood. Samuel groaned, gripping at the appendage as he struggled to stand as pain rocked through his body.

Nathan moved, gripped his sister from behind and pulled her from the gruelling man. "Sara! What the hell?!" He spun her, forcing her to look at him as he gripped both sides of her arms, shaking her somewhat. "What's gotten into you?!"

Sara shrugged off his arms rather aggressively. "He had it coming for what he's done!" She yelled back at her brother, finally letting all the frustration she'd bottled up since Rafe revealed the truth to her.

Nathan was staring at her, confusion clear on his face. "What are you—"

"Fucking hell, Sara!" Samuel roared, pinching his nose as blood slowly trickled down his arm. He was glaring hard at Sara, murder in his eyes, as his two younger siblings turned to face him. "Here I am looking out for you, and this is the thanks I get?! You bitch!"

"Sam!" Nathan lectured his brother, unhappy with the words he used to describe their sister.

"Oh, go eat a bag of dicks!" Sara growled. "The only one you've ever looked out for is yourself, you giant piece of shit!"

"Sara!" Nathan sputtered, trying to hold the smaller woman back as she stood a threatening stride towards Samuel.

Nadine and Rafe stood watching the three of them, Sara and Samuel exchanging insults like a pair of squabbling children while Nathan lectured them on their behaviour. It was at that moment something clicked for Nadine, a smile spreading across her face as she started laughing, causing everyone to stop, including the three siblings, to turn and observe the woman. It was an odd sight to see the deadly and serious mercenary captain to be almost doubling over from laughter to the point that her two lieutenants were even staring at her oddly.

"Nadine…?" Rafe questioned, his brows furrowed as he looked at her.

"Oh, Rafe," Nadine sighed, standing straight as she tried to calm her laughter. "You really have no idea, do you?" She smiled at the man, enjoyment flowing through her as her business partner continued to stare at her in confusion. Nadine chuckled lightly again, her gaze moving back to Sara and the Drake brothers. "Those three…" She waved her gun at them. "Are siblings…" Nadine looked back at Rafe, watching as his hazel eyes travelled over Nathan, Sara and Samuel, the realisation setting in slowly as his eyes widened as Rafe noticed the resemblance between the trio. Nadine laughed again, a thrill going down her spine for the bombshell of information she was about to drop on all four. "You've been fucking Nathan and Samuel Drake's baby sister."