18. ReadyNot #2
Standing to his feet, Jax flexed his bloody fingers, trying to calm himself. "You should have said something sooner."
Caleb snorted. "As if that would have stopped your blind rage."
Jax's nostrils flared impatiently like a wild boar as he approached Deja and picked her up in his arms. "Figure it out..." he muttered before storming back towards the cabin. Caleb's jaw shifted with aggravation as he watched Jax take off with Deja. He took out his phone and called Ian.
"What?"
"Keep one of them alive," Caleb said.
Ian scoffed. "Don't be daft."
"I'm fucking serious, Ian. We need to find out why they're here!"
Ian sighed looking down at the dismembered head of the first victim Keith had decapitated right after Ian had flung a dagger into his throat. "Idiots..."
Walking forward, he tried to spot Keith in the dark. "Keith! We need him alive!" he shouted. "Do you hear me, you moron? Keep him alive!"
"Hush, little baby, don't say a word. Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird- Bro, you keep moving like this, and you're gonna mess up my fucking work. This shit takes fucking concentration, okay? It took me several bodies to perfect this method. So just hold still."
Keith focused as he used his machete to slice the skin from the Reaper’s face meticulously. The Reaper dug his fingers into the ground, groaning in agony as Keith held his neck so tightly he crushed his throat.
"You keep moving, and it's- Dude, seriously, stop- Okay, you know what-" Keith violently smashed the back of the Reaper's head into a tree until he cried out in pain. "That was supposed to knock you out. Lemme try again-"
Keith suddenly looked up when he heard Ian's voice, and his face immediately fell. "Keep him… alive? You're shitting me."
Keith stood to his feet as Ian approached. "Did you hear me? You didn't kill him, did you?" Ian asked.
"I mean, shit. Why couldn't you motherfuckers tell me sooner?" Keith muttered.
Ian glanced down at Keith's victim and covered his face in frustration. "I can't believe you're still doing this shit. What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"How much time you got? Shit," Keith smirked, playfully swinging his machete. "It's not that bad. I only took half his face. That part is manageable. I still left his lips on, so he should be able to speak."
"You practically severed his leg, gutted him, and crushed his head," Ian said, annoyed.
"No, look. It's fine. He just needs some gauze. Some Advil. Motherfucker, aren't you a wannabe surgeon? Just do your magic shit and fix him," Keith said, crouching down to toss the man over his shoulder.
Ian rubbed his temples. "God, I hate you..."
Caleb held the door open as Keith carried the Reaper inside. "Uh… I said keep him alive . Why are you bringing back a corpse?" Caleb asked, confused.
"He's still breathing," Keith said, plopping the Reaper in a chair.
Ian snorted. "Barely..."
"Well! It's your fucking job to keep him alive, Doctor Donovan !" Keith snapped.
With a shake of his head, Ian pulled out a pair of gloves. "I need water and towels. Caleb, do you have anything useful in this disgusting, rundown, dumpster you call home ?"
Caleb sucked his teeth. "Can you be more specific, you pompous-ass prick?"
"A sewing kit?" Ian asked. Caleb rolled his eyes before disappearing into one of the rooms. Pulling up a chair, Ian sat down in front of the bleeding Reaper. "Let's see. Here I am, yet again, cleaning up Keith's mess."
Readjusting in the armchair, Deja hissed in pain as she waited for Jax, who had gone to check on Chloe. She tried to peek outside when Caleb entered the room. Deja shakily exhaled as they held each other's gaze.
Caleb looked at her wounds and anxiously bit his lip. "...may I...?"
Deja remained silent. Sighing, Caleb cautiously approached her and crouched down beside her as he used a damp cloth to dab at the gash in her head. He could feel her trembling with fear, and it took everything in him not to lose it.
"I-is… it bad?" she asked suddenly.
Caleb looked at her tenderly. "No… You're gonna be okay..."
Deja glanced at him before averting her eyes.
Caleb slowly exhaled. "Baby… Baby, please look at me.
.." Deja reluctantly looked at him and was taken aback by the vulnerability in his hazel-green eyes.
"I'm sorry..." Caleb said breathlessly. "I'm sorry that you've been dragged into this.
I'm sorry for the part I played. I never meant to hurt you.
I love you so fucking much, and I can't-"
Caleb stopped short to catch himself. He carefully took her bloody hand in his and looked into her eyes. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness, Deja. I just… I need you to know that you are everything to me..."
Tears pearled in her eyes as Caleb stared at her lips, tempted to kiss her, when Jax walked in. “Is she alright?" Jax asked with blatant annoyance in his voice.
Caleb stood to his feet. "Just a little shaken. We need to clean her wounds-"
"I'll take care of her," Jax cut him off. Caleb glanced at Deja once more before leaving the room. Holding a first-aid kit, Jax kneeled next to Deja and immediately began cleaning her wounds. Deja tried not to look at him, but there was something so haunting about his eyes.
"Don't feel bad for killing him," Jax said suddenly.
Deja looked at him, confused. "I know you, Deja.
I know your mind. You feel so deeply . The guilt eats away at you just like it did with that landlord.
Even though he deserved to die. You did what you had to do.
And you should be proud..." Jax switched his gaze to look into her eyes. "I'm so fucking proud of you."
Deja looked at him, stunned. "How did you know about the landlord?!"
"I know everything about you, baby," Jax said as if it should have been obvious.
"You haven't left my sight. I know exactly how that piece of shit treated you.
I planned to kill him myself until I saw you, like the fucking goddess you are, do what came so naturally to you.
Don't worry. I made sure Caleb removed the body," Jax said, caressing her cheek.
Deja blinked in disbelief as tears brimmed in her eyes. "I can't- You- He-" Deja struggled to rein in her emotions. "I don't want to be like you, Jax! I don't want to be like any of you! I'm not a killer!"
Jax sighed. "Deja, my love. You can be so naive ." He looked at her seriously. "People who think like that are too fragile for this world. They become easy prey."
He grabbed her hand. "But that's what I'm here for. To protect you from a world that doesn't deserve you. And whether you eventually embrace the side of you that knows deep down what we're doing is necessary, I will be here regardless to make sure you accomplish what you need to do."
Holding her gaze, he placed her palm against his chest, tracing her fingers over his bullet wounds. "No matter the cost. How many more do you want me to take for you?"
Deja wasn't sure if she was more disturbed by the seriousness in his gaze or the fact that his pledge of fealty seemed to draw her in. She hated that this hold he had over her was still ever-present. She exhaled shakily. "Can I just get some food and painkillers?"
Jax's cheeks dimpled with a smile as he kissed her fingers before calling for Ian. Grumbling with aggravation, Ian entered the room. "I'm not your goddamn pet, Jax. You can't just summon me."
"I need you to dress Deja's wounds while I make her something to eat," Jax said, standing to his feet.
Glancing at Deja, Ian's face immediately softened. "...well… You should have started with that..."
Jax smirked knowingly before pressing a tender kiss against Deja's lips and leaving the room. Deja watched Ian remove his bloody gloves and roll up his sleeves. "Why are your gloves so bloody?" she asked.
Ian hummed as he sat on the stool in front of her. "I had to keep the man who attacked you alive so we could question him."
"And is he?" she asked as Ian used gauze and peroxide to clean the blood from her forehead.
"Unfortunately..." A vein pulsated on Ian's forehead as he focused on her wound. "This infuriates me. Seeing you like this..."
"Because you care?" Deja asked sarcastically.
Ian paused abruptly and looked at her seriously. "I think the world of you, Deja."
Deja shook her head. "Ian, you knew Jax was alive all this time. Yet, you were so angry with me."
Ian exhaled as he carefully bandaged her temple. "Truthfully, we didn't know if Jax would survive." Carefully grabbing her hands, he removed the bloody bandages to replace them. "Much of that anger was driven by the fear of losing you..."
Deja looked at him, confused as Ian focused on her hands. "Don't be so surprised. Our only connection to you has been through our brother, and you seemed quite eager to leave," he said.
"Can you blame me?" she muttered.
Ian gently held Deja's hands as he looked into her eyes.
"No, but that doesn't change the fact that I completely lost my mind without you.
" His thumb tenderly caressed her bandaged palm.
"You haven't the slightest clue what you do to me, Deja Louis.
Can't quite understand it myself, actually," he chuckled pathetically.
Deja pulled her hands out of his grip, and she saw him visibly shake with frustration. "Don't say it's love, Ian," she said, pulling back from him. "Because blackmailing me with a contract doesn't feel like love."
Ian rubbed his temples as he looked at her as if contemplating his next move. He abruptly stood to his feet and grabbed a folder from the dresser, removing several documents. Deja watched him, confused, as he proceeded to rip each one.
"Satisfied?" Ian asked her while pacing.
"Don't even answer that- Do you see what you make me do?
Stupid things. Foolish. Indubitably moronic.
It's not often I question my sanity, but I've come to terms with the fact that all logic disappears when it comes to you- Please stop looking at me like that, Deja. I cannot- I beg of you," Ian snapped.
Deja had never seen him so frazzled. She could hardly hold her tongue. "Perhaps, if I borrowed your mask..."
Ian's face fell before he laughed out loud. "You're a menace, Deja Louis. A beautiful menace. I hope you know that."
"Pot meet kettle!" Deja scoffed when she heard her daughter giggling. She looked up as Keith practically danced into the room with Chloe plastered to his chest.
"Hear that? First laugh, fuckers. And it was all me. Little Killer here saw me chop off that guy's fingers, and the moment he started howling, it sent her into fucking hysterics," Keith grinned. "Goddamn cutie takes after her favorite uncle."
"Okay, Keith, no. Give me my daughter," Deja said, reaching for Chloe. "No cursing, killing, or violence of any kind around Chloe. Please."
Keith snorted. "She's a Donovan, Deja. That's like saying no music around the Jackson 5."
"Keith!" Deja snapped as Ian shook his head.
Keith rolled his eyes. "Relax, baby girl.
I stopped ripping off faces a while ago.
Well… except the last guy. But I only took half of it, and it was in defense of you.
" Deja sighed as Keith crouched down and affectionately pushed her hair out of her face.
"God, you're fucking beautiful..." he said, biting his lip.
His brows suddenly furrowed as he gently pressed on her belly. "Ow! Keith!" Deja slapped his hand away.
"She's got major bruising here. I thought you were taking care of her. How did you miss this?" Keith asked Ian, annoyed.
Ian scoffed. " She distracted me, and you interrupted."
"Okay, well, fix her, shit," Keith said impatiently.
After putting Chloe to sleep, Deja held an icepack to her swollen abdomen as she quietly walked into the hallway. She could hear a man crying hysterically before abruptly growling in pain.
Peeking around the wall, she spotted Caleb, Jax, and Keith standing in the dining room while Ian knelt down in front of one of her assailants, who was seated in a chair.
She covered her mouth in horror at the sight of him. Half his face was missing, along with a few of his fingers. He was covered in so much blood she almost vomited.
"You're running out of fingers, my friend..." Wearing a surgical mask, Ian slowly pulled off another fingernail as the man howled in agony.
"P-please! I've t-told you everything!" the Reaper cried hysterically.
"You haven't told us shit we didn't already know," Caleb snapped. "How did you even know where to find her?"
"H-her n-name popped up in m-medical records," the Reaper stammered.
"The hospital," Caleb sighed. "Shit."
"We staged her death. The Society thought she was dead. Someone had to be keeping tabs on her. On you ," Ian muttered.
"Why the fuck are they even still after her?" Caleb said, annoyed.
The Reaper struggled to look at Jax. "Y-you… Y-you're s-supposed to be d-dead..."
With his arms crossed over his chest, Jax remained silent as he pensively stroked his chin with his thumb. Keith snorted. "The motherfucker almost sounds disappointed."
Ian grabbed the Reaper’s chin. "I ordered the Society to stop hunting Deja."
The Reaper spat out blood with a grin. "The S-Society d-does not answer t-to you..."
Ian's jaw tensed before he abruptly shoved his thumb into the man's eye socket and ripped out an eyeball, eliciting a chaotic scream.
"Really, Ian?" Caleb sighed.
"Fucking hell, Ian! Deja just put Chloe to sleep!" Keith snapped.
"I'm sorry- I'm sorry- Oh, fuck off!" Ian sucked his teeth as he stood to his feet. He approached Jax, who remained silent. "Feel free to add to the conversation, Jax," Ian snapped.
"We should just kill him," Keith said, grabbing his machete.
"W-wait! Wait!" the Reaper cried hysterically, trying to hold his bleeding eye socket. "I-if I d-don't return, th-they'll s-send an entire squad to this location! They'll f-fucking kill you all! Including her!"
Tilting his head, Jax finally spoke. "...then, we'll make sure you return..."
The Reaper eyed Jax cautiously as Jax walked behind him and whispered in his ear. "We'll need you to send a message. One that they know can only come from a Donovan ."
The Reaper waited anxiously until Jax roughly grabbed the bottom of his jaw, placing a blade against his throat.
"So we'll make sure you return in fucking pieces- " as Jax finished his sentence, he abruptly sliced the Reaper’s throat while violently breaking his neck until his skin tore and his head dangled from his vertebrae.
"Cut him up. Send a limb in each box. Make sure they receive the head last," Jax said, dropping the bloody blade. "I have a wife to feed."