Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Jaxon leaned hard over the handlebars, the Harley roaring beneath him like an angry beast as he raced toward Breezy’s old family house.
The wind whipped against his face, stinging his eyes and carrying the faint scent of pine and dust from the roadside.
His heart slammed against his ribs with every mile, a heavy, frantic drumbeat that matched the thunder of the engine.
Sabre Security and the Ruthless Saints were on their way, but they wouldn’t get there soon enough. No matter what anyone said, he wasn’t about to wait when his Darkling was in the General’s clutches.
He could see her face in his mind — those wide, trusting dark eyes, the way her small body curled into him like he was the only safe place in the world.
She had to be scared right now, alone with that monster.
And he had promised her, whispered it against her skin night after night, that he would always come for her.
He wasn’t going to break that promise now.
The familiar turnoff for the wealthy side of town came into view.
Jaxon took it fast, the bike leaning so hard his knee nearly brushed the asphalt.
The long driveway stretched ahead, and at the end sat Breezy’s old family house.
To his horror, smoke curled out from one of the upper windows like black fingers reaching for the sky.
He killed the engine halfway up the drive and dropped the bike. The sudden silence rang in his ears, broken only by the crackle of flames somewhere inside. He slammed against the door, turning the knob as he hit it.
The front door was locked. Stepping back from the door, he slammed his boot into it once, twice, the wood splintering under the force.
On the third kick, the door flew open with a loud crack.
Thick smoke poured out to meet him, heavy with the sharp, chemical bite of gasoline and the acrid smell of burning wood and fabric.
“Tazzy!” he roared, voice raw as he charged inside.
The heat hit him like a physical wall, slamming into his chest and face.
Flames licked up the walls of the living room, orange and greedy, casting wild, flickering shadows.
The air was thick, almost solid, burning his lungs with every breath.
He pulled his arm over his mouth and nose, but it barely helped.
His eyes watered instantly from the smoke.
“Tazzy!” he yelled out to her.
“He’s got a gun.” She yelled back, immediately followed by the unmistakable sound of a slap. Jaxon growled in fury as he bolted toward the sound.
Smoke seared his eyes and throat, making every breath feel like swallowing fire. His heart hammered so hard it felt like it might crack his ribs.
He burst into the den, and the world narrowed to a single point of white-hot terror.
Tazzy was tied to a wooden chair in the middle of the room, arms pinned behind her, thighs bound so tight the rope cut into her soft skin.
The fire was closing in fast, flames crawling across the floor toward her like living snakes, licking at the legs of the chair.
The General stood beside her, gun pointed straight at Jaxon, his face twisted with triumph.
A dead man — the driver — lay on the floor in a spreading pool of dark blood, the metallic scent mixing with the smoke.
Jaxon’s heart stopped for one agonizing second.
“Tazzy,” he breathed, voice breaking on her name. He could see the red mark on the side of her face where the General had slapped her.
She looked at him with wide, terrified eyes, tears streaming down her soot-streaked face.
The General smiled, cold and satisfied, the flames reflecting in his eyes.
“Look who showed up after all.” He paused to take a breath.
“I guess I should… have known that fate would have you interfere one more time.” Another pause.
Another breath. “Like most women, she’s a selfish bitch. Oh well, we’ll just call it a twofer.”
Every instinct screamed at him to charge. The heat pressed against his skin, sweat dripping down his back. “Your fight is with me, not her. Let her go.”
The General laughed, the sound ugly and unhinged, echoing over the crackle of the fire. “You think you can bargain with me? You ruined everything. My power. My future. My plans to run this town and become governor. You took it all from me. Now I’m taking it all from you.”
Tazzy shook her head fiercely, tears pouring down her cheeks. She rocked the chair as hard as she could until the wood creaked under her. She kicked her bottom legs against the rope, which appeared to be loosening.
The General raised the gun, aiming at Jaxon’s chest.
Tazzy bucked the chair with everything she had left. The ropes around her calves finally fell away. She rose to her feet and swung the back legs of the chair toward the General.
The chair leg caught him hard below his knees just as he pulled the trigger, causing the shot to go wide. The shot shattered a window instead of hitting Jaxon. Sharp shards exploded outward in a shower of broken glass.
The General stumbled, cursing viciously. He kicked the chair, sending Tazzy to the floor with a heavy, sickening thud that echoed through Jaxon’s bones. The flames were now crawling dangerously close to Tazzy. Jaxon had only seconds to act, or a wall of flames would crush her.
He was about to charge the General, gun or not, when the room erupted.
Reid, Law, Gage, Ravage, and Brick burst through the burning doorway like avenging angels, boots pounding on the floor, faces grim and determined through the smoke.
They took in the scene in a heartbeat — Tazzy on the floor tied to the chair, the General with the gun, the dead driver lying in his own blood.
The General moved fast. He grabbed Tazzy by the hair, yanked her upright, still tied to the chair, and pressed the cold metal of the gun to her temple.
“Everyone out except Jaxon!” he snarled, voice rising with panic and fury. “Or I blow her brains out right here!”
Gage and Ravage grabbed the driver’s body and dragged him toward the door. The man moaned weakly. He was still alive, barely.
“Get her out of here!” Jaxon yelled at Reid, his voice hoarse from the smoke.
Reid moved toward Tazzy, but the General tightened his grip on her hair, pressing the gun harder against her head until she whimpered.
“Don’t move!” the General screamed, eyes wild. “I said everyone out except Jaxon!”
“Jaxon, he’s mad, all of you, save yourself.”
Jaxon saw Reid’s hesitation. Tazzy was still in the General’s clutches. If Reid grabbed her now, the General would shoot them before anyone could stop him.
What Jaxon needed to do was create a distraction. In a glance he inventoried the room and only came up with one option. Turning, he punched Brick in the jaw. “Look what you guys have done.” He yelled. Brick stumbled back, yelling and grabbing his bruised jaw, “What the hell, man?”
Reid lunged forward, grabbed the chair, and yanked Tazzy away from the General with a grunt of effort. She screamed again as a thick handful of her hair ripped free from her scalp, leaving the strands tangled in the General’s fist.
Reid didn’t stop. He dragged her chair and all toward the door, putting himself between her and the General’s gun. She fought to look back at Jaxon.
“Jaxon!” she cried, her voice morphing into a heartbreaking sob. “Jaxon!”
The General turned the gun on Jaxon, but Jaxon was already moving. He tackled the General hard, slamming him to the floor with all his weight. They rolled across the burning carpet, the heat searing through Jaxon’s clothes as they grappled with the gun.
The General was stronger than he looked.
He twisted violently beneath Jaxon, trying to bring the gun up between them.
Jaxon grabbed his wrist with both hands and slammed it against the floor.
The gun fired once into the ceiling, the loud crack deafening in the small space and sending plaster raining down on them like sharp, dusty snow.
The second shot went wild, shattering a window and letting in a rush of fresh air that fed the flames, making them roar even louder and hotter.
They struggled desperately, muscles straining, sweat and blood mixing on their skin.
The General head-butted Jaxon, splitting his lip.
Jaxon tasted coppery blood but didn’t let go.
He drove his knee into the General’s side, then wrenched the gun arm again, the barrel trapped between their bodies now, pointing nowhere and everywhere at once.
“You took everything from me!” the General snarled, spittle flying from his mouth as he bucked hard. “My power! My future! My plans to run this town and become governor! You ruined it all!”
Jaxon’s voice was pure ice, even as the fire singed his clothes and the smoke burned his lungs. “You hurt her, you bastard. You hurt my girl. That’s the only thing that matters now.”
The General’s eyes were wild with hate. He bucked again, trying to roll Jaxon into the flames. Jaxon’s arm brushed against the burning wall. Pain scorched across his arm. “Fuck!” He flinched away from the flames and lost his grip on the General.
Jaxon jumped to his feet, slapping out the fire searing his skin. Recovered sufficiently from Jaxon’s blow, Brick ran over to help him.
Jaxon stood with Brick, flames all around them. The wooden walls creaked and groaned as the house was slowly succumbing to the fire. “We need to get out of here,” Brick yelled. They moved towards the front door, but froze when a shot rang out.
Turning to locate the direction of the shot, Jaxon spotted the General now standing beside a grand piano, his gun still pointed toward the ceiling. A large hole marred the spot above him where the bullet had hit.
The General slowly trained his gun on him. “Well, you have our attention,” Jaxon said. “What the fuck do you want to say?”
The General’s eyes were maniac—wide and darting around the room. Spit dribbled from the twisted grin across his face. The roar of the fire around them made it almost impossible to hear.
“I may be finished,” the General snarled, “but I’m dragging every last one of you sons of bitches down to hell with me.”
Jaxon shrugged. “If you want to die, it’s okay with me. But it doesn’t have to play out that way. Drop your gun, and we’ll get you out of here. Prison is better than being dead.”
Brick nodded, adding, “Especially like this.”
The General ignored them, laughing hysterically. “I’m not going to prison, I’m going to be governor.”
“This guy’s lost it,” Brick said.
A small piece of the ceiling plaster dropped onto the General’s shoulder, catching everyone’s attention.
As one, their eyes all lifted to the hole the General had made in the ceiling. Before anyone could move, a crack rent the air, loud enough to be heard over the roar of the fire.
Jaxon took a step toward the General just as the ceiling above him collapsed, engulfing him in flames.
Waves of blistering heat blasted down from the burning ceiling, scorching Jaxon’s face and neck while fiery debris rained around him like hell itself was collapsing. He automatically moved forward, as if to rescue the General.
Fortunately, Brick didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the back of Jaxon’s shirt and directed him toward the exit. The General’s sickening screams followed them across the porch, but ended by the time they were down the steps.
Collapsing onto the grass, covered in soot and blood, they both began coughing violently while the building began to collapse in on itself with the deafening roar of falling timber and shattering glass.
Ravage had been holding Tazzy back, his arms wrapped around her as she fought desperately to run toward the burning house, her small body straining against his hold.
“Jaxon!” she screamed, tears streaming down her soot-streaked face, voice hoarse from smoke and fear.
Ravage let her go the second he saw Jaxon. Jaxon regained his feet and waited for his girl, arms wide. She threw herself into them, and nothing had ever felt better. He lifted her off the ground, holding her so tight he was probably hurting her, but she didn’t seem to care.
She kissed him hard, tasting smoke and blood and tears. He kissed her back just as fiercely, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other wrapped around her waist like he would never let go again.
“I knew you’d save me,” she whispered against his lips, sobbing. “I knew you’d come. I kept telling him, warning him, but he just laughed.”
Breathing hard, voice raw from smoke and heat, he managed to speak. “He’s not laughing now, Darkling, not now, not ever again.”
He took her face between his hands to make sure he had her undivided attention. “I will always be there for you. Nothing will ever keep me away. Your forever belongs to me.”
She clung to him, shaking, as he carried her further away from the burning house.
Sirens wailed in the distance. Today had been a victory, but there was still a cost. Looking down into her eyes, he committed himself to do whatever it took to soothe her and erase every dark memory from this day.
They would have time now, because the General was gone and his Little girl was safe in his arms, right where she was supposed to be.