35. Whispers In The Dark
-The Carver-
Dario is such a fucking dumbass. I listened and watched their entire exchange. I could have stepped in, but it ultimately needed to happen. Jade storms out of the gym and crashes right into me. I grab her arm and she wrenches her arm back, clocking me in the face. I grab her by the throat and slam her into the door.
“Little Creature, that was not fucking nice. Now kiss it and make it feel better.” I say with a smile. She blinks once, twice and focuses.
“Fuck you, kiss my ass. I’m fucking furious with all of you. Now let me go.” She rasps. I squeeze her throat tighter.
“Why? So you can run? Not happening. I don’t have time for your nonsense. So speak your fucking mind for once and do it quickly. We have places to be.” I snap, removing my hand from her throat. She rubs her hand over where I held her and punches me in the shoulder. I quirk a brow and growl in her face.
“Blood Queen, you are really trying my patience this evening. Tell me, now, what the fucking problem is before I fuck it out of you, and it won’t be for your enjoyment.” I threaten.
“Stop fucking man handling me for one, and two, why didn’t anyone tell me that the day you all murdered my mother, you all did the same to your own?”
“Would you have listened?” I asked, grabbing her bag from her hands and throwing it over my shoulder.
“No, probably not. Just fucking let me be mad. He fucking chose her. I swear to God, I’m going to kill them both,” she yells.
“Awe, is that jealousy I hear? I said long ago to just kill the bitch, but no one ever listens to me.” I sing.
“Can we kill her together?” She asks. Oh, my little creature wants to play.?
“Soon, if he doesn’t do it before us.” I quip. Tonight, I might just give her a little taste. Jade has a short fuse, and after the interaction she just had with Dario, this evening might just be looking up.
“Where are you taking me?” She asks with narrowed eyes.
“First, we are going to your house so you can shower and get ready. Then we have an evening of darkness,” I explain as I open the door to the Academy and let her step out first.?Shots ring out through the air, and I grab Jade, tossing her back inside the doorway and slamming the door shut.
“What the fuck was that?” Jade yells. I peek out the window and a bullet blows through the glass right above my head, shattering it as I spin away to yell at Jade.
“Run!” I take out my phone, dialing Spade. He answers on the first ring.
“Yo, where you at?” Spade says.
“Are you fucking deaf? Did you not hear the shots fired at the Academy’s front doors? Get some weapons and meet at Jade’s suite!”
“No, I didn’t hear them, fuck face. I had my air pods in. I’ll call Dario. You have Jade, right?”
“Yes, now hurry the fuck up. We need a plan!” I hang up and the lights go out.
“Jamie!” Jade screams. I grab her hand and pull her to me.
“I’m right here. No one will hurt you.” I whisper in her ear. She takes a deep breath.
“If the lights are out, we can’t get into our rooms.” She whispers.
“We need to get the fuck out of here.” I say and she stops me.
“I will not leave without Spade and goddamn it, I don’t want to leave Dario behind either,” she growls. Placing my finger to her lips, I whisper.
“We need to be silent. I don’t want anyone to know where we are. I’m going to send a code out to the guys. We need to find a place to meet that won’t trap us in, but also gives us easy access to the exits.”
“I don’t fucking like this. We have no weapons.” She whispers.
“I know. That’s why I need everyone together. We work much better as a unit than solo, and I need everyone’s head in the game.” I whisper, kissing her neck.
“I don’t like being in the dark, let alone defenseless.”
“I promise I’ll keep you safe. I will die for you! Don’t ever fucking question your safety with me,” I spin on her, pushing her against the wall, holding her face with both of my hands. I press my forehead against hers, taking a deep breath as havoc ensues around us. I’d rather be the one creating Bedlam with her. This little creature stole my heart in ways no other woman has, or ever will. My world starts and ends with her, and no one will ever come in between, or else I’ll reign Anarchy on this earth and burn it down until she’s with me again. My phone pings and I let go of her face. Caging her into the wall, I lower the backlight on my phone before I read the text. Jade’s phone vibrates in her pocket. We both read the texts.
Spade: Plan B baby, I got D. Can’t find M who fucking cares though. Meet us at 2 long wood.
Me: Roger that.
“Let’s move.” I whisper, but she grabs my arm, stopping me.
“Slim is up in my suite with Kayla, trapped. I gave them my code to the safe. They should be good, right?” I give her hand a reassuring squeeze, “They’ll be fine.” I start to pull her down the busy hall. There are people screaming and crying as the shooting continues. We turn down a corridor to get to the stairwell. We are only one floor above where the others are. As we round the corner, there are two men checking the classrooms. We need to get past four rooms until we hit the door to the stairs.
“You need to stay as quiet as possible, hold your breath when they are near. We can get by undetected, but you have to listen to me and pay attention to my signals, even if it is in the dark. Light on the toes, breathe through the nose.” She squeezes my hand in understanding, and we move forward, making it past two classrooms before a man walks out of the one right across from us. Stopping immediately, we don’t move, staying deathly still. His walkie goes off. They are speaking in Russian. She squeezes my hand, hard. Unsure what her signal means. Her hand shakes the more the conversation goes on. Finally, he continues to walk, and we move further down the hallway, one more door to cross to the stairwell and it’s only ten feet in front of us. Jade squeezes my hand again, but I’m too focused on getting to the fucking door. A shrilling scream echoes through the halls and I take that as our cue to hurry to the door and open it. Hauling Jade inside and closing it softly, I look at her and she looks terrified, her body unmoving. I grab her and throw her over my shoulder, taking the stairs two at a time. Once we hit the bottom floor, I set her down on her feet and cage her against the door, peeking through the glass. I flash the red laser down the hall two times as a signal for my brothers to let me know their location. Nothing. I do it again and wait.
“I see nothing, no movement,” she whispers. I take out my phone and see the dumb fuck text me to let me know he didn’t have his laser. For fuck’s sake, Spade. Moving Jade aside, I open the door slowly, listening for any movement. It’s eerily quiet. We step out and round the corner, down the hallway, and into the maintenance office. Turning the knob, I slowly open the door and am met by the barrel of a gun at my temple. In one swift move, I slap the gun away and slam into his throat, causing him to choke and bend over. Grabbing his head with both hands, putting my body weight into the move, I twist, then a hand lands on my arm, tapping it twice. I immediately let go.
“What the fuck?” I growl. He sputters and drops to his knees, but another voice comes from deeper in the room.
“Jameson, that you?” Dario asks. Jesus fucking Christ.?
“Yea” I snap. I smack Spade in the back of the head, as he is still trying to catch his breath. I turn my flashlight on and look around the room.
“Jade,” I whisper yell. Nothing. I flash my light towards the door and see her in the corner, head down and arms wrapped around her knees, rocking against the wall. Fuck. I slowly approach her. Bending down, I squeeze her hand. She looks up at me. I hate that we are in the dark. We need a plan and fast.?
“Let’s get her out of here. Any suggestions?” I say through gritted teeth.
“We need off these grounds and to get to Jade’s,” Spade demands.
“We can’t,” her voice hiccups.
“Why baby?” Spade rasps, crouching down next to her.
“I heard their conversation. I know a little bit of Russian, but I was able to put it together. Just get me out of here. I can’t concentrate in the dark. Please get me the fuck out of here.” She pleads.
“Let’s get to the suburban. It’s bulletproof. That’s our safest bet for now. I already placed a call to Gio. He knows we are being ambushed and finding out by whom.” Dario interjects.
“I already know who it is.” Jade says glumly.
“Who?” We ask in unison.
“The same asshole it’s always been.”
“Fuck.” Dario says.
“I’m confused, you’re going to have to dumb it down for me, Babygirl.” Spade says, raising her face to look at us. If it’s who I think it is, we are going to need more than just our fists.
“Pakhan Morozov, and he’s come to collect— Me,” she says looking up at us, fear all over her face.
I don’t say a word. I know what this means. But I won’t let them have her, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. I look at my brothers with murder in my eyes.
“It’s carving season.”