Chapter 30 Nathan #2
“I can wire over the funds if you have the information on hand,” Vince says, and I snap my head in his direction to glare at him.
I was unsure of what he was doing to get this help. I’d hoped it was an old friend, but knowing who Mr. Kane is connected to, I can only imagine the price tag attached to this job.
“It’s on the house.”
I look back at her to find her waving him off.
“Wait, no, we can pay.” I move to reassure her.
She’d been able to do what we failed to, if not for them. Who knows how long we would have been chasing this asshole around with nothing to show for it while he continued to torment Kat.
They deserve something.
Jade turns her gaze to me and cocks a brow. I’m not used to the lack of respect that she’s showing me right now.
No, that’s not exactly what this is.
She’s not disrespecting me; she’s just not intimidated by me.
“I have no doubt you can afford it.” She makes a point of looking around the room before she looks at Kat. “But we’re not exactly tight on funds, and it’s Vengeance’s job to keep the streets clean. So we’ll call this fair and square, just throwing the trash away.”
“There’s nothing we can do?” Kat asks, and Jade smiles at her. It’s warm and reassuring in a way that almost seems at odds with the rest of her personality.
“How about this? If you really want to pay us back, you turn around and head back upstairs, and I’ll take a souvenir from the piece of shit, just a little something to remember our meeting.”
It sounds easy enough, at least for us. I get the feeling Carter won’t be getting by as easily.
“Okay, I can do that,” Kat says with a nod before she squeezes my hand and turns away to head back up the stairs.
I look around, my eyes settling on Oliver and then Des. Without having to say a word, they both head up the stairs after her.
I’m almost jealous.
When they disappear, I turn back to find Jade staring at me. “It’s good to see she has the love she clearly was missing before.”
“She’s our queen. She’ll never question her worth again, never want for anything, or worry about whether or not she owns our hearts.” Jade’s eyes narrow on Alex as if trying to see the lie, but there isn’t one.
I haven’t told her how I feel, unwilling to scare her, but if she’d agree, I’d marry her tomorrow and shred that stupid-ass contract.
“Good.” She nods with a smile, clapping her hands together before turning to Zander, who stands like a giddy puppy waiting for a scrap of her attention.
“Why don’t you collect our souvenir so we can let them get back to their queen and we can—”
“Get back to ours?” One of the guys who had yet to speak says, arching a brow at her when she scowls at him.
Something about him is almost familiar, but I can’t put my finger on how or where I would know him from, and none of the rest of them seems even the least bit familiar.
“I get to do it?” Zander jumps up and down, making another of the quiet ones rub at the bridge of his nose.
When they first showed up, I thought they were a unit; they worked together doing jobs like a group of mercenaries, and while that may still be true, they're more than just working together.
Muffled screams pull my attention back to Carter and Zander, who sits on top of his back. His hands are no longer bound behind his back. Instead, Zander has it trapped under his foot; the other is bent behind his back, stuck under his ass, despite the way Carter thrashes around.
And he’s thrashing, all right, and for good reason. The hand under Zan’s boot has only his pinkie and ring finger exposed, and Zan is currently sawing off said pinkie.
A souvenir.
I’m glad they're on our side.
By the time he’s done, Carter is still, and I get the feeling he passed out. It’s probably for the best, so we don’t draw too much attention down here, though I can’t say I don’t wish he hadn't had to endure it all.
The second it pops free, Zander is on his feet, running it over to Jade and presenting it to her like it’s a priceless diamond. The way she looks at him tells me he could have brought her a rock, and she still would have loved it because she loves him.
“Thanks, babe.” She presses a kiss to his cheek before she turns to me. “Mind if I steal a baggie?”
I shake my head and know I should probably go and help her find one, but A, I have no idea where they are myself, and B, I’m not too keen on going near a severed finger.
“Damn it, Zander.” Yet another otherwise quiet guy moves past the others toward Carter before dropping to his knees next to him and ripping a bit of his shirt free to press against the nub where his pinkie used to be.
The puddle of blood was considerably larger than it had been a moment ago, and this man seemed to know it required action, while the rest of us stood around.
“If you let him bleed out, you aren’t exactly letting them handle him, you know, Demon,” he growls, and while his words sound annoyed, he doesn’t actually seem annoyed.
Jade rolls her eyes and mocks him as she continues to move around the kitchen in search of a bag.
“Yeah, yeah, you seem like you have it under control.”
Demon, so that must be Mr. Kane, Vince’s original contact.
At least I have a few names, I guess.
Though if I’m being honest, I hope never to need them again after today.
After that, everything wraps up quickly. Jade finds a bag and snugly wraps up her pinkie, and while I’m extremely curious, I swallow down my questions. Now isn't the time for them, and honestly, I’m not sure I really want to know.
With a quick goodbye, they're gone. The only proof that they were ever here is the unconscious fucker bleeding on my kitchen floor.
“Take him down to the cellar,” I tell Vince, who seems more than happy to.
This ends now, and once it does, I’ll ask Kat to marry me. I couldn’t before, not in good conscience, knowing I was failing her, but this will be the last tie to her past.
She was made for us, and I’d kill a lot more than this one man if that’s what it took to make Kat a Lawson.
Just the thought is enough to light my blood on fire.