Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
FINN
Emotions are a mystery to me, but there’s one feeling I never had a problem identifying:
Anger.
Growing up, it was a constant companion.
It descended on me when kids would tease me, cruelly pointing out my differences.
It tightened its claws on me when I realized that Jarod Cross wasn’t interested in me the way he was, for better or worse, interested in Dutch and Zane.
It held on when I thought of my biological parents who abandoned me.
Anger was the sensation of my heart burning and my head tightening. It was the ever-so-subtle whisper in my head, inviting me to destroy something or someone. That calling banged on my chest, demanding somewhere to go, demanding to be set free.
Who knows where it would have taken me.
But then I found Sensei.
“Anger is a cruel master that clouds the mind. Let anger rule your opponent and let self-restraint rule you. Then you will never lose.”
I’ve lived by his words ever since, and I kept my fury in a tight little cage. So, I don’t expect to feel what I do when I see Ace with his hand on J’s jaw.
The world blinks out of focus and something snaps deep inside me.
Self-restraint is gone.
In an instant.
Almost as if the walls I’d built around that anger never existed in the first place.
I barge into the elevator, taking advantage of the element of surprise, and I don’t hold back. My fist slams in the first guy’s face and I hear something crack. He staggers back and crashes into the wall as I grab the second guy and slam his head into the railing along the edge of the elevator.
He groans and crumbles.
The door closes behind me with a thud.
Ace releases J and comes after me.
She starts sinking to the ground.
Eyes widening, I dive straight to her, but Ace tackles me. I hit the ground and dodge the punch that he aims at my face, but not the one he sinks into my gut. He comes at me with a rain of punches, and I hold my arms in a defensive move, waiting for the right time.
At last, his punches slow as he loses his breath. I shift to the side when he launches one more hit, and his knuckles slam into the floor.
He bawls out in pain.
My legs swing up to his neck, and I use his own weight against him, rolling him over until he’s the one on the ground. The first punch I land on him is enough to loosen a tooth. The second is enough to send blood splattering over the elevator wall.
The third knocks him out cold.
Stop, Sensei’s voice rasps in my head. Enough, Finn.
The anger is louder. It’s thicker. It’s pulsing.
I’m somewhere outside of my own body, seeing only Ace’s fingers digging into J’s skin. The imprint of that moment, of her blue-green eyes begging for help is a continuous nightmare.
The fist that slams me in the jaw comes out of nowhere, but I would have seen it if I hadn’t lost control. I smack into the ground and pain explodes through my shoulder.
Ace’s friends come after me. The first one bounces on the balls of his feet, showing that he has some experience in boxing.
I wait for him to make a move, and he does, throwing a hard and fast left hook. I slide back to dodge the blow and notice the second guy coming up behind me too late. He grabs my neck and claws at my shirt, pulling my arms to pin them at my sides.
In the shuffle, I look for J. She’s at the back of the elevator, gripping the railing for dear life. Strands of blonde hair hide her face from view as she bends over and clutches her chest.
She hasn’t fainted. Yet. But her watch is screaming.
Her heart is pounding too fast.
“Breathe, J,” I growl.
“I’m… trying,” she gasps.
I want to go over to her, but two of the crew members are attacking me at once.
Running backward like I did with Ace in the stairwell, I slam Red T-shirt into the wall so his grip on me loosens, and as soon as I’m free, I ram my fist into Blue T-shirt’s face. He goes flying into Ace, who was just starting to get on his feet.
Red T-shirt tries to grab me again, but by the head this time. He hooks his arm around my neck. His elbow digs into my shoulder as he chokes me and wrenches me backward.
My eyes connect with Ace who’s running straight at me now that his friend has me in a chokehold. I slow my breathing, assess his pace, and wait for the right moment to wrench sideways and free myself.
Red T-shirt loosens his grip, and I sidestep just in time for Ace to rain a solid blow on his friend instead of me. Groans of pain filter through the air. All three of them gather together like the rats they are, their eyes glazed in pain and rage.
The elevator stops.
Red numbers flash on the screen.
Ace slaps the button so the doors close and the elevator starts moving again.
“You have no idea who you’re messing with,” Ace growls.
I stare at him, barely winded, but he and his crew are breathing hard. They all lack skill and strategy in fighting. And while I haven’t been in many street fights, my training with Kurosaki paired with all I know from Sensei makes this a sure win.
I don’t need to run my mouth to intimidate anyone. Beating them to within an inch of their lives should make my point loud and clear.
“You just pissed me off,” Ace growls. “Now I’m going to deal with you and your girlfriend.”
Fury roars inside me.
I’m going to tear his head right off his body.
I head straight for Ace, but in the corner of my eye, I notice Blue T-Shirt taking out a knife. I remember the training I had with my sparring partner and bend backward, barely avoiding the first downward swipe.
“Ugh,” J groans behind me.
I glance at her. She’s still hanging onto the railing like it’s her last lifeline.
This fight is too close to J, and while I’ve been careful not to retreat to her corner of the elevator, I can’t guarantee where the knife will go.
While I’m standing still, the knife wielder attacks. I’d parry with him if we were anywhere else, just to show him that his clumsy attempts are laughable. But I can’t afford for J to get hurt, so I grab him by the wrist and pull.
His eyes widen in surprise as I swipe his leg from under him and keep my grip on his wrist. He screams as the weight of his body slamming to the ground wrenches against the angle of his arm. His shoulder pops.
The knife clatters to the ground.
I look across the elevator at J. She’s got her eyes closed and is massaging her chest with the heel of her hand. She can’t take much more of this before she faints like she did that night at Redwood. How long can her heart race like that without her pills?
Just then, I hear a ding!
The elevator door opens.
I look up and find Ren and Hayato standing outside.
Ace spits out a derogatory term at the sight of them. “Screw off. Get the next one.” He taps the button to close the elevator doors.
Ren’s lips curl up.
Hayato steps into the elevator and keeps it open by placing a hand on the door.
“Didn’t you hear me?” Ace picks up the knife and holds it out to Hayato. “Close the damn door.”
With the crew occupied, I stalk to J’s side and kneel next to her.
“Are you okay?” I whisper.
She breathes hard. “My pills… are in…”
I don’t wait for her to finish the sentence. Scooping her into my arms, I rise steadily. J curls her legs into her chest and rests her forehead against my left pec. She’s so small, so fragile.
My nostrils flare, and I consider handing her over to Ren so I can deal with Ace myself.
But then her slim fingers dig into my shirt, and she groans. “It… hurts.”
“Ren,” I growl, looking over J’s body.
“I will handle this,” Ren says.
I stride past the Grave City Crew, eyes locked on J. She’s half-unconscious in my arms.
“You need a doctor,” I tell her.
“No.” She speaks faintly but firmly. “They can’t… find out… pills.”
I lean closer to hear her whispered explanation.
Suddenly, Ace grabs my shoulder. “Where the hell do you think you’re going? We’re not done here.”
I brush him off without a word and take another step. Ace’s face transforms into something inhuman, and he scoops the knife from the floor. I bend over, covering J with my body as the knife arches in my direction.
Ren steps in, angles the flat of his hand and slams it into Ace’s neck.
He drops like a sack.
Hayato gives me a nod and a smile as the elevator door closes on them with the last two cowering gang members.
J groans again. The sound pains me more than any of Ace’s punches. Cuddling her closer, I look down at her face. Her breathing is shallow, and she hasn’t stopped rubbing her chest.
“Hold on,” I whisper, moving as fast as I can.
“Finn,” J moans. I bend my head to hear her say, “Gimme… my candy… back.”
A smile tugs at my mouth, and then I laugh softly in disbelief as the crazy heart patient faints dead away.