Chapter 1
Ifollow a few paces behind the guys as they slip into Froggie’s office after Kratos. They’re all clearly a little on edge to meet their boss, and it’s no question why. Nobody ever meets him.
Well, that’s not true. People meet him all the time. They’re just often never seen again. Unless it’s at a crime scene, but even then, they didn’t always come back up at all. Lots of people just disappear completely.
The idea that they’re nervous would almost be laughable if not for the fact that I’m also here and nobody’s told me to leave yet.
I half expected Kratos to when he came over to us, but he didn’t, and I’m not sure why.
The whole thing confuses me almost as much as it intrigues me.
Kratos does nothing by accident, which means he’s let me stay for a reason.
I’m just not sure what that reason is yet.
That alone is what has my feet moving forward despite my brain screaming at me to stop and go in the opposite direction.
If the guys are this nervous, that could only mean problems for me.
Hell, I’m as far from being a part of Vengeance as you could get.
I’m a cop, but it doesn’t matter how logical my reason to leave is. I just can’t make myself do it.
I watch Zander disappear past the threshold and inside the office. Taking a second to look behind me at Kratos's office door, just a few feet away.
That’s where Jade is, or at least where Kratos told her to go.
The image of Jade standing covered in blood assaults my brain. I stop dead, looking back between Froggie’s door and Kratos’, trying to decide what to do.
I don’t want to leave Jade alone. Not when she could be bleeding out, for all I know, just down the hall while we worried about other shit. But at the same time, I didn’t think any of the guys, Kratos included, would leave her in there if they thought for one second she wouldn’t be just fine.
Fuck, I’d bet Zander would fight Froggie himself just to get to her if he had to.
While the idea of that is funny enough to stop my mental spiral, it isn’t any less valid.
I’d seen how Zander looks at her, and the guys wouldn’t go through all of this just to let something happen to her.
I believe that much, at least. It’s enough for me to shake the worry that has me rooted in place.
I make a mental note to check on her as soon as this meeting is over, and I know why Kratos wanted me here for it.
Entering the office, the first thing I do is take in my surroundings. I don’t know if it’s out of curiosity or just the cop in me, but I feel the need to know the room I’m standing in.
The office isn’t all that different from the one that Kratos uses just down the hall.
The most significant difference is that it’s obviously less used.
The air is stale, there’s dust on most of the surfaces, and there is zero personalization.
Other than that, it’s laid out exactly the same, with a desk just to the right facing the rest of the room, two chairs in front of it for anyone who comes in, a closet straight ahead from the door I just entered, and a bookshelf on the wall to the left.
I’ve only been in his office a handful of times, but if I remember correctly, Kratos's furniture was a lighter carbon gray wood. In contrast, everything in Froggie’s office is a dark espresso wood, only a few books on the shelf, and the most basic things on the desk.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say this office is only for show.
But that can’t be right…
Kratos sits in one of the two chairs in front of the desk, turned slightly so that he faces us where we all stand just inside the door.
I wasn’t sure why the guys had stopped, but with them blocking the way, I really didn’t have any choice but to stand here and wait for them to move.
Not that I particularly wanted to be the first to stroll in and meet Froggie, anyway.
Wait.
I take a quick look around the room again, feeling as though I’d missed something, but even after a second look, I find nothing and nobody else in the room but the guys and Kratos. Maybe we’re waiting on Froggie?
But if that was the case, why had the guys stopped?
I get my answer a moment later when I hear her.
“Looks like you should pay better attention, huh, Spence?” Jade's voice sounds from somewhere ahead of us. I can't see her, but I know it’s her all the same. I sidestep around Rick and Zander, and sure as shit, Jade stands there with Spencer.
Well, more accurately, Jade stands behind Spencer, a blade pressed to his neck. They face mostly away from me, so I can’t see her face clearly, but I don’t need to. I can make out the wicked grin on her face just fine. It’s almost unsettling.
I do a quick glance over her body, and I’m relieved to see there aren’t any signs of blood left.
She’s wearing shorts that look more like underwear and a crop top that leaves most of her stomach and cleavage on display.
They look damn good on her but also don’t feel like something she would’ve ever picked for herself.
The show of skin allows me to see that not only is her cut no longer bleeding, but she has a neat row of stitches with a clear wrap over the top of them.
She must’ve taken a shower to get all the blood off, and as my eyes roam back up her body, I realize her hair is, in fact, dripping.
The clothes make more sense. I bet she had to borrow stuff the girls had lying around for performances downstairs.
Everyone in the room stands still as they watch Jade.
I can't say I blamed her after what had just happened, but I’m kind of in shock that nobody’s stood against her yet.
Spencer, Rick, and Zander are usually quick to act when someone threatens one of them.
The fact that Zander and Rick both seem frozen doesn’t sit right with me.
I look to Kratos, expecting him to be upset, but I find him calmly sitting, watching.
I’m not sure why exactly I’d expected him to be upset, maybe because Jade got the upper hand or because nobody stepped in, but I knew upset was the emotion I was looking for.
Kratos doesn’t like when shit doesn’t happen the way he thought it should, and he doesn’t tolerate failure, so I’m more than shocked to find that not only is he not upset, he’s fucking smiling.
I feel like my brain is short-circuiting as I try to comprehend what the fuck is going on here.
Nothing is making sense. Kratos doesn’t smile, ever.
The guys would never stand for this. And beyond all that; how has Jade even made it into this shit far enough to feel like she could step up to one of Froggies' head guys? I’d seen men who were old enough to be their fathers cower to them.
It often happens with the older guys on the police force, yet Jade doesn’t seem to give a single shit about that.
Before I can get my shit together enough to put a voice to any of the questions swirling around in my mind, Jade removes the knife from Spencer's throat.
Letting her arm drop away slowly before tossing the blade up to flip around a few times.
She catches it by the handle with ease before pulling her arm back and sending it shooting across the room.
It hits the closet door with a solid thud as it embeds itself into the wood.
Turning back to look at her, a bright smile is now in place of her wicked grin as if it had never been there.
She skips to the desk before pulling herself up to plant her ass on top of it, her legs dangling off the edge, as her eyes roam over us where we still stand by the door.
Shit.
I might not be in Vengeance, but even I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to be sitting so casually on Froggie’s desk like that.
He might not be here yet, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t walk through the door at any moment and.
.. A small voice in the back of my mind whispers that I should probably also move if that’s the case, but I ignore it in favor of warning her.
Before I can so much as open my mouth, Zander’s moving toward her.
“You shouldn’t be here.” He tells her as he grabs her hand and gives a light tug to pull her back to her feet, obviously having had the same line of thought I did.
She doesn’t fight him. Instead, she simply slides off the desk, letting him lace their fingers together as he slowly leads her back toward the door.
Jade smiles up at him as she follows along.
“Why not?” she asks, her voice full of innocence that doesn’t fit in this setting in the slightest. I want nothing more than to move forward, grab her, and get out of here, but seeing as Zander is already working on that, I stay where I am.
I don’t care who gets her out so long as she leaves.
“She’s staying.” Kratos's voice rings through the otherwise quiet office. Zander stops in his tracks, and all heads turn to Kratos.
The room was silent for a moment, during which time Jade makes her way back to the desk to retake her seat as if unaware of the mounting tension in the room.
“Why?” Zander asks, his voice hard as he tries to keep a hold of his apparent anger while addressing Kratos.
“She has no reason to be here. In fact, her being here only puts her in more danger.
You, of all people, should know that. And seeing as it's our job to keep her safe, I intend to do just that,” Zander says, not giving Kratos a chance to reply as he makes his way back over to Jade.
Before Zander reaches her, Kratos stands, putting himself right between them.
“I said she stays.” He says, his voice cold, and it’s not a question.
It’s a demand. His earlier smile is gone as he glares down at Zander in his usual menacing way.
I expect Zander to back down, but he doesn’t, deciding to stand his ground and stare right back at him.
Neither makes a move further than that, and while they wage war, I take a moment to look at Rick and Spencer.