Chapter 4 #2
A shudder works its way through his body, and Jade’s hand on his arm squeezes.
“Jade's lips started turning blue as he thrust into her, and it only seemed to push him further and made him fuck her harder. She looked at me, and I could see the tears shining in her eyes, but I was powerless to help. She mouthed, ‘I’m sorry,’ but before I could comprehend what she was sorry for, the light reflected off the kitchen knife he’d just used on both of us and forgotten on the floor in his carelessness.
I only saw it for a moment before she buried it right into his fucking neck so deep it went in one side and came right out the other.
” A grin splits both of their faces, and I know just from looking at them, they are both stuck in the same memory.
As bad as the story might be, I can’t help but smile as well. They might have gone through hell, but they killed the fucker. He got what he deserved. My smile falls a bit as I realize that also means the scar on her back is from that fuck, and he’s already been dealt with.
Damn it.
“Jade saved you?” Trent asks from behind me, and I almost jump out of my damn skin.
I was so focused on Jade and Kratos that I’d forgotten he was even here.
Rick and Spencer are a given to me. Most of the time, they’re around, so it’s weirder when they aren't. But Trent hasn’t been around for a while, so he’s going to take some getting used to.
If he even decides to stick around after all this shit.
“She did,” Kratos says, cutting Jade off when she opens her mouth. She shoots him a look but huffs instead of arguing like she clearly wants to.
“Okay, that’s great, and I’m happy you guys dealt with him and everything, but I don’t understand what that has to do with Vengeance or what makes her Froggie,” Spencer says, not even trying to hide the annoyance, and I roll my eyes. He’s such an ass.
Kratos doesn’t comment on his obvious attitude.
“It has everything to do with it. Once my father was dead, we called in a home invasion. Since he was out of the picture, I could pay off the cops with the little bit of money I had access to. His company and all his money and assets were left to me.”
“You built an empire to help people like you,” Rick says. It’s not a question, but Kratos nods anyway.
“But if this was all those years ago, why was Jade still with traffickers just weeks ago?” I can’t stop myself from asking, even though it doesn’t make sense. She was free, so how the fuck did she end up back there?
“The girls,” Rick answers me instead of Kratos, and of course, it was the girls. It makes a lot more sense, but I still don’t like it.
I turn to look at Jade, and she doesn’t need to confirm it. I can see it written all over her face.
“I was all they had. I couldn’t leave them with nothing and no one.
So we talked about everything, and Kratos was going to build something on the outside while I went back on the inside.
It would take years before he had any real pull in the city, and in the meantime, I could keep the girls safe and pick off the fuckers I could until then,” Jade explains as if it’s the most obvious thing and while it might seem that way to her, I can’t say I agree.
Judging by the look on Kratos’s face, I bet he didn’t either.
“I fucking hated the idea, but I didn’t really have a say, and who was I to tell her she couldn’t?
I’ve spent every day since she left working to get those fucking rings shut down.
At first, I was just trying to get the cops to do it, find leads, and have it shut down the right way.
But that didn’t work, and it quickly became clear I would need something more extreme.
I worked the streets and eventually fell in with Sin as a runner.
I bulked and fought to become one of their best. It took years, but finally I had a reputation that I happily lived up to.
It wasn’t hard to change some of their guys over to my side when I broke away.
” He drops his chin to the top of her head, holding her close, almost possessively in a way I'm not even sure he realizes he's doing.
And I wonder if Jade knows he loves her so completely, its hard to know with the way they act.
She could look at him as a friend, or even an older brother.
Oh, that would suck.
“I never wanted to run shit, though. Most of my plans were from Jade. I’d given her a burner phone before she left, and when she was out, she would call, and I would give her updates.
We were able to meet a few times over the years, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t convince her to leave until we could close them down, but I ran everything past her.
From the very beginning, she has been the brains of this.
I’m the muscle and the face, but I wouldn’t even be here without her guiding me through it all. ”
“Bullshit! You would’ve been fine. I also remember telling you I didn’t want to lead either, but you clearly didn’t give a shit about that.” Jade crosses her arms over her chest with a huff of annoyance. I’d be lying if I said it was one of the most adorable things I had ever seen.
Kratos tugs on Jade’s hair until her head tips back against his chest, and she looks up at him.
“The difference is, you've been leading for a long time already, and I was ready to follow you fucking anywhere.” A smile spreads across her face at his words, but he doesn’t release his hold on her hair.
“I didn’t learn until recently that Jade was staying in the rings on purpose.” His eyes narrow on hers, but she doesn’t even look fazed. If anything, I’d say she looks amused. “She would stay hidden away when her current ring was infiltrated and then work the streets until she got picked back up.”
“Which is why the boys found you in the fucking pit, isn’t it?” he asks, and this time it’s clear he’s speaking only to Jade.
She doesn’t answer him, and for a few seconds, they just stare at one another as if waiting to see who will crack first.
Kratos releases her hair when it becomes obvious she isn’t going to answer, and she straightens but doesn’t move away from him.
“Someone remind me to thank Charlotte. Maybe we can buy her a horse or take her to Disney. That’s what little girls dream of, right?
” Kratos doesn’t ask anyone specific, but I shrug because I have no fucking clue, and based on the lack of answers from the rest of the guys, I assume they don’t know either.
Though I’d bet money, Trent knows but I don’t single him out.
If he wants to answer, he will. He’s a big boy.
“Don’t get her a horse. They’re way too much work for a little girl, but Hazel loved Disney when we were younger,” Trent says after a moment of silence.
I remember when we were kids, and we’d all gone to Disney with his and Rick’s parents.
Hazel had been a mess, so happy she’d cried repeatedly, and when she saw the princesses, she’d screamed so loud you would have thought someone was trying to murder her.
I chuckle at the memory that feels like another lifetime. I won’t lie. It feels good to have Trent back again, almost like things are back to how they were supposed to be.
I turn toward him and see he’s got a smirk on his face as well.
“And who needs to buy a girl a horse when Golden Boy has a bunch of them that we can take her to see whenever we want?” I shoot him a wink, and he doesn’t even argue.
I expected him to tell me to fuck off, or that he wasn’t volunteering, but he glances up at Jade and then at Kratos before giving them a nod, as if to agree with me.
“You have horses!” Jade exclaims as she all but topples off of Kratos's lap, scurrying up and around my chair to stand next to Trent.
His hand snaps out to steady her as she trips over her feet in her haste, smiling down at her before he nods again.
Jade’s eyes go wide before she clasps her hands in front of her. “Please, please, can I bring Charlotte over to see them?” she’s damn near begging him as she bounces in place.
As if he could tell her no.
I don’t know anyone who could, especially not with her begging like that. I bet even Spencer would crack.
“Yeah. Of course you can,” Trent tells her with a chuckle at her dramatics.
Jade lets out a loud squeal before she throws her arms around him, taking him completely by surprise and almost off his feet.
Trent’s eyes widen as he staggers against her minimal weight.
He takes a second before he wraps his arms around her as well.
It’s funny how such a badass is melting all of us.
I don’t know if Trent would admit it, but I see it, the same way I saw it in Rick that first night and again when she threw herself at him for simply teaching her to cook.
She pulls back, and he lets her go, even though I know from experience he probably didn’t want to.
Something about all of this nudges at my memories, and I remember again how she hugged Rick and me as a thank you that first night we met her.
I turn to face Kratos, narrowing my eyes at him.
“Don’t fuck it up, and Froggie might thank you personally,” I say, repeating his words to us from that night.
“I see what you did there. Asshole.” I mumble the last bit because while it’s true, I also don’t really want to piss Kratos off, even when he seems calm. I know just how easily that can change.
He gives me a cocky smile back but doesn’t comment.
Funny how the pieces can fit together so well now that I can see the whole picture.
A knock at the door pulls everyone's attention to it before it swings open to reveal Dom standing in the hallway.
“Food’s here, boss,” he says with his eyes on Kratos, letting me know he has no idea about Jade.
It makes me feel better knowing we weren’t the only ones in the dark about this.
Knowing this isn’t something to mess with, Jade has enough targets on her back as it is.
Telling the world she’s the head of Vengeance won’t do her any favors right now, but I’m sure the day will come when she can be open about it, and she’ll be a fucking force.
I can’t wait. I don’t know that I’ve ever wanted anything more than to see her enemies at my feet while we help her get every fucking thing this world owes her.
The thought brings a smile to my face, and I look away from Dom to find Jade still behind me.
She turns to me when she feels my eyes on her, a smile on her face, and it almost takes my breath away.
How someone can go through so damn much and still smile like that is beyond me, but now that I know her, I can’t imagine her without this sense of freedom she’s earned and embracing.
“Clear the club. We’ll be eating down there,” Kratos tells Dom, who gives a nod before he closes the door again.
“We get to go to the club?” Jade asks, and Kratos just nods at her. She’s across the room in seconds, flinging herself at Kratos, but he’s ready for her. He catches her in a half spin as his arms wind around her waist.
“Thanks, Daddy,” she says with a giggle, and he growls at her use of the name but says nothing against it, and I have a feeling he doesn’t mind it, not really.
“If I knew all I had to do was let Spencer take me to be spoiled, I would’ve done it way sooner.” She hardly gets to finish her sentence before she squeaks in surprise and pushes away from him.
“Ouch!” she yells at Kratos as she smacks at him and misses. “Did you just pinch me?” she asks as she rubs a hand over her ass cheek, pouting.
“Be happy that’s all I did. You letting Spencer take you was stupid, and you know it. Just because we aren’t dealing with it now, don’t think that you won’t be hearing about it later.” Kratos tells her in a tone that usually has people falling in line, everyone but Jade, that is.
She’s fantastic.
A wicked grin curves across her lips. “Awe, are you going to punish me, Daddy?” she taunts him, her voice dripping with a false sweetness that is the complete opposite of what she’s implying.
A laugh slips out of me before I can stop it, and I quickly cough to try to cover it up. Kratos's eyes shoot over to me, letting me know I was unsuccessful.
Fuck.
He looks at me just long enough that I contemplate running, but before I can decide if it’s a good idea or a stupid one, Jade saves me.
She grabs Kratos's hand and starts pulling him towards the door. “Come on, I’m starving.” She shouts, pulling Kratos’s attention away from me, and everyone moves to follow after them when he does. Jade catches my eye over her shoulder just before she walks out the door shooting me a wink.