Chapter 23 Spencer #2
It doesn’t take long before I see the same recognition on their faces. Dom’s story sounded crazy when he told it last night, but the more I dig into it, the more sense it makes. Not to mention, it’s hard to argue with proof, and while it might only be one photo, I’d dare say it’s convincing.
Nobody says anything, but one by one, each of them turns their attention to Jade.
She stands, her eyes fixed on the screen, her face twisted in confusion as she looks at a younger version of herself. We watch her coffee fall from her hand as she stumbles forward, but still, nobody moves; the drink splatters across the floor, nothing more than background noise.
Jade makes it to the TV before her legs give out, and she falls to her knees. Nobody moves, unsure of what to do. Any one of us could offer her comfort, but at the end of the day, it appears Dom’s story was true.
Nobody can change that.
I spent all night at war with what I wanted to find.
Did I want Dom to be telling the truth, or did I want this all to be a lie? Which was worse? On the one hand, if he’s telling the truth, Jade has a family. A very powerful family, one that didn’t just abandon her the way she believed they did.
On the other hand, that makes Dom her brother, who lied to her and Kratos for years.
And though I haven’t been able to prove it yet, it would appear her uncle is the one behind all of this.
Leo said none of them were safe until his father was dead.
I just don’t know exactly how that fits in with everything else.
“He was telling the truth.” Jade’s voice pulls me from my mental spiral.
There's no anger or question in her tone, as if she’s simply stating the sky is blue, not something that changes her whole life.
Pushing off the floor, her eyes stay glued to the screen a moment longer before she turns away.
Her gaze finds mine, and I can see the questions in her eyes.
So much is going on in that pretty little head of hers, yet she doesn’t voice any of it.
“Get him back here so we can get to the bottom of this,” she tells us, slipping into business mode. Her walls come back up as she looks at me. Her earlier happiness melts away before my eyes.
“We don’t have to do that if you don't want to, Jade. We can figure it out without them,” Rick tells her, shocking me.
I’d been about to suggest the same thing, but Rick is all about getting to the root of an issue.
That’s how you get the best information, but in this case, is that really what’s best?
Do we need to know everything in order to know that her uncle Ivan needs to die?
I don’t think so. I’d gladly put a bullet in his brain with only what we know right now. Solely on the grounds that he’s a piece of shit who deserves it.
“No, we can’t,” Kratos says, his words hard, and I get the feeling he doesn’t like admitting this. “They know more than they told us last night. They have to. And if that’s the case, we need that information so we can put an end to all of this!”
I knew he was upset yesterday. How could he not be?
Finding out someone he trusted for years was lying to him?
Hiding right beneath his nose, waiting to take Jade.
Clearly, that anger is still festering if his current mood is anything to go by.
Honestly, I’m surprised he let Dom leave.
If it hadn’t been for his concern for Jade and our needing answers, I doubt things would have gone so smoothly.
You don’t get to hurt Jade and get away with it.
Trust me, I know.
But there are still a few things that don’t add up here. Things I’m pretty sure Jade might be able to fill us in on.
“What happened while you were gone, Jade?” I ask, even though I really don’t want to bring it up. I hate digging up more shit, but we need to know.
She doesn’t even flinch, though I know it must have been shit.
My suspicions are proven correct when she tells us about the auction Randall dragged her to and her earlier encounter with Elio she didn’t understand.
It’s crazy to think they were so close that he could have saved her had he only known.
The thought pisses me off, but I push it aside. I need to pay attention to what she’s saying instead of dwelling on things we can’t change. Besides, she’s back now. It worked out, even if not in the best way.
Jade’s alive.
The fact that Leo and Dom used Charlotte is low, but honestly smart. I can’t think of a better way to get her to comply. Randall did almost the same thing when he used Zander’s life as a bargaining chip to get her to go with him.
She explains waking up and her attempt to escape. Everything she says is almost clinical. As if she isn’t explaining her own kidnapping in great detail, I can almost picture it.
Most people would panic in that kind of situation, but I doubt she did.
The way she describes it, she sounds as if she was the picture of ease as she broke free.
Even with training, dealing with kidnapping and someone you care about in danger is something that tips most into a blind panic.
It leaves people unable to use common sense or the skills they’ve relied on their whole lives.
When she tells us she knew it was Leo, I know she’s not lying.
She has no reason to. I didn’t trust him around the house, but I didn’t suspect him of being the one behind her disappearance, either.
I just thought he was a dumbass. I mean, he is if he thought he could take Jade, and that would be the end of it, but not the kind I thought he was.
Dom is the one who seemed to get us all, though.
Even I didn’t suspect anything until after they had already made their move.
Jade knew them before they unmasked themselves, but betrayal is a big deal for people like us, like her and Kratos. That type of thing is enough to kill over or get killed because of.
Instead, she struck a deal.
So very Jade-like. It’s almost funny just how much power she has, even before she has ties to her family.
To have built this from nothing. It’s amazing.
I knew that even before, though I wouldn’t have admitted it.
Now letting go of the shit I felt I needed, the anger I had for her, all I feel is awe.
Someday, she will lead the Bratva. I can feel it in my bones.
This shit won’t stop her. I doubt anything could at this point.
I’ve never thought myself invincible. I know my faults, but for some reason, Jade doesn’t seem human.
She feels larger than life. I don’t know much about the Bratva, but I know it will be in good hands with her. How can it not be?
Leo originally wanted to take her back to his father, Ivan. That was his whole mission: to bring her back so that Ivan and he could take over. Ivan believed Mikhail would be so grateful that he would finally give him the one thing he always wanted: the top spot.
Dom thinks otherwise.
“According to Dom and Leo, Ivan killed Leo’s mother, and Dom thinks Ivan’s the one who sold me.
He can’t prove it, and Leo doesn’t know for sure, but they both know Ivan has always been after his brother’s position.
Neither of them seems to think it would be that crazy.
Leo’s been here a few years now, trying to find me.
He and Dom ran into each other by chance.
Dom convinced Leo not to tell Ivan, and together they discovered Randall was one of Ivan’s minions. ”
She takes a deep breath, and I’m unsure if she’s fed up or simply exhausted, but I can’t blame her, as if she hadn’t been through enough already.
“He had me and was supposed to bring me back to Ivan, but he failed and was going to run. Ivan always acted as if Randall was a point of contact to get Leo here. Ivan never told Leo he had Randall working to find me, too. So Dom and Leo were able to use that, and with Randall gone, it will look like it was me giving him the slip once again, without putting a target on them, yet.”
Jade paces the floor, lost in thought. Zan stands as if to approach her before he stops himself. His eyes track her movements, and I can see the sadness in them. All he wants is to soothe her, but he knows she needs to keep going. Needs to get it off her chest so that we're all on the same page.
“They worked together and followed Randall. That’s how Leo found me.
He made Sin track the rings and watch Vengeance, but in the end, he didn’t really need it because I wasn’t the face of it, at least not that he knew.
So when shit got rough, he let Vengeance take it out and stayed behind to see if he could get anything else.
He ended up in school with us. Everything was planned, and when Ivan gave him the order to take Randall out, it worked out perfectly.
Leo could take him out but also do the one thing he’s been trying to do this whole damn time. ”
She runs a hand through her hair, yanking at the beautiful dark green strands. and laughs, but it’s not a happy sound. No, it’s borderline crazy, almost maniacal, and I can see the unease in her stance.
“Ivan raised Leo to believe that he’s doing this so he can hand the title over to him someday. Leo’s only goal is to please his dad. He doesn’t understand that he’s just a pawn.” The venom in her words lets us know exactly what she thinks of all this.
“Dom thinks Ivan will kill us all the moment we go back, and I agree. Ivan doesn’t sound like he would do something like that for anyone.
You don’t work your whole life for something just to give it away.
Leo must have seen it too, though, because it wasn’t hard for Dom to convince him we should stand against him instead of going back and hoping for the best.” She says in a rush, her shoulder sagging as she huffs a sigh of frustration at everything.
“Let’s go kill him then, Doll!” Zander says, rushing to her side now that she’s done ranting.