Chapter 23 Spencer #3
“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple,” she tells him with a smile, and it’s as if that small glimpse of happiness energizes him.
“Sure it is. Let’s hop on a plane and go put a bullet in his head,” he says as if it’s the most reasonable thing in the world.
Zander always thinks death is the right answer, and while this time I don’t disagree, I think I get where Jade is coming from.
“Unless you want to kill him slower, we could totally do that too!” he says, bouncing on the balls of his feet like that’s the most exciting thing he’s heard all day, and honestly, it might be for him.
“We could torture him, rip out his fingernails one by one, or we could do death by a thousand cuts. Water torture is cool, but it takes forever. If that’s what you want, we can try.
I’ve never been patient enough, but I’d make it work.
For you, I’m willing to try again, love. ”
“Zan,” Jade leans into him, pushing up on her tiptoes to press her lips and quiet his rambling.
It’s the most effective way I’ve ever seen anyone shut him up.
It's not something I’ll be trying myself, but I still stuff that knowledge in my back pocket for later.
Lord knows we’ll need that again at some point.
Hell, it would have come in handy so many times over the years.
Zander looks at her with a dopey smile on his face. It’s ridiculous, but I know the rest of us probably aren’t much better, so I bite back my urge to tease him for it.
“We will get him, but we have to be smart about it. We're not just going up against some asshole this time. We're going to have to take on the Bratva,” Jade explains, and Zander’s brows pull in confusion.
“Why would we do that? If Dom’s to be believed, you're the rightful heir,” Jake asks before anyone else can, his speculation clear.
I don’t blame him for not trusting Dom after everything, but so far, I can’t find anything saying he’s lying or a reason that he would.
What would he gain by telling Jade all of this?
Even if he just wanted help to take out Ivan, we would have done that just for being tied to the rings.
There was no reason for him to out himself like he did last night.
Elio might have pushed it all to unfold the way it did, but he could have said a million other things, and they all probably would have been more believable.
“Yes, it would sound that way, but Ivan has been the stand-in for years now. The way Leo and Dom explained it makes it sound like the Bratva is still loyal to Mikhail, but Ivan calls the shots. Nobody knows how to find Mikhail. Dom doesn’t even know where he is.
He left years ago and hasn’t been back since,” Jade explains, and I watch as the others begin to understand what we're up against here.
“So we have to go against the Bratva?” Trent asks from his spot on the couch. His face is blank, and his words are quiet, but I can see the slight downturn on his lips, something I know Jade won’t miss.
“No!”
All eyes turn to Jade as her answer rings out around the room. So far, she’s done a pretty good job of keeping her emotions in check. But right now, her eyes are hard as she stares back at Trent across the room.
“None of you have to do anything. I didn’t come back here to make you fight this fight for me. I came back because I swore I would, that’s it. If you don’t want to do this, that's okay. I have to because I need to know the truth, but you don’t.”
Jade looks around the room as she talks, her eyes hard, but not with anger. She doesn’t expect us to do this for her because of our feelings or because she’s the boss. She’s giving us a way out, and I think she wants us to take it, expects us to.
Clearly, she doesn’t get it yet.
It’s so ridiculous that I can’t help but laugh.
It sets off a chain reaction, and one by one, I hear the rest of the guys begin to laugh as well. Even Kratos smiles as he looks around the room at us, shaking his head.
“What’s so funny?” Jade demands, turning to me, and I guess that’s fair, considering I started it.
It takes me a second to get myself under control enough to speak. After everything, I’m damn near hysterical at this point.
“You just don’t get it, do you?” I ask, but I can see she doesn’t. She doesn’t know the lengths we would go to for her. That each of us would gladly put our lives on the line for her. She doesn’t see that going without us isn’t an option, and it never will be again.
She doesn’t get it, but she will.
One day she won’t even think to question us.
Until then, I’m happy to keep teaching her.
She stares me down with a look that would make most cower, but not us. Not for this.
I close the distance between us with measured steps, her eyes narrowing further and further the closer I get to her. I know she could take me down if she wanted to, but I also know she won’t, at least not right now.
“There isn’t a damn thing you could say that would make us let you face this alone.”
Her eyes widen in shock at my words. Some of the tension in her shoulders easing with understanding.
“You don’t seem to get it, so let me spell it out to you real quick.”
Grabbing her chin, I force her gaze around the room to each of the guys. “There isn’t a man in this room that would let you do this alone.”
She doesn’t fight the hold I have on her as I turn her back to look at me.
The guys watch but don’t say anything. They don’t have to.
Their determination’s written all over their faces, bloodthirsty and ready for whatever she might need.
Her eyes shine as she meets my gaze again, and I think she’s starting to get it.
But it’s not enough. I need her to really get it. To understand without a shadow of a doubt that we will be here for whatever.
She’ll never be alone again.
“Rival gangs, crooked politicians, the fucking Bratva—hell, you could face off with every branch of the mafia, and we’ll be here.
Vengeance brought us together, but it didn’t hold us the way you do.
With you, we have a reason. You have given everything for so many people and never asked for anything in return.
If this is what you want to do, we’re here.
Let us be the ones to give for you this time. ”
The guys around the room stand before they begin moving closer, closing in around us. Tears pool in her eyes as she looks at each of us. She tries to blink them away, but it looks like a losing battle.
“But you don’t have to. Why would you want to? I don’t understand,” she fires off questions at rapid speed, trying to make sense of everything, and it would be cute if it weren’t so heartbreaking.
Zander steps up beside her, tucking a stray piece of hair out of her face and behind her ear. “I told you, Doll, we care about you. What better reason do we need?” Telling her he cares for her is Zander putting it lightly. I can see the same look in his eyes. He loves her.
Kratos steps up behind her, his chest pressing to her back, and she looks up at him over her shoulder.
The smile on his face is one I’ve only seen when he looks at her, and I can’t believe I didn’t notice how in love with her he was from the beginning.
I think they all are, even if they might not admit it yet or even understand it themselves.
Somehow, in our lifestyle, it’s easier to put our lives on the line than it is to admit feelings, but that doesn’t mean they're not there.
“Thank you.” Her voice is so quiet, words shaky to the point that she doesn’t even sound like herself. But they're honest and full of emotions she rarely shows, and I know she’s saying thank you for so much.
“Now, let’s get ready to go to war,” Rick says, smiling down at her, his face full of affection. Her lips curve into a vicious smile, and I know she’s ready to make heads roll. Make the people who deserve it suffer for what they did to her, and through it all, we’ll be here.
Honestly, there's no place I’d rather be.