Chapter 32 #2
Speaking of not drawing attention to yourself, all of them struggle with moving quietly.
Zander is the only one who’s close to getting it, but he’s always been smaller and sneakier.
The others use brute strength, something that isn’t so easy to transition into silence.
Kratos isn’t bad, considering his size, but compared to us, he sounds like a herd of baby elephants stomping around the room.
“Back to the start.”
Jade’s voice rings out around the room for what feels like the hundredth time. A groan of frustration sounds as the guys move back to the other side of the mat, again.
Jade, Leo, and I stand on the far side of the mats with our backs to them. Their sole goal is to get across the mats and touch one of us undetected. I’m not sure how long we’ve been doing this. An hour, maybe two, and so far, none of them have made it more than halfway as far as I can tell.
“Can’t you, like, sit out, Doll? It’s always you who gets us,” Zander whines, and I choke back a laugh as Jade rolls her eyes before smacking her palm to her forehead.
She might love them, but that doesn’t stop them from getting on her last damn nerve. She looks at Leo and then me briefly before she steps forward with a sigh, turning to face them.
“Fine, show me how much easier it will be when you're sneaking up on people born and bred in the life of the Bratva.”
She raises her hand in challenge before she counts down for them to start again, keeping her gaze carefully forward so as not to tip us off. I know she’s testing them, but for some reason, it feels like she’s testing us too.
Zander’s right, though. She’s good, and because of that, I haven’t really been paying very close attention. But that’s over now. Now, I feel as though I have something to prove.
My little sister’s watching, and I’ll be damned if I don’t show her what I’m made of.
“Back to the start,” Leo shouts a moment before I do, and I smirk as I look over at him. He shoots me a wink, and I know we're both on the same page. Zander thought we would be easier to get past. He just doesn’t know better, but that’s okay. He will soon.
“Come on, man, this is bullshit, and you know it. No way you hear us. You're just randomly calling out for us to go back,” Jake shouts in frustration.
Leo turns to face him, his brows pinched in annoyance, but Jade steps forward, stopping whatever he was going to say.
“You think so?” she asks, but doesn’t wait for a reply. “Alright, let's put that to the test. Stay there, Dom. Leo, have a seat,” Jade barks out orders, walking past us to join the guys.
I think that might be the first time she’s spoken to me without sounding like she wanted to murder me.
Progress.
“Watch and learn,” I hear her tell the guys, and I already know what she’s planning, but I still listen as she calls out to me.
“Same rules as before, Dom. If you hear me, call for a reset.”
I give a nod, squaring my shoulders and listening hard. A minute passes, and then another. Silence fills the room, other than the breaths of the guys standing against the back wall watching and their occasional shift.
Shit, no way will I be able to catch her.
A knife to my throat proves me right a moment later.
As quickly as it was there, it's gone again. She could have killed me right there, or probably a dozen different ways today, at the club, or even the night I told her who she was. But she hasn’t.
I catch her eye in an attempt to see what she’s thinking, but she turns away.
“See, not that hard,” Jade tells them, and I can hear her smirk as she proves herself.
“He’s already in the doghouse. Why the hell would he call for you? Rigged,” Spencer calls back, and I honestly can’t tell if he’s serious or not.
“Yes, I’m sure that’s how this works. If that were the case, your ass would be quiet right now. Yet here we are,” Jade deadpans.
He smiles at her with a shrug.
God, I don’t understand those two. I’m pretty sure they’re also together now, or at least don’t hate each other anymore. Yet somehow, they still always find a way to be at each other's throats.
It’s fucking confusing.
“Fine, who would you suggest I demonstrate with?” she asks, and I know what their answer will be before they even say it.
“Kratos,” Rick volunteers him, just like I knew he would.
He’s the smartest choice.
He’s training this skill the same way they are, failing time and time again, which means he probably won’t throw it just to earn her favor.
Not that he needs to. Every time they look at each other, I swear they get those gross little hearts in their eyes.
But Kratos knows her best. He’s been around her for years, so if any of them have a chance at catching her, it should be him.
With a nod from Jade, Kratos heads to our side of the mat. He doesn’t even look my way when he stops next to me. It’s probably best he doesn’t, though. I’ve spent enough time with him today to know if he did, all I would find in his eyes is hatred.
I never intended to betray him. I didn’t use him to get close to my sister the way I’m sure they assume I did.
No, Kratos really was my friend. I’d found him by accident.
I was just a fucking dumbass out running around looking for my sister when we met.
I had no idea he would lead me right to her, that I would come to rely on him and enjoy his company.
That I would help not only him, but the very person I was searching for to build an empire to take down people, just like Ivan.
But I can see how he might not believe that. Everything happened in a way that seems almost too good to be true now that we're standing here preparing to kill the monster. Except for the fact that two of the most important people in my life hate me.
That part isn’t great.
These guys might not know Ivan, but he’s been a huge part of a lot of their suffering.
He sent Leo here to find Jade, and in doing so, Leo created Sin.
Sin ran rings that connected a lot of other rings, thanks to Ivan, and quickly rose to the top of the top in the sex trafficking world.
But Leo still couldn’t find Jade, which is why Ivan reached out his inky fucking fingers for help.
Help like Randall. That sick fuck agreed to bring her back to him, but instead fell in love with her. Neither option was a good one, and Jade suffered because of it. Jake did, too. From what I know, Randall killed his late wife, Jake’s mother, all in hopes of being with Jade publicly one day.
He was a monster in his own fucked-up way, and I’d never been so happy to watch someone die as the night Leo put a bullet in him.
It’s not just Jake, though. I haven’t had the balls to ask him yet, but I think Leo might have been the one who shot Trent’s dad.
I don’t need to know the guy to know how that can fuck someone up.
Plus, that had a huge impact on Rick, Spencer, and Zander, who looked up to him, not to mention the fallout of their friendship.
I watch as my mind wanders, seeing Jade creep up on Kratos. The others stand around watching, waiting for him to catch her, but he won’t. I know it, and judging by the smug smirk on Leo’s face, he does too.
I should ask Leo about it, but I can’t. If I know, I’ll have to tell Jade.
I can’t keep anything else from her, never again, and if I’m right, this whole thing will fall apart.
For now, I’d rather just be left in the dark.
That’s a problem for after Ivan is dead.
Everything can be handled after Ivan is.
Right now, he’s a bigger threat to us than any of them realize, and as much as I hate to admit it, I know Jade needs these guys.
Jade pounces on Kratos’s back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. His hands go to her legs to support her on instinct, but the look on his face tells me she startled him.
It only lasts a moment, though, as she leans over his shoulder and presses her lips to his cheek, pulling back with a smile and giggling.
Jade isn’t one to giggle, but right now, it seems fitting.
She’s happy.
“Believe me now, assholes?” she shouts back to the others who stand against the wall. Their faces are a mix of emotions from annoyance to awe, but all of them smile back when she turns her smile to them.
“Yeah, yeah. We get it, big bad Killer,” Kratos grumbles with a smile of his own.
It’s strange, really, seeing him smile like that.
Usually, his smile is rare, but with her, it seems normal.
His hands stay on her legs, working their way up to her thigh before he tickles her.
Jade yelps in surprise, laughing as she tries to wiggle free.
Somehow, he manages to keep his hold while she fights to breathe.
It’s such a normal thing, and as the guys jog over to tease, tickle, or help Jade, I know this has to work.
My sister deserves happiness more than anyone else I know, but so do the rest of them.
As much as I might not love the idea of all of them with her, I know watching them that I’ll do whatever I can to help keep them all together.
Jade’s my sister, my responsibility.
No amount of her hating me can change that, and I wouldn’t want it to. When we face Ivan, I’ll make sure I’m there to help her fight her fears, even if it’s for the last time.