Chapter 2 #2
In a surprisingly gentle voice, the familiar guard from before says, “Take the children home. Everyone else stays put.” Parents quickly scatter with their kids in tow, and the group that remains waits in tense silence.
Traeger glances at his arm, at the blood running down his fingertips and dripping to the ground.
I try to remain calm, but my mind is whirling trying to take in everything that’s happening and trying to plan for what might come next.
My body is tense, and though I don’t have any weapons, I ready myself to fight if it comes to it.
Traeger shifts his gaze to Kevin, who’s still being pressed roughly into the ground by one of the guards.
“Get him up,” he says, voice cold as steel.
An icy jolt of fear skates up my spine and my heart thunders in my chest. They haul Kevin to his knees and I wince at his bloody cheek and broken glasses.
All of that fire and hatred from before has seeped out of him.
Now, he simply looks broken. Defeated. Is it all setting in now that the haze of rage has subsided?
The wife he’s about to leave behind alone?
The children he loved to teach that he’d just terrified and could have even gotten injured or killed?
The friends he’d endangered? Attacks on Traeger and his men were not tolerated.
Simple as that. We could all be punished for Kevin’s actions.
Kevin’s lip trembles as Traeger stalks closer to him.
“Now, I don’t take too kindly to being shot at, as you can imagine.”
He rears back and punches Kevin with his good arm.
I force myself not to flinch but quiet gasps ripple through the crowd.
I see some of the others turn their faces away so they don’t have to watch.
Kevin’s head snaps to the side and the hit would have toppled him if Traeger’s men weren’t holding him up.
Another punch sends blood spraying from Kevin’s mouth with a grunt of pain.
Traeger turns his back to us and takes a deep breath, bending his head to one side, and then the other, as if stretching before running a race or something.
When he turns back again, he says quietly, “There are rules…”
I suck in a breath as he slips a huge hunting knife free from the sheath at his hip, turning it slowly as he eyes Kevin coldly. Something about his demeanor is off somehow, but before I can figure out what, Jonah lunges forward and my heart stops beating.
Jonah stands in between Kevin and Traeger, hands up and palms out in a peaceful gesture.
“Just wait, ple—”
The butt of Jett’s rifle hits him in the cheek with a sickening crunch, and he goes down hard, blood flying from his mouth.
My world tilts and my blood goes cold, but my vision?
That goes fucking red. All of my instincts and training switch immediately into the GO TIME position, and I’m a different person.
I want to kill the son of a bitch who had just hurt Jonah.
No, not wanted to. Will. I will kill Jett.
Maybe not this very moment, but it will happen one day, it’s as good as done.
I’m not one to make idle threats. When I set my mind, that’s it, there’s no going back.
I’ve always been that way, even as a kid.
It had driven my dad crazy and was probably why I’d been so good at my job.
If I was given a target or a task, once I set my sights on it, nothing could stop me from completing it, no matter how badly the odds were stacked against me.
There are very few people left in this world that I would do absolutely anything for, would cross any line to protect, and Jonah will always be number one on that list.
So, yeah, Jett’s days on this earth are fucking numbered.
It’s now a cold hard fact, and that very dark, very real part of me that exists—though I like to pretend that it doesn’t—is delighted by the idea of taking him out.
I haven’t always been this way. I’d had to do plenty of things that toed the line of right and wrong, some that flat out ignored the line, to be honest, but it had always been in an effort to help and protect people.
And I’d taken that burden on easily, I’d been happy and proud to do the hard things to keep the world safe, but I’d never enjoyed it or looked forward to it.
But then the world ended and we were fighting for survival, and when I’d lost Gabby, I’d lost my humanity.
Or almost had, anyway. Jonah kept me mostly afloat, but when it comes to protecting him, to protecting the people in this world that can’t protect themselves, I’ll let myself dip beneath the waves into that dark abyss, the one where my hands are permanently stained red and where screams and pleas for mercy echo.
“Don’t move, you piece of shit,” Jett spits at Jonah. He digs his fingers into the ground and groans in pain, and Jett boots him in the stomach, maybe cracking a rib or two, just for the hell of it, and that’s all I’ll allow to happen.
“Stop!” I scream, sprinting forward. One of the other FOSers tries to grab me, but I easily duck out of the way, spinning beneath his outstretched hand, and place myself between Jett and Jonah.
I see Traeger eyeing me in my peripheral, but whatever he’s thinking, I don’t really give a shit.
All I care about is Jonah and ending Jett’s worthless life.
I keep my eyes locked on Jett, calculating his every twitch, his every breath, readying myself.
I run through six different scenarios in my mind of how this could go, where I’ll strike first, where I’ll defend and dip and duck, where and how I’ll make the final blow.
He has a gun but that won’t matter much, not with him so close.
I can strike before he has time to raise the barrel, and I’m fucking ready.
Jett’s lips pull into a cruel sneer, a sick glee dancing in his muddy brown eyes, and I have his number in a nanosecond, no profile necessary: this man enjoys hurting others, but especially women.
He gets off on it. With what looks like joy, he raises his gun again.
I don’t cower. Oh no, I bow up as I arch a brow and jut my chin, shifting my stance subtly, ready to act within a breath.
“I fucking dare you,” I spit quietly.
Traeger roars, “Enough!” stepping closer to our little standoff.
Jett reluctantly stops himself from doing anything, but the look in his eyes tells me that he plans to finish this at some point.
I give him a look back that tells him I’m looking forward to it.
Jett has no idea who he’s just fucked with, but I’m more than happy to educate him.
He narrows his eyes at me, clearly irritated that I’m not afraid of him, and I decide in this moment that when his time comes, it won’t be quick. This fucker deserves to suffer a bit.
“What in the fuck is going on here? Have you all lost your god damned minds?” Traeger doesn’t yell, but his voice is loud enough to be heard by the crowd and rings with absolute authority.
Even I feel it and know enough to take it seriously.
I tear my gaze from Jett to face Traeger.
He seems to have forgotten about his wound, the blood running freely down his arm, dripping off of his fingers and splashing quietly on the asphalt.
“Now, someone is going to pay the price,” he adds, voice cold and sharp as a blade.
I clench my jaw. Fuck. I’ve made it worse.
I hadn’t thought it through, but I had to stop Jonah from being hurt.
I can’t let them suffer because of me. I have to diffuse this somehow…
Gears start turning and a plan snaps into place.
A really terrible, stupid, awful plan. A plan that will rip my heart out, but…
it would be worth it if it keeps them safe.
Decision made.
I shift my shoulders back and take a deep breath.
“I’ll go with you.”
Traeger narrows his eyes.
“No, Mel!” Jonah rasps from the ground, spitting blood before continuing. “I won’t let you do this.”
“Not your choice, J,” I say without taking my eyes from Traeger’s.
I keep my voice firm and even, but the words threaten to break me completely.
I point to Kevin. “This man has a sick wife who needs his care. I’ll go with you as collateral or a hostage or whatever the hell you want to call it.
I’ll be your pound of flesh—as long no one here will be harmed for this little…
misunderstanding. Kevin will be punished by the Council, but there is no need to shed blood over this.
” I glance at the puddles of scarlet staining the ground.
“More blood,” I amend. He studies me with those green eyes that seem to see far too much as he stalks closer, and I force myself not to move an inch.
“And why would you be a good pound of flesh?” he asks quietly, a cool challenge in his voice.
“Jonah would be the better choice. He’s a leader here.
I take him, I punish the community for this misunderstanding.
” He’s right. Jonah would be the better choice, but I refuse to let that happen.
Think, think, think. The obvious answer is to offer up my body, but I’m not ready to just throw that out there quite yet.
Instead, I narrow my eyes. Traeger deals in power and strength. Might makes right and all that.
“You know I’m the unofficial head of security, and I’m the best shot in all of Haven.
Hell, probably the entire country at this point, dare I say the world.
You take me, you weaken their defenses—” I grind my teeth at the thought, but know they’ll be ok, “—and gain my expertise in your arsenal.” Jett snorts and I flare my nostrils, clenching my fists at my sides.
“I-it’s true,” a shaky voice says from behind me.
“She’s the best we’ve ever had and the one you want with you on any run.
I’ve never seen anyone fight the way she does.
We have ex-military guys and cops here, and she kicks all their asses.
And she can cap a Bloody at three hundred yards. ” Eight hundred, I correct silently.
“God damn it, Mull,” Jonah grits from where he’s managed to pull himself up to his knees.
Mulligan gives me an apologetic look, but I nod, letting him know that I understand and appreciate the assist. He sighs quietly and shifts his stricken gaze to Jonah, to the blood coating the side of his cheek. He loves him as much as I do.
“See. I’m better than anyone you have.” Jett lets out a mocking laugh at that and I shoot him a killing look, running my tongue over my teeth before glancing back to Traeger.
I would swear I see a hint of amusement in his eyes.
“I’ll cooperate, I won’t put up a fight.
I’ll…behave,” I grate, hating how the word tastes.
“Just…please. Take me.” I hesitate for the briefest moment before steeling myself and adding quietly, “I’ll do whatever you want,” making my meaning crystal fucking clear.
“Mel,” Jonah whispers, half shocked, half pleading. We’d all heard the rumors about Traeger’s compound, about the hell people endure there, especially the women. I might have just offered myself up to be the village bicycle for a bunch of psychos, but for Jonah, I’ll do it. I’d do anything for him.
“You wanted me there before,” I say, reminding him of his invitation.
“Has that changed?” I hold his gaze, searching for…
I don’t know what, but whatever’s there, I can’t get a read on it.
Why the hell can’t I read him? I’ve rarely encountered anyone that gave me this much trouble. He finally leans in close.
“This is a one-way ticket, Melody. You have one chance and one chance only to change your mind.” He says the words so quietly that only I can hear. “Let the old man pay the price and you can stay here with your people. Simple. Why ruin your life for his?”
He pulls back and straightens, and I have to crane my head back to meet his eyes.
I hold his stare for a long moment, trying to dig through the layers of his words.
Is he serious? Is this some kind of test?
Is he mocking me? I honestly can’t tell, but I know that my fate is already sealed.
As much as I long to stay with Jonah, I won’t let Kevin, and by extension, Sandy, suffer for this.
I understand all too well the darkness that losing a child leaves inside of you, the rage that slowly eats away at your insides like a poison.
I can’t blame him for his actions here today.
If I’d had the opportunity to end the one who took Gabby from me, I would have done it a thousand times over, but there are somethings you can’t fight against, no matter how hard you want to.
I lift my chin defiantly.
“I stand by what I said.” His eyes widen ever so slightly. “Do we have a deal or not?”
After what feels like an eternity, he finally nods. Without taking his eyes from mine, he calls to the others, “She comes with us.”
“No!” Jonah groan-yells in denial.
Ignoring him, Traeger continues, “Kevin here will get ten lashes and spend six months under house-arrest. If he’s let out before then, I will know about it,” he says, the threat clear in his voice.
“No other harm or retaliation will come so long as this punishment is upheld.” He returns his gaze to me and adds, “And so long as you behave.” His lips curl into a crooked grin that’s somewhere between bemused and cruel.
“Better go pack your things. We’re leaving in an hour.
” He snaps his fingers at one of his men. “Get me the fucking Doc.”