Chapter 12 Ezra
Chapter Twelve
EZRA
What if someone in the family took her? What if Noah knew she was here, and she was snatched out of my hands?
I have to find her. Now.
No sooner have I stepped into the back room, ready to grab my clothes and go hunt down Jade, maybe drag her back to the cabin, kicking and screaming, then Noah is in my way.
Noah puts a hand on my chest, pushing me back a step when I try to grab my sweats. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I don’t have another fight for the night. I was going to go home and relax. Unless that’s going to be a problem for you?” I need to get out of here and find Jade as soon as possible.
If he has her, I’m not going to be able to find her, though.
He has hiding places I’ve never heard of. Ones that his inner circle know and wouldn’t dare whisper to another soul. And even though I’d like to think I’m part of the inner circle, I know that I’m kept on the fringes of it.
It’s how Noah operates. Keep them close enough to keep them loyal but make sure that no one ever knows as much as you do.
Noah eyes me up and down, shifting so he’s more in my path than he was before. “Actually, there is going to be a problem for me. I don’t know where the fuck this new attitude of yours is coming from, but it stops now.”
“Maybe it’s coming from the fact that you treat me like nothing more than a goddamn puppet in your game. That you think that if you say jump, I’m going to say how high.”
People filter into the room, turning and running from it just as quickly. They’re smart. They don’t want to be caught in the middle of whatever shitshow is about to happen.
And I know without a doubt there’s going to be one.
If he put his hands on Jade, I can’t trust myself to remain calm.
Noah steps closer to me, a cold and icy anger radiating off him. “You getting some balls on you, boy?”
“Boy? Fuck off. I’ve been a man since the day my father and brother died, and you know it.”
He gives me a sinister smirk. “Are you sure it wasn’t the day you killed your own mother for being a traitorous whore?”
I snap. I know I shouldn’t, but there’s nothing to stop me. All of the normal triggers that would hold me back are gone.
I lunge for him without a second thought.
My anger fucks me, though.
He catches me by the throat, squeezing hard as he spins and slams me into a wall.
Noah glares at me. “I’m going to let you go, and it’s only because you’re my cousin. If you even so much as think about swinging at me again, I will slit your throat where you stand.”
I nod, taking a gasping breath as he lets go of me and takes a step back.
What the hell was I thinking?
“Sorry,” I grunt out, shifting to the side and putting more distance between us. “Tough fight, and I haven’t been feeling up to my best lately. Shouldn’t worry about it, though. I’m going to be fine for the rest of the fights.”
Noah crosses his arms, his coat parting slightly to show off the gun on his hip.
“See to it. There is time before the next fight. Get your fucking head in the game, and whatever you think you’re doing with the Lynde girl, don’t bother.
She’s one of the younger ones, and she’s not worth the time.
Both of them are too involved with school to know much about the Lynde business. ”
I nod, knowing it’s what’s expected of me.
Right now, there isn’t time to deal with him. Not that I know what I’m going to do when I decide it is time to deal with him.
He’s been pushing me around for too long, but that comes with the territory when you’re the head of the family. However, all the other things he’s done to me or had me do over the years are another story. One that I don’t have a lot of patience for anymore.
One that I have less tolerance to each day.
Jade needs to know that I’m a man who’s going to stand up for her, no matter the person in front of me. I want her to know at the end of the day that the best choice she could make is giving her loyalty to me.
“I have to go.” I dodge around him and grab my clothing, pulling it on. “Is there anything else you need for the night?”
“Yeah.” Noah’s stern look has me stopping for a moment. “I need you to clean the blood off your face and get your head in the fucking game. I won’t lose money because of you, Ezra. The moment you stop being useful to me is the moment your leniency within the family goes away.”
He strides away through a set of doors, leaving me to stand there and scrub a hand down my face.
That could’ve gone better, but it could’ve gone a hell of a lot worse as well.
I get dressed and head to the sinks in the back, cleaning the blood from my skin. I don’t want to scare Jade when I find her—and I am going to find her—but I don’t want that to be done with another person’s blood on my skin. She saw enough tonight.
Noah would’ve gloated if he had her. He would’ve made snide comments while we were talking.
I flick the water off my hands before heading for the door, weaving through the crowd, and leaving the warehouse behind.
It’s time to go hunting.
I was an idiot to trust her. I never should’ve thought that cuffs to a bolted chair were going to be enough to stop her.
She must have asked someone in the crowd for something to pick the lock with. There were more than enough women in the crowd tonight who would’ve helped her.
Bright yellow taxis flash by me on the side of the street as I make my way to Jade’s apartment. I’ve checked everywhere else in the city, thinking she would go to one of her family members’ houses. It would make sense if she’s looking for protection.
I was an idiot for thinking that too.
In all the time I’ve been following her and making sure she’s safe, she’s never once told her family about me. Her best friend, yes, but never her family.
She’s going to try and fight me when I get there. I know it. She’s never been one to back down from a fight.
I round to the fire escape, pulling down the ladder.
A man with a tattered coat and a cigarette hanging from his lips approaches me. “What’re you doing?”
“Locked myself out.” I reach into my pocket and pull out my wallet, taking out a hundred dollars and handing it over.
He gives me a smile, showing off his missing front tooth before tucking the money away. The man saunters away, turning the corner and striding out onto the street.
I wait until he’s gone before climbing up the fire escape.
I take one staircase after another, turning and striding, glancing in the windows with a small sense of curiosity about what the other people in the building are doing as the sun creeps up over New York.
Bright rays are reflecting off the buildings surrounding me as I open Jade’s window.
And there she is, asleep on the couch, her dark lashes fanning across her cheeks and her hair spread out around her. She’s breathing deep and clutching a pillow close to her, still wearing the clothes I snuck her to the fight in.
Poor little love, always thinking that she’s two steps ahead. Thinking that she can take care of herself regardless of what’s happening around her.
One of these days, she’s going to have to learn that she’s helpless.
That she needs me.
But maybe, what she needs is a little sleep and for her subconscious to know that someone is watching over her.
I creep through her apartment like I’ve done before, making my way over to the bookshelf and pulling out her copy of Peter Pan.
Sitting down, I crack open the book and get comfortable.
She can have her sleep for now.
She’s going to find out what happens when she disobeys me the moment she’s awake, though. I don’t have the patience for this shit, and with Noah breathing down my back, I don’t have the energy for it either.
She tosses and turns in her sleep, muttering beneath her breath in a way I’ve never heard her do before. Of course, I haven’t been in the apartment with her before when she’s sleeping.
“No,” she whispers, horror in her voice. “No. Don’t kill him. Don’t kill her. Please. No. Please.”
I put the book to the side and lean forward, watching as she rolls over and tries to bury herself in the couch. Standing, I cross the room and climb onto the couch behind her, curling my body around hers.
She nestles back into me, her breathing evening out again.
I think about anything other than the way her body slots against mine, trying not to poke her in the back with an erection while she’s sleeping.
This isn’t about sleeping with her, though. This is about keeping her safe and chasing away the dreams, even though I’m pissed at her.
I band an arm around her waist and pull her close to me, trying not to fall backward off the couch.
Jade shifts in my arms, rolling over and burying her face into my chest, her breathing deep.
I close my eyes, fingers drifting up and down her spine.
And then her eyes are open, and she’s staring up at me.
“What the fuck are you doing?” She jolts away from me.
She springs over the back of the couch, nearly falling over. Jade manages to catch herself on the back of the couch. “I was supposed to get away from you. You weren’t supposed to find me this quickly.”
I get up and stretch. “You forget how well I know you, love. I’ve spent months studying you and all that you do. I know who you are. I’ve always known who you are.”
I stalk toward her, and she scrambles backward, trying to keep some distance between us.
Arching an eyebrow, I keep my pace. Sooner or later, she’s going to run out of places to escape to, and then she’s going to be left with me.
“Now, why don’t you tell me how the fuck you got out of those cuffs?” I stop, letting her think that maybe she’s winning.
The false sense of confidence is going to fuck her over. It always does.
She smirks, some of the alertness coming back in her eyes. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Careful, love. You’ve already tested me enough for one day.”
“And what are you going to do?” She steps closer to me, jabbing her finger into my chest. “You might threaten to kill me, but I don’t think you’re going to do it. You would’ve by now.”
I reach over, grabbing a vase from a shelf, slamming it against the edge.
Pieces shatter to the ground, leaving one jagged end in my hand. I hold the sharp edge to her throat, backing her up until she’s trapped between the wall and my body.
“You spend a lot of time underestimating me, love.”
She swallows hard, trying to lean away from me, even though there’s no escape. “I’m never going to love you.”
“That’s fine.” I smirk, dragging the edge along her skin and drawing a thin river of blood. “I don’t need you to love me.”
I drop the vase piece, and she hurries over to a drawer in the kitchen, ripping it open and pulling out a towel to hold to her throat.
She glares at me. “Are you insane?”
“Yes.” I spin and go to her shelf, opening the little wooden box and pulling out a syringe.
I knew stashing these here was going to be beneficial. I didn’t know that it would be when I did it, but foresight is always a good thing.
“When the hell did you put those in there?” She tries to hurry to grab a knife, but I move faster.
Jade screams as I grab her, trying to fight me off, though it’s a half-hearted attempt. Maybe it’s the exhaustion that overtakes her, but it doesn’t take me long to get her hands pinned high above her head, my body pressed against every inch of hers to keep her still.
With my free hand, I pierce her skin with the tip of the needle, pushing down the plunger and watching the sedative drain into her.
She wakes up as I’m lifting her out of the car. Her body is still limp from the sedative and too weak to fight, but her mind is all there as she bites me hard.
I drop her on the ground, shaking my head at her muffled yell. “I don’t want to hurt you, love, but if you’re going to keep fighting me, then you’re giving me no choice but to do so.”
Jade spits at me. “If you think that you’re going to get away with this a second time, you’re an idiot.”
“Come on, now. We both know you didn’t call anyone when you escaped. You wouldn’t have been back in your own apartment if you had.” I grab her again, unlocking the padlock on the cabin before hauling open the door.
“What are you going to do to me?” Her voice wavers.
I shove her into the cabin. “I haven’t decided yet. You can think about what you’ve done until I decide to come back for you.”
She screams a string of curses as I slam the door shut. It rocks against the frame as something heavy hits the other side. I’m not sure what she’s throwing, and I don’t care enough to find out. She can keep screaming and crying all she wants.
Jade only has herself to thank for getting into this situation.
I’m done fucking around.
She’s either going to fall in line, or I’m going to have to take some drastic measures before she gets me into more trouble.