THIRTEEN JAY #4
I felt like I was on the cusp of figuring something out but just couldn’t put my finger on it. “Who does the background checks on all the members? I have to believe that not every person who wants to join the Elementi would be a good fit or might be working for the demons.”
“Well, that is actually a combined effort between Hudson’s father and Jay’s.
Makoto deals with the background checks and mental evaluations, while Hudson’s father checks to make sure they don’t show any signs of being controlled by a demon with blood tests.
There are markers to find out if they’ve been altered or possessed. ”
Frowning, I massaged my temples. “Makoto has some odd feelings towards the Elementi for being so involved. He seems to think we Knights are a joke and his people could do a better job dealing with the Dark Lord, but they keep missing them every time they get a tip. Then he’s asked to make sure people brought into the Elementi are who they say they are along with being mentally fit for the job and not easily swayed by demons...
My other assumption is that he clears the pilots and flight staff as well? ”
“Yeah, all personnel gets looked over by him or his people,” Brayden confirmed.
My heart clenched as all the pieces finally made sense to me. Shooting to my feet, I looked around wildly, fear coursing through me as the danger we were in hit me in the chest like an arrow. “Guys, we need to leave now!”
They both looked at me confused and didn’t seem to follow the same logic I was.
“No, I’m serious. We need to leave before Makoto’s men come to get us. I will explain, but you need to trust me right now and get the hell out of here,” I begged, my heart thumping in my chest.
Seconds later, an SUV came to a screeching halt at one end of the alley then another on the opposite side, blocking us in. Men leaped out of the first vehicle and waved for us to come to them. “Let’s get a move on, you three. The faster we get you out of sight, the better,” one of them called.
I turned to face Hudson and Brayden. “We can’t go with them. If they take us, we’ll never see the light of day again.”
“Lailah, what are you talking about?” Hudson asked, his voice tired. “The other three are already there. Besides, Makoto might be a jerk but he’s been loyal to the Elementi forever.”
“No, no he hasn’t. He’s one of the Dark Lord’s men and has been working behind the scenes to help make all this happen.
Who else could know everything and everyone all the time?
Jay’s mom wasn’t kidnapped by chance. Makoto probably gave her up!
” I blurted, trying to tell them enough to get them to trust what I was saying.
As I finished talking, I could see them putting it all together, but it was too late. The soldiers could tell something was wrong and advanced. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, your call.”
Whirling on my heel, I brought my weapons to hand, ready to fight. “Sorry, but I never plan on making things easy for the Dark Lord.”
This got a grin from the man who’d been speaking. “Seems like you finally caught on to the reality of the situation, but it’s too late, Synergy. You’re surrounded and we have the other three of your men. If you want to see them alive, then I suggest you come with us.”
“The Dark Lord wants us dead so why should I trust anything you say?” I growled.
“Oh, he doesn’t want you dead just yet. No, he plans to make you watch him destroy everything and everyone you love.
The worst torment for you is to know you failed to save them all,” the soldier announced with a bitter laugh.
“If it were up to me, I’d kill you right here, right now, for all you’ve put us through. ”
“Let me guess, those cops weren’t really cops but your men and I left them out in the ocean,” I shot back, hoping that as I distracted them Brayden or Hudson would get us out of this mess.
A body crashed into me, knocking me to the ground. As I tried to fight off the person, I discovered it was Hudson with a tranquilizer dark sticking out of the back of his neck.
“If you plan to ever get out of this alive, you’re going to need to think faster on your feet.
Us demons are masters at playing dirty. There’s no way a person as pure as you could ever pull one over on us,” the soldier in charge shared as he squatted next to me.
“Those darts will make it so they can’t use their powers for a while, but Makoto wanted us to leave you intact.
Seems he wants to see what you’re made of. ”
Struggling to shove Hudson off me so I could fight, my anger clouding my judgment, but that all ended with the clicking sound of a taser.
Pain flooded my body as it went rigid until finally my brain decided it would be safer if we just checked out for a while until this was all over.
The Dark Lord won this round, but I refused to believe this was the end of things.
I would find my opening and next time I wouldn’t second-guess myself before acting.