6. Tarzana Hills
TARZANA HILLS
Jamie
“Jordyn. No, wait!” My legs buckled, knees hitting the dirt, and I reached for my privates. Instead of taking my hand, she’d punched me. Slugged me. Hard. Scampered to her feet and over the other hedge into the dark of night.
I dropped on my haunches, struggling to catch a decent breath. My hands—sticky with other men’s blood—shook as I dragged them across my face. Stupid . Stupid . STUPID . What the heck was wrong with me? I’d scared her away! No , wait . Jordyn remembered me.
And she hated me for it. After all these years—twenty-four to be exact—I’d left her in that hell, and she hadn’t forgotten. Of course, she hadn’t. Why would she? I should’ve led with an apology. Begged for her forgiveness the second our eyes met.
But I hadn’t. I’d been shocked. She was here. In the flesh. Mission successful. Almost.
Minutes ago, I’d had a one-track mind—find the girl in the silk dress. I’d taken off after her like a bullet, shooting the man in the kitchen. Put that Russian out of his misery and the dogs that turned on me, too. Now, I stood again, prepared to fulfill a decades-old promise.
Push past the pain, Jamie. Get Jordyn to safety. Panic carried me like a hurricane wind. My breath, though heavy, locked in a rhythm. Combat mode.
My brain filtered through every threat and angle until I set eyes on her again. Running like hell. Then I saw what Jordyn didn’t—two more guards.
Oh, c’mon . How had I forgotten? There were ten of them. Leith had gone through the front—hopefully taking out the two guards that remained outside, and on my way to Jordyn, I’d taken out all but the two.
The guards circled away from the gate, cutting her off. One flanked near a greenhouse. The other ran around it, rifle raised.
The man closest to Jordyn lifted the butt of his rifle, probably to slam it against the side of her head. Good . They wanted her alive.
I didn’t hesitate. I’d spent most of my life hesitating until becoming a Marine and wouldn’t go back to that cowering little boy. I lifted Denis’s handgun and squeezed the trigger. A bullet struck the back of the Russian’s head. I’d given away my position. The other armed man turned toward me.
While still running forward, I sighted the center of his forehead and fired. Click. Click .
Out of ammo . Prepared to charge, shoulder dropped, I slammed into the man’s chest like a wrecking ball.
The force knocked the weapon away from us.
The Russian reached for a knife sheathed in his belt.
I snapped my wrist upward and buried the paring knife I’d gotten from the kitchen into the man’s neck.
A wet gurgle preceded the pulsing spray of blood from the man’s severed artery.
Drop . The Russian hit the ground in silence .
At the sound of barking, I pivoted. Not fast enough to stop a Siberian Laika from landing on my chest. How many dogs did Chelomey have?
Claws tore through my suit jacket. Teeth sank into my forearm.
Locked on. I grunted and slammed the paring knife into the animal’s rib.
Quick stabs like a prison house shank. Again .
Again . Again . The dog went limp on top of me, whimpering.
I kicked it off, rolled to my feet, and went to where Jordyn stood.
The rifle from the man I’d downed was in her shaky hand.
“I’m here to help you!” My voice was sharp, chest heaving with each word. She seemed frozen in shock, and I removed the rifle from her fingers.
One shot was all it took. The Laika stopped whimpering and dropped without a sound. I’m sorry they trained you like this. I had my life saved so many times by Belgian Malinois, who’d sniffed the dirt for explosive devices and tangos alike.
I went to Jordyn and held out the rifle in a safe position. “Do you want to hold this?” I flicked my fingernail into the torn flesh of my thumb. A habit. I didn’t know how to talk to girls, not if they weren’t wearing military cammies.
“I-I don’t want anything from you. You left?—”
A shout echoed across the land.
“Aleksandr?” she whispered. “He’s alive.”
What did her facial expression mean? Surprise? Elation? Anger? I didn’t have a second to process it because light flooded the night on the opposite side of the fence.
Leith climbed from a Ferrari Purosangue. “Let’s go! Let’s go. The cops, bràthair !”
While Jordyn ran to the fence, I wiped a hand over my face to clear my vision. I kicked up the rifle until it rested against my shoulder. Glanced through the scope, tracking for movement. C’mon. Where are you ? I needed to sight my mark. Too blurry. I adjusted the dial .
“Jamie, your friend needs help!” Crouched, Leith had thrust his hands between the fence opening, and Jordyn stepped into his palms. With a grunt, he tried to push her upward.
While she reached higher up, she grumbled a cussword, falling.
I swooped her up into my arms. The dim moonlight did nothing to obscure the intensity and clarity of her glare. It was as if we stood under a thousand suns. I lifted her onto my shoulder and then higher until her bare feet found purchase between the jagged fence toppers.
“Ouch,” she screeched, her ankle abraded by the sharp metal.
“Just jump, lassie,” Leith ordered from the other side.
I spun around and searched for movement again. I’d downed every last one of Aleksandr Chelomey’s men and assumed the crack I heard when hitting the Tsar with my briefcase had been enough to snap his neck. Sure looked like it under the circumstances.
Sirens sounded closer.
Gritting my teeth, I wiped my prints from the weapon, threw it into a bush, and pulled myself up.
Since the driver’s side was closer to the fence, I assumed Leith hurried to the passenger side to give me less ground to cover when I jumped down.
Behind the wheel, I slammed the door and pressed the pedal to the metal.
My gaze flicked over to him. “You handled the other two?”
“About that.”
“You at least grabbed my briefcase, right?”
“ Och ! What sort of numpty do you take me for? Of course. It’s next to the girl.”
I glanced into the rearview, where Jordyn eyed the metal briefcase at her side. Arms folded, she said, “So, I was free this time?”
The Adam’s apple in my throat jumped. What should I say?
Leith chortled. “You are more valuable than you realize, love. Besides, a thank-you might be in order. Once we get past the cops.”
She snorted. “Why did you come? And why are we running from the cops?”
“First, we don’t know if the authorities are on the take. Chelomey might’ve called them. They could be his backup. Or a neighbor called, and we don’t need that type of heat. And why did I come?” I flicked another glance through the rearview mirror. “Because you’re not his to keep.”
This time, the tension that roiled through the car drained, and I focused on aiming for a side street that led behind another half-acre lot.
The SUV’s tires screeched as I navigated the windy roads of the Santa Monica Mountains.
The city lights of the San Fernando Valley shimmered below—as if offering the thank-you Jordyn no longer had it in her to give me. I waited too long to find you.
The narrow lanes of Mulholland Drive twisted, bordered by steep drop-offs and dense bushes. The vehicle’s headlights cut through the darkness, revealing sharp turns. When I no longer heard sirens, I glanced back.
“ Jamie ,” Leith growled.
Too soon to relax. I swerved away from a pack of coyotes. The tires slashed hard against the road.
Leith gripped the side door handle. Jordyn reached forward to grip the back of my seat—her scent pleasant and sweet. One glance through the rearview—because I couldn’t help myself after all these years—and I caught sight of her pretty brown eyes, wide, confused, and fearful.
“Where are we going?” she demanded.
“Somewhere safe?—”
Sirens picked up again.
“Really?” I slammed a fist against the dashboard. I took a sharp turn onto a narrow side road, the SUV’s suspension protesting as they bounced over potholes. The path led us deeper into the hills, away from the main roads, and into the shadows of the wilderness.
After a while, Leith sighed next to me. “I’ve gotta admit, Jamie. You’re familiar with this area? Or should I assume it’s because you live an hour away or the military taught you how to navigate?”
I glared at him. “The second I found Jordyn”—a quick glance in the rearview mirror confirmed the peaceful snores were real—“all I did was orchestrate a getaway plan for if things went sideways.”
“Speaking of, what made you pick me? You’ve six br- other capable hands at your disposal.
Your closest being Camdyn,” Leith asked.
“When you were still a scrappy laddie, without a single twig of hair that wasn’t on your head, I thought I was the odd one out since Little Brody was Da’s right-hand man.
I’d chosen education over MacKenzie Freight.
Course, I knew our truck company was a front then.
” Leith paused to rub his chin as if offering me a chance to enter the conversation.
Didn’t much feel like chatting.
After a beat, he said, “Camdyn would’ve helped you in a hot minute.”
Lifting a brow, I turned onto the freeway. “Hello? Cam’s got kids.”
“Have you met my daughter, Mia, and my namesake, Leith Junior?”
“Leith, you know what I mean. Mia is already off at college, and Leith’s quiet. A good kid.”
“Yeah, Junior breaks my bank—always bringing me all A’s. Mia graduated from high school a year early,” he said at first, then sighed. “I can’t believe so much time passed. She was three when my life almost uprooted.”
“Yep. But everything’s all good for you now. And Camdyn will always be a reformed addict, so I can’t stress him. Not after…”
Screw you, Camdyn. You let me get taken.
The old memory of when Camdyn started to catch feelings for Willow came to mind.
She’d come to our house to work on a science report with me.
Maybe physics? Hated seeing him taunt her.
I’d pulled out all the stops to make my older brother feel guiltier.
We’d met the girl of our dreams on the same day.
At least, that was what I told myself. The situation had been more complicated than that.
“What’s on your mind, bràthair ?” Leith brought me back to the current day.
This time, I didn’t cut my eyes at Leith for the connection— brother . “Nothing.” I heaved a sigh. “Willow.”
“You got help after … you were sixteen, right? When you built that playground set in Willow’s backyard.
She was pregnant by Camdyn already, then?
I always knew you were close to her since you all went to high school together.
You were worried about their baby. You wanted to make sure their baby had a safe place to play. ”
I snorted a laugh. “Then I turned my own worst nightmare—abduction at a playground—into Willow’s reality. During the night, Willow woke up, belly swollen, and saw me constructing the playground. She’d been frightened. I’d frightened her.”
A memory flashed—of a man hiding in a jungle gym castle at the park, back when I was still too young to understand what it meant. The second that man grabbed me and ran from the playground, I understood, though.
“Listen, don’t be hard on Jordyn. Whatever you saw from me growing up—the silence.
The fits of rage. The cuts.” Along the side of my hip were the most perfectly constructed cuts.
Some thought they were tribal. Nae . I’d needed the pain.
I cleared my throat. “Everyone knew I tried to sabotage Willow and Camdyn’s relationship because, yeah, I didn’t think he’d make a good teenage father.
Also wanted to help raise her baby while keeping ‘em away from all parks. Then, there was Devi and my suicide attempt. Nevertheless, what I’m saying is, you allowed my crap while growing up.
I was only gone a week. Magnify that for Jordyn. Okay?”
“O—”
“I’m not done yet. Also, factor in how Jordyn hasn’t seen her family since she was five. Or … who knows. She was five when we met! She has no one. So, if you’re rude to her, I’ll kill ya.”
Leith groaned. “I’m sorry that I asked her to be grateful that we saved her.”
“Good. Stay humble.” I reached over and patted my br- Leith ’ s shoulder. Shouldn’t have been so hard on him. Similar to the earlier contingency plans, I also had another one.
I glanced into the rearview mirror again.
Streetlights danced over Jordyn’s slumbering face—contorted in a fearful sleep.
Darkness . Light . Darkness . Light . While I knew that the darkness could never overcome the light, I hoped our fragmented relationship would progress once I got her home.
I patted the plastic bag on the inside of my blazer.
It contained a cloth dosed in chloroform that would help stop her from making a big mistake when she wasn’t thinking straight.
Heck, for the brunt of my life, I hadn’t been thinking straight.
The devil had used my mind like a playground.
No, a soccer ball. At that, the cloth burned against my chest, much like shame and guilt might.
Would I use the liquid compound on Jordyn?
Damn right I would if the situation called for it.
I was no longer the crazy boy who got the crap beaten out of him in high school for just trying to keep his head down and get an education.
Nor was I the fifteen-year-old who beat a stranger to death with a bat because that man had slipped his way onto Clan MacKenzie land, and invasive thoughts told me he would take me again.
Taken .
Taken .
Taken .
That sole act of protecting Little Brody’s future wife, Justice, had made my family happy.
Ahem , not my family. Those MacKenzies. To their dismay, I’d drawn back into my shell after saving Justice, only to cling to Willow in high school when I felt Camdyn would be the death of her. But now, I knew who I was.
A man on a mission.
Not just any mission— the mission. More important than black ops in the Marines, more urgent than saving the other kids.
Save Jordyn.
The hard part had just begun. She wasn’t just someone I failed—she was someone I’d revive.