Chapter 53 Jagg
JAGG
“Brute. Oh my God, Brutus.” I fell to my knees, gripping the dog’s head. He licked my nose. I looked over at the cages, his door off the hinges. The bastard had busted out. Hell yeah, he did.
“We need to find Sunny. I lost the other dogs. Did they come by here?” The panic was almost overwhelming—and I was talking to a dog.
But I didn’t care. “Brute, I need you. Sunny needs you.” I grabbed the baseball cap I’d chucked when diving into the water and shoved it against his nose.
“Search. Go. Search.” He didn’t move. I pulled his face to my jeans where the dogs had jumped all over not five minutes earlier. “Follow their scent. Go. Search!”
Brute spun around and took off like the others, but because of his shoulder injury, his sprint was slow enough for me to keep up. There we were, two injured former fighters, with the world burning around us, risking their lives for their master.
“Thank you.” I blurted out to him, so freaking grateful I could keep up with him.
We sprinted down the riverbank—best we could. I had no clue if we were going the right way, but I decided to trust Brute. He was all I had, and all I had was blind faith.
Trust your instincts…
“Faster, Brute!” Adrenaline burst through my veins. “Let’s go. Faster. You can do it. I can do it. Faster, Brute.”
The creek grew narrower and narrower, the woods beginning to close in around us.
I swiped the tears from my eyes and focused on the black fur just ahead of me.
A line of flames outlined the top of the bluff that marked the end of the cove.
The creek stopped. Tall bluffs enclosed around us. A dead end.
There was nowhere else to go.
We’d reached Devil’s Cove.
Frantic barks came into earshot.
Sunny.
Brute’s speed suddenly tripled, as did mine.
The firelight shimmered across slick rocks as we rounded the final bend. At the base of the bluff: three dogs—pacing, barking, panicked. Midway up the jagged wall, a swirl of black curls clawed desperately upward.
Sunny.
And below her—six feet, maybe less—shaved scalp, inked skin, pale sneakers catching the firelight.
Kenzo Rees.
My heart stopped. Then detonated.
All sound dropped away—except for the pound of blood in my ears. I didn’t think. Didn’t plan. Didn’t hesitate.
I ran.
Charging the bluff, I launched upward, hands clawing at the moss-slicked rock. Foot, hand, foot, hand. The world narrowed to each slick hold and the teeth-gritting rage driving me higher. I didn’t dare look down—didn’t have to. I knew what waited if we fell.
Sunny was high enough that one slip meant death.
And that bastard was climbing after her.
Embers spun around Rees’s head like sparks from hell. My fingers curled into the rock, white-knuckled.
I'm coming for you, Sunny. And I'm going to rip him apart.
My foot slipped, my body falling a few feet before I caught myself on another rock, ripping my fingernails off. Blood ran down my hand, my arm, the pain igniting a fresh blow of adrenaline.
Then, she screamed.
I looked up. Sunny dangled with one arm, her foot in the grasp of Kenzo’s tattooed hand.
Her eyes met mine. Everything around me stopped.
There were no more options. I was staring Sunny’s death in my face.
“Fight, Sunny!” I roared. Fight!” I climbed like I had nothing to lose—because if I lost her, I didn’t care what happened next. Let death take me.
I could smell him. The sweat. The body odor.
I planted my foot, gripped a ledge, and using all my body weight, I propelled my arm above my head—and connected.
My bloody fingers gripped the bottom of Kenzo’s jeans. I tugged, pulled, yanked, but he held on.
I took one last look at Sunny, trying to kick out of his hold, fighting to the death. Tears streamed down her face.
My love.
The love of my life.
Our eyes locked.
I love you, I thought, I love you.
And with that final thought, I let go. I dropped my two-hundred-plus pound weight and dangled in the air with one hand around Rees’ ankle.
His grip slipped.
Sunny was free.
We fell together, Rees and I, two bodies tumbling down the cliff face.
I clawed for anything, everything.
By some miracle, my hand closed around a thick root jutting from the rocks. My body snapped to a stop—Rees clamped onto my ankle.
I planted my other foot and tightened my grip on the root.
I bent and wrapped my other hand around his throat. I stared into his eyes as I squeezed with everything I had in me, staring into the soul of the devil himself.
His eyes bulged. Lips turned blue. I squeezed harder.
Until he let go.
Our eyes remained locked as he fell through the air like a rag doll, then shattered on the rocks below.
“Jagg!”
I don’t remember the climb up to Sunny but I’ll never forget her face when I’d finally made it.
“I love you, Sunny. I’m sorry. I didn’t say it. But I do. I love you.”
“I know.”
I gripped the back of her head with my bloody hand and kissed her.
Just then, a rope bounced off the rocks next to us.
I looked up to see my brother’s silhouette outlined against a pair of headlights. Fire bloomed behind him.
“Better get a move on, bro!” He yelled down from the top of the bluff.
“She secure?” I yelled back, yanking the rope.
“Yes! Go.”
“Wait!” Sunny jerked away. “My dogs.” Her voice cracked with panic.
I looked down the bluff where four dark shapes paced the riverbank.
“Swim!” I yelled down. “Get in the water! Swim!”
Brute faded into the shallow water, followed by the others.
“They’ll stay there. They’re smart. We’ll come back for them. I promise. They’ll be okay in the water. The rocks won’t light. They’ll be okay.”
Sunny hesitated, tears filling her eyes.
I grabbed her chin. “Baby. Listen to me. You’ve got to get out of here. I’ll climb back down and stay with them until help arrives. We’ll be safe in the water—”
“No.” Tears streamed down her face. “No. Nothing can happen to you. You’re right. They’re smart. We’ll come back. God, promise me we’ll come back.”
“Yes. Go, Sunny.” I shoved the rope to her. “No time to waste.”
She gripped the rope and looked at me. “You saved my life.”
“No.” I kissed her head. “You saved mine.”