19. JAX
JAX
We found the cargo hold in record time, but that presented a new problem. Of course it fucking did. It wouldn’t be my life if I could just walk up to the door and open it. There had to be lions guarding the gate.
“Big guy on the left. Ponytail,” I muttered to Madoc. “Smaller dude on the right. Ugly blue suit.”
They were Vipers sitting guard, making sure nobody ruined their little escape plan.
Madoc said nothing, but I knew he was listening. Knowing him, he’d already clocked them and planned their deaths in his mind. There was some comfort in that, even though I probably depended on him too much.
It was easy to forget that Madoc was human. I was reminded of it by the bruises on his face, the split in his lip that he licked every few minutes.
I’d been tempted to do something stupid, like tackle him, ever since I learned how close he’d been to that bitch and her venomous ring. But Madoc and I didn’t do that. We didn’t talk about feelings. Not unless one of us was shot, and even then, I suspected Madoc only tolerated it.
I told myself one of these days I’d sack up and just do it. Bear hug him until he gave in.
But I’d crossed that line before. And we hadn’t talked about it since.
We definitely didn’t have time to talk about it now.
“I’ll take ponytail,” I said, pretending to reach up and fiddle with the overhead. “He deserves to be killed for that dead fucking raccoon he calls hair.”
Madoc smirked and reached into his pocket. I glanced between us quickly, watching him take out what appeared to be a snapped pen.
“You’ve had that the whole time?” I asked him, frowning.
“I’m never without my knives.”
“Why didn’t you use it to stab that vicious bitch in the cockpit?”
Madoc gave me his usual blank look that made me wonder if we were all just fleshy apes to him. “We weren’t evenly matched,” he said after a minute.
“So?”
“It’s not fun if they don’t believe they have a chance.”
I supposed in Madoc-logic that made sense. It was even honorable in a way.
Me? I would’ve jammed it through her skull the moment she laid a hand on him.
“Ready?” I asked him.
“Don’t ask stupid questions.”
Grinning, I flexed my fingers, cracking my knuckles.
The cargo hold hatch was located at the rear of the cabin, just before the galley.
The two Vipers were seated conveniently on either side of it.
Thankfully, the rest of the economy cabin was sleeping.
Those who weren’t were thoroughly invested in catching up on whatever they’d missed when the Wi-Fi returned.
Glancing around, I noted the determined faces of a dozen lawyers behind on their billable hours. I could fire a gun and none of them would bat an eye.
Convenient for us. Bad for the snakes.
It also spoke to the impressive size of the plane that news of two more dead passengers hadn’t reached this cabin yet. I suspected that was the work of the flight attendants, who were hovering around like morose guards. Ready and waiting to shut down any panic.
On my signal, we moved as one unit. The trick was to overwhelm them before they knew what was happening. Luckily, neither of the men seemed to recognize us. That gave us the element of surprise.
“Surprise,” I grunted. Ponytail glanced up, his eyes flashing when he realized our intention.
Before he could so much as blink, I slammed my fist into his face.
Then I hit him again, hard enough that his teeth cracked like drywall beneath my knuckles.
He flopped into the seat, blood dripping down his face.
Opposite me, I heard a small grunt, and then the sound of elastic snapping.
“Really?” I said, watching Madoc slip an eye mask over his Viper who now had a pen lodged in his jugular. “You think that’ll sell it?”
Instead of replying, Madoc tossed a neck pillow at my head. I caught it, then shrugged and put it behind my unconscious guy. Blood aside, he really could be napping.
Madoc finished by throwing a blanket over his guy, buying us some time before someone noticed. Then he bent down and swiped Julie’s ID badge on the electronic lock. It flashed green with a beep, and we lifted the hatch.
We didn’t hesitate.
In seconds, we’d climbed down the ladder, careful not to slam the hatch above us. The cargo hold was cold as balls. Good thing I was boiling inside.
Any and all thoughts about sneaking up on the fuckers vanished when I heard her.
Olivia.
I knew the sound of her weeping. I’d heard it before, right when her world fell apart. Delicate as she was, she didn’t cry easily. She was too prideful for that.
Which meant they’d hurt her badly.
I stormed over, weaving around the large aluminum containers of luggage until I found them. Two Vipers stood over a distraught Olivia, curled up in a tight ball on the floor.
I saw red.
Just as I prepared to charge, Madoc’s arm snapped out and held me back. I glared at him.
Madoc smiled coldly. “They know we’re here.”
I looked up just as the two Vipers turned around. Their faces were smug, expectant. The large one had a scar slicing up his ugly ass face. He had at least forty pounds on me.
And then there was him. The one who’d started it all with his threats and venom and coin games. I was going to make him bleed.
Before I could do anything, though, their faces changed. It was small, barely a crack in their masks. The leader was looking at Madoc, his eyes narrowing.
Oh. Right.
Madoc, who was supposed to be dead. Julie was supposed to stop him from taking the prototype. She’d failed, which meant their plan had failed.
Just like that, the atmosphere shifted. It had been cold before, but now it was borderline frigid with danger. The big Viper shifted, adjusting his stance slightly. Beside me, Madoc did the same.
“Jax,” the leader greeted me in a friendly tone. “You made it.”
My eyes flicked to Olivia, who wiped her tears quickly, hiding the evidence. Her solemn face made something in my chest crack.
“You hurt her.” My voice was steel.
“Not at all. In fact, I’d say I…enlightened her.”
I stepped forward. Neither of them moved an inch, but I could tell they were bracing. Preparing.
There were only two ways this would end. Either they died, or we did. The way I was feeling, like every band of restraint had snapped inside me, I’d fight until my dying breath.
I was itching for it. Starving for it.
“I am done,” I said, my voice steady, unwavering. “No more games. No more threats. You wanted to see what would happen if you pushed me too far? I’ll show you.”
The leader considered me. Then, his intelligent eyes darted to Madoc, who usually held the monopoly on intimidation. But he only gave him a quick look before his eyes fixed on me.
“I see,” he said, still sounding too confident. “The thieves want to challenge the killers. I fear you are at a disadvantage.”
“I guess we’ll find out.” I flexed my hands again, a signal to Madoc that I was ready to blow. My eyes darted to Olivia, who had risen to her feet unsteadily. “Go,” I told her. “Find cover. Now.”
Thankfully, she knew better than to argue right now.
“So, how shall we play this, Jax?” The leader said, producing a gimlet knife from his sleeve. “Fists? Or weapons…”
Madoc and I exchanged a look. We had no weapons. His pen was still lodged in the carotid artery of a Viper in economy. He nodded.
“Fists.”
“Very well.” The knife disappeared back into his pocket.
It was two versus two. No more hiding. No more tricks.
Madoc was solid beside me, his fingers twitching restlessly against his leg. “I’ll take tiny,” he said, his eyes fixed on the large man who was anything but tiny.
That left the leader to me.
Good.
I had a score to settle. I’d been fantasizing about ripping his head off for the last six hours.
The plane gave a warning shudder, like a third-party observer. The large containers vibrated around us, all twelve tons of them. I just hoped the restraints held.
It wasn’t clear who struck first. I moved at the same time as Madoc. We collided with a violent clash of fists and anger.
It was brutal.
My Viper was a trained fighter—lethal. Despite my size advantage, he managed to get me on my back in seconds, his sharp fists pounding into the side of my face. I saw spots, then a blazing red.
He thought his precise style gave him an advantage.
But nobody fought clean on the street. They definitely didn’t fight clean in prison.
I didn’t care where I hit. I didn’t care what I broke.
I felt a stinging satisfaction when I punched him square in the jaw, causing his head to whip back.
Blood splattered from his mouth and a tooth went flying.
Then I bucked him off like a bull and he went sprawling across the cargo hold.
I regained my footing and shook out my arms. My blood sang.
The Viper rose up, wiping his hand over his mouth, a dangerous look in his eyes. I’d finally stirred the dirty killer beneath the mask.
“You’re too late, Jax,” he sneered, prowling around me. “The girl has been claimed. The moment she steps foot off this plane, it is over for her.”
My fists tightened. Behind him, there was a large thump like a body had collided with a container. Madoc was playing with his prey. The Viper looked over, and I took my shot.
He saw it coming. Of course he did.
Just as I fired another right jab to his face, he crouched and delivered a blow to my gut.
I hit the wall with a hard ‘thud’. He moved on me eagerly, too eagerly.
As soon as he crossed into my territory, I gripped his shirt and headbutted him in the nose.
The cartilage cracked, blood spraying across my face.
My instincts overrode every part of me. Remove the plane, the assassins, and the impossible stakes, and I was in another bar fight, punching out some mouthy asshole. Pain was pain. Received and delivered. I just had to be the last man standing.