Chapter 34 Plot #2
“At first, it was nothing personal, but that was before I found out you had an actual hand in Kayla’s escape and lied about it. You’re lucky Jason contacted me when he did. Otherwise, you might have already been dead by now, and he would be useless to me.”
My scowl morphed into something more sinister as I tilted my head at him. “Are you trying to tell me that “accidental” bullet I took was actually an assassination attempt orchestrated by you?”
Matt rolled his eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic, Jaden. The only thing I attempted to do was buy some moles and cause a little chaos, which I clearly did. But if that chaos ultimately led to your death, well, then that’s just the way the dice rolls.”
I felt my jaw crushing my teeth into dust from how hard I was clenching it. He was just so nonchalant about almost getting me killed. I hope Jason kicked the shit out of him for it, if he even knew.
“Does Darren know this?” I asked. He had never once mentioned any motive behind the shooting, let alone Matt’s involvement, and his temper was not worth the investigation.
Matt shrugged, a smug smile tugging on his lips.
“Manipulating Darren’s newbies into thinking something was their idea was easier than I thought, so I have no idea what conclusions he came to.
It’s just too bad those idiots lacked the brain cells to actually conceal their tracks.
They could have really come in handy a few months ago. ”
I felt my brows knitting together as I narrowed my gaze at him. Deep down, I knew getting shot couldn’t have been a freak accident, and it appeared that I was right. In the end, Matt didn’t realize the favor he had actually done me. What a twisted touch of fate.
“Well, Matt, if that’s the case, then I suppose in a weird way, I should be thanking you. That bullet took out one of my ovaries,” I informed him. “Which bought me some extra time in avoiding the prospect of motherhood. So…thanks for that.”
Matt cocked a brow as he stared back at me. “I imagine then, given the multiple months you’ve had to heal, your extra time is almost up.”
I nodded gravely at his clear understanding of my own fragile timetable.
Matt’s eyes glimmered with dark amusement as he dropped his chin. “It would appear then that the stakes in time have just been raised,” he sneered as he took a step closer. “So if you want my fucking help then I suggest you watch your smart-ass mouth and listen before I change my mind.”
I glowered at him. “You know he’s looking for her, right? He knows she’s alive.”
If Matt was so keen on protecting Kayla, then he needed to know to ensure she didn’t end up in Darren’s clutches too. I did not want him finding her.
He glared at me, hatred brimming in his eyes. “Of course I’m aware, that’s old news. But I am however curious if he ever discovered the part you played in it?”
I hesitated for a moment, wondering how much I should divulge, if it really even mattered at this point. Matt slowly tilted his chin up as he stared down at me, cruelty curling in the corners of his lips.
“Judging by your silence and those pretty fading bruises around your throat, I’m going to say that’s a yes.
” He chuckled, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he meandered through the room.
“I can only imagine how he must have rectified that. But considering his methods, I hope he was exceptionally brutal.”
I snickered, tilting my head in a taunting manner. “He almost killed me.”
“Yet here you stand. Or sit, rather.” He actually sounded disappointed.
I shrugged, stretching the strain in my neck. “What doesn’t kill you and all that bullshit, right?” I mused. “So, what, you’re working with Jason and Kayla now? How the hell did that happen?”
Matt sneered as he turned toward me. “Believe it or not, Kayla actually came to me, seeking my help.”
My brows furrowed, unsure of how much I could genuinely trust his words.
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, it’s so,” he growled. “As it turns out, the enemy of their enemy is their friend.”
I snorted. “Oh, so you’re their friend now, is that it? Someone they can trust?”
Matt’s eyes hardened. “Trust doesn’t exist in our world. The only thing you can rely on is what’s in everyone’s best interest. And right now, working with them just so happens to be in my best interest.”
“How’d you figure that? What’s in it for you?”
“Never mind what’s in it for me. What matters is whether you’re going to join the cause. Or do you prefer to just sit on your ass and wait to be rescued?”
I scowled at the insult. I was the whole fucking reason a “rescue” operation even existed.
“Or,” he continued, a sly smile curling his lips, “have you finally grown to enjoy your pampered captivity? Those bruises might suggest otherwise, though. Or maybe you like wearing them?”
Pampered. Cute word for literal abuse.
My eyes slid over to Clive and Owen, their eyes flashing with warning and concern.
Dread penetrated my gut like a spear when I realized what they were currently witnessing, but it pierced even deeper when I suddenly understood why it didn’t matter.
And they already knew it. Even if it didn’t come from Matt, it would certainly come from Darren.
Ah, shit.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I told them. “You know damn well Darren will execute you both for whatever happens tonight, so there’s no sense in maintaining any loyalty now.”
Matt snapped his fingers in my face. “Focus, Jaden. We don’t have all damn night.”
I nearly growled at him. “How about you let me out of this chair first, and then we can really talk,” I argued, pulling against my binds in irritation.
Matt shook his head. “You’re exactly where you need to be.”
I scowled at him. “How the fu—”
“Shut up and pay attention. You need to convince Darren to take you to the country estate where you were married,” he interrupted abruptly.
“And you need to do this within the next two days, because on that third day, we’re going to attack the country estate.
So you need to make sure Darren is actually there for it to happen as planned. ”
All I could do was blink. Had I seriously heard him correctly?
They were going to attack the country estate?
“Around noon, you’ll want to find a way to put as much distance between you and that house as you can. Unless you want to be in the middle of one hell of a fire fight.”
I shook my head to regain my stunned composure. “Wait. What? Why there? You know where he lives. Why not just attack his main home?”
“Because it’s a fucking fortress we don’t yet have the resources for. His country estate will be easier to attack.”
I furrowed my brow. “Then why didn’t you just attack him here? You’ve made it this far. Why not just finish the job?”
Matt rolled his eyes. “Because this is a fucking hotel and not exactly the best place for a battleground, Jaden. Not to mention, it’s also Chicago.
You can’t just walk into someone else’s backyard and start pissing everywhere.
We still live by a few codes, you know, and they help keep the chaos at bay. ”
I cocked a brow, his excuse far too humorous to ignore. “Politics? Seriously? That’s your excuse?”
Matt groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “For fuck’s sake, Jaden, I don’t have time to teach you Underground Crime 101.” Maybe he didn’t, but I wasn’t going to lose out on the opportunity to frustrate the shit out of him while I still could.
“Okay, fine, and then what? What happens after I get him to the estate?”
“And then you can fuck off with your new life,” he answered, annoyed. “So long as you complete your part in this, you could finally be a free little bird in just a few days.”
A moment of silence allowed for a new understanding to attach—I could be free. In just a few days, I could be back with my family, back with Jason—a free woman. All I had to do was convince Darren to get me there.
“Wait, will Jason be in that fight?” I asked, my chest suddenly feeling tight. “What exactly did you discuss?”
Matt looked at me with strained irritation. “Jesus Christ, Jaden, what part of I don’t have time for all the goddamn details are you not getting? I can’t guarantee he’ll be there, I can’t even guarantee this operation will even launch,” he pressed. “Now, can you convince Darren or not?”
My eyes shot to his with an affirmative nod. I had to. There was absolutely no other choice. “Yes.”
Matt released a small sigh of relief. He had more faith in me than I did, but I would find a way to convince Darren. Whatever it took.
“Good,” he said with a nod, placing his hands in his pockets. “I didn’t set this whole thing up just for you to bitch out when it actually counts.”
I scoffed. “I think you could have found a much easier way to communicate with me. Jason was able to figure it out once, and he has even less resources than you do.”
Matt returned my chide with a wide sneer. “Yes well, a good cover story was needed for this situation. Plus, I just love fucking up Darren’s shit every now and then when the opportunity arises. I like reminding him that he’s not as invincible as he thinks he is.”
“I think you’ve succeeded,” I said carefully.
“Not quite,” he stated then waved his hand at the other guards. “There’s still one more matter to rectify.” Two of the men came forward with baseball bats dragging behind them, stopping just behind Clive and Owen.
“What are you doing?” I asked, panic spiking.
“I was hoping your dog would be here tonight, but my men can’t seem to find her. I thought her loss would have been sufficient payback, but since she’s not here…I had to improvise.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. “What?”
“You cost me my greatest treasure,” Matt growled, pure malice on his tongue, hate in his eyes, and pointed at my bodyguards. “And now they’re going to pay for it.”
My heart dropped as Clive and Owen looked back at me with nothing but solidarity and obvious understanding.
They knew they were dead the second Matt walked into the room.
He couldn’t let them live with everything they just heard, even if it was deliberate.
And Darren wouldn’t have let them live simply for tonight’s failure to protect me from harm.
“I thought that bullet I took was payback.”
“Hardly,” Matt answered bitterly.
My mouth went dry. While Clive and Owen weren’t exactly my favorite people in the world, I had become fond of our banter and the routine we’d created over the years. And now all of that was about to come to a very violent end.
Both of them gave me a slight nod, implying their acceptance.
They knew the risks of assuming the roles as my protectors, and they accepted anyway.
I figured they would bite the dust on duty at some point.
I just didn’t think I’d have to witness it like this.
Nodding back, I signaled my silent goodbye to them, finding it to be harder than I wanted to admit.
With the snap of Matt’s fingers, the two guards lifted their bats and swung. I sat like a statue, bound to my chair, and watched as Matt’s goons beat my bodyguards to death with their baseball bats. For once, I had never been more grateful for the darkness.
The sound of wood beating against muscle and bone was far too distinct for my liking, my stomach souring with each swing. After all the training I’d endured, I could hide it well enough on the outside, but the inside never settled when I witnessed torture.
It took about two minutes before their bodies finally went limp, blood coating both of them, the bats, and the guards. When they were finished, they stepped away from what was left of my barely recognizable bodyguards and dropped one of the bloody bats near Smith’s body.
“Satisfied?” I muttered to Matt, not taking my eyes off my dead guards. I wanted to savor this rage for later—when I eventually killed this motherfucker.
Matt moved in front of me, glaring down with a raging fire in his eyes. “Not until I get Kayla back. And believe me when I say I will.”
I met his gaze head-on. “Is that what you think is going to happen? That you’re going to win Kayla back after what you’ve done to her?”
“It’s cute you think I give a shit about what Kayla wants,” Matt answered as he walked to the side of my chair.
“I’ll make sure she fucking knows that,” I growled up at him.
Matt chuckled as he gripped the arms of my chair. “Believe me, Jaden, she already does.” And then he yanked the chair up and shoved me over until I crashed sideways into the carpet, the impact making my damn bones rattle and my pelvis throb.
“What the hell!”
Matt then took the gun with the silencer and placed it on the floor near my hand, just barely within reach.
“Smith is your cover story,” he said pointedly, leaning over me. “I don’t care what you tell Darren. He has plenty of enemies, pick one. But remember what I told you. Third day at noon. Don’t fuck it up.”
I damn near hissed at him. “I’ll see you there, asshole.”
A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he stood. “For your sake, I hope not.”
And with that, he and his men walked out of my sight, leaving me alone with the mutilated bodies of my former bodyguards. My hip was aching from the pressure of my own body weight on my side, the dull throb growing into something sharp and unbearable.
Rocking back and forth in the chair as best I could, I managed to shift my weight back far enough so that the chair fell over until I was lying on my back.
I stared up at the ceiling, the smell of blood and death lingering in the air while my skin burned from the pull of the rope on my arms. My mind raced with anxiety as I contemplated everything that had just happened, everything I’d just learned.
But I didn’t have time to process it all.
Instead, I needed to take that information and do what I always did best.
Fucking plot.