Chapter 17 Savages #2
With her soft lips against mine, I tasted all that she was and stole every morsel of it for myself, claiming every fucking molecule of hers as mine. And I planned to parade the fuck out of it in front of Jason for as long as he could last.
Biting back my disdain for time, I broke the kiss and held her gorgeous face in my hands, marveling at every beautiful freckle that dusted her pale skin.
I could spend hours counting every single one, losing myself in the constellations left behind every time the sun touched her skin.
And when I got back from destroying the only other man who had dared claim to love her, I would do exactly that.
“Tell me you love me,” I demanded, lusting after the words Jason would never hear again. The words Jaden would one day speak truthfully and without hesitation.
A shadow fell over her gaze as she peered up at me, a decision having suddenly crossed her mind in the split second she deliberated her actions. I followed the dry swallow her throat made before she opened her mouth to obey my command.
“Go fuck yourself,” she stated bluntly, but her tone suggested something off that I couldn’t quite place. But I didn’t have time to dwell on it now.
With my thumbs grazing her jawline, I smiled smugly down at her. “You’ll pay for that later, princess,” I lovingly promised. “Be a good girl for me while I’m gone and maybe I’ll change my mind.”
Her eyes suddenly sparked with interest. “Where are you going?” she asked.
Releasing her face, I stepped back, my smile morphing into a slight smirk as I began to turn away. “To visit our old stomping grounds,” I answered, striding back down the hall and passing Sloane’s hidden position at the opposite end.
If only Jaden knew what was about to unfold…
Heading outside, I moved quickly through the back lawn toward the black idling helicopter filled with the fifteen men from my most ruthless team.
And while I didn’t like pulling them from their posts at the estate, the risk would be well worth the reward when I finally had Jason’s head on a fucking platter.
Once I climbed into the chopper, it took off in the direction of the warehouse, cutting our travel time in half had we gone by car. Within ten minutes, I’d changed into my tactical gear and armed myself with enough artillery to ensure Jason would have zero chance of escape this time.
“Thirty seconds to drop!” the pilot shouted from the front.
At that signal, the team mobilized to ready for the drop point while my sights sought out the state of the building.
A multitude of various sections of it were either smoking or already up in flames, parts of the exterior crumbling in a familiar fashion that left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Armed men swarmed the area like ants. Several white vans were scattered around the property, and some of them were also on fire.
“Your orders are to locate the target but do not engage him. He’s mine,” I stated into our radio headsets. “Kill everyone else and secure the product. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!” they all shouted in unison.
As soon as the helicopter touched down, we all cleared out and made our way toward the burning building, gunfire echoing through the air.
Entering through a back entrance, we flooded inside, the teams splitting off into smaller units and quickly engaging in the firefight.
Tucked against the lower half of an obliterated concrete wall, I fired off several rounds in the direction of our attackers, clipping off a few of them before breaking away into my own personal mission.
Rifle tucked tightly against my shoulder, I passed by the containment room. A burst of irritation shot through me as I noticed all of the open and empty cages. The next auction was only supposed to be a week away, and now we’d have to rewrite the whole damn system because of this breach. Again.
I hoped Jason found this whole operation worth it when I had him eating his own fucking fingers.
“Sir, target has been spotted near the main office,” a voice announced in my headset.
“Roger that.” I quickly made my way up the stairwell to the third floor, anticipation pumping through my veins.
Slowly opening the door of the stairwell, I peeked through the crack, finding the hallway deceptively empty.
Even with the nonstop gunfire coming from the other floors, the silence on this one was almost deafening.
Bullet-riddled bodies were scattered all across the hallway.
Some faces I recognized, and others I couldn’t.
Ignoring the dead, I pushed through the rubble of the crumbling building, the structure still periodically rattling from the violent force of the surrounding gunfire and occasional explosions. The harsh noise almost caused me to miss the sound of a grenade rolling toward my feet.
On instinct, I instantly kicked it away in the opposite direction, the blast destroying the end of the hallway, shattering my eardrums and scattering dust and debris through the air.
Before I could recover, bullets began zipping past my ear, forcing me to duck low and roll behind the corner wall still intact.
One bullet managed to graze my shoulder, but it was quickly forgotten when I returned fire through the drywall, staying flat on my back.
After a few more shots, I waited in the silence for the sound of any movement, but there was none.
“I sincerely hope you aren’t dead yet, Jason,” I called out as I grabbed a full mag from my belt, discharging the empty one and replacing it. “I’ll be seriously disappointed if my chance to slowly gut you over the next ten years is already gone.”
A deep masculine groan of a laugh bounced off the crumbling walls, the strained sound irritatingly difficult to pinpoint.
“Good thing I’m wearing Kevlar!” a voice croaked out. “Otherwise, you’d be eating your disappointment right now. Though you might want to stop shooting at me if you actually want to reach your little goal.”
An involuntary chuckle slipped up my throat at his response, his sheer boldness a respectable trait for a man I intended to slowly rip apart, piece by piece. At least now I knew his vest was compromised if one of my bullets had managed to hit him.
“Fair enough,” I replied as I slowly rose to a crouching position. “But that would require you to trust me not to shoot you in the first place.”
“Decisions, decisions,” he replied sarcastically.
I could sense his hesitation as he remained still while I revealed my position by standing to my full height to see over what was left of the busted drywall concealing me.
“I think proper introductions are in order by now. Don’t you think?” I called out.
At that, the sound of the wood floor cracking under the weight of slow-moving footsteps had me moving my feet.
After swinging my rifle over my shoulder to hang from my back, I stepped out to meet the man my wife had once thought was worthy of her.
But as the dust cleared and our eyes finally met for the first time, I could see the illusion that would fool her.
Jason certainly bore the look of a feral man, one built out of violent ambitions and calculated savagery.
Like me, Jason too had adapted to his environment, permitting the carnage of the world to mold him into the beast he’d clearly become.
Decorated in dust, blood, and grime, he adorned the battle-worn exterior of seasoned militant, the hard lines of his face shadowed with stubble and barely contained rage.
Evolution was truly fascinating to watch when it was under the tutelage of trauma and survival instincts. Jaden’s trauma had morphed her into a beautiful venomous chameleon, able to adapt to any scenario, blending right in until you forgot she had ever been a threat in the first place.
But Jason? He was empty—devoid of anything other than the bloodlust I could see storming in his eyes. This wasn’t a man. This was a wounded animal begging to be put out of its misery. Unfortunately for him, I was not here to deliver such a mercy. I was here to prolong it.
As he stood in the same style of tactical gear as me, Jason’s dark gaze performed the same assessment I had, estimating every threat I presented and formulating as many countermeasures as possible.
My eyes landed on the damage caused by my bullet to his vest, the puncture firmly in front of his heart—a damn near perfect shot thwarted by luck.
And that luck was about to officially run out.
“I’ve been thinking about this moment a lot,” he suddenly said, his voice rough but firm as he began to take several steps toward me. “The day you and I finally meet face-to-face.”
I cocked a brow at his confession. “As have I,” I replied, thinking of all the ways I was going to make him regret this little meet and greet. “Is it everything you hoped it would be?”
He shook his head once. “Not yet.”
Rolling my shoulders, I stretched my neck to the side. “Given the clear death wish you obviously have, I can’t imagine your expectations are anything but unrealistic.”
Jason tilted his head to the side, the ghost of a smirk curling his lips. “And what exactly are your unrealistic expectations? That I’ll come quietly?”
“God, I hope not.” Where was the fun in that?
“Well,” he began with a shrug, “given all of my accomplishments lately, I’d like to think I’m anything but disappointing, especially since I’m the one who’s been one step ahead of you all this time.” And then he fucking winked.
I narrowed my eyes at the smug smirk stretching across his face, annoyed with his choice of bait as I closed the distance between us.
Son of a bitch.
Subconsciously, I think I always knew it was Jason. I just didn’t want to give him that much credit so soon. But seeing him standing here now, as he was, denial just wasn’t smart anymore. He’d proven time and time again that I had underestimated him, and that stopped today.
“Yes, it seems you’ve managed to become a bigger pain in the ass than Jaden could ever hope to be.
Though I can’t help but wonder how a lowly orphaned military brat with just a couple of bar fights, good aim, and a ballistics degree under his belt managed to take it this far and still remain in one piece.
Physically, of course. God only knows what kind of demons you’ve got living upstairs that have kept you gunning for me this whole time. ”
He scoffed at the implication. “The same ones that kept you gunning for a ghost you repeatedly failed to catch,” he replied evenly. “Until they were ready to be found.”
I could feel the corner of my lip curving. “If you want to ditch the metaphor and become an actual ghost, I can easily make that happen for you right now.”
Jason took a hard step forward. “I didn’t come here to become a ghost, asshole. I came here to kill a monster.”
A smile slid across my face as I looked his form up and down.
“I don’t know, Jason. Have you looked in the mirror lately?
I’m doubting this feral image of you is just for show, especially when I’ve already seen the things that you’ve done.
We both know you didn’t become this version of yourself overnight. ”
Jason’s gaze narrowed. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Tilting my neck, I cracked it to the side, rolling my shoulders again as my body loosened the tension. “It takes a monster to kill a monster, Jason. Are you sure you’re that monster?”
Moving another step closer, he lifted his hands to crack his knuckles. “Only one way to find out.”
Hmmm….maybe this will be a good fight after all.
“If that’s true, after all this, do you really think Jaden could still be with a monster like you?”
Glaring at me, he tilted his head in disgust. “I know this might be a foreign concept to you, but that’s entirely up to her.”
I huffed a chuckle at his response. “Some monster you are, then. To come this far and not even get the girl? What a waste.”
“You’re obviously not giving her enough credit,” he replied. “She’s the one who led me here. The only reason I even got this far.”
“She’s also going to be the reason you eventually stop breathing.”
He paused for a moment, staring back at me until his shit-eating grin slowly stretched to his eyes. “Likewise.”
And just like that, the blows began.