Boom (Aces and Knaves, #2)

by Gadot, Helene

  "We're here to get your wife away from you." Ridley inched over to stand in front of Beth. At least she could still move. Reese plastered himself against Ridley’s side, his hand grasping for hers, helping her protect Beth.

  Of course, Donald Lester was some plain, boring looking white dude. "That's not going to happen. Instead, the two of you are going to fight. Maybe I'll let whoever wins take my wife. She's looking a little past her prime.” He looked Ridley up and down, making her glad for at least the mask hiding most of her face. “It's time for an upgrade. Maybe I'll take you in her place."

  Ridley shuddered. She’d rather die.

  "Not going to happen." Reese snarled the words, his grip on her hand tightening.

  "It will if I decide it will." Donald leered. "Now fight. Let's make it fun and to the death. No weapons. It’ll be over to quickly if you use that gun in your waistband.”

  Ridley fought against his command, her entire body stiff and shaking, but she was a marionette on a string as she lurched to face Reese, her hand ripping away from his.

  He was the last person she wanted to fight, but she couldn't stop herself from aiming a punch right at his face. She was able to make it slow and clumsy, so he easily avoided it.

  Donald tutted and wagged his finger. "Uh uh. I see what you're doing. You both need to put everything you have into it. Don't hold back."

  Fuck.

  She and Reese clashed in a fury of fists, bruises swelling, blood flowing.

  "I bet you two have powers. Use them."

  Ridley tried to slide her eyes closed in dread and helplessness, but she didn’t even have control of something that simple.

  Reese's wings exploded from his back. Ridley tried throwing up an illusion of the two of them fighting to try and trick the mind controller, but it didn't lessen the need in her to beat Reese until he was dead. No matter how hard she tried to fight it, her brain only grew fuzzier and her head only hurt more.

  Her entire body ached from Reese's fists and kicks. Reese had blood all over his face and he used his wings to rise in the air, prepping his body to come down on her with enough force to kill her.

  His eyes were shattered, dull. Like he'd already killed her.

  Ridley waited until right before he landed to dive between his legs and slammed her foot into his back, sending him stumbling to the floor. She kicked him in his ribs while he was down, a choked sob bursting from her lips.

  As soon as she got the chance she was going to kill that Donald prick.

  Hopefully before she killed Reese or he killed her.

  Suddenly, the need inside her vanished, leaving her falling to the floor beside Reese. Donald stared down at his hands in shock, power suppressant cuffs encircling his wrists. With his mind control cut off, so were his commands. Cormac appeared next to him and slammed the back of his legs, forcing him to his knees.

  Ridley crawled over to Reese, her hands hovering over him. "Reese? Oh fuck, please be okay."

  His eyes squinted open past the swelling on his face. "I'm fine, sweetheart. Are you?"

  "Fine too."

  "We're both liars." Reese's eyes filled with tears as he reached out to gingerly cup her swollen jaw. "I'm so sorry."

  "Me too." The horror of the situation made her tremble, feeling stripped apart and invaded.

  They helped each other get to their feet, both of them swaying a little.

  Cormac looked them up and down. "All three of you need to go to the hospital."

  Ridley winced when her headshake made a shard of pain shoot through her neck. "Reese and Beth can go. I can't chance it."

  Cormac huffed a loud sigh. "I'll send Beckett to you as soon as he and Maddox return."

  Beth crossed her wounded arms across her chest. "I'm not going to the hospital either. Not until I'm sure he's behind bars."

  Reese grunted. "Looks like we're all going to Ridley's while you get to take this piece of shit to the Legion."

  "Other than this horror show, is there any evidence around here I can bring with me of his dirty deeds?"

  Beth pointed to a desk in the corner of the living room. "Yes. His computer should be enough."

  "Thank you. I'll have a forensic team sent over to comb through the place as well."

  "Are you sure you don't want to bring anything with you?" Ridley asked.

  Beth would need clothes and Ridley’s wouldn’t fit her.

  "I'll go grab a bag of clothes," She stopped, her eyes shining. "I don't know how to thank you. Or apologize. I'm so sorry for what he made you two do."

  "We're fine, Beth. Go get your stuff and we'll get you someplace safe we can all clean up."

  Chapter 22

  Maddox

  THE SPECIAL-MADE PRISON loomed in front of Maddox and Beckett as Mick, their lawyer buddy led them to the front doors. It was reinforced with the same tech they used in suppression cuffs and each cell was prepared specifically for the powers of whoever was sent here along with the constant cuffs they had to wear.

  Guards with specific powers were assigned here and they were put through rigorous background checks and training. It was one area Maddox actually approved of the Legion's methods. Keeping criminals with powers contained was hard as hell.

  Maddox and Beckett were led through six levels of security before they reached the visitor's area. They were scanned, fingerprinted, biometrics were taken, and their names and Legion badge numbers were logged.

  If the Legion was involved in his brother's death or there was a coverup, and the three knaves they were visiting were the ones he was looking for, this visit would tip off the Legion. They had to get answers from these guys today if there were any to be had.

  Maddox fingered the stack of photos in his pocket. It was Ridley's idea to add a few screen grabs from the internet to show them along with the photos of Misner and Wallace to make sure they wouldn't lie out of some hope they'd get released.

  If they were involved in any way with Tony's death, there was no way they were ever getting out of this place alive.

  His leg bounced beneath the steel table as they waited for the prisoners to be brought in. Beckett sat calmly next to Maddox going through the file he'd put together from what Ridley found one more time.

  Ridley.

  He couldn't believe how hard she had worked to find answers for him. Even if it didn't pan out, he'd never forget what she'd tried to do. He'd also never forget the things she said to him the other day. He hadn't realized how much she noticed and thought about him. It gave him hope for something more with her. Especially now that Reese was mostly back on board.

  The door across the room opened and three men in chains shuffled in surrounded by guards. Their chains were locked onto the bars of the chairs attached to the table and the guards moved away to give them privacy.

  "Who are you?" The middle one asked.

  Beckett took the lead like they’d discussed. "We're here to ask you a few questions about a cold case that came to our attention recently when new evidence came to light. We thought you might have some information for us."

  "What information do you think we have?" The one on the left frowned.

  "We're looking into the poison generator who helped you rob those banks."

  All three prisoners stiffened and avoided each other’s eyes.

  Maddox tried not to get his hopes up.

  "There was no poison generator who helped us allegedly rob any banks." The middle one seemed to be the leader of these pieces of trash.

  The other two kept looking to him. The shapeshifter.

  "That's not true according to this article." Beckett slid a piece of paper across the table so they could read it.

  The shapeshifter shrugged. "Reporters get it wrong a lot of the time."

  Maddox pulled out his stack of photos and laid them out one by one, watching their reactions closely. Their eyes flared when he sat down Nick Wallace's picture.

  They had been so focused on Misner because of his black file and shady connections,
they never delved as deep into Wallace. Which was looking like a mistake. A massive one.

  "If the journalist didn't get it wrong, and there was another person in your crew, they're free, living their life while the three of you rot in here. Doesn’t seem too fair." Beckett’s voice had a coaxing tone.

  The shapeshifter sniffed. "What good will it do for us to tell you anything? We aren't getting out of here anytime soon."

  Mick took over and dangled the carrot. "Depending on what information you have, maybe you can get a couple years shaved off your sentences. No one died in the robberies, they all recovered from their injuries."

  The shapeshifter sat back. "Come back with an offer and maybe we'll talk."

  Mick shook his head. "You know it doesn’t work like that. You have to give us something before we can offer any kind of deal. And it can't be hearsay. We need evidence."

  It took everything Maddox had not to reach across the table and strangle them into giving answers.

  "What if we have evidence that not only was that poison generator was involved, but he also killed someone around the same time."

  "Is it one of these people?" Maddox asked.

  The shapeshifter shrugged. "We won't give you that info until we have a signed deal."

  Mick narrowed his eyes on the three of them. "What evidence do you have?"

  "We'll tell you where it is, but it won't help without a name. You'll get that when you return with the paper." Smugness radiated from the bastard.

  Beckett sat his hand on Maddox’s leg in warning. "Fine. Tell us the location."

  "You might want to make sure you get the deal from someone you trust. The Legion was the force keeping it all quiet. They like poison generators. They make good interrogators." There was the answer about whether or not the Legion was involved.

  Dammit.

  "If that's the case, why are you taking this chance?” Beckett asked. “They could decide to silence you."

  "You should beware of the thread you're picking at. But we want the hell out of here sooner than ten more years. Didn't you find it strange we got twenty years for robbery?" The shapeshifter grinned, showing off his missing teeth.

  Mick sighed. "I won't be able to get you a deal to get you out right away. I'll only be able to shave a few years off and hopefully protective custody."

  "Who did he murder?" Maddox held his breath, waiting for the answer.

  The shapeshifter shrugged. Like his death didn’t matter. "Some kid with X-ray vision powers. We wanted to recruit him to our crew, but he refused. When he threatened to go to the authorities, our guy killed him. We had no idea he was going to do that. We never killed anyone. We never wanted to."

  Maddox rose, using his height to intimidate them, barely holding back from killing them. "The boy you're talking about was my fucking brother."

  Chapter 23

  Ridley

  EVERY INCH OF RIDLEY ached and pulsed with pain as she unlocked her door and let Reese and Beth inside. Her left arm screamed with agony, once the adrenaline wore off, she was barely able to make it home on her bike. She was pretty sure something was broken. The ride home on her bike was the scariest thing she’d experienced in a while.

  Thankfully, she was right-handed.

  All three of them were limping and pathetic. It was almost amusing if it didn't hurt so much.

  It would be hours before Beckett was available to heal them, so they'd just have to suffer through it.

  "Have a seat at the table. I'll go grab the first aid kit." Ridley leaned against the closed bathroom door for a moment once she was inside the bathroom, taking a moment to catch her breath.

  But she had two wounded people in her kitchen, and they all needed to clean up. In her one bathroom. She retrieved the kit from the medicine cabinet and returned to the kitchen, propping it open on the table.

  "I hope I have enough supplies."

  Reese headed towards her bathroom. "I'm going to go take a quick shower and clean the blood off while you help Beth."

  "You sure?" She didn’t like him in there alone before she saw the extent of his injuries.

  "Yeah. Get her sorted and by the time you're finished, it'll be her turn. Most of my injuries are pretty shallow. Or they're bruises which nothing in that kit is going to help."

  Once Reese was in the bathroom, Ridley turned to Beth. "Do you have any other injuries than the ones on your face and arms?"

  "No. Just a few sore spots, but no open wounds. The other injuries are a little older."

  "How old?" Ridley asked the question past gritted teeth.

  "A couple days." Beth shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.

  But it was a very big deal.

  Donald was lucky he was headed to prison.

  "I'll take your word for it, but if you need more doctoring, please let me know." Ridley soaked a washrag with warm water and brought it over to her.

  Beth took the rag and wiped off her face. "I will."

  Ridley sat in the chair beside her and organized the supplies in the kit. "All right. I'll clean up your scratches with disinfectant. Nothing looks deep enough to need stitches and our healer friend will take care of the rest and you won't have a single scar."

  "I can just wash my face. I think rest is mostly what I need." Beth sat the rag on the table after she finished wiping off her arms.

  "Let me at least clean it so he won't have to heal an infection too. I know it's going to hurt."

  "Nothing compared to what I'm used to."

  "I can't even imagine what you've gone through living with him for two years." After only a taste, Ridley was still shaky.

  Beth’s eyes were still a little blank. "It still doesn't feel real. That he's gone. That I'm free."

  "What do you want to do now?" Ridley dabbed the scratches with a cotton ball wet with disinfectant.

  "I have no idea. It's not like I had some great life before he stole me from it."

  "Well, you can stay here as long as you need. I work at a motorcycle repair store right next door so I'm usually around and if not me, my friend and business partner, Malia is here. She is usually my backup on things like this, but she wasn't available today." Speaking of, Malia had blown up Ridley's phone and she really needed to send updates.

  Beth’s face lit up with interest. "I'm actually pretty decent with mechanics if you need any extra help. I'm also good at phones and organizing schedules."

  Interesting. This could work. "We have been considering hiring some extra help."

  "I don't need the money. With him in jail, I'll have access to all his funds."

  Ridley finished with Beth’s face and moved to her arms, ignoring her own scrapes and bruises. "I'm not really one for slave labor. We'd pay you. I'll talk to Malia and see what she thinks. But you don't have to work to stay here. Don't feel like that's necessary."

  "I'm not really ready to go out into the world yet, but I also don't want to be trapped somewhere alone with my thoughts. I need to stay busy."

  "I get it. We'll work something out. For now, get some rest until our healer gets here." Ridley grimaced. "I don't have a guest room, but the couch pulls out into a sofa."

  "That's fine. Donald used to make me sleep on the floor a lot of the time."

  "I should have killed him." Ridley regretted not shooting him as soon as she saw him.

  Beth covered Ridley’s hand with her own. "You did more than enough. More than anyone has ever been able to against him. You have a really good team. How did you make it look like Donald was there?"

  "I'm an illusionist. I made it look like I was him and it tricked your brain into believing he was releasing you from his commands." A few of the deeper wounds, Ridley wrapped up with her roll of bandages.

  Awe covered Beth’s face. "That's amazing. I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you."

  "You don't owe me shit. Everyone needs backup once in a while. I have my own reasons for doing this." Ridley packed the first aid kit back up and texted Malia to catch her up on ever
ything. "I'll get you some blankets and let you get some rest."

  "What about your injuries?"

  "I'll help her." Reese's deep voice had them both turning around.

  He had borrowed her robe Ridley kept hanging on the back of her bathroom door. It was short and silky and purple.

  He looked hot as hell with the tiny, wet fabric plastered against his golden swimmer's body, his blond hair still wet and disheveled from his shower.

  And his bruises and cuts and swollen skin were even more pronounced.

  Chapter 24

  Reese

  GUILT TIGHTENED RIDLEY's face as Reese watched her finish getting Beth settled. That poor woman. Reese had so many questions about what the hell was going on, but all those questions were shoved to the side at the knowledge of one major thing.

  Ridley called them for help.

  She reached out to them for the first time. Not just grudgingly accepting help thrust on her, but she actually asked for it.

  Once Beth was tucked in, Reese grabbed Ridley's hand, tugging her into the bathroom, no longer willing to watch her limp around covered in blood, taking care of everyone else but her damn self.

  "Uh, I can shower on my own."

  No way in hell was that happening. "I know, sweetheart. But you are barely able to stay on your feet. You're hurt and you overused your powers."

  "So are you. Are you insinuating you punch harder than me?" Ridley scowled at him.

  Reese was tempted to kiss the scowl off her lips, but he hurt too much. Next time.

  "The bruises on my ribs definitely prove you kicked my ass. But I didn't use my powers as much as you." He didn't point out the weight she'd lost or the sleep she clearly wasn't getting. "Just. Let me help you. Please."

  Ridley's eyes searched his for a moment and Reese hid nothing. Not his pain or guilt or need. He needed to clean the pain from her skin, the marks he'd put there.

  She sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll get in the shower and you can stay on the other side of the curtain in case I fall and break my hip or something. Then we can treat the damage we did to each other."