“Oh my. That’s wonderful.”
“Your muscles feel as hard as concrete. Let’s get them loosened up.” My hands gently dig into her muscles hard enough to relieve the tension from sitting at the computer all day, relaxing the knots and tightness in her neck, shoulders, and back. “Better now?”
She falls against my chest and says, “Mmm. That’s so good. Now I don’t want to move.”
“Aren’t you the lucky one? You don’t have to.”
She can’t weigh much more than one ten, so I pick her up and carry her upstairs. “Want me to help you with your face?”
She chuckles. “Nah, I’ve got this. You have Ethel to take out yet.”
I kiss her cheeks and nose, then say, “I’ll be back in a jif.”
Ethel is quick tonight. We’re both back upstairs and all three of us are in bed shortly after that.
“Kade?”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you. For being here. For taking care of me.”
“Juliette, that’s what you do when you love someone. It’s what you did for me when I needed it. I’ll always take care of you.” And I mean it. I swear to myself I will. No matter what.
The next day, I get no arguments on the way to work when I tell Juliette that from now on, she will never walk home alone again. Nor when she volunteers at the animal shelter will she walk alone. Ever. She’s demure and agreeable.
“Thank you. You’ve lifted a ton of weight off my chest.”
“I don’t want to die, Kade. I want to be with you.” She takes my hand, the one that’s not on the wheel. “And I never got the chance to tell you, Kevin and I worked things out yesterday.”
“Good. I was hoping you would. He was upset, but I think it was more shock and hurt.”
“I can’t blame him. But when he saw how much he can learn from me, his whole attitude changed.”
I grin, because Juliette could never be mean or hateful and I can see precisely how she would turn that situation into something beneficial for him. “You are a saint, sweetheart.”
“No, I’m not. I’m just doing for someone what I would want for them to do for me. Plain and simple.”
“Well, too bad not everyone sees it like that.”
As we walk into work I ask her, “Promise me you won’t work like a crazy fool today. You run circles around everyone.”
“I’ll try. I’m just that way. I see something and go after it, you know?”
“Oh, I know.”
All day I think of that damn necklace and what it might mean. The idea that’s it’s ancient and how the shadow keeps telling her to wear it is bothersome. Why Juliette? And why do they insist on her wearing it? It obviously represents some sort of danger or they wouldn’t be protecting her. I don’t like this at all. Not one bit.
Mack has asked me to accompany him to his NA meeting tonight and I agreed. Now I wish I hadn’t. At five o’clock, I seek out Juliette. She’s sitting at the desk in the office I put her in temporarily, her head bent as she looks at her computer screen, and she’s typing like a machine. She reminds me of myself when I’m lost playing the piano.
It slams into me how Juliette has flourished over the last couple of months. Reflecting back to the first time she stood on my front porch, holding tiny Ethel, I remember how she looked waif-like and forlorn. I know she fled to the bathroom to have a cry over something. I could hear her weeping. She was frightened, skittish as a mouse, and her eyes were the most tragic things I’d ever seen. Because of that I was drawn to her. We shared something. Since that day, she has climbed out of the shell in which she was curled up. I’ll go so far to add that she’s even taken a hammer and crushed the damn thing. This young woman has more courage and fearlessness than most people I know. She claimed she used to walk in fear of everything. That isn’t true. She faced her fears and did so boldly. How else would she have gotten through these last couple of years? Remarkable can’t come close to describing her. And to think that she loves me. I am so honored by that.
“Hey, gorgeous. You about ready?”
The look she shoots me makes me want to toss her over my shoulder like a fucking beast and carry her out of here.
“Yeah, one sec.” She strikes the keyboard a few more times, then powers down the computer. “I’m almost done revamping the website. Wait until you see what I’ve done. You’re going to love it.”
“Of course I am. My genius IT girlfriend did it. Why wouldn’t I?”
She grins and she hops over to me and kisses me. “I can’t believe it’s this late. Kade, I love this stuff. I can’t believe how much I’ve missed it.”
“I’m worried you’ll run out of things to do.”
“Probably. But that’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. Then you’ll need to strike out on your own and go to work for the big boys. You know, for someone who can really put your expertise to work.” She needs to be challenged and Living Free will not be a challenge for her. When she finishes with all the updates and integrations she needs to make here, I’ll begin a search for a new position for her somewhere. Maybe Kolson or Kestrel will know of something. They have connections all over the place.
“I’m happy here.”
“Juliette, you won’t be for long and I don’t want your brain to become stagnant. I love you and I want you to learn more. I’m thinking of you, my love.”
She throws her arms around my neck and says, “You’re always thinking of me.”
“I wasn’t once, but I will be from now on. I’d like to do something for you and before you say no, hear me out. You’re going to need to be challenged and Living Free won’t do it. So, I want you to pursue your dream job. I’d like to set up a home office for you, get you a computer and everything you’d need. Then you’d be able to do anything you’d like. This would be to advance your career, nothing more. Will you at least think about it?”
She agrees. We stop to pick up food on the way home at a deli, and then I drop her off. “I’ll be back in an hour or so.”
“Be careful.”
I stay in the driveway until I see she’s safe inside, then I drive off to meet Mack.
Twenty-One — The Seven
“Take off your jacket so I can cut off your shirt, now!”
Sabin wrestles to free himself of his garments, while Rafe tries to help him. “I’ve got this,” Sabin growls.
“Goddammit, look at you. You look like a torn up piece of fucking meat.”
“Shut up, Rafe. Keep your goddamn comments to yourself.” Sabin winces as Rafe pokes and examines his wounds.
“Edge! Bring me the medical kit!”
“How many were there?” Sabin asks.
“Too fucking many. They came out of nowhere, like a damn pack.”
“You know they travel in gangs. We were stupid. We should’ve expected it. What the fuck was she thinking, walking around alone at night?”
Edge arrives with the kit. He takes a look at Sabin’s back and says, “Fuck that,” and walks away. Sabin growls again.
“I counted ten. Every time I leveled one, another took its place. And we were down one with you protecting the wee one.”
“She is that. Damn she’s tiny. I was afraid I’d crush her, after a couple of their rounds, when I had to let myself breathe a minute.”
Rafe says, “Hang on, this is gonna hurt like a bitch smashing your balls, but then we’ll be home free.”
Sabin hears a high-pitched sound and he knows what’s coming next.
“Mother fucker!” he grits out.
Rafe says, “Sorry man, but you’re good now. Or will be in a few.”
“Fuck you,” Sabin replies. “Easy for you to say.”
“Let me hit this crisscrossed mess up one more time.”
Sabin yells out, “Hey Edge. I need a clean shirt and another jacket.”
Edge shows up a few minutes later with the requested items. “Am I everyone’s gopher or something?”
Rafe and Sabin both answer, “Yes!” and Sabin adds, “Get
everyone together for a briefing. Now, slack ass.”
Five minutes later, the seven are assembled. Sabin begins.
“How many and what did you see?”
Most claim they saw what Rafe did. The beings came in as a gang, knocking into Juliette, surrounding her and when the seven came in, it turned into a circus. Sabin was on the ground, protecting Juliette, getting the shit beat out of him, while the others were engaged in fighting off the vicious attackers. No one walked away unscathed, but Sabin got it the worst. Most of everyone else’s injuries were minor.
“So did we take any of them out?”
“Half at best.”
“Fuck. Clean-up?”
“Done.”
Rafe looks at Sabin and asks, “How did the wee one take it?”
“Not too good. She was a mess when we finished. Her legs could barely hold her up. It was bad. I followed her home and believe she was in a semi state of shock. She’s a lot tougher than most, though.”
Edge scratches his chin. “Now what? I mean these guys keep coming back for more and they’re not going to stop. Are we just going to keep doing what we’re doing?”
Sabin raises a brow. “And, oh wise one, what do you suggest?”
“A trap of some sort. Draw them out.”
Sabin looks at Edge. “While that sounds good, and I appreciate that suggestion, it won’t work. They’ll figure it out.”
“Sabin, they want Paradox. What if we dangle the carrot? Or make them think it’s the carrot but it’s really not,” Rafe says.
“What do you mean?”
Edge and Andros laugh. “A bogus one!” Edge says.
Rafe nods, and says, “Yes. They think they can heist Paradox. Think they can decrypt it. I doubt those fuckers are capable enough, but let’s say they have someone brilliant enough who can. They still can’t make it operable without Judgment Day. Create a bogus one, and dangle it in front of them. Then maybe they’ll take the bait and leave her alone.”
Sabin is quiet. The plan does have merit but his men don’t know their enemy like he does. They haven’t tangled with them as often as he has. “It will only anger them more when they find out we’ve duped them. Then they’ll strike back with a vengeance, and who can guess how many gangs they’ll send when they do.”
“Sabin, can we get another team?” Rafe asks.
“No. This is it. And after this last attack, I’m afraid we aren’t enough. Angering them is the last thing I want to do. Destroying them is what we need to stay focused on. Sorry, Edge, Rafe. I can’t afford to lose any of you to this.”
“You won’t. You don’t have to worry about that. Right men?” Rafe asks.
The men all grunt in response.
“We’ll never let a bunch of fucking scum take us down.”
Sabin nods, but he knows only too well what those scum are capable of. His men are smarter, bigger, better, more savvy, but sometimes being outnumbered is the killer.
“Let’s get back to work. Remember, I’m the only one that talks to them. Don’t risk your identities.”
Nodding, they all file out of the room.
Rafe hangs back. “You okay to go back out?”
“Yeah. All good.”
“You sure? You seem … off.”
“You would be, too, if your back was nearly torn off.”
“Sabin, why don’t you take the rest of the night off? You know she’s scared shitless and won’t go out tonight. We can handle it.”
“I think she’s scared enough to call out to me, that’s why.”
“Is there something going on between you two?”
Sabin’s head jerks around. “She has a fucking boyfriend, Rafe.”
“So?”
“No, there’s nothing going on between us,” he says, steel edging his voice.
“You act like there is.”
“I’m damn sorry I’m concerned about her. Mind your own business.”
“Can’t. Not when it’s affecting you like this.”
Sabin gets up into Rafe’s face. “It’s not affecting me, as you say. I’m doing my job, running this mission. If we all had been on our toes, maybe we could’ve taken more of those bloody bastards out. As it is, we didn’t and we’re paying for it now. There is nothing between us, other than me trying to keep her alive. Clear?”
“Crystal.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
“Look,” Rafe starts…
“Can’t you fucking drop this?”
“Wait a damn a minute. I know something happened in your past. Something terrible. And I’m sorry. You wear your bitterness on your sleeve so it’s not hard to see. Be careful. If this has anything at all to do with your past, lock it up and put it away, Sabin, or you’re going to find yourself with a fucked up mess on your hands.”
Obsidian eyes clash with gray ones. Neither one will budge. But Sabin gives in with a curt nod, spins on his heel, and walks away. Rafe knows he’ll have a tough time of it for a few days but no matter. It needed to be said. Sabin needs to have a care with her. He’s made far more contact with her than he ever does. In fact, he’s never made contact at all. It’s baffling to the men and that’s all they talk about. Sabin is their commander and the example setter. Up until now, he’s been as rigid as a stone hard cock. And now, he’s softening up like pudding to the wee girl, allowing himself to have little chats with her. Soon, he’ll be sitting down for coffee, divulging secrets that never need to be told. And then what? None of this can end up well for either side.
Twenty-Two — Kade
A plan has been unfolding in my head all day now, and when I’m at the meeting with Mack, it’s all I can think of.
Mack leans over to me and says, “Engage, dude.”
“Sorry.” I add some comments to the group, but in my head, I’m not there.
After the meeting, Mack wants to know how I am.
“Drug wise, great. I’m over that issue, Mack. I’m good. Juliette, she’s my rock, man.”
“Come on, Kade, this is me you’re talking to. You just don’t get ‘over that issue’ like that.” And he snaps his fingers. “You can’t be leaning on her, Kade.”
I get what he’s saying. And I don’t think I am leaning on her. So I explain.
“That’s not it. I want to be strong for her, not because of her. I was all caught up in my own shit before and that’s not how it’s supposed to be, you know?”
He smiles. “Yeah, but you have some serious shit, dude. Does she know everything?”
“Every ugly bit.”
“Good. But you were on the fucking ledge, man. How many people actually score some shit? Get that far into the process? I’m not trying to be a downer, but we both know how this usually works. It doesn’t just magically disappear.”
“I know. But I swear it’s different with her. Because of her. She makes me see things in a different way. I won’t ever use again because if I do, then Langston wins, Mack. And that son of a bitch will not ever win anything from me again.”
“Wow. You finally get it, don’t you?” He slaps me on the back as we walk to the car.
“It wasn’t me; it was Juliette. She made me realize why I shouldn’t do it.” I tell him all the details and he says he’s proud of me. At one point, that would’ve meant the world to me. Now, it’s Juliette I want to please. I tell him and he laughs. After I drop him off, I race home, eager to be with Juliette. The more I think about my plan, the more I love the idea.
She’s on the computer when I get home.
“I believe I was right and this thing is really old, Kade. Maybe this language is Pict. Who knows?”
“You said those shadows spoke in a foreign language.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know which one, because I couldn’t understand them.”
“Pict, maybe?”
“Who knows,” she says. “But I still can’t figure out why this thing is so dang important.”
“Would you like to get rid of it?”
She tilts her
head and casts a glance at me that makes me laugh. “Duh.” That pretty much sums it up.
“It’s what I thought. I have an idea. Hear me out. Why don’t we get the hell out of here? I mean really get out of here. I can find out where my brother’s boat is and we can fly there and toss this thing overboard.”
Her eyes scrunch up. Juliette is so easy to read. She thinks I’ve lost it. I can see the questions rolling from her head to her mouth, one by one.
And here they come. “Okay, one, a boat. What kind of a boat?”
“Sail boat. I think it’s maybe 45 feet. Not huge.”
“Not huge.” Her mouth puckers up. “And who’s going to drive this thing?”
“Sail it. Me. I sail. We all do. Grew up sailing. I’ll have to get you to help me do a few things, but nothing major. And trust me, knowing Kestrel, the damn thing has top of the line everything in it.”
“Sailing, huh?”
Laughing, I say, “Yes. I promise, you’ll love it.”
“Okay. How will we get to wherever this boat is?”
“Fly, of course.”
Her head is shaking already. “They’ll follow us.”
“Yes, but we’ll be on my brother’s plane, so they won’t be able to follow us. They may make it as far as the airport, but after that, they’re fucked.”
“Your brother’s plane?”
“Jet actually. I’m sorry. I never filled you in on that part. Kolson owns a transportation company and Kestrel runs the southern division. They have a fleet of corporate jets. There is one at my disposal for whenever I want it.”
Her chin drops and I take my finger and push it up. She brushes my finger away. “Kade, you’re serious about all of this?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think they’d find us, and by they, I mean the ones that nearly killed me the other night?”
“My thinking is that they won’t want you anymore because the necklace will be under the deep blue sea somewhere.”
Her beautiful brown eyes glimmer with hope. The lines between and below her eyes are erased and I smile. But then she frowns.
“What if they find me and don’t believe me? They didn’t believe my family.”
The Hart Brothers Series Box Set (Including the bonus book Sabin: A Seven Novel): Freeing Her, Freeing Him, Kestrel, The Fall and Rise of Kade Hart, Sabin: A Seven Novel Page 108