Jade (The Kings of Guardian Book 9)

by Kris Michaels

  "Oh, you smooth talker, you. I missed you, too." Jade gripped the straps of his vest. The ride wouldn't be gentle or easy, but the fastest way out of the compound for both of them was over his shoulder. He hefted her and balanced her weight, using her good knee to grab as an anchor.

  The siren silenced suddenly. The voice of Jade's sister, Jewell, crackled over the comms that hung out of Drake's ear. "I have their systems under our control. There is a swarm of activity at the rear of the compound near the garage."

  Damn, Jade wished she could be part of the team to take the Fathers down. She'd earned that right by giving up the last year of her life.

  Jade flopped back against the foam mat of the ambulance stretcher. The twins had dumped her with the first responders and then bolted back into the compound leaving her in the company of the bruiser who followed them out. She didn't know him, but she appreciated someone from Guardian protecting her ass. Ha! Literally. The EMTs stabilized her knee, but she refused to let them give her any drugs or take her to the hospital. She had the evidence, and she wasn't going anywhere until she handed it over to whoever was in charge of this fucked up operation.

  Speaking of which, she caught the big blond's attention and motioned him over to her. Jade liked the way the man stalked; he was a damn fine looker that was for sure. He stopped at the back of the ambulance, crossed his massive arms over his chest, and peered down at her.

  "Well, aren't you the strong silent type." Jade cocked her head and blinked at him coyly, waiting for him to acknowledge her.

  "Your sister was right."

  Jade straightened her head and smiled. "Which one? Jasmine? Holy hell, did she finally land a keeper?" Jade was damn happy for her if she had. That woman went through hell when her fiancé knocked up the woman he was cheating with. Jade wanted to castrate the bastard, but both Jacob and Jason had threatened to release some rather embarrassing information about her to their mom if she took action. Blackmailing bastards. Fuck, she couldn't wait to have a drink or ten with them.

  The man shook his head. "Jewell."

  Jade's mouth literally dropped open at the comment. Seriously, she had no hinge on the damn thing and couldn't manage to close it. Jewell? Holy hell, how did her socially awkward, sweetheart of a sister bag this badass behemoth? She finally shut her mouth with an audible snap. "Really? Jewell…as in my sister, the ice-queen and work-obsessed computer nerd? Jewell, really? How the hell did you meet? When did you meet? I mean she never leaves her fucking section."

  The man chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I was assigned as her bodyguard when the Bravata was threatening the family…"

  "Say what now?" Jade lifted off the stretcher onto her elbows.

  The man's brow furrowed. "How long have you been undercover?"

  Jade lay back down and blew out a lungful of air. "Over a year."

  "Then you don't know about Jasmine and her fiancé?"

  "Ah… noo…" Jasmine had a fiancé? "That is fucking awesome!" She fist pumped and laughed.

  "Joseph and Ember had a baby."

  Jade squealed and lifted up to a sitting position, the pain in her knee be damned! "Joseph and Ember are having a baby?"

  "Had. A boy. His name is Blake."

  "Bs? That is so totally awesome!" Jade was happy, like a cat drinking grade A cream, happy. "Shit, I guess I missed a lot."

  "Yeah, you could say that." Jason's voice came from her right.

  "Hey, Jace! Did you know this guy and Jewell are an item?" Jade waved her hand at the big man standing beside her. "Isn't that awesome? I mean this guy and Jewell! Oh, and Joseph and Ember had a baby! Why didn't you say something about that?"

  "Ahh… did they give her something for the pain?" Jason turned away from her and gazed at the big blond guy.

  She really needed to figure out his name.

  "Heeelllooo… asshat, I'm right here, and I can answer your questions. No, they haven't given me anything for the pain. I'm happy." Jade wasn't going to be marginalized. Ever again. This last year spent kowtowing to Garett and every other man in the compound sucked sweaty duck balls. Maybe she was a titch exuberant, but damn it, it was as if she pulled off a gas mask and was breathing fresh air for the first time in… fuck… almost fourteen months.

  "Right. We can get you caught up with all the family news once you get to the hospital and someone looks at that knee." Jason motioned toward the EMT.

  "Wait!" Jade patted her pocket and grabbed the matchbox-sized video/audio recording device the DEA had given her. "Is this our op now?"

  "As of the day before yesterday. The agent you partnered with failed to make check in and prior to that he'd lost contact with you. A hacker got through Guardian's firewalls and released your undercover information, so we had to act."

  "Wait, what? Jewell's systems were hacked? Isn't that like impossible?" She shifted her stare from one man to the other. "Is Garett okay?"

  "He's fine, if he survives the out brief with Jared and Jacob. The system breach was improbable, and now virtually impossible, but when a member of Guardian gives a genius a back door into the system…"

  "What? Shut the fuck up! Who?" Jade's head was spinning. She had so many questions!

  Jason sighed and motioned to the EMT again. The man jumped up into the back of the vehicle with her. "We'll talk about it all night long if you want, but right now you are going to the hospital. Maliki Blue will be there. He doesn't have privileges. We couldn't get them quick enough, but he'll be shepherding for you to make sure shit is done right."

  "Why is Maliki stateside? Is his team here?" Jade was trying to keep up, she really was, but it seemed nothing was the same as it used to be. Holy fuck, the world had marched on without her, and it felt like she'd been dropped inside a modern version of The Twilight Zone.

  "Later, Jade. I promise." Jason shut one half of the split rear doors to the ambulance.

  "Wait! Here, here is the evidence for the DEA. The Fathers are the driving force behind the complex. I have their photos and several videos on here that implicate them in the manufacturing and distribution of the meth. There is an office off the manufacturing area. It has a floor safe. Slide the stainless steel coffee table off it. They put documents in there once a day. I don't know what, but it has to be important if they are hiding it."

  Jade grabbed the rails of the stretcher and sat up again. "Oh and the lieutenants that handle the manufacturing don't arrive until about nine. I have license plate numbers, but I don't have names. I watched them pull up, park, and enter the underground facility. They'd pull on white lab coats, and they'd do shit like quality control tests or something. There is a video showing three of them making the rounds."

  Jason took the device from her and smiled. "Thank you. We'll take it from here. You did well, Pogo. Now go get patched and cleaned up. I've had Jewell call and update Mom, and I'm sure she'd appreciate a call when you get released."

  She flipped Jace off the second she heard him use her nickname but was over it immediately when he mentioned their mom. "Hey! She's still married, right?"

  Jace rolled his eyes and smiled a huge stupid grin.

  "God, tell me she's not pregnant! Please?" Jade yelled the words at the closing doors.

  Jason pounded on the outside of the vehicle signaling the driver to go.

  Jade lay back and swung her attention to the EMT sitting beside her. "So, good looking, do you come here often?" A delightful shade of red started to climb up the man's neck. Jade laughed at his embarrassment. Oh, fuck, it was so damn good to be back.

  Chapter Three

  Yep, she'd had enough. Jade counted the number of tiles on the floor. Seventy-six and one half tiles. The need for that half tile took several minutes to contemplate, not that she gave a shit that the room was lopsided, but hey, it was something to think about other than how fucking long it was taking to see the doctor. S
he'd also memorized the anatomically correct poster of the inner ear that hung on the back of the door. The HIPAA laws were dry as dirt, but she'd still read through them three times. She'd been stuck in this tiny little room for over an hour, and she hadn't seen anyone, except the nurse that had wheeled her here from radiology and shut the door behind her on the way out. Maliki Blue was supposed to be here somewhere, but if he was, Jade hadn't seen him. And she'd definitely remember seeing him. The man was drop dead gorgeous. Tall, built, white-blonde hair and ice blue eyes. He'd make Thor feel inadequate. But, nope not a sign of anyone she knew. Five more minutes and she was taking herself out of this place. She could be on her way to the airport and back home. Ice, elevation, and rest were what her knee needed. She hoped. Yep. Four minutes and she was airport bound. No, better yet, she'd go to the airport bar. That was one hell of a goal. She hadn't had a drink in over a year and damn it, she missed it. The door to the room swung open and she glanced up. Dixon and Drake ghosted in, and Jade jumped up on her good leg. "Hey!" She hugged one and then the other before she turned and punched Drake on the arm.

  "Ouch, what the fuck?" Drake grabbed his bicep and squeezed it.

  Big ole' baby . "Is that how you treat me after an entire year of not seeing me? Just throw me over your shoulder and then after a not-so-gentle run, you dump me on a stretcher and leave my ass in the parking lot? You are not second date material, mister." Jade hopped back to the stupid exam table, and parked her butt on the crinkly white paper that lined the top.

  "Well, you must admit, you were in no shape to run, and if you remember correctly, people were shooting, darlin'. Besides, I thought you liked the Neanderthal act." Drake elbowed his brother Dixon. "Or did my memory mislead me?"

  "Not going to deny it, but wasn't expecting it within two minutes of y'all showing up!" She threw back her head and laughed. It felt so good to be free of the bastards that had ruled her every breath for the last year. She'd become something less than human bending to the hypocrisy of the Bible thumping degenerates that twisted the words of God to suit their own tyrannical needs.

  "The J-men are mopping up. Jacob sent us here to make sure you didn't bail without getting a doctor to look at your leg. It took us almost thirty minutes to find you. I think they hid you from us on purpose." Dixon hooked his toe around a little stool with wheels and pulled it toward him. He sat down and leaned back against the wall crossing his arms, and a smirk spread across his face.

  "I think they forgot about me, period. Why would Jacob send you here? Seriously, I wasn't going to bail." Jade averted her eyes and tried not to laugh.

  "Bullshit." Drake walked the two steps it took to cross the room and sat down beside her on the exam table.

  "Yeah, you're right. I was down to about three minutes before I headed to the airport bar. So, what have you two been up to in the last year? Anything good? Or should I say anyone good?" She caught the quick glance between the brothers and elbowed Drake. "No shit? Who? Is it serious?" She panned her gaze back and forth between the twins.

  "There are two-"

  "Wait! Wait a minute! I thought you two liked to share? You admitted that, right? The last time we went out for drinks. I'm not dreaming that conversation, am I?" Jade ping-ponged her head between the two.

  Identical shit-eating grins spread across their faces. "We do, but these two are… hell, I don't know Drake, what would you call them?" Dixon peered up at his brother.

  "Feisty twins with too much attitude and skittish as hell." Drake shrugged. "They've been leading us on a merry fucking dance."

  Jade realized her mouth had dropped open. She snapped it shut and blinked rapidly. "Twins, dating twins? Holy mistaken identity, Batman. Where, when, who, how and most importantly, are you happy?" Jade damn near bounced on the exam table. Her friends were actually on the hook or at least nibbling at the bait, and damn if that didn't make her happy. The twins had burrowed a lair inside her inner circle where very few people resided: her immediate family, the Twins, Chief, and Gabriel and his family. A select few and that was on purpose.

  Dixon snorted. "You don't dance. Why the fuck would you use that metaphor? God, Drake, maybe you could use your imagination."

  "Imagination? Really Dixon? When was the last time-"

  Jade put her fingers to her mouth and blew an ear-shattering whistle. Both men stopped arguing and snapped their attention back to her.

  "Thank you. Now you were saying? About these ladies?"

  "Well, we met when…" The door swung open and Maliki and a man in scrubs entered the room.

  Jade pointed at Maliki and the doctor and made a shooing motion toward the door. "No, do not come in here! Go back out! I need to hear this!"

  "Nah, that's okay Doc, we need to get out of here anyway." Dixon stood up at the same time as Drake lifted off the table.

  "Hell, no! You owe me answers!"

  They smiled and sauntered out the door.

  "Answers! Do you hear me?" She yelled as the door swung shut.Damn it. So much had happened in the past year. She studied Maliki for a moment and then scrunched her nose at him. "I'm mad at you."

  He crossed his arms and chuckled. "You're mad at me? Pray tell, what did I do to earn your wrath."

  "Dude, I've been in here for an hour. An hour! Do you know how much fun we could have had in that amount of time?" She gave him a huge wink and laughed at the blush that burned up his neck to his cheeks.

  He shook his head and turned toward the doctor behind him. "Jade, this is Doctor Sheppard. Be nice to him. He's an orthopedic specialist, one of the best in the state. I didn't meet you at emergency because I was waiting for him to get out of surgery so I could whisk him off to see you."

  Jade swiveled her attention to the surgeon behind him. Nice build, thick brown hair, and a great smile. He'd do. "Hiya doc! Are you single?"

  The man chuckled and shook his head. "Sorry, taken."

  "Damn it. Y'all, I'm striking out all around tonight." Jade lifted the back of her hand to her forehead and pretended to swoon. "A year undercover and nobody wants little ole me."

  "Can the bullshit, Scarlett O'Hara." Both Maliki and Doctor Sheppard swung around at Jason's comment, but Jade relaxed back onto the table.

  "Nope. I'm a drama queen tonight. I deserve to cut loose but nobody wants to play with me."

  "Leave the doctors alone and let them examine your knee. Dixon and Drake are heading to the airfield to prep the plane and log our flight plan."

  Jade popped up off the table. "No! We need to finish our conversation! Tell them to come back here!"

  "Later. Now do we need to tie you down and gag you, or will you cooperate?" Jason crossed the tree trunks masquerading as arms over his chest and stared at her.

  "Pa-lease tie me down! Do you have a rubber ball gag? The cloth ones get so… moist." She shivered at the word.

  Jason pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. Oh shit, the big guy was getting serious. Jade knew when he'd reached his limit, and she was pushing him. She sighed and capitulated, "Nah, do what you need to do. I want to go home as much as you do."

  Jason peered at Maliki. "Dude, patch her up enough to get her home. And a needle or two of sedative would help us all sleep on the way back."

  "Hey! I can't sleep. I have too much to catch up on! Oh, did you get the lieutenants? They are probably going to be the key to unlocking the organization."

  Jason nodded. "Two. The third didn't show today, so we are hunting him now. The safe under the table was a gold mine. We will be dissecting this organization for at least six months. You did well, Pogo."

  Jade immediately flashed Jason the finger and got the laugh she'd been accustomed to for as long as she could remember. Joseph had started calling her Pogo when they were still young. It fit. She did bounce around, hyper and more than a little crazy at times. Hell, she'd been called much, much worse. Jade squa
red her shoulders and beamed at her brother. "I did do a good job, didn't I?" She huffed on her fingernails and rubbed them over the pathetic, worn dress that she longed to shed. "Hey, can you get me some clothes other than this rag? Sweats and a t-shirt? Anything?"

  "I can get you a pair of scrubs." Maliki offered.

  "Cool. Now let's get this show on the road because the Guardian jets have fully stocked bars. I've earned a scotch."

  Doctor Sheppard cleared his throat and motioned for Jade to put her leg up on the exam table. "Liquor and pain meds are not compatible."

  "Who's taking pain meds?" Jade swiveled her head from Doctor Sheppard to Maliki.

  "You." The orthopedic surgeon was logging onto the computer that sat on a wheeled stand-the one she may have tried to log onto to surf the internet earlier, but she never made it past the lock screen. Where was Jewell when she needed her?"

  "No, I'm not. I don't take pain medications." Jade didn't need to say why, especially with Jason standing three feet from her.

  "Excuse me?" Doctor Sheppard craned his neck and blinked back at her.

  "Don't try to win this fight, Doc." Maliki sighed. "If I had a dollar for every time a King refused pain medications, I'd be rich."

  "You are rich." Jade lifted an eyebrow and defied Maliki to deny the truth. She knew his background.

  He shrugged. "Rich-er."

  "Jade, quit tormenting the good doctors. I'm going to go check on the operation at the compound." Jason turned his attention to the doctors. "I'll be in the hall if you need me. Don't hesitate to shout if she acts out."

  "Hey, I'm not a child!" She yelled at his retreating back. When the door shut, Jade turned her mischievous gaze to the doctors. "I'm a fully grown woman. Want proof?"

  Maliki groaned and shook his head, and the other doctor stared at her as if she was a science experiment. Jade winked at the man. That broke the spell. He snapped his head back to the computer, and Jade chuckled to herself. Damn it was good to be out of that hellhole.