Jade (The Kings of Guardian Book 9)

by Kris Michaels

  "Here." A pair of manicure scissors appeared in front of her face. She turned and gave the guy a questioning stare.

  "Don't ask."

  "Oh, I'm going to ask, and then I'm pretty sure I'm going to laugh." Jade pulled the small dome cover off the device.

  "Remember, red is dead." The guy's face was right next to hers. She rolled her eyes and nudged him away.

  "Breathing room, brother."

  The man nodded and gave her a few more inches of space. Jade snipped the wires in succession, green, black and then white. She bent them backwards, so there was no chance of them contacting anything.

  "Okay. Need to find a way to communicate and get Cunningham help." Jade pushed herself up and stared down the tunnel. She had no idea how far up the next manhole cover would be. "If we go back, we might miss another device. We don't know that they are spacing the things out. That was an assumption." Jade looked at her new partner. "I'm Jade, by the way."

  "I say we go that way." He pointed down the tunnel away from where they started. "We can join up with Hesston's group. Name's Mickey."

  Jade nodded and turned to head down the tunnel ahead of them. "We could get blown up, too."

  "Never been blown up before." Mickey turned and motioned back toward where they'd made a stand. "I will admit you aren't half bad in a fight."

  "That makes me only half-good? Hell, Mickey, I can promise I'm way better than that." Jade lifted the light and laughed at the man's shocked expression. Yeah, it was good to be alive.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Nic held up his hand. According to the blueprints he'd examined before they started following the tunnel, the passage to the left would lead to the base of the south tower. It would continue and go under both buildings, following the same basic route as the elevated walkway that joined the towers. He paused and studied the tunnel where he'd told the others he would be going. He could go forward, but if he did, they wouldn't clear the smaller tunnel. Damage to the ground between the towers could destabilize both. Fuck, if he'd taken a few more minutes to plan the search he wouldn't have to make this command decision.

  He sent a universal hand signal bringing the men he was working with up to his position. Nic whispered, "This tunnel runs under the elevated walkway. It needs to be cleared, but we don't have the time to stop clearing the main passageways." They'd all heard echoing pops earlier. It was definitely gunfire, and if they heard it, anyone else in the passageways would have heard it, too. They needed to clear the tunnels, find the devices and deactivate them before Bao pushed that fucking trigger.

  Nic motioned to the two men and then pointed to the main tunnel. He indicated he would take the secondary tunnel. Both of them hesitated, and Nic understood the hesitation. If he ran into trouble, he'd be by himself, but fuck, if they didn't clear the tunnel… Nic repeated the motion and waited. The men glanced at each other before they nodded and headed down the passageway.

  Nic slid around the corner and worked his way along the smooth cement path. He held the flashlight against his chest with one hand and his weapon drawn in his other. He worked forward five steps at a time and illuminated the passage briefly with a sliver of light from his flashlight before he pushed the beam against his stomach again. Five steps, peek, five steps, peek. The pattern wasn't efficient, but it was a hell of a lot safer than illuminating the passageway and becoming an instant target. The sounds of the underground tunnel took on a familiarity. Nic had just taken his third step when he heard something. He pushed against the side of the tunnel and clicked the flashlight off. Dropping into a squat, he waited. There… a scrape… no, it sounded like something tearing. Nic peered at the pitch black in front of him. A sweep of light flitted, illuminating the tunnel in front of him for a fraction of a second. Fuck. How many were there? Nic lifted and tucked the flashlight into his waistband. His hand now free, he used it as a guide against the wall of the tunnel. Carefully and silently, he advanced his position. As he approached the junction of the tunnel, he heard hushed voices. The tearing sound echoed. Tape?

  Nic drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. He stepped into the passageway. Four men. Three were working on the explosives mounted to the wall. Two working with the tape, the third holding a flashlight to illuminate the task. The fourth swept his light down the adjoining tunnels. He turned as Nic lifted his weapon. "Guardian Security. Drop your weapons…"

  Nic lunged to his left as the first explosion of gunfire pitted the cement next to his face. He made it to the opening of the tunnel he'd come down as he returned fire. He heard one of the bastards scream before a rush of footsteps headed his way. Nic rolled onto his back and open fire. He fired, emptied his weapon and reloaded. He rolled into the tunnel and immediately realized he was now in the crossfire of two shooters. He swiveled and took out the closest man, but it was too little, too late. The searing tug of bullets tore through his leg. Nic rolled and emptied his clip. The immediate silence that followed his weapon's last report seemed to mock the intensity of what had transpired. Slowly, small sounds made themselves known. The ragged sounds of his breathing almost drowned out a small moan from the man next to him. Pulling his flashlight from his waistband, he clicked it on. One, two… three dead. The forth man's eyes were fixed on Nic. Blood seeped from his mouth and nose. Nic flashed his light to where the man's weapon laid. He reached for it and damn near fainted from the fucking pain in his leg. He crawled on his elbows to the weapon. Fuck, he was going to puke from the pain. Nic pushed himself to the wall and fought off unconsciousness. He had to defuse the detonation device. Grabbing the hem of his button-up, he pulled his shirt off and used the arms to wrap the material around his thigh and stem the bleeding. A flick of the flashlight told him the bleeding from his thigh wasn't going to kill him, but the bone poking out of his shin wasn't good. Fuck, fuck, fuck… he cast a beam of light around him. The filth was going to be his biggest problem with an open wound. Nic put the flashlight down and pulled off his t-shirt. He carefully covered the exposed bone and prayed that he could stay conscious long enough to get to the bomb. Wouldn't you know the motherfuckers got him in the thigh of one leg and the calf of the other? He couldn't put any pressure on his lower leg. He'd be lucky if the docs could put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Fuck. Nic closed his eyes and swallowed down the reality of his fucked up situation. His lower leg was shattered, and his thigh had a bullet in it. He was shaking like a fucking leaf and the cold he was feeling was probably shock. Hell, the device that was at eye level might have as well been at the summit of Mount Everest.

  Nic eyed the detonation device. The fucker was taunting him, blinking its green light at him. Motherfucker! Nic raked his shaking hands through his hair. Someone would be back for him… maybe. He slid his hand toward the device and bumped into something cold. He directed the flashlight toward the floor. A metal pipe. Nic examined the explosives. The detonator linked the top block of C4, not the bottom. Did he disrupt the assholes before they could extend the charge to all the explosives? Nic grabbed at the pipe and drew himself toward the device on his elbows dragging his injured legs behind him. Stopping only to dry heave because of a screaming torrent of pain, he managed to low-crawl the five feet. Covered in sweat, he shivered almost uncontrollably. Nic sat under the device and lifted the pipe. He worked at peeling the tape from the wall taking frequent breaks to rest. Finally, he managed to peel the bottom strip of tape free. Nic pushed behind a brick of C4 and angled the pipe out. The weight of the cube peeled itself away from the wall and the tape. The block dropped, hitting him on the shoulder. Fuck, if he could get the rest off, when the device detonated, the damage would be minimal.

  Nic worked prying three more nodes of explosives away. The top two had charges implanted with the red wire glaring at him. Red is dead. Jade ended up front and center in his mind's eye. Nic closed his eyes, exhausted. Jade's warning sounding loud and clear. He
contemplated the device and then at the tunnel he'd come from. If he made it to that corner, the second corridor might shield him from the worst of the explosion. If the explosion didn't cave the roof in on his head.

  He took out his phone and studied it before he opened the text app. He thumbed the words in, careful to type what he needed to say and pushed send before he pocketed the phone. It may never get through, but he'd tried. Nic let his body fall onto the wet cement and flopped onto his belly. The jarring move blasted another torrent of pain through his lower limbs. He was so fucking tired. He reached forward and heaved himself up on his bloody elbows. He needed to try. He didn't want to die. He wanted time with Jade. Dying under a ton of rubble… hell, this couldn't be the end. Nic's arms gave out, and he dropped to the ground. He was so cold. The shivering was worse now. He lifted his head. The tunnel entrance was so close. Nic pushed up again. His teeth clenched against the pain. He held his breath and moved, dragging his body forward.

  Jade tapped Mickey on the arm. The light from a manhole cover shone down like an answer to a prayer. She jogged forward, careful to clear the area ahead of her. Jade pulled out her phone and climbed the ladder. Text messages starting pinging as soon as she hit the third step. She read the group texts aloud to Mickey. "Hesston cleared his device."

  "That's two," Mickey called up to her.

  "Someone else… Rawlings said they cleared their device. Who the fuck is Rawlings? I thought that guy Mason had a team?" Jade lost her signal and stepped up the ladder as she typed her message.

  "Rawlings was with your guy." Mickey's answer floated up to her.

  Jade hit send. She looked down at Mickey's upturned face. "What?" Her phone vibrated. "Mason reports no devices found on his side."

  "There is still one missing."

  Jade gaped down the ladder at the cop. "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

  Her phone vibrated again. Nic, finally. She opened the text.

  >Unable to kill device. Small tunnel between buildings. Not able to evacuate. Get everyone out. I loved you.

  "Fuck! No!" Jade jumped down the ladder and grabbed Mickey by the arm. She slapped the phone into his hand. Get up there and text everyone to get the fuck out. Tell the on scene commander the device in the small tunnel between the towers is active." She grabbed his flashlight and spun around getting her bearings.

  "Where are you going?" Mickey called after her.

  "To find my fucking man!" Jade launched down the tunnel. Her lungs burned, and her heart pounded. She thought she knew where the tunnel Nic had mentioned was, but it was like a fucking labyrinth down here. She saw a defused device. Not the one she did with Mickey, and there were no dead bodies. Did that mean someone got out of the tunnel? Son of a bitch! Jade skidded to a stop at a junction. She closed her eyes and tried to draw the image of the tunnel system to mind and compare it to where she thought she was now.

  She turned to her left and then to her right. She had no idea which way to turn. As she stepped to her right, a low rumbling thunder came from her left. The noise amplified and rolled, louder and louder. A blast of air, dust and small particles of debris pushed into the tunnel where she stood. Terror froze her to the spot she was standing for a moment. She jolted from its grip and started sprinting through the tunnel. Jade covered her mouth with her hand and blinked through the settling dust and dirt. The flashlight barely cut light a foot in front of her. She pulled her shirt off and wrapped it around her face. "Nic!" She screamed his name repeatedly as she advanced down the tunnel. Small blocks of concrete littered the walkway. They became larger as she moved forward.

  She pointed toward the end of the tunnel. The debris formed a mound on the left hand side. Jade ran toward the junction, falling once. She skidded to a stop. The tunnel was blocked to her right. Huge pieces of concrete wedged in impossible shapes obliterating her passage. Jade dropped to her knees and screamed, "No!"

  "Jade."

  Her head whipped around at the sound of her name. Holy fuck! She swung her flashlight and saw an arm. Jade scrambled on her knees to the mound near the wall. Carefully she pulled the cement chunks away from his chest and a huge one off his shoulder.

  "Nic, talk to me." Jade shook so bad she had trouble holding the flashlight. She placed her hand on his neck and felt for a pulse. Light and thready, but there.

  "Nic, come on, babe. You need to talk to me. Help is on the way." At least she prayed it was.

  "Cold."

  "I know. Don't worry, I'll warm you up. I promise. Just keep talking to me, yeah?" She removed another slab of cement that pinned his hips.

  "Love you."

  Jade pushed the rest of the rubble off his legs and stifled a gasp. His leg below the knee twisted backward abnormally and appeared separated from his body.

  "I love you, too. I'm going to put a tourniquet on your leg, okay?" Jade whipped off her belt and strapped it under his knee. She pulled the fucker as tight as she could and tightened it, even more, using the barrel of her weapon to spin the leather. "Nic, talk to me…"

  He grunted something. Jade did a quick search and found the injury to his thigh that he'd wrapped himself. She lay down next to him and pulled his shivering form closer.

  "Hey, stay with me, Nic. You need to keep talking, okay?" Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn't move to wipe them away. She wrapped her arms around Nic and rubbed his back trying to warm him.

  "Tired."

  "I know. So am I. When we get out of here, we're taking a vacation. You know what I mean?"

  Nic didn't answer. She pulled back and found his pulse, barely there. Jade couldn't lose him. No, please, no… no… no… She moved her fingers, desperately searching for signs of life.

  "Is anyone down here?"

  Jade lifted her face and screamed, "Here! Hurry!" She lifted away from Nic and held her flashlight up, flagging it in the air.

  Craning her neck, she watched the bouncing lights on FDNY helmets as they raced toward her. She cupped Nic's face in her palm. "Stay with me, Nic. Don't you fucking dare leave me."

  Chapter Thirty

  Jade smoothed the tented blanket over Nic's bed. After four weeks, the noise of the hospital faded into a mindless din in the background of her consciousness. The words of the intercom pierced through her wandering thoughts. "Paging Doctor Shaeffer, Doctor Shaeffer, please call extension four-zero." Jade snorted to herself and grabbed the remote for Nic's television. She didn't know who the fuck Doctor Shaeffer was, but the man… or woman… was in demand, like, all the fucking time. Jade turned on the TV and found the ballgame. She wasn't much of a football fan, but Jared had told her Nic was a devout fan.

  Jade made her way back to Nic's side. She hadn't left the hospital in four weeks. She ate, slept and showered here. Whatever strings Guardian had to pull, they pulled so she could stay with Nic. The fear of coming out to her family about her relationship with Nic never materialized. Or if it had, she'd missed the drama. Her focus was on Nic. She didn't fucking care if they approved or not. Nic's brother Mario was a constant visitor along with Jared and Christian. Carmine showed up once and only once. Fucker dared to make a scene. Jade sneered as she thought of the one-sided conversation she had with that asshole.

  Jade ran her hand up and down Nic's arm. The doctors continued to caution her that he'd had serious blood loss and damage to his cognitive reasoning was a real possibility. If he woke up. No, he would wake up, because damn it, she wasn't going to let him escape their relationship that easy. They'd made a commitment to each other. Or she'd made a commitment to him. If he didn't like it, she'd make him change his mind. Didn't fucking matter.

  Jade smoothed the tented material. Her man had lost his left leg from below the knee. He'd been shot in his thigh and had a broken clavicle and a crushed shoulder, but he was still alive. Nic had opened his eyes several times, but he'd never stayed awake or seemed to know that she wa
s there. It didn't matter. She'd take care of Nic until the day she died.

  He loved her. He told her that down there in that tunnel, and she believed him. She'd given him her heart and fuck the world if they thought she should give him up like yesterday's trash. She wasn't leaving his side even when they transferred him to that fucking 'rehab' facility. Bullshit. It was a nursing home. Well, she'd made other plans. She pulled all her money out of savings and was having her house renovated; complete with ramps, three-foot wide interior doors, PT room, and handicapped bathrooms with roll-in showers. Jacob and Jason were tag-teaming the contractors to keep them in line. Her brothers had been pretty fucking wonderful through the aftermath.

  Nic moaned and twitched. He did that more and more recently.

  Jade leaned over him and dropped a kiss on his forehead. "Shhh… you're safe. I'm here."

  His movements eased at her words. They would move Nic to her house when the work was complete. A full-time nursing staff and on-call doctor were already hired. Nic would have the best.

  Jade pulled her chair up next to his bed and took his hand in hers. "I don't know what you see in this game. I mean, yeah, those guys have cute asses… well, most of them do. Some of those monsters that are on the front line… I'm not sure what they greased to get those britches on, babe, but no… just no. Oh hey, look. That guy clocked the hell out of that one. Why did they throw the flag? What is this? Ballet? It was a legal hit. Right?" She focused on Nic. His eyes flitted back and forth under his eyelids. "I know, right? Totes legal." Jade shook her head. "I don't know, sometimes you got to wonder. Oh, hey, did you see this commercial? I love it. She sang the jingle and squeezed his hand at the end.

  Nic squeezed her hand in return. Jade jerked her gaze back to him. His eyes twitched under their lids.

  The doctors told her that what she was feeling was his response to stimuli; it didn't necessarily mean anything. The first few times it happened, she was sure he was waking up, but over the last week, she'd started to accept the doctor's word. A loud burst of laughter sounded in the hall. Jade glanced up at the clock. Shift change. She knew all the nurses, now. Didn't like a few of them, and they for sure didn't like her. They had the gall to call her demanding. No shit. She was here to take care of her man, and fuck the world if they didn't like it.