Freedom (Featherstone Academy Series Book 5)

by KC Kean

  Shit. They have me distracted. But who the fuck is a threat when there are children inside the damn house?

  Feeling a little disorientated, Oscar finally releases his hold.

  “Sorry, baby girl. You okay?” He asks, grasping my chin as he searches my eyes, and I just roll them at him.

  “Of course, I am. But I need that kid out of here. Now.”

  With a single nod, he jumps to his feet, pulling me to mine as Roman stays trained on our surroundings.

  “There is a child. We need the guards for the child. Now,” Oscar growls as I dust off my pants and focus on the pair again.

  Bryce and Juliana suddenly appear from behind, extra security men thankfully with them, who instantly begin to pull the woman and child outside, letting Juliana and Bryce step through the door.

  “Let’s start upstairs,” Roman orders, signaling with his hands for us to follow, but my father steps in front of him, leading the way.

  “Two security guards check the basement,” Bryce adds, nodding to his men in the kitchen.

  The staircase leads in two different directions at the top. We know Jess’s father should be to the left, but we need to clear the right too. Her mother is still here somewhere, and she is most definitely an erratic threat.

  “Luna, Oscar, and Juliana go to the left. Me and Roman will clear the right, and security can split between us,” Bryce murmurs, his voice louder in my earpiece as he takes the right side.

  Oscar barges past, putting himself in front of me. I can’t even get mad anymore when they always force themselves into the firing line first. I have to accept that this is how they protect and love me, even if I know what I’m doing.

  The dark wooden stairs shift into a cream carpet as the landing comes into view with three doors. If the layout is correct that Rafe managed to look over before we got here, then Jess’s dad should be in the furthest room on the left-hand side.

  The door opposite suddenly swings open. A woman I know is Lucienda, Jess’s mother, stands in the doorway.

  “You’re going to regret showing up here when I burn you all,” she says calmly, and my brain is still trying to process how the fuck this is Jess’s mother. She reminds me of my mother and Barbette Dietrichson. The only difference is they’re dead. She can gladly join them.

  “Is it too cliché for me to ask if you know who you’re talking to?” Juliana responds, a snarl on her lips as she aims her pistol at Lucienda, who simply scoffs in response.

  “I believe you’re the whore who stole my daughter.”

  Wow. Just wow.

  “Can we kill her already?” I ask, already sick of her shit.

  “Kill me or not, but while you’re all here, Reece will wed my daughter, and there will be nothing you can do about it.” The grin on her face makes her eyes look black. “I realized you all somehow had a weakness for protecting poor little Jessica, so I came here prepared. Draw you all out here, every last one of you. Then… boom. Dead.”

  She lifts her hands to her face, shaking her fucking jazz hands for added effect.

  “Oh my god, you really are a dumb bitch,” Juliana chuckles, stepping closer to her with her weapon lowered. “So, you thought we would all rush here and leave Jess back at the academy alone?”

  Lucienda retreats slowly with each step Juliana takes towards her, a frown on her face.

  “Why the fuck would we do that?” Oscar adds, even glancing at me with a frown.

  “Tell me, how do you plan to burn us?” Juliana asks, keeping her voice relaxed as she continues her approach.

  “It’s too late. You can’t undo it,” Lucienda stammers, grabbing a gun off the unit just on the inside of the room.

  “I can deal with that. But, please, tell me how,” Juliana repeats, moving quickly to knock the gun from Lucienda’s hand before she can actually get her finger through the trigger guard.

  Her fingers grip Lucienda’s throat as she slams her into the wall, stepping further into the room. Lucienda laughs, her hands coming up to grab Juliana’s arms, and I aim my gun at her head.

  “The whole basement is filled with explosives, and you’re about five minutes from death,” she spits out, lifting her leg to hit Juliana in the stomach, but she reacts quickly, kicking Lucienda’s other leg out from beneath her, dropping her to the floor.

  “Get her father, and get out,” Juliana shouts at us, and as much as I don’t want to leave her if what Lucienda says is true, we need to move.

  “Let’s go, baby girl,” Oscar murmurs, turning for the other door and kicking it down.

  “Could you not have tried the handle first?” I ask, but he doesn’t even bother to respond as Jess’s father comes into view, pinned and tied to a bare bed frame, spread eagle and gagged.

  He hardly flickers his eyes open at the sound of the door breaking. Lay in a band-tee and jeans, he barely looks conscious.

  Clipping my gun into the holster, I glance at Oscar as I approach Mr. Watson. “Make sure everyone else heard what Lucienda said, and round everyone up while I untie him.”

  “We heard you, princess. I’ll be there in two minutes.” Roman mutters through the earpiece I forgot we were wearing as I untie the thick rope around Mr. Watson’s feet first.

  Oscar doesn’t leave since Roman responded, untying his hands to speed up the process as well. What did Jess say her father’s name is? Neil.

  Shit, nothing pins him in place, yet his body doesn’t move to a more comfortable position. Ripping the gag from his lips, I glance around for a bottle of water but come up short.

  “Neil. Neil!” I shout, slapping his cheek as I hover over him, trying to get him to respond.

  “Luna, I’ll carry him down. No one can get into the basement to confirm there are even any explosives set up, but I don’t want to risk it if there is,” Oscar murmurs beside me, and I agree.

  Rolling Neil over, Oscar throws him over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift. Turning for the door, Roman suddenly fills the space on the other side.

  “Let’s go.”

  I nod for Oscar to go first since Neil needs medical attention, and when I step into the hall I glance to the other room, looking for Juliana.

  What the fuck?

  Slowly stepping towards them, my eyes flit across the room, trying to process what I’m seeing. Where the fuck did Juliana even get half of this shit from?

  Lucienda is pinned to the wall, crying out in pain. Blood covers the wall and drips into a pool of blood at her feet. A palm-sized sharp object is latched onto her shoulders and the wall, holding her in place as more line her body, keeping her trapped.

  I think I remember seeing them in the Gibbs’ vault back at Featherstone, but I’d never used them before. Now, I know what they do.

  Juliana stands before her, her hair a mess and blood smeared across her face.

  “Juliana, we need to go,” I mumble, and her eyes flash to mine, her nostrils flare with anger as her chest rises and falls rapidly. She offers the smallest nod in acknowledgment as she gets right in Lucienda’s face.

  “Let’s hope you haven’t rigged this place because you’ll be the only one dying here today,” her words are dark and sinister, a complete contrast to the Juliana we know. “You will never, and I mean never, lay your hands on Jess again.”

  Still, even in this position, Lucienda grins, blood all over her teeth. “Why? Do you think she’s yours now?” She goads, and Juliana twirls a blade in her hand before lifting it to Lucienda’s chin.

  “No. Jess is no one’s but her own. That’s your greatest mistake. I’m going to be whoever she needs me to be, and you’ll be a distant memory in Featherstone history.”

  Dropping the blade, Juliana steps back and walks towards me. She squeezes my shoulder as she stands beside me, and Lucienda continues to pipe up.

  “Oh, no. This was all for the Russians. They’ll remember my sacrifice. By the way, how’s West?” She asks, a cackle on her lips as Juliana whirls around and stabs the blade straight into Lucienda’s thr
oat, growling as she turns it.

  “You’ve sacrificed nothing but yourself,” Juliana spits as I watch Lucienda choke on her blood, mouthing the word time on her silent lips.

  “Juliana, she’s pushing, making us stay. We need to go.”

  Hearing my words, she leaves the blade in Lucienda’s throat and encourages me through the door. I can hear Roman and Oscar screaming through the earpiece as we race down the stairs.

  The front door is wide open. Everyone standing in the street like this isn’t supposed to be a fucking undercover mission.

  Picking up speed, I can see West’s motorbike come to a stop outside of the house, no helmet on as he frantically searches through everyone. Roman places his hand on his shoulder, likely trying to calm him and catch him up to speed as Juliana grabs hold of my hand.

  One foot outside, and I hear it. The crackle just before the boom rings in my ears. The force of blast throws us through the air as we refuse to let go of each other’s hands.

  Watching everything in slow motion, I see the fear in Oscar’s eyes as he screams my name, running towards me, Roman and West at his side.

  My body crashes to the floor, mud, and grass beneath me as my breath is stolen from my lungs. Juliana’s tight hold on my hand tells me she’s okay as well, while my head screams with a ringing in my ear.

  Juliana’s hand is suddenly taken from mine as Roman and Oscar are all up in my face, West hovering behind them as they check me over.

  I can see their lips moving, but I can’t hear their words, and the way their faces are red, I think I’m glad.

  “My ears are ringing, so I can’t hear shit,” I try to say, and the way Oscar smiles down at me in relief tells me the message is heard. “Is Neil okay?” I ask, and Roman nods as he checks my arms over. “Good, can we leave now?” Another nod, and I’m being lifted into Roman’s arms.

  My eyes fall to the little boy from earlier, clinging to the woman as she now holds him tight, protecting him from the chaos that surrounds him. That’s what a mother should do, protect you from the flames, yet ours tossed us into the fire.

  Neighbors stand on their front porches, watching the scene unfold before them, and I’m sure the fire department is on their way. Great.

  Glancing behind me, I watch as the house collapses, engulfed in flames with Lucienda Paul inside. Well, she wasn’t fucking lying.

  Good.

  She can rot in hell with all the other bitches.

  Red always deserved much more than her anyway. She deserves much more than us too, but we will protect her like our life depends on it.

  Jess

  God, it’s warm in here. Too warm. I yawn groggily, trying to stretch out my body, but the leg laying over mine and the hard chest I’m pinned against makes it difficult.

  “Five more minutes,” Aiden murmurs beside me, lifting his leg higher up my waist as his lips trail against my neck.

  “How are we even awake right now? It took forever for us to fall asleep,” Maverick grunts behind me, his arm tightening around my waist as he pulls me in, and between them, I’m even hotter than I was a moment ago.

  “That’s because I couldn’t sleep with the worry consuming my mind, and this is my damn body clock waking me up,” I grouch, again trying to stretch, but neither of them moving.

  “No, we couldn’t sleep because Aiden kept trying to distract us with his dick,” Maverick whispers against my ear, making me grin. That’s not a lie. And the sweet hum that leaves Aiden’s lips tells me how pleased he is with himself.

  “Any news?” I ask, twisting my head to glance at Maverick, but the dip of his mouth is my answer.

  Nothing.

  We’ve heard nothing since they landed in Georgia, and it’s driving me insane.

  “What time is it?”

  “Just after seven, petal. How about you shower and get ready for the day like normal, and I’ll make you some breakfast?”

  Moving a loose tendril of hair behind my ear, he kisses my brow, trying to encourage the concern away, but it’s difficult.

  “I don’t want to be unreachable in a lesson, Maverick,” I murmur as Aiden lifts his leg off me and rolls me to face Maverick. Wrapping his arms around me from behind, they cuddle me tight, surrounding me in all of their love and attention, but I can feel the missing piece. West.

  Placing a final kiss to my lips, Maverick stands from the bed in only his boxers, and I know Aiden is watching him right along with me. His ass is swaying perfectly with his thick thighs on display and the muscles in his back flexing as he walks.

  “I can feel you both checking me out, and for once I’m trying to do the right thing, but don’t think I won’t come back there and fuck you into the mattress,” he threatens before sauntering out of the room.

  “He’s a fucking spoilsport,” Aiden grunts, flexing his hips into mine so I can feel his length against me. “We can scream really loud if we want to make him regret walking away,” he whispers against my skin, making me shiver.

  “God, am I a shitty girlfriend if I’m still aching from last night?” I respond, and Aiden suddenly moves from behind me and pushes me on to my back.

  “Say it again.” His eyes settle on mine as he leans over me, stroking his finger against my cheek.

  “Say what? Oh, girlfriend?” I ask, confused, but the way his eyes sparkle makes me blush.

  “One day, you’re going to say wife, you know.”

  “I am?” I try to play coy, but he fucking knows.

  “Beautiful, there is only one person left to see your little secret, and we all know what it means, even Maverick. And he didn’t fucking run, can you believe it?” His eyes are comical as he bounces on the bed lightly, smothering me in kisses, and I can’t deny the attention.

  “Aiden, let’s go,” Maverick shouts from the other room, and Aiden groans against me.

  “I’m going to pretend I’m being a sweet boyfriend, listening to the fact you’re still sore, but really I’m following Maverick’s orders.” He winks down at me and climbs from the bed, giving me a similar strut to Maverick’s earlier, and I prop myself up on my elbow to watch.

  Reaching for my phone on the bedside table, I make sure there really isn’t any contact from the others, and my heart sinks when I see no new notifications.

  Brushing my hair back from my face, I take a deep breath.

  They’re okay. They’re going to come home to me.

  Patting my knees, I stand. I need to get ready, carry on as normal so it doesn’t arouse suspicion.

  I bypass Aiden and Maverick as they move around in sync in the kitchen, heading straight for the shower. Letting the water cascade over me, I make sure to keep my hair out of the water. I don’t have time for that today. I’m going to rock a messy bun instead.

  The scent of coconut surrounds me as I step from the shower, wrapping a thick white fluffy towel around my body. Brushing my teeth and slathering my face in my favorite cream, I feel a little perkier. But I know my focus will be on the others until I hear from them, not the lessons on my schedule.

  Quickly dressing in my uniform, I attempt to neaten my hair and put on my make-up. Just as I twist the cap on my mascara, a knock sounds from the door.

  Opening the door, the smell of cinnamon hits me, and my mouth waters, knowing they’ve made French toast. Sweet breakfasts are my favorite, and I love that they don’t attempt to make me eggs and bacon.

  Aiden smiles down at me, kissing my crown before stepping into the bathroom. “Go eat, beautiful, I’ll be ready in a few minutes, and we can head over to L.F.G.”

  “Okay,” I murmur, following the mouthwatering smell all the way to the kitchen. Just as I step through the doorway, Maverick places a fresh plate on the dining table.

  “Hey, petal. Eat. I’ve messaged Rafe and West, demanding some form of communication. If I get any response while you’re in class, I’ll come and find you.”

  I take a seat at the table, and he drops down beside me. “Thank you,” I mumble before takin
g a bite of my food.

  “Parker and Kai are also going to trail behind you for L.F.G. We know Reece is in there, and we want back up in case anything goes on.”

  My heart pauses at his words, my fork frozen midair. “Do you think he will?”

  “I honestly don’t know, Jessica. But what I do know is we will protect you no matter what, okay?” He squeezes my arm, offering me comfort, and I nod in understanding.

  I’m just ready and praying for all of this shit to be over. It’s like a never-ending loop of shit with Featherstone, and I feel I’m about done having my share.

  “You ready to go, Jess?” Aiden calls from the door, and I stuff my mouth with the last bite of my breakfast as I rise from the chair.

  Maverick shakes his head at me as I race to get my heels on, throwing my bag over my shoulder too, and I’m ready to go.

  “If anything at all happens, or you get any odd feelings, call me. I’ll meet you outside Combat when you make your way over, okay?”

  “Yeah.” Rising on my tiptoes, even with my heels on, I bring my lips to his. Loving the feel of his hands circling my waist.

  “I love you,” he whispers against my lips, and I love how my heart flips in my chest when he says those words to me.

  “I love you too.”

  “I love you three,” Aiden adds, kissing Maverick playfully on the cheek before pulling me out into the hallway.

  I can’t stop myself from glancing over my shoulder, watching Maverick watch us go. He remains at the door, even as the elevator doors close, and I blow him one final kiss.

  “Parker said they’re in the lobby waiting for us,” Aiden murmurs as he laces our fingers together, bringing them to his lips, and I already want to skip classes and get back here.

  Stepping into the lobby as the elevator doors open, Kai and Parker instantly stand from the leather sofas, worry evident in their eyes as much as it is in mine.

  “Still nothing?” I ask to be sure, and they nod in agreement.

  “Luna had them wear the tracking bracelets, and I can see they’re still moving at least, but no contact yet. We’ll get it though. It’s just taking a minute longer than we would like,” Kai answers as Parker pulls me into a side hug, and Aiden releases my hand.