Justus

by Madison Stevens

  Paige popped into the kitchen window and gave a little wave. He smiled warmly at her as she continued her preparation for dinner. He liked that she enjoyed cooking, even more so that he was the special person that got to see this side of her. It meant so much, signaled so much.

  Justus frowned at the memory of the men searching the house and their comments about Reverend John and training her. He’d be damned if that psychotic bastard got ahold of her. He was dangerous in a way maybe even the Horatius Group wasn’t.

  Justus saw now John didn’t just hate the hybrids. There was something more to it. Something had twisted in his brain, or maybe he was always twisted. But it was obvious that the man would do all sorts of evil to both humans and hybrids. He claimed he was doing it for his religion, but Justus suspected the man would have found whatever convenient excuse he needed. Maybe he didn’t even believe in what he spouted and said it only to convince his followers.

  Justus pulled out a card from the back pocket of a pair of jeans Paige had been able to find in her sister’s closet. They smelled like cheap cologne and cigarettes, but it was better than wearing sweats all the time.

  The bold letters in Luna Lodge stood out.

  He had been thinking more and more about calling. Though he was still furious with Titus, the situation was getting strange and dangerous. It wouldn’t be long before he and Paige were in over his head, and that was assuming the Group didn’t get wind of a hybrid outside the protection of the lodge. What would he do if a half-dozen Glycons showed up in the middle of the night? Would he be able to protect Paige?

  Justus shook his head. He would wait until he knew more. No sense in calling until he could at least level the playing field. Even if Titus didn’t try and throw him back in a cell, he didn’t like the idea of being under the man’s thumb.

  Now that he wasn’t starving in the woods, he was finding freedom rather addictive. Maybe if he could deal with John, he and Paige would be able to stay under the Group’s radar.

  “Dinner’s almost ready,” Paige called out the window.

  He quickly slipped the card back into his pocket and nodded.

  Justus looked around. An alert would give them time. That was enough for now. They had an immediate threat, and they’d deal with that.

  When he stepped inside, his stomach growled at the rich, meaty smell of roasted beef and vegetables.

  He sat down at the table and watched as Paige moved quickly around the kitchen. She dished some of the roast and sides and placed them in front of him. He almost wanted to laugh, remembering when he was still surviving off of bad rabbit and a handful of forest plants.

  Justus breathed in deeply and smiled. When he opened his eyes, he found Paige sitting across from him, watching with great interest.

  Paige waited with anticipation. Though he’d never had anything but good things to say about her food, seeing him enjoying it filled her with warmth.

  He cut off a little meat and forked it into his mouth. His eyes rolled back, and he sighed.

  “I’ve never tasted anything so good,” he groaned and shoveled in more.

  Paige smiled at him. His comments made her happy, but she realized after a second, he might not just be exaggerating. His life had been tough in a way she couldn’t begin to imagine. Having dead-beat parents was still better than being a lab rat for the depraved Horatius Group.

  “Was it hard?” she asked casually. “Your life before?” Mostly they had avoided talking about the past. When they were happy, what was the point of bringing up something sad?

  Justus paused mid-bite. He looked at her, his amber eyes searching for something, before he nodded and placed his fork down.

  “I was trained as an assassin,” he said finally.

  Paige raised a brow in surprise.

  “The training was strict and that included my eating,” he said and took another bite. “Food was to sustain us, nothing more, nothing less. They didn’t care about us enjoying anything. We did what they told us to because the only other choice was torture or death.”

  A shudder ran through her. People called the hybrids abominations, but the men and women who ran the Horatius Group were the true monsters.

  “When I wouldn’t execute a Vestal they had failed to bond, they sent me to Vanessa,” he said.

  “Vanessa?” Paige blinked. She’d not heard the name before. Despite the seriousness of the conversation, jealousy pricked her heart. She did her best to ignore it as any woman who was with the Group was someone who’d abused him, not someone he loved.

  “The Group is obsessed with second-generation hybrids. Vestals are important to that. She was experimenting.”

  His face took on a far-off look as he continued his story. “She tried to force a bond with all the hybrids they had given her. But it was Felix who paid the price.”

  “Who’s Felix?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “He was with me and some others. She tried to force the bond with him, thought she even had succeeded. But it doesn’t work that way. We’re not meant for just anyone. It was slowly killing him.” He balled his hands into fists. “He only didn’t die from it because he sacrificed himself to help the rest of us escape.”

  Paige was silent for a moment, sad for the life he’d been forced to live. When she looked up, he was staring at her.

  “What does it mean to be bonded?” she asked quietly, though already sure that she knew it deep inside. “I thought you said it just meant like being a couple.”

  He stared hard at her, then shook his head.

  “No, it’s so much more than that. Not like being a couple or even being married. A Vestal and hybrid are made for one another,” he said. “When they are together, they are bonded, body, mind and spirit. They become two halves of the whole.”

  The room was quiet for a moment, and she shivered under his stare.

  Bonded. The word rang true to her. Justus was it. It was crazy to think about. Logic told her that wasn’t the case, but her heart was a different matter. She’d never been so consumed with the thoughts of a man like she was with Justus, never felt so comfortable.

  The chime of her phone cut into her thoughts, and Paige jumped up to answer it.

  She frowned at the number. It was the hospital. Maybe it was the committee. Though she didn’t even know if she cared anymore about her job there.

  “Hello?”

  “Paige,” Lena whispered over the line. “Oh thank God. Something is going on.”

  Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. They had found out, and now her friend was being tossed out.

  “What is—” Paige began.

  “I have to be quick,” Lena said, cutting her off. She said something else, but a crackling static blocked it.

  “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

  “I think they know. They mentioned your name. There are all sorts of men here and some guy everyone keeps calling the Reverend. He’s a burn victim, I think, and I kind of recognize him from somewhere, but I can’t quite place him.”

  “Hide,” Paige said into the phone.

  More static disrupted the line. What a time for her stupid cell phone company to be lame.

  “What?” Lena said.

  “Hide,” Paige repeated urgently.

  Justus stood beside her, listening and nodding at her words. She always forgot just how good hybrid hearing was.

  “Hide? Who are these…” More static crackled.

  “Listen, Lena,” Paige began, “you need to—”

  The line went dead. She looked up at Titus. She tried calling back, but no one answered.

  She bit her lip and shook her head. “Do you think she’s okay?”

  “Maybe. If she’s smart, she’ll play along with them. But if they aren’t bothering to hide, that means there are ready to make a move. And we both know where they’re going next.” Justus held out his hand. “Give me the phone.”

  She watched as he pulled out a card from his pocket and dialed the number written on it. />
  “Get Titus,” he said sharply into the phone. “Tell him it’s Justus and shit is about to hit the fan.”

  Paige watched, swallowing as Justus waited on the phone. After a good thirty seconds of waiting, she heard someone over the phone and a frown appeared on Justus’s face.

  “I don’t have time for bullshit, Titus. Something’s about to go down with Reverend John.” He snorted at something said over the line. “Well, you should have checked to make sure his ass was dead then.” He paused, listening. “I can’t call the sheriff. He’s one of them.” Another pause followed. “You know where I am. I don’t like you, but if you want to prove you’re better than the Group, this is your chance.” After another long wait, the phone call ended, and he nodded to Paige.

  “Will he help?” she asked.

  “Have to be here to help.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  He handed her the phone back. “If John’s on the move, then he’s a lot closer to us than Titus.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Justus motioned toward the back door. “You need to go before the rest of John’s men arrive. The two fools watching the place probably won’t make a move until everyone else shows up. And they aren’t watching the back.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not leaving.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  At a time like this, why did she have to be so frustrating? Justus tried ushering Paige to the back door. She didn’t budge.

  “You can hide in the back, in the field in the grass near the trees.”

  “I’m not hiding.”

  “We don’t have time for this,” he said. Anger and worry laced his voice, but there was little he could do to control it.

  She stood firm, not moving even a little toward the door.

  Every instinct in him said to just toss her over his shoulder and make a run for it, but he knew they’d hunt them. They were outmanned and outgunned. If he was going to stand a chance at walking out of here, he was going to have to stand and fight like he was trained. He’d need to unleash the beast.

  “I’m not going,” she said to him and sat in the chair. “We go together, or we stay and fight together, but I’m not leaving you.”

  He got on his knees in front of her and pulled her into a crushing hug. The pain from what could happen was eating him up. She couldn’t be there. It was too dangerous but more than that. He didn’t want her to see him as the predator he was trained to be.

  “I can’t lose you. Not now,” he whispered. A lump caught in his throat, and he tried hard to control his emotions.

  Paige wrapped her arms around him, and he breathed in her sweet smell.

  “You won’t,” she said quietly and pulled back to look at him. “But I can’t leave not knowing if you’ll be safe.”

  He stared at her. The sounds of clanking cans and wind chimes reached his ears.

  “They’re coming. Go to the field,” he said quickly. “I’ll buy us some time and meet you there.”

  She stared at him for a moment before standing.

  “You’re not going to be an idiot and sacrifice yourself, right?”

  Justus grinned at her. Even in the face of danger, Paige was as blunt as ever.

  “No way I’m letting these guys take me down,” he said. “They got lucky before. This time they won’t. And why would I die when I have so many reasons to stick around?”

  Paige stepped forward and pressed a hard kiss to his lips. He held her for a moment, not wanting to let her go but knowing there was no other way.

  When she pulled away, she nodded.

  “Give them hell,” she said and ran out the back door.

  He watched as she disappeared into the tall grass of the field. Even if it was brittle and brown from the weather, it was still better than nothing. If anything, she should be safe from any stray bullets if she stayed low.

  Justus ran back to the window in the living room and then opened the front door for a better look. The cloud of dust from the cars billowed along the gravel drive. He watched as they pulled up out front of the house and waited as one by one the dozen cars filled to the brim with townsfolk stopped outside.

  He gritted his teeth. He’d been expecting them to show in force, but not this many people. Even with his hybrid abilities, this was going to be a difficult battle.

  There was no running now, not that he wanted to. He’d been itching for this fight since that bastard John first stepped foot in this house, acting like Paige was his play thing. No one treated his woman like that. He’d finish the bastard off. He’d succeed where the hybrids of Luna Lodge failed.

  He could feel the deadly calm as it settled over him.

  Today he wouldn’t hold back. Today, they would see what a hybrid was in action. They thought he was some sort of monster. He’d show them the damn monster.

  Justus watched as Reverend John stepped out of the car he was in, his thugs close behind.

  “Send out the seed of Satan, and this all ends here, Paige,” John shouted at the door. “We know he’s there. We even know you helped him, but all can be forgiven. There’s always forgiveness in God’s heart for repentant…human sinners.”

  Justus snorted. The man certainly had a flair for the dramatics.

  “I’m afraid Paige isn’t home right now,” he shouted back from the open door.

  He watched from his vantage point as the man’s burned face contorted in rage.

  “You!” Flecks of spit shot from his mouth as he shook with rage. “You’ve tainted a good woman with your evil, abomination.”

  Justus rolled his eyes.

  “But worse than that,” John continued. “Your kind is a spiritual cancer. You’re not satisfied until you’ve corrupted everything about you.”

  “What are you going on about, you maniac?”

  Justus frowned as a small woman was pulled from the back of the car. She was wearing the same blue scrubs he’d seen Paige in and knew instantly who the woman was.

  “Please,” the woman pleaded to the men that held her. “I didn’t do anything.”

  Reverend John turned and glared at her. “You aided the hand of Satan.” He sneered. “Lena, you aided the Devil’s minions without even them using their infernal ways to charm you.” He shook his head. “You’re just a traitor to all the righteous and elect.”

  The poor woman shook as he stepped closer.

  “And now you must pay for your sins.”

  * * *

  Paige crouched and walked the line of the tall grass, waiting for something, anything that might tell her what was going on. She was too far to hear much of anything where she stood and cursed the fact the tall grass didn’t grow closer to the house. She was only grateful the wild grasses of the field grew as tall as they did.

  She could just make out John as he stood on the other side of the car and wondered who he was yelling at. She had been certain just a moment ago he was talking with Justus, but he was now facing away from the house.

  Maybe someone around had objected. She could only hope that the people of the town came to their senses. Paige had no idea what had come over them. Even with the hybrids moving close to the town, other than a few protests at the beginning, they’d been all right. People were quiet and kept to themselves. They’d never really given her any trouble at all. What had injected all this recent insanity into them?

  She stepped forward slightly when John moved back to the front of the car and gasped in horror.

  “Lena,” she whispered.

  She jumped when something rustled to the right of her and peered through the grass. She prayed for a rabbit.

  A small foot came into view, and she stepped back as it moved toward her.

  A middle-age woman her sister had worked with at the bank parted through the grass, and Paige let out a sigh.

  “Oh thank God,” she said. “I’m so glad to see you, Megan. Maybe you can help—”

  Her words were cut off a
s Megan reached out and snatched her arm.

  Paige struggled in the hold.

  “What are you…”

  The words hung in the air as she looked at the other woman. Her eyes were glazed over much like what she’d seen in the market. The woman moved with purpose but didn’t seem to be aware of anything going on around her.

  “I’m sorry,” Paige said and pushed hard against the other woman.

  Megan fell hard on the ground and would likely be bruised, but she’d live.

  Something else rustled on the other side.

  Her heart pounding, Paige rushed through the grass. The more the grass moved, the more she knew that there were others like Megan out there in the field, waiting for her to come along. Whatever was happening was related to what happened in the store, but she couldn’t think how. What good would a bunch of townspeople be to getting rid of the hybrids?

  Somehow this seemed a bit too sophisticated for John and his men.

  Her heart hammered in her throat. The Horatius Group? The last time she’d dealt with them, men had died all around her. They had no regard for human life.

  Paige yelped as a hand reached out from the grass and grabbed ahold of her leg. She looked down at the small child and nearly cried. This was wrong. How was she supposed to fight a child?

  Another hand grabbed her arm, this time from a much larger man. His fingers dug into her wrist as she struggled to pull away. When another hand grabbed the other wrist, she knew it was over.

  * * *

  Justus stared in horror as they marched Lena forward. The small nurse cried and trembled.

  “Let her go,” he said and stepped onto the porch, shotgun pointed right at John. “This is between you and me.”

  John gave a sick smile as his men scrambled to get out their own guns. Justus didn’t waiver. He would shoot that bastard dead if he laid one hand on the innocent woman.

  “This jezebel will be punished for her sins,” he said. He grinned and tilted his head to the side, looking toward the back of the house. “Looks like she’ll have company.”