Child of Recklessness (Trials of Strength Book 2)

by Matthew R. Bell

  ‘Nobody talked?’ I asked and she shook her head.

  Along the wall to my left was an assortment of objects. Stuffed toys, plastic keys, baby things, and in the middle of it all was a crib. I wandered over with my heart thumping my chest. Alex lay sound asleep, his little chest rising and falling with his breaths. Practically silent snores punctuated the air. I bent and lifted him carefully and hugged him to my chest.

  God I’d missed him.

  The Past

  I held Alex as tight as was possible without waking him. He seemed content, and I was glad that he wasn’t yet able to understand the world we lived in, and the situation we were stuck with. I slipped him back into his crib and joined Jessica at the long table across the room. She sat next to the pale blue light of the electric lantern, and it lit up her model-like features with a gloomy aura. I pulled out a chair, and took a seat.

  For a while neither of us said anything. We had lots to say though, and I hated the silence. But it felt like both of us had to catch our breaths. I’d died, and Brian and Jessica had been left wondering what the hell had happened to the three who had sprinted from the building.

  ‘Jessica, I can’t thank you enough,’ I said into the silence, keeping my voice low. ‘Brian, too. I shouldn’t have sprinted out of here like I did, but at the time I thought it was the right thing to do.’

  ‘You don’t have to apologise to me tough guy,’ Jess smirked. ‘Believe it or not, I understand. If I had been you in your position, trust me, I’d have done the same.’

  I returned her smile and she shrugged.

  ‘Only I’d have succeeded were your candy arse didn’t,’ she said.

  ‘I’ll take your word for it,’ I hit back.

  Another lapse of silence hit us.

  ‘How are we going to get them back?’ Jessica asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ I admitted, ‘but we will. Like I said, I’m not sure we know the big picture here. Before, it was simple. Hunt down my Dad and put him out of business. Then the government stepped up behind us, and we added getting them off our backs to the list of impossible things to accomplish.’

  ‘Well that’s one down,’ Jessica said smugly, ‘right? I mean, couple your Daddy’s notes with those video files and voila, instant and effective government repellent.’

  I nodded.

  ‘Now, we just have to break into a likely heavily fortified building headed by a super-powered psychopath,’ I sighed.

  ‘Yeah, but, we have our own powered badass,’ Jessica whispered, nudging my shoulder.

  My smile slipped from my face and I turned my head away. Jessica didn’t miss it. She followed me with narrowed eyes, and then bent forward and pulled my head back round.

  ‘What is it?’ she asked.

  I told her. I started with when I woke up, that my abilities felt like they were turning off and on, off and on. I told her how I’d managed to hold them long enough to punch a hole in my coffin and drag myself through the dirt and stones before they finally vanished. I finished with how they still hadn’t returned, and how I felt so-

  ‘-human?’ Jessica finished and laughed. ‘Welcome back to the club sunshine. You can’t be surprised. You died from a huge hole in your chest, got buried and then had to dig your way out. I’d say you overused your abilities. They’re probably tired the hell out.’

  I shook my head.

  ‘Anyway, I can’t focus on that,’ I replied. ‘Right now we need to get Anna and Chris back, and then we can plan what to do next.’

  ‘I agree,’ Jess said. ‘But there’s only the three of us left, and I don’t see Brian hefting a gun and charging into battle. That leaves him to look after Alex, and…’

  She left whatever she had been going to say unsaid, but I knew. She didn’t trust Brian, neither did I, but at that moment we didn’t have the time.

  ‘He touches even ¼ of one hair on his head,’ I growled, ‘and I will hunt him for the rest of his days.’

  ‘Make that hunt for two,’ Jessica nodded. ‘I’ll make him wish his father’s father hadn’t been born, let alone himself.’

  I looked at Jessica through the darkness, and saw the sheer determination, along with the connection she shared with Alex. I let my thoughts once again wonder what had made the cold-hearted assassin in front of me so protective of Anna and Alex. I had been so wrapped up in those thoughts that I didn’t realise I’d voiced the question out loud.

  Jessica scrutinised my face and stood abruptly. She slouched over to the wall of windows and stared down at the street. I sat stunned at my stupidity before pushing it aside. If I was going to rely on Jessica to help rescue Anna and Chris, then I had to put these questions to rest.

  ‘Jess,’ I whispered, ‘you’ve proven yourself to us. I mean, you did try and kill us, but after… Without you my son might have never made it into this world. Without you, even though he made it, he could have been whisked out of our arms before we could even blink. I will be eternally grateful and in your debt.

  ‘And if you need to, you can talk to me.’

  Jessica whirled with a face full of fury.

  ‘What the hell does my past have to do with you?’ she spat. ‘It isn’t enough that I stayed while you were dead, when I could have left?’

  I dropped my gaze and sighed.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ I said, cursing myself.

  To my surprise Jessica looked startled. She took a gulp of air and pinched the bridge of her nose before starting up a pace. She swung her arms while walking for a while, before finally stopping and returning to her seat.

  ‘Looks like you found my Achilles heel,’ she laughed mirthlessly.

  I remained silent and held her gaze. I waited for her to be ready, to work through what she needed.

  ‘I’m a lot like you, you know,’ she started. ‘We aren’t too dissimilar.’

  ‘How so?’ I whispered.

  ‘I wasn’t always the cold bitch I am today,’ Jessica replied and waved off any idea to the contrary I started to form. ‘Come on, I know what I am. I wouldn’t say I’m ecstatic with it, but I’ve made my peace. I made my bed and I will happily lay in it.’

  She swallowed and faced me.

  ‘I had a normal life once too,’ she said, ‘big shock right? I was happy, and doing what I wanted with my life. Ironic for me today, I was training to be a nurse.’

  ‘What happened?’ I said and went on to try and lighten the mood. ‘You’re saying you went from helping people to killing them?’

  Jess smirked and continued, ‘Yep. Let’s just say my life dove off the edge of crazy into insanity. It only takes one little thing, one tiny, almost insignificant mistake before your life gets destroyed.’

  ‘Tell me about it,’ I sighed.

  Jessica chuckled and ran her hands through her hair. She got up from her seat and walked back over to the windows. I decided to join her, and when I looked down at the vacant streets below us, I knew Jessica was reaching the hard part. I guessed she was right, we were similar. Both of us had gone through life changing events, and then both of us had buried them. It wasn’t a week ago I’d faced my own demons.

  ‘It might not seem like it,’ I told her, ‘but talking about it actually helps. You have to face it one day.’

  ‘Shut up,’ Jess replied without cruelty, ‘I’m bloody getting there big mouth.’

  She sighed.

  ‘I went out with the girls one night,’ she said. ‘Just one night that should have been like any other, and like a twisted love story that was about to go twistedly wrong, I met a guy. It wasn’t just any guy. Chalk it to alcohol or just a crazy girl in her youth but, it was like the world stopped.’

  ‘When was this night?’ I asked trying to set up a timeline.

  ‘Five years ago,’ Jessica said, ‘and before you insult a lady by asking her age, I’m twenty-six.’

  ‘I would never insult you by calling you a lady,’ I retorted.

  Jessica gave a genuine laugh and punched my arm. I winced and that
set her off. Once she’d shushed herself she continued.

  ‘Well, without all the sentimental bullshit, that guy and I ended up back at mine,’ she said. ‘Then so forth with the sex,’ I grimaced, ‘and then that one night stand was done.’

  ‘But it wasn’t over,’ I stated, and she nodded.

  ‘The hell it was,’ Jess spat, ‘like I said, one silly mistake; one lapse of judgement and two weeks later I find out I’m pregnant.’

  I didn’t push her when she’d stopped. I could feel the tension that emanated from her posture, and even though I didn’t dare voice it to her, I could feel her fear. The way she said she had become pregnant had been loaded with emotion, and her forehead crumpled as her eyes shot down. She clasped her hands around her front, and started pulling at her fingers.

  ‘I was actually happy,’ she whispered. ‘It might have been a one night stand, but, the moment I found out, I wasn’t disappointed or scared. It had been the best moment of my life. I’d always wanted a baby, and even though I was still on the younger side, I knew I would do anything for her.’

  ‘The baby was a she?’ I smiled sadly.

  Jessica’s smile pulled at the corners, but she looked me in the eye.

  ‘Yeah,’ she gasped and gulped at the air. She cleared her throat. ‘Yeah, I was gonna have a little girl. I was around the five month mark. I’d even picked her out a name.’

  ‘What was it?’ I whispered.

  ‘Penny,’ Jessica replied, her eyes alight with love. ‘My little Penny…’

  Her hands stopped fidgeting and they shot to her eyes to staunch the tears before they fell. Part of me regretted asking her for her answers. I could feel a despicable climax coming.

  ‘If I cry I’ll be tying you up and kicking you where the sun doesn’t shine,’ Jessica stuttered, ‘and trust me, it won’t be your arse.’

  I remained silent as she steadied herself.

  ‘My family were fantastic, they were just as excited as I was,’ she said. ‘Then my best friend Tania decided to try and find the father. I wasn’t expecting anything from him, but I thought it best just to let him know that he was going to have a daughter, just in case he did want to be a part of her life.

  ‘Tania still had pictures from our night out, and she posted them on Facebook. We hunted and hunted for him, but we couldn’t find him. We left the pictures up, and let it be. But a few weeks after we started, a man broke into my flat, and stuck a knife in my stomach.’

  I gasped and grimaced. I turned away from the window and edged closer to Alex, asleep in his crib. It wasn’t that he was in any danger, but my parental instinct drove me to his side. Jessica watched with the shadow of a smile on her face, before finally, the emotion overwhelmed her and she clutched at her stomach. Tears broke free and made their way down her face, and her mouth crumpled as she fell to her knees.

  I thought about comforting her, maybe joining her on the floor, but sense told me better. Jessica was tough, independent, she wouldn’t accept my pity kindly, and I didn’t want her to feel worse.

  ‘It was him, one night stand guy,’ Jessica spat. ‘He didn’t even say anything, just twisted the blade he gutted me with deeper into my stomach.

  ‘I pleaded with him, begged him for the sake of our daughter, but his face was stone. He didn’t give a fuck!’

  She pushed herself to her feet and clenched her fists. She looked ready to murder.

  ‘The next thing I knew I was in hospital. A neighbour heard the break-in and called the police,’ Jessica whispered. ‘I was lucky. They were able to save me.

  ‘But they couldn’t save my baby.’

  Jessica slouched over to the table again and sank into her seat. I had no idea what to do, so I remained upright next to my son. I swallowed, and tried to keep my own tears at bay. Jessica gave herself a shake, wiped the water from her face and then set her features in a clenched expression. When she spoke again, her tone was clipped and icy.

  ‘I was in the hospital for a while, and even though they tried, the doctors couldn’t help,’ Jess said. ‘Not only had that bastard killed my unborn baby, I’ll never be able to have kids again thanks to him.’

  A shuffling by the door brought both Jessica’s and my own head snapping in that direction. Brian stood in the open doorway, his face dark and depressed. I hadn’t realised how tired and decrepit he looked. The bags under his eyes had black bags of their own, and his face sagged inwards, as if he hadn’t eaten or slept the whole time I’d been buried underground. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been stood there for, but judging by the shine in his eyes, he’d heard the majority of Jessica’s story.

  The assassin looked furious at the intrusion, but she held her tongue. It was too late to go back. The story had to be finished.

  ‘It was at the same time I found out my killer had also targeted my entire family, plus Tania,’ Jessica resumed. ‘He’d fucking killed them all. I passed into a state of shock and fury, and it was then that a woman approached me. I believe you met her, she has a fondness for violet.’

  ‘Bonnie?’ I asked.

  So, Jessica did know the illustrious violet assassin.

  ‘Yeah,’ Jess replied. ‘So to make this long story short, Bonnie helped me. She became my deadly guardian angel. The guy I’d slept with was from a rival agency of killers. Getting me pregnant wasn’t an issue, but Tania and I searching for him broke a rule. Assassins are supposed to be incognito. No should be able to find us, all of our previous life gets erased. When we started plastering my one night stand’s picture all over the internet he was ordered to fix it.’

  ‘So Bonnie was an assassin?’ I asked, but I’d already had the suspicion she was.

  It made sense, and further cemented our reasoning about the government’s plans. They hadn’t intervened in Greystone because they hoped it would have been a success, and it had. So Bonnie, working for our friends in power, tried to sample my blood and put me in the ground.

  ‘Yep, she trained me, removed me from the world,’ Jessica said. ‘I mean everyone I knew was dead so it wasn’t hard. She helped me hunt the bastard down, and I drove a knife into his gut. Only I made sure he was truly dead.’

  I watched as Jessica’s shoulders sagged. I remembered the feeling. The weight of all of what we’d held on to for so long lifting like wisps of smoke and vanishing into the air. It answered that long standing question of why she instantly bonded with both Anna and Alex, of how she became so protective over them, and of how she joined our side because of her number one rule. She would never, ever, harm a child.

  There was no way, even being the person she was, that Jessica Reed would ever inflict the pain she had been dealt to another person.

  ‘So when I said I understood your choice, Lucas, I meant it,’ Jess whispered. ‘We’ve both been down that dark road. Both been faced with that choice, hung over that cliff. Only I know I choose wrong, even though if I had to go back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I accept what I am.’

  I nodded and took the seat beside her. I reached out my hand to place it on her shoulder but she batted it away, and that cold, calculated smile replaced itself on her lips.

  ‘Any of you two breathe a word of me in this state to anyone,’ Jess said, ‘and I’ll kill you.’

  I laughed and even heard the broken Brian by the door chuckle.

  ‘I take it threatening to murder people is your way of coping,’ I smirked.

  ‘Only I’m not afraid to follow through with it,’ she retorted, deadly serious.

  Alex stirred and his eyes fluttered opened. He stared around the dark room before his eyes settled on me. I smiled as my heart filled with warmth, and got up and walked over. I lifted him from his crib and asked Jessica if he needed fed. She left the room, while Brian wandered over to the desk and sat down. I watched him carefully, but he didn’t look in a murderous mood like he had when his father had just died. Jess returned not long after, and then tested the bottle before handing it to me.

  We all hung in the s
ilence as I placed the bottle to Alex’s lips and he gurgled hungrily, sucking on the bottle with all his might.

  ‘It’s my turn for an answer,’ Jessica finally said and I faced her with my eyebrows raised.

  ‘Anything,’ I replied.

  ‘Bonnie,’ she sighed. ‘Is she dead?’

  I nodded but held her gaze.

  ‘Did you kill her?’ she asked.

  ‘No,’ I replied.

  Jessica nodded and took a seat. I finished feeding Alex, and then changed him. Before I knew it he had clocked back out, shut his eyes and travelled back to the realm of dreams. I hoped with all my heart he was having good dreams, whatever kind they were to an infant.

  ‘So,’ Jessica said after she drew a breath of air, ‘you guys got any horrible pasts?’

  I shook my head, but Brian shocked us, even Jessica, who’d asked the question.

  ‘I killed my Mum,’ he whispered.

  ‘Alright?’ Jessica said.

  ‘Well, she died giving birth to me,’ Brian elaborated quickly. ‘That’s sort of the basis for why I’m good at what I do.’

  ‘How so?’ I asked, genuinely intrigued.

  ‘When she died, my Dad didn’t handle it too well. He broke. He didn’t turn to drugs right enough, but he was destroyed,’ Brian whispered. His eyes stared out the window, but they were glazed, as if he was somewhere else. ‘He lost his job, we had to move. For years we struggled to make ends meet. Eventually things got really bad. Our landlord was ready to kick us out and we hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days, so I was desperate.’

  ‘What happened?’ Jessica asked.

  ‘I, um, stole a lady’s laptop in our building,’ Brian said and blushed, as if it was the worst thing he’d ever done. ‘I’d always been pretty good with computers, and I impressed my teachers at school. So I booted the laptop up, and well, perfected my ability to get money.’

  ‘Ah,’ I said. Brian’s affinity for anything technological still had me awestruck.

  ‘Once our lives became more stable, my Dad perked up a little,’ Brian smiled as the memory crossed his mind. ‘It was like dawn after a long night. Dad got a job, and I stopped stealing.’