by Lora Leigh
Cord might have been giving the appearance of a man who didn’t give a damn, but the raging pain and fury building in his eyes told another story. Still, it was no excuse, and Jazz wouldn’t let it go. Cord should have never betrayed her then dared to walk into her home and say something so ignorant to her.
“The day isn’t over yet, Cord,” Jazz promised him as Kenni’s expression paled and pain darkened her green eyes. “Not by a long shot.”
CHAPTER 18
Getting Kenni to sit down and actually sit still long enough to check the swelling in her face wasn’t easy. For some reason she felt the need to pace. As she’d done so, she’d glared at her brother and cousin, as well as the two men Cord had brought into the Kin from the team he’d fought with in the military.
John T and Axe, and that was all most people knew them by. Reserved, loners for the most part, but pure hell in a fight and they watched Cord’s back whenever needed. Jazz knew he should have expected Cord to bring them in. That was a serious oversight on his part.
“You okay?” Jazz touched the bruise rapidly darkening and swelling further on the side of Kenni’s face.
“I’m fine,” she muttered, throwing a glare over his shoulder at Cord. “He just had to tell them, didn’t he?”
The betrayal she felt wouldn’t be easily wiped away. He’d figured that out in the beginning. That one piece of information, her identity, she felt endangered her family too much to reveal until her mother’s killer was found. By revealing it and bringing the men he’d revealed it to into the house, he’d sliced at her sense of security, the small amount of safety she’d tried to find in Jazz’s arms.
Gently, he pressed the ice pack he had with him to her face. “He trusts them with his life, Kenni. And unfortunately, he’s right. You and Gunny against the Kin going out after you, over and over again, made both of you weak. Neither of you was to blame, though, I promise you that.”
Uncertainty shadowed her eyes, haunted them. The tears she kept trapped in her soul darkened the emerald color and filled them with a pain so deep, it went far beyond what she obviously revealed in her face.
“He should have at least asked first.” The betrayal refused to abate, and Jazz couldn’t blame her a bit. He just understood it.
That didn’t mean he was going to forgive it, just that he understood it.
Kenni didn’t much care at the moment, though. Slade and Zack had taken Phoenix to the basement and that left no one to expend her anger on.
She tried to rise from her seat again.
“Come on, Kenni, sit here with me for a minute,” he told her firmly, placing the ice pack on the side of her face again. “Let’s see if we can help the swelling here.”
“I need to check on Squirrel…” She actually made it to her feet this time.
“Squirrel is fine.” Rising, he looped his arm around her waist as she tried to move past him. “You’re going to sit right down here.” He pushed her back into the chair. “And let all that lovely adrenaline racing through you begin to crash so we can contain it.”
Kneeling in front of her again, he watched her closely as Cord’s men moved around the kitchen.
“What are they still doing here?” She glared at them. “He needs to take them and leave.”
“And you need to sit still and hold that ice pack to your face,” he ordered, wondering if anything could get through to her and her need to release the fury pounding through her.
Rising, he turned to drag another chair over to the side of the table when he felt her move again.
“I’ve had enough of this!” Jumping from her chair Kenni stalked to the steel barrier holding the puppies outside.
Squirrel was howling in outrage at the sight of her, his head tilted back like a wolf as he formed a perfect little O with canine lips. It would have been cute under other circumstances.
“Not yet, Kenni.” Jazz caught her before she reached the barrier. “There are too many strangers here for Marcus and Essie to be comfortable with the babies romping around them.”
She hadn’t considered that. The remorse on her face was as clear as the shock and pain.
“I have to get out of here, Jazz.” She rubbed at her arms, her pale face almost white now as she stared up at him beseechingly. “I can’t just sit here.”
She was going to explode at this rate, he knew.
“Come on, I’ll take you upstairs then.” Maybe a few minutes alone, without strangers moving around her, would help settle her down. God knew he could use a few minutes himself.
“Escaping, is she?” Cord drawled from behind them then. “I should have known that one was coming.”
Jazz almost cursed as Kenni froze for a second before turning to face her brother and cousin.
“You know how he gets, Kenni,” Banyon said with a grimace. “He’s worse than a damned kid at a candy store when blood is spilling.”
“Don’t waste your time, Banyon. Kenni doesn’t believe in letting family in any more. She’s going to protect us all, ya know,” Cord drawled from the kitchen doorway.
Lifting the cup of coffee he’d helped himself to he sipped at it lazily before tilting it in her direction in mock acknowledgment.
“And you’re a moron,” she snapped. “Someone should have neutered you at birth to halt the testosterone development.”
A mocking smile tilted his lips. “Too late now.”
“Like hell. One day someone’s gonna show you different with the sharp edge of a good knife,” she guessed. “I want to be there when they do.”
“Little girl, that’s not a day you’ll ever see,” he assured her, still laughing. “Hell, Kenni, you’re so damned good at running I don’t expect you to stick around past fall now.”
She smirked back at him. “Oh, I’ll still be here, Cord Maddox, if for no other reason than to prove you wrong.”
He sipped at his coffee again, his expression thoughtful.
“Don’t do it, Cord,” Banyon muttered. “Jazz will retaliate.”
“Come on, Banyon, what’s there to retaliate over?” Cord mocked. “A sister who cut us out of her life ten years ago? I should have figured out why I couldn’t find her all those years. It was because she didn’t want to be found.”
“Finally figured that out, did you?” she asked painfully, rising from the chair as Jazz straightened in front of her. “Took you a while, didn’t it, Cord.”
As she turned her back on them and left the kitchen, she would have been surprised had she seen Banyon’s and Deacon’s expressions, Jazz thought. Not that either of them said a word.
And honestly, Jazz had had enough of it. This picking and poking at Kenni by Cord, Deacon, or whoever else decided they didn’t agree with her decisions was going to stop.
And it was stopping right here.
Turning to where Slade and Zack stepped from the basement, Jazz waved them out to the back porch. Cord would know better than to accept an invitation outside by Jazz. That left good old-fashioned trickery.
Not that Slade or Zack stupid. But whether they agreed or not, they would still help.
As Jazz moved to the back porch, Slade and Zack moved to each side of him.
The screen door hadn’t even closed when Cord pushed out of it, glaring at Jazz when he moved around him to face him.
“Trying to hide something, Lancing?” he snarled.
Jazz smiled complacently before delivering an uppercut that lifted the other man from his feet, throwing him back over the steps and to the grass in the yard.
And he wasn’t finished with Cord Maddox, either.
* * *
Fuck!
What just exploded in his head?
And why the hell were rainbows twisting and screwing one another across his vision. Those freaky lights were scaring the shit out of him. Especially as he felt himself being hauled to his feet.
Swaying, Cord gave what he hoped was a hard shake of his head.
Okay, they were going away now. No more weird rainbows.<
br />
Reaching up and gripping his jaw, he worked it slowly as he focused on the man in front of him.
“Jazz?” He stumbled just a little before Jazz caught him. “Thanks, man,” he muttered, shook his head again, then frowned up at him. “Jazz, did you just fucking hit me?” He had to blink again to chase away more rainbows.
Amazement filled Jazz’s features.
“Cord, I just helped you up, man.” He sounded pleasant enough. “Here, let me see what you’ve done to your face.”
Cord dropped his hand from his jaw.
Hell exploded in his abdomen then. His stomach was shoved clear to his throat with a whole lot of help from Jazz’s fist. Before he could catch his breath Jazz delivered another iron-bitch fist to his jaw and Cord was sure something broke this time.
He slammed into the side of the porch.
Ah fuck.
Shit. Dammit.
His legs went limp. Cord felt himself slide down the wall supporting the porch until his ass hit grass.
Fuck.
Jazz’s fists had only gotten harder over the years.
He might actually puke. Maybe Jazz ruptured his stomach?
“Get up!” Jazz demanded furiously.
Hell no. That shit wasn’t happening. Those freaky-ass rainbows scared him.
“Tell Kenni some bullshit like that again now,” Jazz snapped. “Next time I’ll break your face.”
“It’s the truth. She has to stop running.” Cord coughed, barely managing to hold his breakfast down.
“Maddox, you wouldn’t know the truth if it dry-fucked your ass,” Jazz sneered. “You stupid fucker. You’re so damned blind it amazes me you’re still able to walk.”
Cord stumbled to his feet, wondering where the hell Banyon had run off to.
“You’re too blinded by lust to see what’s right in front of you.” Cord stumbled against the porch, keeping a wary eye on Jazz. “You’re going to lose her if you keep babying her.”
Jazz took a step closer.
“Dammit, Jazz, you hit me again and we’re going to have problems,” Cord warned him, slurring a bit.
Damn, his face hurt.
“Get off my property and stay off!” The order sounded serious.
Hell, Jazz sounded serious. Jazz had never thrown Kin off his property, no matter their disagreements. And there had been a few over the years. Pop would be pissed over it, but once he found out it happened after Cord learned Kenni was alive and living with Jazz, then he just might throw Cord out of the clan for a while as he’d threatened ten years ago.
That just wouldn’t do. Not at all.
Cord tried to laugh but shit, it hurt. “Come on, Jazz, we’re going to figure out what the hell is going on here and then we’re going to kick some ass. Kenni’s going to be fine.”
Jazz moved for him again.
“Hit me again, Jazz, and I swear to God I’ll turn into the best brother she’s ever imagined having and talk her home before you’ve realized what happened,” he swore. “Go ahead, test me on it.”
* * *
Jazz paused.
The problem was, he was pretty certain Cord could do it. He wasn’t nearly so confident that she belonged to him totally yet.
“When you two are finished posturing, we might need to talk.” Slade broke the stare-off he and Cord were having.
Turning his head, Jazz met the other man’s gaze, frowning at the icy rage in Slade’s eyes.
“Phoenix talk already?” Jazz questioned him. He hadn’t expected that.
“You and Cord need to come to the basement,” Slade informed him. “We came upstairs to get the two of you before you decided to try your fists out on his face. Phoenix is refusing to talk unless Cord’s willing to make a deal with him first.”
The Maddox Clan was notorious for not making deals. What Phoenix had done was a killing offense and one that no order had to go out on. Every Kin, in every state, would be gunning for him if he was seen.
“I’m always willing to talk.” Cord shrugged.
He knew what Jazz knew. It wouldn’t matter what Cord promised, the Kin would carry out the sentence. It was a check-and-balance system designed to ensure that certain laws within the Clan were never broken. The murder of a Clan member being rather high on the list. Phoenix should be aware of that and if he wasn’t, then Cord wasn’t required to inform him of it.
Moving stiffly, the elder Maddox limped back to the porch, and Jazz couldn’t help but let a mocking smile tug at his lips. He may act as though the fight hadn’t fazed him but his face looked like a bull had kicked it and he wasn’t moving easily. It would be a while before he forgot what it meant to piss Jazz off now.
Moving through the house, Jazz paused long enough to give Marcus and Essie the order to join Kenni in the bedroom.
A heavy steel door secured the basement from the upstairs while another secured it from the outside entrance. Locking both doors ensured Phoenix stayed where Slade and Zack had left him. Of course, the hard nylon wrist and ankle restraints helped ensure he didn’t escape.
Slouched in a hardwood chair, he sat morosely between the shelves of camping supplies on one side and several antique desks and sideboards on the other. In front of him Slade and Zack had pulled two chairs over to old wooden worktable Jazz sometimes used when repairing household appliances or lamps.
Moving to the table, Cord perched on a corner and stared back at Phoenix through one bloodshot eye. The other had already swollen closed.
“Jazz hits hard, huh?” Phoenix remarked despondently, more for something to say than anything else.
“What kind of deal do you want, Phoenix?” Cord wasn’t wasting any time on the other man.
Phoenix must have expected that, though, because he didn’t protest, just gave a small nod of his head before breathing in roughly.
“I know I’m dying as soon as I’m off Lancing’s property,” he stated without inflection. “I just want you to make sure I’m buried next to Colby. He was my twin. We’ve never been separated. I don’t want to be separated from him now.”
Cord just stared at him. Evidently, such sentiment from a man willing to kill another’s sister was a little hard to take in. Jazz knew it had shocked the crap out of him.
“Fine, I’ll bury both of you in the same hole, how’s that, Weston?” he finally snapped. “If you know who’s behind this and you have proof. Otherwise, I’ll have you buried on opposite ends of the planet. You got it?”
“I have proof,” he promised. “I told Colby we couldn’t trust her and he wouldn’t listen, but he helped me get proof, just in case. I have several meetings recorded and pictures of her killing Kin herself. I have everything you need. I swear.”
“Where is it?” Cord wasn’t taking chances.
“On the chain.” He lifted his neck to display a heavy gold chain with a small silver-and-black pendant. “The pendant slides open on the back. There’s a computer chip there. It has everything.”
“Convenient,” Cord murmured as Jazz moved to the other man and with a quick jerk of his hand snapped the chain from his neck.
Turning the pendant backward he saw the small catch that held the back on and released it. In it lay a small black micro SD card.
“Get Kenni,” Cord suggested. “Have her bring the laptop. She has a right to hear this.”
Turning, Jazz nodded to Slade to go after Kenni.
As Slade turned and moved quickly to the stairs, he turned back to Phoenix. “How did you get past my security?”
“She had one of the devices that overrides the security codes,” he answered, his voice thick with the tears that dripped down his face now. “She gave it to Colby and told him to make sure he returned it by this evening. She’ll be waiting for him.”
“Where?” Cord rasped, the rough tone of his voice a sound that assured a man death was coming soon.
Phoenix flinched.
“You’ll know once Kenni brings the laptop. You’ll know where to go.”
G
lancing over at Jazz, Cord gave a brief nod as they waited.
Minutes later Slade escorted Kenni down the steps, laptop in tow, and led her to the table.
Her face was still far too swollen, but the ice she’d taken up with her seemed to have helped. Her eye wasn’t totally swollen shut, and the bruising seemed to have stopped at the mottled-blue stage.
Bastards.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked, opening the computer and powering it up.
He gave a brief nod as he stepped to her. When the screen came up he handed her the micro SD to slide into the reader.
“Wait.” Phoenix’s voice had them pausing and looking back at him.
“You might want to have her wait to see it,” he suggested. “Warn her first.”
“I don’t need a warning,” she told him softly then activated the reader as she stared at the screen.
* * *
Maybe she had needed a warning.
Maintaining her composure would have been impossible if Jazz hadn’t been there. His arm slid around her back, giving her the support she needed to keep from falling when the first video began playing.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” Colby asked the slender, dark-haired woman.
Tiny almost to the point of being frail, her long dark hair trailing down her back, her composed features belying what she was ordering the men to do.
“Aren’t I always sure?” She smiled complacently. “I was sure when I ordered my sister’s death and I’m sure now that we know where that bitch daughter of hers is. Kill the marine too, Colby, we can’t afford to have him looking for vengeance.”
Colby sat back in his chair and smiled back at her. “I’ll take care of it, Luce. Now take care of me…” He was undoing his pants.
She didn’t need to see that. She couldn’t watch it. There were three video files, and dozens of pictures. The proof that Sierra Maddox’s sister had planned her death as well as her daughter’s was irrefutable. The end result was her marriage to Vinny Maddox and ultimately taking over the upper sect of the Clan called the Kin, rather than just the lower ranks of soldiers the Kin often used for backup or support.