A Broken Jewel (Jade Book 1)

by Lucy Rains

  I shook my head and closed my eyes again, trying to pull back the images that had surfaced. I fought to see the fountain again in my mind's eye.

  It was huge, three times the size of the one in front of me. At least it seemed that way. But I realized I was small, a little girl, looking up at my mother’s face, holding her hand. As she led me inside a large building with no windows. Dread filled me, I did not want to go in that building.

  Something about the fountain in front of me was triggering these images. Something that happened a long time ago. Something bad.

  A shrill sound shook me back to the present. I looked up and saw Pierce standing up and pulling out his phone. He cursed under his breath when he saw the caller ID.

  “Jason.” He said curtly. He listed for a moment and then ended the call. He looked at Alex with a grim expression. “We’ve got an Op.”

  CHAPTER 15

  “No!” Alex shouted for the hundredth time. “No, no, no!”

  “We talked about this, man,” Pierce argued, “We all agreed on how it would be before we brought Jade in.”

  Alex paced around the living room, rotating between chewing on his thumb nail and running his hands through his hair. His blue eyes had darkened with distress and I almost felt bad for him. His anxiety ran thick through the room, mingled with the apprehension of others.

  “I don’t care, it wasn’t supposed to happen this soon.” he complained to no one in particular.

  “But it did, and now we have to deal with it.” said Kyson.

  Gavin sat on the couch by me while everyone else stood in the front living room. My mind reached out to feel his emotions, finding similar anxieties in his that Alex was showing.

  “You don’t want me to come either.” It wasn’t a question.

  His knee bounced nervously though his face was like stone. He didn’t answer me, but instead aimed his comment at Pierce.

  “There are too many variables in this operation,” said Gavin. “And it's worse that we don’t know how many people we’re dealing with.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Pierce responded.

  “It does matter!” screamed Alex. He looked ready to punch a hole in the wall.

  “None of us will let anything happen to her,” Pierce reassured calmly. “And it's not like she's defenseless.”

  “I don’t care if she was covered in armor. I don’t care if she was the freaking terminator! I still don’t like it. She’s not trained for any of this.”

  “She comes. Despite it happening sooner than we hoped, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have liked it any better 6 months from now.”

  “I can help you,” I spoke up, looking at Alex, but he wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I did okay yesterday, right? I have the only offensive ability here, it can help to protect us.”

  Alex covered his face with his hand. “There’s no ‘us’,” he groaned. “Not in this, it’s not right.”

  A surprising shock of pain shot through my chest at his words. My hurt at Alex’s determination to keep me out of their assignment surprised me. But I couldn’t deny that it hurt.

  I stood up from the couch. “I’m either apart of you or I’m not. You can’t have it both ways. You should have thought of this before you kidnapped me and turned my life upside down. And how can you want my help in taking down the lab, but hold me behind you the rest of the time?”

  “I am under no obligation to make sense to you,” Alex muttered while staring at the wall.

  I threw up my hands and walked out of the room, “You’re full of shit. Let me know what you decide to do with me.”

  My feet were heavy as I trudged up the stairs to my bedroom. Running a hand through my newly shortened hair, I let out a heavy exhale and sat down on my bed. I understood Alex just wanted me to be safe and was doing everything he could to protect me. But the feeling of rejection washed over me.

  The operation assigned to the guys was to infiltrate a warehouse where a senator’s daughter was being held after being kidnapped and held for a 25 million dollar ransom. The FBI had been doing everything they could to handle the case, but when the ear of the 14 year old daughter showed up in a padded envelope to the senator’s office, all hell broke loose.

  Bargaining with the criminal was not an option. The FBI needed the guys help to apprehend the kidnapper, or kidnappers, and rescue the daughter before anything worse happened. Unfortunately, the FBI didn’t know exactly who they were dealing with. They had no ID, no name, nothing other than a warehouse location in the part of the town any decent person would avoid, and even the police didn’t go into it at night. Their surveillance had shown multiple men entering and exiting the building, but when the FBI had attempted facial recognition they got no results.

  I tried to help Alex understand that I wasn't completely helpless. I had worked with knives over the past couple years. Charles had shown me his secret talent when my mother had been gone on one her frequent ‘trips’, and proceeded to teach me how to stance, grips, spins and techniques. I had studied youtube videos at my escapes to the library of Krav Maga and practiced in secluded private areas during my summer months. This information hadn’t help persuade Alex at all.

  As I sat on my bed glaring out my window a knock sounded on my door. I didn’t respond.

  “Jade?” Alex’s muffled voice came through the door. “Are you naked?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No,” I responded.

  The door creaked open slowly. “Can I come in?”

  “You’re actually asking?” I asked in mock shock.

  The door opened wider and I could hear him walk in. The bed shifted as he sat down beside me.

  “Jade, you can’t take this personal.”

  I fixed my gaze outside and remained silent.

  “I just,” he struggled for the right words, “if something happened to you, I think I would...I don’t know…” his head went to his hands.

  I stood up, putting space between us, and leaned against the wall next to my window while folding my arms. My stomach tightened and my fingers clenched into fists. It was yet another emotional rollercoaster. Despite my determination to remain unaffected, I felt inferior and weak because of Alex’s anxieties. I lacked the experience that the guys had, and this made me a hinderance.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Alex stood up and was suddenly in front of me, pressing his hand to the space between my breasts. He gently pushed his palm flat, and my chest thrummed happily. I sucked in a gasp and looked at his face that was only a few inches from mine. His face relaxed and he drew in a deep breath.

  Breathing became difficult. His chiseled jaw was angled away, his forehead tilted towards me. The smell of his skin, a crisp clean scent filled my nose. Warmth spread into my limbs. I closed my eyes. “Alex,” I attempted to protest but it came out as a shaky whisper.

  “Don’t be mad at me,” his voice was low, husky. “I will protect what’s mine.”

  His face came closer to mine and I stilled, panic and excitement pounding in my chest and up to my throat. His nose skimmed over my earlobe and down my jaw. When his face moved back from mine, my hand came up and I gently touched his cheek, cautiously moving my fingers up to his thick, loose hair, down to his forehead. Alex closed his eyes in obvious pleasure as I explored his face, lost in the fascination that I felt. My fingers moved over the length of his nose and down to his lips where they paused, tracing the smooth contours. His mouth parted and my hand drew back.

  Footsteps sounded in the hall. Alex opened his eyes and took his hand off my chest, but didn’t move away. We stared at each other, unspoken heat simmering just under the surface.

  “Pierce is going to make some dinner.” said Gavin. “Alex, we need you to go over navigation and mapping.”

  “Got it,” said Alex, his eyes not leaving mine.

  A pause. “We leave at 23:00.

  I looked at Gavin and nodded my acknowledgment. He looked between us for a second before heading back downstairs.

  When I turned
back to Alex he sighed heavily. “You will be with one of us at all times. Understood?”

  I nodded. With a low curse under his breath, he stepped back and left the room.

  Needing a moment to collect myself, I laid down on my bed and put my hand over my still racing heart. My fingertips went up to my mouth, traced my lips, my mind reliving the feel of Alex under me fingers. The heat of the moment still moved through my body as I replayed the scene over and over in my head. The intimacy of the moment shook me.

  My feelings for Alex, for all of the guys, confused me. In the short amount of time I had been with them, I felt an undeniable pull to them. To be close to them. This pull seemed to outweigh the fear and caution that had clouded my senses for years.

  But how? Why? Was our reproductive system created differently? Were the chemicals in our brain altered in some way to create a physical and emotional pull towards others like ourselves? I closed my eyes and ran both hands over my face. I knew the guys were attracted to me, whether it was more than just a physical pull, I wasn’t sure.

  After about 10 minutes, I went down and joined the guys for dinner. I devoured a sloppy barbeque pork sandwich while the guys talked details about the operation. Papers were laid out over the table, maps, pictures, details of whatever the FBI knew and passed over to the guys. Which wasn’t a lot. But we knew what the warehouse looked like, where it was located, and details of the internal structure of the building. We could see the exits, the electrical system, and possible rooms that could hold the hostage. What we didn't know was how well it was locked down, how many were inside, what kinds of weapons they would have.

  The guys were certain they knew enough to make the mission a success.

  At 10:30 all the guys were suited up in black cargo pants and sweatshirts, with bullet proof vests on top. I had put on a pair of black leggings and a dark navy jacket. My hair was pulled back tight and I had my running shoes on. The guys all wore heavy black boots and matching black beanies. There was no extra beanie for me.

  I was watching three of the guys load up on weapons, tasers, knifes, handguns, when Pierce called me over to the kitchen table. My interest piqued to see another black vest laid out on the table.

  My eyes widened. “For me?” I asked, unable to hide my interest.

  He leaned over the table, placing a hand on both sides of the vest and narrowing his eyes on me. “Just because you’re wearing a vest, doesn’t mean you’re going to see any action. Got it?”

  I nodded.

  “I swear Jade, don't do anything stupid or else your participation in our assignments will never happen again.”

  I lifted an eyebrow, unmoved by his threat because I highly doubted he could hold to it.

  He then picked up the vest and held it open for me. I walked over and slipped my arms through carefully, turning towards him so he could zip it up, and latch the buckles. The weight was awkward, inhibiting my natural movement, but I didn’t complain.

  We piled into Pierce’s truck, me sitting in the middle in the back again, between Gavin and Alex, while Kyson rode shotgun. Alex was fidgeting with his gear when he asked, “Is Jason planning to send in anyone?”

  “Not until we call. They’ll be on standby to pick up the hostage.”

  “Does the hostage have a name?” I asked, leaning towards Gavin to give Alex some room. His elbows kept digging into my ribs and it was uncomfortable. Gavin didn't move away from me, didn't complain about my closeness. I looked over at him but his face was turned towards the window.

  “Corrine,” Kyson responded.

  “Why don’t I get any weapons?” I asked, as I eyed Alex’s variety strapped around his body.

  “Because,” said Alex, “we have no guarantee you won’t damage that pretty face of yours in your attempts to use one.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him, “You think my face is pretty?” Trying to goad him.

  He flicked a knife closed and slipped it into a lower cargo pocket. “You know it.”

  “Let's stay focused.” Kyson grumbled.

  My head stayed forward the rest of the drive. I wouldn't admit it, but I was nervous. Alex was right, I had no idea what I was going into. I was not only anxious about the unknown, but also with the expectation that I would not screw up. I wanted to be a help, not a hindrance.

  25 minutes later we arrived at a dark run down commercial area. A few lone shops were open, but most were barred up for the night. There were a handful of night owls loitering around the dimly lit shops, cigarettes or beer bottles in hand. A body was huddled at a street corner, surrounded with plastic bags, swaddled up tight in a sickly yellow blanket that I was very thankful to be too far away from the smell. A street light flickered nearby, providing a pitiful amount of lighting. My dinner rolled nervously in my stomach.

  “Alright,” said Pierce, “Jade stays in the middle of the formation, you guys know what to do.”

  The others responded with confirmation and all four doors opened at the same time. Gavin slipped his arm around my waist, hauled me out of the backseat and to the ground. The second my feet were planted he turned and headed towards the front of the truck. I was too anxious about what was happening to give it much thought.

  I took a moment to study our surroundings, unease seeping down my spine at the rundown location. Graffiti was scribbled over most wall surfaces, windows in every building were covered in bars. The car across the street from us seemed to have bullet holes in the driver’s door, while the window was smashed in. I swallowed.

  “You sure you want to leave your truck here?” I asked.

  Pierce shrugged, “It can be fixed.”

  “And if it’s not here when we get back?”

  “Then Jason gets me a new one.”

  I nodded, trying to hang onto the calm words Pierce spoke.

  “Target is 2 kilometers southeast. Keep an eye out for strays and snipers.” commanded Pierce. He pulled a gun out of his holster, checked the magazine, then snapped it back into place. I looked around at my four protectors in their black clothes and deadly weapons. Formidable, dangerous, deadly.

  “Let’s head out, only speak if necessary.”

  Pierce and Kyson took front, Gavin and Alex settled in behind me as we walked. Our shadows danced along walls as we moved past buildings. The people that had been out when we arrived had disappeared into the night. The humid air was cool on my face. The moon wasn’t out tonight, making our trek even darker. I attempted to walk as softly as possible, trying to match the stealthy silence of the guys.

  Despite the seemingly calm atmosphere, my heart was racing. My senses were on high alert as I kept watch for threats. The stench of urine and rotting garbage was around every corner we turned. Dumpsters provided some coverage for those with no better options. My naivety caused me to shrink back at such sights and I couldn’t help but shudder at their circumstances.

  My ears and eyes were operating at full capacity, as I’m sure the guys’ were too. I could hear a bottle scrape from a block away, or a door close from inside a building. Our sight was sharpened at night and I could see just fine without streetlights.

  As we walked along a sidewalk, approaching an intersection, I heard a rustling noise nearby, followed by a low cough. It was so soft and subtle, but it raised my internal alarm. I pulled back quickly, pressing my back to a wall. I made a quick sh, sh, noise to alert the guys in front of me. Alex and Gavin had already followed my movements. Pierce and Kyson turned towards us, seeing our positions, they quickly copied.

  They silently looked at me, eyebrows raised, questioning my actions. I slowly slid down the cement wall, stopping at a crouch on the pavement. The guys did the same. I held up a finger and closed my eyes. Clearing my mind, I tried stretching my senses farther. Searching for the source of the noise.

  I could feel someone. Someone nearby. I opened my eyes and looked at Pierce, waiting. He would know if we were about to be in danger.

  And then he did. His eyes closed and his head jerked back slight
ly as his ability hit him. His body went still as his premonition rolled through him.

  Kyson looked at me, “Where?” he whispered.

  I looked forward, listening to my inner 6th sense and settled my eyes on a car and pointed. Pierce turned his head and narrowed in on a small, old, rusted out car, that looked like it had been left for dead months ago. With 2 flat tires, a missing hood, it sat straight ahead in the direction we were walking. It was sitting perpendicular to us, the drivers side door in our line of sight.

  At first I looked expectantly at the car, waiting for whoever was inside to move again. When Alex started whisper something, I made the sh, sh, noise again to get the guys attention, still looking at the car. I held up a finger, signaling for them to wait.

  No one was visible in the car from our angle. There weren’t even any seats from what I could see. I pushed off of the wall and moved forward slightly. Someone grabbed my hood, Kyson latched on to my elbow. I shrugged his hand off, not bothering to look at him.

  Still crouched low, I opened my hands and pointed them in front of me, palms forward, as if I was about to push a wall.

  “Be ready,” I whispered, flicking a quick glance to the guys. Pierce understood. He pulled out his handgun, twisting on a suppressor, then aimed it in front of him at the car.

  Seeing his weapon, the hard steel glinting in the moonlight, I faltered. The situation sinking in. The guys were planning to kill. And I was going to help them. My eyes were glued to the gun and my mouth opened.

  “Jade!” Pierce hissed.

  Turning my head back, I took a deep breath and let out two quick pulses of energy, strong enough to rock the car. The sound of creaking metal broke the silence of the dead night. The figure in the car was startled, quickly bringing his head in to view to see what was going on. Pierce fired off a single shot, glass cracked and the figure dropped again. Pierce and Kyson looked to me. I dropped my hands and closed my eyes.

  Would death be apart of my life now? Helping the guys meant helping them to kill? My mind wanted to spin around this realization but this wasn’t the time. Alex grabbed under my arm and lifted me up to my feet, giving me a supportive pat on the shoulder.