A Broken Jewel (Jade Book 1)

by Lucy Rains

  My eyes flicked to Gavin, his eyes held mine, there was appreciation and pride in his emotions. I felt satisfaction, excitement coming from the others. They wanted this badly.

  I looked down and chewed on a thumbnail, stepping forward slowly. I was in over my head, I knew that. I wasn’t sure how I was going to accomplish such a task as taking out my mother’s lab as well as ending her life. I doubted my strength, my ability, my courage.

  “We’ll do it together? Right?”

  The guys smiled, Alex scoffed, “Please. Like we would even let you pee alone after what happened tonight.”

  Pierce stood and walked over to me, putting a hand on the back of my neck. “Of course we will. But for now, we go home,” Pierce stated simply, grabbing my hand and leading me to the black SUV. Bullet holes lined the doors. Black paint was chipped in several spots, 2 windows had spider web cracks running through them.

  “Fantastic!” Alex beamed and snapped his fingers, “Now let’s plan where we're going to go eat.”

  I glanced behind me at the bodies on the ground. “But what about-”

  Alex reached out and pulled me the rest of the way into the SUV. “Hush and come here”, he wrapped his arms around me and put me in his lap. “You deserve to be spanked.” Alex grumbled into my hair. His dark hair hung forward and rubbed against my face.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  “Don’t. Ever. Do. That. Again.”

  “You were a bad ass ninja back there,” I commented, trying to distract him.

  “Damn straight, I was.” He lifted his head and peered out the window at the bodies on the asphalt. “Let's hope those guys don’t come back as Zombies.”

  I snorted, “Zombies eat brains. Don’t worry, you’re safe.”

  “Ha ha,” he laughed humorlessly.

  I turned and watched the other three guys lift the dead limp bodies up and place them in their own SUV. Cringing when my attacker’s blood smeared up Kyson’s arms.

  “What do we do now?” I asked softly, as the guys piled in and Pierce started the engine.

  “Now we go home and plan our next move,” Alex said.

  After Gavin had buckled his seatbelt he reached over and pulled me out of Alex’s lap and close to him. He took my face in his hands and looked at me closely.

  Completely unused to physical contact from Gavin, I stiffened. Not sure whether he was going to yell at me or kiss me. My eyes went wide as his head came close to mine.

  “Don’t ever do that again,” he growled as his dark eyes filled with deep concern. There was a deep well of fear hidden in the back of his mind. It was dark and heavy and weighed on my own mind.

  “I’m sorry,” I apologized.

  “Did they touch you?” Gavin pushed out through gritted teeth. I shook my head quickly. He pulled back a little and looked me over.

  “I’m fine,” I assured him. Gavin let go of my face and leaned back into his seat to look out the window.

  Alex held onto my hand as we made the short trip back to the airport. Kyson turned and gave me a quick wink as we drove, letting me know he wasn’t upset with me. My chest was warm with pleasure at being so near all four of them again, feeling peace settle over their emotions as well.

  “I’m starving” I commented.

  “Ditto,” said Gavin and Alex in unison.

  Kyson turned to look back at me, “You let out a lot of energy tonight, between the operation and then with your offensive attack.” He tilted his head curiously, “Yet, you didn’t seem weakened at all.”

  I nodded slowly while accessing my inner strength. I felt fine, better then fine. I felt powerful and like I could take down 10 more guys. “You’re right.” I noted.

  Kyson turned back around and looked out the window, tapping on his knee.

  “When can we eat?” asked Alex.

  “Let's get on the plane,” Pierce answered, “We can eat when we get back to D.C.”

  My stomach chose that moment to growl loudly..

  “They got any chinese buffets open this late?” Alex asked.

  “Probably not,” Gavin mumbled.

  “Any buffets?” Alex was starting to whine.

  “None that I would risk eating at,” Kyson answered.

  Alex leaned his head back and moaned, “I’ve never been so hungry in my entire life.”

  “You said that yesterday,” Kyson said while looking at his phone, “and the day before.”

  Alex huffed, “Still though.”

  We pulled into the airport lot and left the SUV to board the plane, where I immediately found the complimentary snacks and ripping open small foil bags to begin stuffing my face.

  “That,” Alex said from across the aisle, “is mega hot.”

  I threw a pretzel at him and continued shoving food in my cheeks.

  Once everyone was boarded, the plane took off quickly. My muscles were determined to remain stiff, ready to fight. It took time but I was able to relax against Alex and let my guard down. Flashes of blood, unfamiliar hands, feelings of a rage repetitively threatened to invade my consciousness. I focused on the hum in my chest and the warm emotions coming from all four guys. When I was able to settle into the familiar comfort of having all four of their presence surrounding me, protecting me, supporting me physically and mentally, my mind drifted into a calm state. My eyes drifted closed and I let them. Not opening them again for the rest of the night.

  CHAPTER 25

  The early morning breeze flowed softly over my skin as I lay looking at the stars. The flannel blanket under my skin was soft and wrapped loosely around me. Leaves rustled and a lone cricket chirped in the distance creating the only sounds in the still night. It was the most solitude I had experienced in the past two weeks.

  I let out a heavy breath and closed my eyes. We had arrived home at about 1 am. After we landed, we headed out to the nearest Denny's, where I ate my weight in pancakes causing all four guys to watch in appreciation. My mind turned over and over anxiously. So much to absorb in such a short amount of time. Life was constantly taking new turns before I could adjust to the last one. Sleep was becoming something I dreaded with the continuing nightmares and flashbacks. Everytime I closed my eyes I could feel the gloved hand pushing into my mouth. Could smell the starchy material as he carried me. The rush of tension filled my chest every time, preventing me from finding sleep.

  When I tried to push away the evening’s events, my mind would then fill with the realization about my mother and what I had to do, causing my stomach to turn into tight twisted knots. I didn’t want to see her again. Not ever. I didn’t want talk to her, have her anywhere near me or the guys.

  The hard question was one I was truly avoiding. Was I strong enough to kill my mother?

  I had killed tonight, in defense, as the situation called for. But how could I do that again. Premeditated murder?

  My inner monologue was interrupted by an approaching presence. A presence whose emotion was quickly escalating from nervous to terrified.

  I heard the sliding glass door open and lifted my hand to lazily wave at whoever it was.

  “Son of a....” Kyson growled, “Jade!” He whispered yelled, closing the door behind him. “Do you have any idea what runs through my mind when I see your bed empty at 3 in the morning?!”

  He stood above me, glaring down at me, fists on hips. His normally combed hair was all askew, giving him a wonderfully sexy bed head look. His black t-shirt hung loose on his thick frame, as did his black sweats. His bare feet were inches from my face. I couldn’t help but smile.

  “Why are you smiling? This is not funny.” He sat down in the grass next to me with a huff. “Giving me a heart attack, for the second time in only 6 hours, is not funny.”

  “You’re right, I’m sorry. It's just...you’re cute when you’re mad. At 3am. With bed hair.”

  His hand flew up to smooth out his hair, “I am not cute,” he grumbled.

  I looked back up the stairs and let out a slow breath. “I couldn
’t sleep,” I explained. “I don’t want to sleep.”

  Kyson leaned back onto an elbow and straightened out his legs by me. “I figured.”

  We sat in silence for a minute and I felt Kyson’s emotions settle.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  He turned and looked down at me as I gazed at the stairs. “For what?”

  “For coming to my rescue tonight. I know it was mostly my own fault, putting myself in the situation to be at risk. I shouldn’t have tried to leave.”

  In my peripheral vision, I could see him turning to look at me, I rolled my head over slightly to meet his gaze.

  “Of course I came to get you,” he said almost disgusted. He turned away and looked back over the yard. “Nothing would have stopped us from doing otherwise.”

  “Not even knowing I had just tried to leave you?” I asked.

  “I wouldn't hold that against you. Pierce explained what happened. It’s okay for you to not be okay.”

  “I don’t know when I’ll ever be okay,” I whispered. There was silence for a few beats. “Have you wondered where your parents are? Who your parents are?”

  Kyson remained sitting next to me, with one leg propped up that he leaned on. “Nope.”

  I scowled at him, “Not at all?”

  “I use to years ago. But you’re new to this information. I’ve had more time to process it and move on.”

  Turning my head back to the stars, I thought about his point of view. “I think I would always wonder.” I put a hand behind my head, touching the roots of my hair. “What do you wonder about?”

  “Me?” I heard him pull out a few blades of grass and sigh. “I wonder about you.”

  “What about me?”

  “Your secrets you keep locked up.”

  My heart skipped a beat, my fingers stilled in my hair. This was not a topic I was able to discuss at the moment. “What else?”

  He sighed, disappointed at my response. “Why us?”

  “What do you mean?”

  He was quiet for a few seconds. “I mean, why us? What made us unique? Why are the five of us connected in this way? Were we born this way? Or were we experimented on as babies? Or fetuses?”

  “Do you think there are others?” I turned to look at him.

  He shrugged. “Probably.”

  “How did PPQ find us?”

  “We have no idea. That information has never been shared. And its no where in the computer system, at least at the lab. We wonder if our mother’s were experimented on, and the researchers took us away at birth.”

  I shook my head, “But that raises too many other questions. Why did they stop experimenting on others? And where are our mothers?”

  Kyson stretched out his leg and leaned down onto his elbow. “There will always be questions. You have to learn how to move on.”

  “I don’t know how. There’s just...too much.” I went silent for a moment, trying to resurface from the overwhelming amount of unanswered questions my mind held. “What if we just ran?” I offered, “All of us? Forget about the lab. About Vera. We could disappear. Just focus on starting over.”

  Kyson stilled as he looked at me, his eyes lowering to my lips. “I would run away with you,” his voice turned husky and my chest warmed at the sound. “But we can’t leave unfinished business.”

  My mind went momentarily blank as his eyes roamed my face. Unfinished business. Killing her. “She’s a monster,” I whispered. “How do you kill a monster without becoming one?”

  “We will never be like her,” Kyson said in a low tone. “Not even close.”

  “What about the other scientists?” I ask. “You never speak about them.”

  “Because they were only doing the bidding of Vera. They were like her assistants, not the main brain of the operations. They collected the data and tried to make sense of it. Vera was the one that orchestrated it.”

  I let out a heavy sigh and felt my eyelids droop. “So...what now?”

  Kyson’s hand went to my face and tilted it to face him. “We go to your house. Get her hard drive, files, any information there.”

  He stopped talking, but I could sense there was more he wasn’t saying. “And?”

  “We take her out. Then we take care of the lab. Then we run.”

  I tried watching him, watching his lips move as he talked. His fingers went to my face and traced lightly on my cheeks, on my forehead, and into my hair. The humming in my chest warmed and I felt the tension in my muscles give way. I gave up and let my eyes close, the combined sensations too relaxing.

  Suddenly I was being lifted. Kyson’s warm hands wrapped around my body and brought me close to his chest. My head ended up by his neck and I let myself inhale the familiar woodsy scent of his cologne. The warmth from his skin pressed into my body and I dare say I drew myself closer into him.

  A few minutes later I was being laid down into bed. But not my bed. The smell was differen’t, the feel of the sheets different. Still warm from Kyson’s body.

  I thought about protesting when I felt blankets being pulled over my body, but gave up as I dropped out of consciousness.

  *********************

  Warm arms cradled my body when I awoke. There was a hard chest pressed firmly against my back and thighs resting against the back of my legs. I let out a heavy sigh, not fighting the desire to settle back into Kyson’s body. I could hear rain pouring outside, a soft rumble of thunder in the distance. I sensed the waking emotions of the other guys and smelled warmed bread.

  The vibrations from Kyson’s chest hummed into my back, pushing mine into a higher intensity. My muscles felt like warm butter, soft and gooey, almost melting. I should pull away, I needed to pull away. For the sake of keeping my emotions in check I should have pulled away right in that second. But I didn’t want to. I wanted to stay this way all day, wanted to fall back asleep. I didn’t want to be dragged around like a dog, commanded to stay by someone’s side.

  Kyson’s breathing staggered slightly behind me, his hand opening up, fingers splayed wide on my stomach. My breath hitched in my throat and my pulsed spiked. My eyes shot open, my hand going to the top of his. I didn’t know what was happening, what could happen, what I wanted to happen. Kyson’s desire was unmistakable, both emotionally and physically. My desire was intermixed with caution, and uncertainty. Self doubt, pricked at my confidence and I waivered. I was naive, inexperienced, and more then anything, I didn’t feel worthy of his affection. Of all of their affections.

  The bed shifted, Kyson moved against me, his chest coming away from my back. But his hand on my stomach didn’t move. I was about to turn to see what he was doing when I felt soft lips press to my collar bone. And I froze and melted all over again in the seconds that passed. He kissed again, and again, and the third time they stayed.

  My mouth opened to gasp for air, not realizing I had been holding my breath, when the door suddenly opened.

  “Kyson, stop manhandling Jade!” Alex barked. “Geez people, I swear-” He continued his rant as he left the room and continued down the hall.

  Kyson fell back against his pillow, releasing a breath, pulling away from my body. I sat up, running my hands through my hair. Both of us were panting, trying to catch our breath after a marathon. My chest still hummed like a fire alarm, and Kyson’s desire had not diminished yet. I needed to breathe, to recover. What would have happened? Would I have stopped it?

  I threw my legs over the side of the bed, and stood up, leaving the room without a word.

  While I stood in the corner of the kitchen eating my yogurt, Alex and Pierce came in. There seemed to be a debate going between them about the new James Bond movie and how its story line fared compared to the previous three movies. I had never seen a James Bond movie, so I didn’t feel compelled to add to the conversation.

  I set my yogurt down and reached for a napkin on the counter when Alex reached out and snatched my wrist. I looked up at him in alarm, my body tense. He held me tight, his eyes scowling.
>
  “What the hell is on your face?”

  My tongue darted out to clean off a spot of yogurt on my lip and I narrowed my eyes at Alex. Realizing what this was about, I ripped my wrist out of his hand and relaxed my shoulders. Not looking away from his eyes, I grabbed a napkin off the counter and dabbed at my mouth. I gave Alex a glare of warning.

  He turned and looked at Pierce, who was also studying me. His deep blue eyes also tense. His mouth stayed closed, not adding to Alex’s comments.

  Alex turned back to me, “Where did you get make-up?”

  I raised a mug of tea to my lips and took a sip. “With Gavin.” I nodded towards Gavin who happened to walk into the kitchen at that moment.

  Alex rounded on Gavin, “Why did you let her buy that stuff, man? She doesn’t need shit on her face!”

  Gavin, looking unconcerned with Alex’s rant, glanced at me before pulling out a carton of eggs and set them on the counter. “What are you, her mother? Chill out, man.”

  “She..she doesn’t need it!” Alex fumbled for words, looking from me to Pierce, and Gavin and back to me. “She stands out enough as it is, we don’t need her looking even more...more…”

  I cocked my head at him, curious at the word he was looking for.

  “Standing outish!”

  My eyes rolled. “Nice,” I grumbled setting my mug down on the counter and picking up my yogurt cup.

  Alex huffed, and looked again to Pierce. I met Pierce’s stare, daring him to say something. When Pierce didn’t say anything, Alex turned back to me. He folded his arms and jerked his head towards the hallway. “Go. Take it off.”

  I choked on my yogurt, covering my mouth.

  “Seriously,” Alex said. “Go take it off.”

  “Go to hell,” I said.

  “Pierce!” Alex whined, “A little help?”

  Pierce shook his head and walked out of the kitchen. Alex turned back to me. I shook my head at him. “You’re being ridiculous. It's not like I'm wearing Pleaser heels and a mini skirt.”

  Gavin spoke with his back to us, “Now that could be-”

  “Shut the hell up, Gavin.” Alex’s jaw tensed, “I don’t want other guys looking at you.”