Page 42 of Jared's Redemption

“Stick your hand in Markus’ pants and check his gun. I bet he’s into kinky shit like that, but I’m not interested.” Luna taunts over her shoulder. Markus snickers, sauntering behind her with a gun in both hands.

I felt out of control and my entire body was on edge. Neither of them were following any sort of plan, and they were putting us all in danger. How did I get stuck with the two most unstable people I had ever met? Luna pushed the door open an inch, tilting her head as she listened. Voices echo inside the massive warehouse alongside laughter and the sound of scraping chairs.

When nobody notices the open door, Luna slips inside, and Markus shakes his head.

“She’s brave or stupid.” He whispers to me, before slinking in after her. I curse under my breath, poking my head through the door and sighing in relief. These idiots had stacked the shipment crates by the front door to obscure anyone’s view who might nose around, but it gave us perfect cover.

Alarms blare in my head while my eyes scan the dark area around us as I slide in, slowly shutting the door behind me. Luna is crouched a few feet ahead of me, motioning to a nearly invisible motion detector on the floor. As she sticks her head out, my heart rate skyrockets while I look around us. The warehouse was decent sized, and according to our informant, packed full of stolen weapons.

Weapons that belonged to Lucian Kane, Isabelle’s father, and the leader of our allies. Vincent is his right-hand man, which is how Luna weaseled her way into this job. He was the one who hired us to run this mission, and the pay wasn’t something we could deny. I never had hesitations when we ran missions like this one.

Until today.

Luna sits with her back pressed to the crate, frowning, and shaking her head at us. She holds up two fingers, then one. Twenty-one men were on the other side of this warehouse, all armed and willing to die for the product they were guarding. She pats the crate behind us and nods, swirling her finger to confirm that the warehouse is full of rows of these shipping containers.

I was pulling us out of here, at least until we had some kind of backup. But Luna looks excited as she nods at Markus. She tosses her gun to me, purposely drags her food in front of the motion sensor and turns the corner before I can grab her. Markus stops me, shaking his head with a serious look in his eyes.

“You need to trust her. Letting your emotions call the shots will get her killed.” He hisses, cocking his gun and listening intently. The scrape of a chair and startled shouts makes my blood turn cold as I watch her with so much intensity it hurts. She was nearly beyond my sight and a cold sweat breaks out on my forehead.

Luna gives a meek smile, looking around like a curious girl.

“What the hell are you doing here?” A male’s voice asks angrily, getting closer with shuffling steps. Luna bats her eyes, her hands clasped behind her back.

“I was supposed to meet a guy here? My girlfriends set me up on a blind date.” She giggles, shifting from one foot to the other as if feeling awkward. A few men mutter to each other. Their chuckling laughter makes my stomach sick, knowing the intent behind it. I hear him step closer to her and the urge to lunge forward makes my muscles tremble.

“Well baby, I’m a guy and you met me here.” He says. Luna snorts, her flirty mask slipping just a moment before she puts the act back on.

“Gimme your phone, sweetheart.” He says, his tone becoming more demanding. She tilts her head, pouting lips, as she thinks.

“Why would I do that?” She purrs. More chuckles from the men have Markus and me itching to end this, but we wait, nearly holding our breath.

“Because I said so.” He croons. Luna shrugs, unclasping her hands from behind her back and tossing something to him.

“Okay, catch.” She says, no longer using her fake voice as she pivots on her feet, diving into my chest and slamming me onto my back as an explosion vibrates across the floor. I wrap my arms around her, rolling to protect her body with mine as bits of debris rain around us. She shakes under me, soft cries making me fear the worst.

“Luna, where does it hurt, baby?” I ask, my hand brushing over her body to search for any wounds. My ears are ringing from the explosion, but my only thought is of her. Realization makes me pause, as she smiles and keeps laughing.

“That was a rush.” She says, gleefully taking her gun back from Markus as he crouches over us. I sit back on my heels, pride and anger warring inside of me, but there’s no time to deal with it now. The smoke is clearing and shouts are echoing the building as the structure’s sprinkler system kicks on.

“Ah, how refreshing. You gonna be able to keep up with the big boys, Luna?” Markus grins, diving around the corner to open fire. I follow him, swiping the water out of my eyes as I take in the full surroundings. Three foot tall wooden crates, just like the blueprints indicated, are stacked on top of each other, framing the room. In the center of it all lies a folding table, flipped over, and littered with beer cans and playing cards.

Must have been one boring job for them to get this comfortable, but their sloppiness gave away how untrained they are. One man rushes towards us, screaming as bullets flurry around us, one after another, with wild inaccuracy.

I point my gun at him, pulling the trigger once and watching his head whip back as he drops dead onto the concrete. Luna rushes past me before I can grab her and I curse myself for getting distracted. Another explosion makes my head swing as Markus jogs past me with pins hanging from his mouth and a wicked gleam in his eye. I’m surrounded by trigger-happy nut jobs.

I keep pushing forward, swinging around the first row of crates to see a short and muscular man with his back to me. He is peering down the barrel of his gun, aiming at Luna, who is locked in a hand-to-hand fight with a tall and skinny guy. A cry of rage rips from my lungs as I empty five shots into the gunman’s back. He stops screaming as his body falls to the floor, and I step over him, kicking his gun away to be on the safe side. My feet slam against the floor as I rush to where she’s locked in another man’s arms, face turning red as he chokes her.

“Let her go or I’ll kill you.” I roar, stepping closer slowly with my gun raised level with his eyes.

“You’ll kill me either way. At least I can take her out.” He sneers, blood covering his mouth and chin, while he pants and Luna struggles in his grasp. She locks eyes with me, hers wide, and they flash with fear as her face darkens. My mind races, but Luna lifts her leg, slamming the heel of her biker boots down to crush the guy’s toes. He cries out, ducking forward and loosening his grip on her. I pull the trigger without hesitation, watching as they both fall to the ground.

I run to their side and drop to my knees. Yanking him away from Luna, I flip her onto her back. Without thinking, I slam my hand onto her chest and relief floods me as she sucks in a haggard breath, coughing and rolling onto her side as she greedily sucks air in.

“Shit, good save.” She croaks out, tears dripping down her cheeks from coughing so hard. Luna looks over my shoulder, eyes wide, and I spin, raising my gun and ready to die for her.

Markus puts his red finger on my gun, pushing it down with a tsk. Blood soaks Markus’s hands, almost reaching his elbows, and he has a smear on his face. The sprinklers are running rivulets of red from his body and I shake my head at the mess he always makes.

“It’s over. You love birds missed all the fun. I got sixteen of them, I win.” He says smugly, winking. Luna frowns as I help her stand, cursing under her breath.

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