Page 7 of Guarded from Corruption

“I do. Dante, Erik, and Matthew were all on a team together, and I’ve trained with them for years. They’re some of the best men I know. I’d want any of them to have my six.”

There’s a long pause, and then with a little wobble, “Okay. But you’ll stay with me. Right?”

Protectiveness surges through me. “Of course. I won’t leave you for a second.”

Jade goes quiet again after that.

As we get closer to Blade and Arrow, I start telling her about the renovations to the run-down ranch house, not because I think she necessarily cares, but because when she’s actively listening, she doesn’t shake as badly.

Fuck. Worry and anger are battling for dominance. Worry about what happened to Jade, and anger at whoever did it to her.

It’s with a sigh of relief that I finally pull through the tall, black gates that surround our headquarters. Now I can get Jade inside, have her looked at, and start figuring out what the fuck happened out there.

Once I park the car in the garage, I turn in the driver’s seat to look at Jade. “I’ll come around, okay? Just in case you need help getting out.”

Her brow furrows stubbornly. “I can do it.”

But she can’t. As soon as she gets out and tries to stand, her legs buckle.

Fortunately, I’m right beside her, so I catch her before she falls.

Jade peers up at me, her face creased with pain. Her chin wobbles. “My legs. They’re all cramped.”

“It’s okay,” I soothe. “I can carry you inside. If that’s okay.” When she hesitates, I add, “I don’t want you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. If you’d rather have me get Rhiannon out here to help you…”

“No. It’s… okay.” Her blue eyes are glassy with unshed tears. “I just, I want…”

My heart wrenches. “I won’t hurt you, Jade. I promise.”

She stares at me for a second before nodding. “I know. Could you help…”

“Of course.” As I scoop Jade carefully into my arms, she lets out a tired sigh and rests her head on my shoulder. “I’ll do anything to help you.”

CHAPTER THREE

JADE

I’ve never felt so close to breaking.

Back at the facility, I was terrified, but I didn’t let myself fall apart. I couldn’t. As soon as I submitted to the numbing panic and strangling fear, any chance of escaping would have been gone. So I shoved all the horrible thoughts away and focused on hanging on to some semblance of control.

Then the escape. Another terrifying thing. But again, I didn’t have the luxury of doing what I really wanted, which was curling into a ball and sobbing.

As I waited for Niall to come, I almost lost it. Sitting motionless in the woods, ears perked for any suspicious sound, my brain focused on the tiny sounds I couldn’t control. My shaky breaths, my frantic pulse, the tiny rustles as I shifted in the grass—they kept getting louder until I convinced myself I was about to be found.

Finally, I just counted, up into the thousands, reminding myself that each second was one closer to Niall getting there.

Even in the car, I wasn’t convinced I was safe. Each time another car went by, I was sure it was someone coming after me. Images flashed through my head—a car ramming into us, shooting the tires out, forcing us off the road and killing Niall before taking me…

But now that we’re at the Blade and Arrow property, my brain is gradually accepting that I might actually be safe. Finally.

As we passed through the perimeter gate, Niall pointed out several of the cameras and sensors, saying, “We can detect a drone up to three miles away. And we have full camera surveillance around the perimeter; it’ll alert us if a human enters the property.”

The second fence made me feel more reassured. Black metal, at least eight feet tall, secured by a sturdy gate with a biometric access pad that required not only a retinal scan and voice recognition, but entering a complicated code as well. “The fence is unscalable,” Niall explained once the gate closed behind us, “and it’s anti-ram, so nothing short of a tank can get through it.”

Even the garage looked safe, with at least a dozen cameras tucked into the walls at regular intervals. As Niall pulled to a stop between two SUVs, he pointed at a pair of metal BILCO doors over in one corner. “Those open to a passage that leads to the main house. So if you ever need to escape from one or the other, you can.”

I tensed at that, fear spearing through me again, and he added gently, “Not that you will. It’s just a precaution. Plus”—his lips curved up a bit—“we can use it to get inside when there’s bad weather.”

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