Page 9 of He Is Jensen: Part One

It works better than expected. Tad growls, and without warning, shoots me in the fucking arm with Green Hornets, the only bullet that will penetrate my armor, and it damn sure rips through flesh and bone.

“Jensen!” she yells out.

“Get behind me,” I order, shifting my body to block hers, feeling her shift behind me, her hand closing over my wound to stop the bleeding.

Pain radiates from my arm to my damn teeth, but I’m not giving Tad the satisfaction of knowing it. “You should really work on self-control, Tad.”

“Take her to the window now, or I’ll unload a few more bullets in your chest and be done with you.”

“I’ll go,” Layla says quickly, and tries to move around me.

I catch her to me, blood gushing all over us both now, and I mouth,grab my gun, before eyeing Tad again. “I’ll carry her. She’s too weak to walk.”

With my eyes locked on Tad, I push to my feet, Layla rising with me, still behind me. I turn to scoop her up, offering her enough shelter to grab the weapon, which she hands off to me. I rotate, and I fire on Tad, planting a Green Hornet of my own in his belly. Layla grabs my second gun, but I scoop her up and head for the door, where I’m hoping the hallway will be clear.

We exit without delay, but by the time I’m on the stairs, Tad is shouting at me, firing at my back, and hitting my shoulderwith at least two bullets. To my utter shock, Layla twists in my arms and leans over my shoulder, unloading her weapon on him, clearly trained to shoot, as she manages to halt the attack on us.

I reach the door and manage to grab the knob, using my foot to open it the rest of the way, and charge onto the porch. And thank fuck, Maddox is waiting on me. I am barely standing when I hand her over to him, all too aware that I’m in no physical position to protect her right now. I grab the doorframe, trying to hold myself up, dark spots filling my vision.

Blinking, I refocus, and to my horror, Maddox is nowhere to be found, but Layla is, and she’s in Tad’s arms. Maddox betrayed me. It can’t be. It just fucking can’t be. With a rush of adrenaline and a roar escaping my lips, I try to windwalk and fail. With frustration mixed with fear for Layla, I rush down the stairs, but a bullet rips through my knee, and I go down.

I’ve failed Layla yet again, is my last thought before the world goes black.

Chapter five

Layla

The man, my captor,strips me of my weapon, or I’d shoot him all over again. I don’t know how he’s standing. Jensen shot him in the house when we were in the bedroom, but all that matters right now is Jensen. He took too many bullets to survive without help.

He can’t die. I won’t let him die.

He’s walking toward an eighteen-wheeler, and I know—I just know—if we get on that thing, we’re screwed beyond belief. I need to get to Jensen, and I’m trying to get eyes on him over his brawny shoulder to no avail. I punch harder. Kick harder.

“Fucking bitch,” he growls, and the next thing I know, he’s flinging me inside the truck and across the trailer, my body crunching on the steel floor and crashing into the wall. Somehow, despite every ache in my body, I drag myself into a sitting position and do so just in time to see Jensen’s bleeding, broken body flung across the trailer toward me, a trail of blood following his body. So much blood. Too much blood.

My heart lurches, and I scramble toward him, to his side, only to realize the big man is standing over us. As if he’s traveled atsuper-speed. I gasp at the sight of him, and he grabs a chunk of my hair and jerks my head back.

He produces a vial of clear liquid. “Swallow it.”

I have no idea what it is, and I don’t want to find out. I jerk against his grip, but his hold is biting.

A gun appears in his hand, and he points it at Jensen’s head. “He won’t survive a bullet to the brain. You decide. Does he live or die? Take the drug. That’s your way of saving him.”

He means it. I see it in his eyes. He hates Jensen. He wants to kill him, if he hasn’t already succeeded. There’s too much of Jensen’s blood on the steel floor pooling around his body for him to survive anything more.

“I’ll take it.” I hold out my hand and receive a gloating smile in return. He disposes of his gun and deposits the vial into my hand, but the grip on my hair doesn’t loosen, instead tightening mercilessly.

I suck down the chilly liquid, coughing at a bitter cold sensation that feels more like fire than ice in my esophagus, seconds before the burn in my lungs begins.

The man squats down beside me, his big body pressing to my side, his lips at my ear. “My name is Tad, sweetheart, and I’m the man who just cured your cancer and became your drug dealer. That makes me your new sugar daddy.” He holds up another vial. “When you start shaking and you need another hit, we’ll talk about what payment I expect in return. If you miss just one dose of your new cure, you die from withdrawal. In other words,weownyou.” He motions to Jensen. “Not him. Not any of his kind.”

His kind.

I have no idea what that means. He shoves my head and releases me, standing up to tower over me, glaring down at me with a lusty, dark look that makes my blood run cold. Whenhe finally turns away, he’s a blur of movement before the steel doors slam shut.

Only one small light flickers overhead.

My fingers ball in Jensen’s shirt, feeling his wet, thick blood on my skin. Fear and anger collide inside me, exploding from me in a fierce yell. “Who are you people?” I demand. “What does that even mean?”

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