Page 1 of Breeding Justice

Chapter One: Hassan

Zane was lying down on the bed, looking paler than I had ever seen him. It had taken me a few tries to get Sebastian to go to sleep, but now he was, and he would forget all about everything that had happened over the past few days soon. Hopefully. I really hoped so.

“Are you okay?” Zane asked, his words almost slurred.

“I’m not the one who was shot,” I said, rushing to his side. “You don’t have to try to make me feel better.”

“We’ll get them back,” Zane set his glassy hazel eyes on me. “We always do.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. I didn’t want to tell him that things were different now; there was no motivation for Vito to keepBash or Justice alive, and Skylar was simply an added nuisance. The truth was that, for all his faults, having Jez around meant that Bash was protected, and so were we, by extension. Jez might have been evil, but Jez loved Bash. They were brothers, and their bond often superseded whatever the fuck was going on with us.

Vito didn’t love Bash. Vito just wanted his grandson.

“You look like shit,” Zane said. “Come here.”

“You want me to lie down with you?”

He laughed, a hollow sound that rang through the space between his teeth like a hiss. “Hassan, you’ve seen me naked countless times. This isn’t any more gay than that.”

I supposed he had a point.

He scooched over so that there was space for me on the bed, setting his gaze d7on my eyes as he flashed me a smile.

I laughed.

“What?” he asked.

“I’m just…this is the most high I’ve ever seen you.”

He laughed again. “Yeah,” he said. “The stuff they give you at the hospital is serious.”

“You can’t go get them with me, Zane,” I said. “You’re still recovering from a gunshot wound, and they have to keep thinking you died. Otherwise, they’re just going to keep coming after you.”

"Alright, fine," Zane said. "Whatever. Just make sure to make a proper plan, please. Don't go in there guns blazing. I don't want to lose any of you. If you go without a plan, that's as good as suicide."

I licked my lips, which were dry. "Yeah, I know. But I can't take too long."

"You're going tonight, right?"

"Tonight," I echoed.

Zane nodded, his eyes practically closing as he did. "Listen," he said. "It'll be alright."

"You only believe that 'cause you're so high."

He laughed. "No, no," he said. "It's because you have a knack for fixing things."

I laughed too. "You believe in me a lot."

He got serious. "I always have. Always will," he said. "Try and get some sleep, alright? You should rest before you go in."

"I..."

But then he had wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him as if I was a teddy bear, and I couldn't bring myself to pull myself away from him. He needed to rest to recover, and he was right, maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing if I got a little sleep. I already had some of my men on it, and I needed to make sure I had the element of surprise working for me. My eyelids were heavy; the day had been long, difficult.

I drifted into sleep. Not for long. I rolled away and then it wasn't Zane behind me. I was in a dark room, and it smelled of weed and sweat. I could hear fans spinning around me. I wanted to turn around, but I couldn't. I was held in place, frozen. I could feel Jez's presence behind me, inching closer to me, his arm slung around my belly.

"I'm sorry," he said into my ear. I could feel how hard he was against the small of my back. "I promise I'll be gentle this time."

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