Page 24 of Breeding Justice

“He’s really good in bed,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that absolutely tracks. And now?”

She glanced down at her swollen belly, her expression softening in a way that caught me off guard. “Now I’ve got a kid on the way with a man who scares the hell out of most people, and I’m sitting here watching you stitch yourself up like it’s a normal Tuesday night.”

I couldn’t help the faint chuckle that escaped me, despite the dull throb in my side. “Sounds like you’ve adjusted.”

“That’s a word for it,” she said. “I’m learning to live with it. I don’t know. I never expected to end up here, in this life, but leaving doesn’t feel like an option anymore. Not with…” Her hand rested protectively over her belly again, her words trailing off.

“You’re in too deep,” I said, and she nodded.

“Aren’t we all?” she countered, a sharpness returning to her voice. “You’re a surgeon. You didn’t sign up for this either, did you?”

“No,” I admitted. “I guess, at this point, it doesn’t matter. It’s just about what I can’t walk away from.”

Her gaze was piercing now, as if she was trying to peel back my defenses and see what was underneath. “And you really believe that? That staying is the only choice?”

“I believe,” I said slowly, “that when you care about people, you do what you have to. Even if it’s messy. Even if it’s dangerous. You just…do.”

Jade studied me for a long moment before nodding, as though some unspoken understanding had passed between us. “Yeah,” she said softly. “I guess you do.”

The quiet stretched between us, heavier than before. I flexed my hand, feeling the phantom pulse of adrenaline I couldn’t afford to act on—not yet. Not until I had all of them back. Not until this was over.

Jade shifted against the doorframe, her expression softening for the first time. “You can’t save everyone, you know. Sometimes…sometimes you just can’t.”

The words struck something raw in me, something I didn’t let surface often. “Maybe not. But I can try.”

Before she could respond, the faint vibration of my phone rattled against the bathroom counter. I grabbed it, glancing at the screen. The number was blocked. My stomach clenched.

Jade’s eyes flicked to the phone, then to me. “Do you think—?”

“I don’t know,” I said, cutting her off as I swiped to answer.

“Silva,” the voice on the other end spat my name like a curse. It wasn’t Skylar. It wasn’t anyone I knew. “You’re already too late.”

The line clicked dead before I could say a word.

I stood there, frozen, the phone still pressed to my ear. The blood pounding in my head drowned out the quiet of the apartment. Jade’s voice broke through like a distant echo.

“What?” she asked, stepping closer. “What did they say?”

I lowered the phone slowly, my hand gripping it hard enough to hurt. “They’re making their next move.”

Her brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”

“It means I’m not waiting for them to finish it,” I said, my voice low, cold. The promise tasted like steel in my mouth. “I’m getting them back. All of them. And if anyone stands in my way…” I met her gaze, unflinching. “They’re not walking away.”

Chapter Ten: Bash

Icame to slowly, the cold seeping into my bones like a poison. When I tried to move, pain shot through my shoulders, sharp and unforgiving. My wrists were chained above my head, the metal biting into my skin. I was hanging there like a piece of meat in a butcher’s freezer. The air was damp and heavy, reeking of mildew and rust, and the faint light from a small, high-up grate only made the shadows seem darker.

I groaned, my head pounding like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. My face felt like it had been used as a punching bag—bruises blooming under my skin, a split lip, and the unmistakable tang of blood in my mouth. Every breath I took stabbed at my ribs, broken and aching. They’d done a hell of a number on me during the transfer, after the capture. I was grateful they hadn’t beaten me to within an inch of my life in front of my wife. At least that was something.

I tested the chains, flexing my wrists. The metal didn’t budge. My head fell back against the wall as I stared at that damn grate, trying to focus on the faint sounds filtering through it. Voices, the clatter of metal on metal. Far away, like they belonged to another world. Not mine.

I closed my eyes, clinging to the thought of Justice and Skylar. They had to be okay. They had to be. My sacrifice had to mean something. The memory of Justice, clutching her side, blood seeping through her fingers, cut deeper than anything they’d done to me. Guilt churned in my gut, threatening to drown me.

The cold was unrelenting, seeping into every part of me. My clothes were shredded, my shirt nothing more than a blood-stained rag hanging off me. I shifted, trying to take the weight off my shoulders, but there wasn’t a position that didn’t hurt like hell. Agony was all I had now.

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