Page 54 of Fire Bound

We walk down the quiet street. Luckily, it’s not a main road and we don’t pass many people or cars.

The farther we get away from the building, the more restless Kaius becomes. “I know you don’t believe me, but watching Sterling lose everything would be the best thing to witness before I died. I’m more than willing to tell you where all those poor helpless souls are once Sterling’s taken care of.”

“Nope,” I bite. “You’re going to tell us tonight.”

“Like I said, I’m afraid I do have plans…” he mutters like he’s truly put out. A blacked-out van suddenly makes an illegal U-tern on the road next to us. My wolf growls low in my head warning me of danger even before the vehicle comes to a screeching stop next to us on the sidewalk. “And what do you know, there’s my ride.”

The side doors are ripped open, and something is thrown toward us. There’s the sound of metal as it lands on the sidewalk. Unsure of whether or not it’s an explosive, I release Kaius and dive for Remington. I just barely have her tucked protectively against my chest when there’s a loud bang and a burst of blinding light.

Flash-bang.

Even though Jax shielded me, I’m still affected by the stun grenade. There’s a high-pitched ringing in my sensitive ears and when I pull away from the safety of Jax’s chest and open my eyes, my vision is spotty. Jax is hunched over with his hands on his knees as his eyes blink rapidly. While he was busy protecting me, he failed to fully protect himself from the flash-bang. I call his name out, but he doesn’t turn his head to face me. Even to my own ears, my voice sounds too quiet.

With unfocused vision, I turn toward the black van. Two men dressed in protective gear are standing by the open side panel door, ushering Kaius into the back of it. The necromancer looks over his shoulder at me with a sly smile. “My offer still stands. Kill Sterling and I’ll get you those lists.” He waves his pale hand at us. “It’s been a pleasure. I’ll be in touch.”

I spring forward in an attempt to pull the man from the car, but one of the two bodyguards interferes. He tries to grab me, but I duck and turn before his fingers can so much as brush against my clothing. When he comes at me again, I slam my fist into his sternum before he can try again. As he doubles over, I wrap my hands around the back of his head and force is downward as I bring my knee up. My hearing is slowly coming back, but even muddled, I can hear the sound of his nose cracking on my kneecap.

He falls onto his hands and knees on the cement in front of me. Kicking my foot into his ribs, I knock him completely onto the ground before stepping over him and stalking toward the open van door again.

“Go!” Kaius orders.

“What about him?” The other guard looks nervously between Kaius and the security guard at my feet.

“What about him? We’re leaving.” Kaius shoves at the remaining security guard’s shoulder, ushering him into motion. As the door slides closed, he calls out to me. “You’ll see me soon, Remington.” I don’t know if that was a threat or a promise.

The van speeds down the dark, rain-soaked street and when I step off the curb, intending to run after them, a gloved hand wraps around my ankle and jerks my leg, sending me flying forward. My palms and knees burn as I land on the rough asphalt of the road. With a groan, I roll over onto my back just as the guard pulls himself off the ground. He clutches his ribs with one hand while his nose is bleeding down his face. With a pissed-off smile, his free hand reaches for the gun on his hip.

He holds the weapon up, pointing it directly at my head. Before I have time to come up with a plan or even have time to move a muscle, a dark looming figure appears behind him. Hands are placed on either side of his head and with an inhumanly fast twist, the guard’s neck is broken. He falls to the ground with a harsh thud.

Jax, still blinking and rubbing at his poor eyes, stumbles forward and extends his hand and pulls me back to my feet with one quick tug. Without looking at me, he looks down both directions of the road. “Which way did they go?” he asks.

“That way.” I point to where the van had disappeared.

“To the main highway that leads right into the city,” Jax mumbles unhappily under his breath. “We’ll never find them,” he declares with an angry bite in his tone.

“Jax…” I start to say, but trail off because would‘I’m sorry’or‘this is all my fault’really make anything better? I settle for, “You were right,” but it still feels wrong as I say it.

Without a word, he turns and delivers an angry blow to the dead man’s abdomen with his booted foot. With my hearing finally returning to normal, the sound of Jax’s ragged breathing and low constant growl are deafening. And the way he’s refusing to look at me hurts more than it should.

I watch helplessly as Jax delivers kick after strong kick to the corpse on the sidewalk. When this starts to not be enough for him, Jax straddles the guard and begins to beat the man’s face in. I can hear bones breaking, it’s either the guard’s facial bones or Jax’s hands, maybe both. A couple of times, Jax’s fists miss the head completely and slam into the hard concrete instead, each time I cringe, but I don’t make a move to stop him. Based on the unhinged, deliriously angry face he wears, he needs this outlet right now. It’s disturbing and bloody, but if this is what he needs to release some of the rage he’s feeling, I’ll sit back and let it happen.

But I don’t have to like it.

As the man’s head begins to concave from the multitude of harsh blows, I have to turn my head and cover my mouth with my hand. I’m not a squeamish person, blood doesn’t bother me, but the sight in front of me makes my stomach roll.

With an angry roar, Jax slams his fist once more into the mess before he hangs his head and his chest heaves with angry breaths. I look around the dark road, making sure the sidewalks are still empty of people. Explaining this mess to a human would be borderline impossible.

Slowly, I walk up and place my hand on his shoulder. “Jax.” I just barely softly say his name when he’s ripping my hand away from his body.

“Don’t touch me!” he roars, his head turning just enough that I’m able to see his glowing wolf eyes and elongated fangs. In the almost two years that I’ve known this man, I’ve only ever seen his eyes shift forms, so seeing those sharp canines is an alarming sight. He climbs to his feet and when he stands in front of me, with his head still slightly turned away from me, he seems taller than usual. “I don’t know how you do it. You have the ability to make me do things I know I shouldn’t, and each time they bite me in the fucking ass,” he snarls, but I don’t miss the slight grimace as his body heaves. Jax’s shaking hand clutches the fabric of his T-shirt over his chest as he turns completely away from me. “I had him and I could have…” His words die out as he lurches forward like he’s going to throw up. His hand presses against the brick wall of the nearby building, catching himself as he stumbles away. “Killed him, butyoustopped me.”

Ignoring his cruel words, I ask, “What’s wrong?” instead. His skin looks pale and clammy in the full moon’s light up above.

I move closer but a terrifying noise I’ve never heard him make rips through his chest as he snarls, “Don’t come any closer.”

I don’t recognize his voice, it’s deeper and raspier than usual and it causes me to freeze in place.Something isn’t right.“Jax, what’s going on? Are you hurt?” Did the flash bang hurt him more than I realized? “What can I do to help you?”

“I have to get out of here,” he groans like he’s in pain. “Don’t…” Jax chokes out. “Don’t follow me, Remington. Go to your hotel room and lock the door.”

---