The Last Hero (Villains & Monsters #2)

Chapter 29

Long chapter. A lot going on as well. There's torture in this chapter so read with caution.

- Mid March, 2046 - (Two months ago)

After working with Tony, Jamie was dropped off at his room late at night as usual. The minute he was alone, he pulled out the crumbled piece of paper from his jacket pocket, straightened it out as best as he could and sat down on his bed with it.

Before Tony reactivated the depowering bracelet, Jamie wrote down as many coded words as he could without raising suspicion. Then when he stood up and acted like he was going to toss the paper into the garbage after he crumbled it up, he discreetly put it into his pocket.

Though he wasn't able to use his mind properly because of the bracelet, Jamie knew that the words he wrote down could be a start. He wrote Oliver Stevens, formulas, Major and Minor ability, Frost, Firebringer, project, base layout, Valerie Reid and snakes -- his term for Simon and Daija's team.

Then he picked up a pen and added what he already knew to it. Simon could stop time, Daija has a danger sense that will alert her if he does anything unusual, Sierra controls minds, Austin and Luca are merciless, Adrienne and Wylan are waiting for a chance to hurt him, and Tony will hurt someone if he runs out of patience, like he witnessed in the cells all that time ago.

A start, he thought to himself. But there is a long way to go.

-----

Upon walking into the training room for the first time since the fight a couple of days ago, the first thing that happened was Layla rushing towards him and wrapping him in a tight hug.

"You're okay," she breathed out as a shaky whisper. "Fuck, I was so scared that you were going to be in trouble."

Hesitantly, Jamie hugged her back, but when he felt the true comfort of being embraced for the first time in months, something within him crumbled and he held her tighter, his eyes squeezing shut so the tears that welled up wouldn't fall.

Stop this now, he thought to himself. She'll hate you eventually because you're a fucking monster. You don't deserve her.

And he knew he didn't, despite how much he liked being around her. He wasn't Jason -- the brooding, quiet man with a mysterious past that Daija crafted to be obedient in every way. He was Jamie. A manipulative asshole who hurt almost everyone that was ever close to him.

"I'm alright," he said calmly as he separated the two of them. "I don't know what happened to Kendrick though."

Layla winced at the name, then looked around to check that no one was listening before muttering, "Austin lost his shit. According to Adrienne, he drew it out for a long time. An hour of torture for every single bruise he found on Lena. He was begging for death after thirty minutes."

Jamie had to squeeze his hands into tight fists so memories of his own torture wouldn't flood in. He had work to do, and he needed to focus. He walked with Layla to reunite with CJ and Victor.

Now he had to figure out what kind of ability he had. The night before, Tony put him in charge of that because Victor was familiar with him. Jamie was nervous, and he hoped he wouldn't hurt him for prying.

After half an hour, Victor and Jamie went to lift weights while Layla and CJ sparred not too far from them. "How are you feeling?" Victor asked.

"Better, but the bruises won't fade for a while," Jamie answered.

He studied him for a little while, then hummed. "Hm, are you sure? You seem like there's a lot on your mind."

Fuck, how could Jamie ever answer that? Especially to someone who was loyal to the people who wanted him to die in the most gruesome way possible?