Heathens & Hand Grenades (Book 1 of the Heathens Duet)

Chapter 65- Jaxson

Men like Colton Barnes are all the same, selfish at their core. For all their careful planning, it was the one thing my brothers kept forgetting. Perhaps it's more of an omission than forgetfulness, but it's an integral facet of his personality, his motivation, and my avenue inside.

Watching that slimy, self-righteous, disgusting echo of a man touch my pet, watching her curl in on herself to evade his touch, I'll admit the guys were right to restrain me. Mud seeped into every fiber of my clothing but at least I was able to keep my face clean. Rain helped to wash away the remainder. Plucking my knives from their captivity as Riggs droned on to remind us of the plan, I listened, but formulated my own plan. They thought our girl was broken and, on the outside, they were right. Fire swam in those chocolate brown eyes. I had tasted it, burned with it, and gods was it glorious. My Pet is a fighter. All she needs is to know that someone's in her corner.

Nature's lighting department decides that this is her moment to shine a spotlight on us. Callie's face takes us in, her chest rises in surprise, and then she dismisses us. A figment of a hopeful imagination. Urges to break his spirit as he's tried so hard to break hers drive me.

So, while Riggs delegated, I slunk off to ensure my own plan's success. I watched the glee on her ex's face as he enacted his control over her. A man like that exerts control in all things and wouldn't leave his safety to chance, not without some sort of failsafe.

The generator was the first to fall. D's plan called for darkness and I will ensure it. Colton Barnes wants to be the big, bad wolf? I can play that game. Bravado flees in the dark. I thrive in the land of nightmares. It's so much harder to intimidate what you can't see. I'm not here to give him a fair fight. A noble ideal that my brothers might believe in, but I care about her. He hurt her, I end him. Simple as. I fully intend to toy with him, inflict upon him the torment he's inflicted tenfold.

It'll be fun.

Attention to detail, an oft downplayed skill. A line item here and there spread across multiple receipts, messages about missing tools found days later, it all adds up to an escape hatch. Had Dario been the one to discover it, he'd have been skipping about the bunker singing about a secret tunnel. It's happened before. Damn thing was stuck in my head for weeks.

No matter what the thing is called, I remain determined to find it. Loathe as I am to inspect it, the crawlspace beneath the cabin is the most likely source. I inhale deeply before I dive beneath the main structure, never more grateful for the thin protection of my mask and head to toe clothing cover.

Army crawling with a flashlight in hand, I look everywhere for a seam where there should be smooth. I find it and begin working to pry it open with one of my blunter knives. Using a sharper blade would just be wasteful. Eventually, I manage to pry the blasted thing open. Shoddy workmanship, a sure sign that he completed the work himself. Music floats through the air loud enough that it travels down the claustrophobically small chute, some bastardization of not one, but two different genres. Fitting for a man who corrodes everything he touches.

A rumble in the distance followed by a too close crack and it's off. Too close behind the weather to be purposeful, I can't help but thank Mother Nature for smiling down upon us. Even she knows our girl deserves better.

Mothballs older than google assault my nose as I pull myself up into some sort of closet. The small, confined space and mix match of coats, umbrellas, and cleaning supplies all indicate hall closet. A lot of things could be done with just the supplies here, but I don't want to hurt my pet too. There's always next time to play chemist.

I ignored the night vision goggles Riggs tried to insist I take in favor of my own eyes. The damn things always interfere with my depth perception and my ears are a perfectly suitable tool. Callie isn't trained to conceal herself and Colt can't fathom that someone would be able to infiltrate his space as I have to anticipate a third player in his little game of house. I may as well be invisible.

She's not some stumbling fawn, she has claws and teeth of her own. I may not let her lose, but I won't take away her victory. This is her demon to face, but I will always be in her corner to support her.

Yelling has me reaching down to palm a knife, but the first shot that rings out has me darting out of the closet with barely a thought in my mind except her.

Get to her.

Smoke assaults my senses and I question ignoring the plan in favor of my own for just a moment as the smoke begins to invade my lungs. I allow myself a single cough before I hold the remaining breath inside. The mask provides a miniscule amount of protection, but I don't have the time to be slowed down. Not with a second and third shot going off and her shouting like a hell cat as she fights.

I follow the sound and smoke distortion, thankful for the brief flash of lighting that illuminates the two of them and the shape inching toward them from behind.

A fourth shot. Can't deal with that now. Subdue, contain, evaluate.

I get there faster, throwing my body into the body pinning her down. I straddle him, locking him down in a mirror of how he had her, my blade pressed against his throat as he tries to fight against my hold.

"Got the party started early Pet? I approve." Immensely proud doesn't even begin to cover it.

I press a touch harder than necessary until he deflates. If he knew the plans we had for him, he'd be fighting me to end it instead of recoiling from my blade.

"Jesus Callie girl. You trying for a future in the octagon?" Dario chuckles through what sounded like a good hit, his voice distorted through the mask. Light flickers on from the flashlight in his hand as he whispers to our girl before heading to the door and letting a furious Riggs in, Kace saddled with equipment hovering behind him.

"Just get in here. We can take turns babysitting," I tell him. I need someone else on Colton so that I can hold my girl.

Riggs rushes to her side, his hands combing over every inch as he checks her over. I catalogue every wince and the way her eyes tense when he glosses over a particularly sensitive spot. His jaw is locked tight and I bet he's grinding his teeth as he plots out all the ways he intends to make this asshole pay. I am too and who could blame me if my knee digs into him just a bit harder when I hear her gasp when Riggs' fingers just barely graze her face. Calling out to God for mercy won't be enough for Colton Barnes. With the look in God's eyes, mercy is the last thing he'll find.

"Amen," I chuckle. The various looks of surprise and unease have me laughing that much harder. Goodness, it's like they're seeing a damn ghost or something. It can't be that rare or odd of a reaction. I'm quite confident I've laughed before. Wracking my mind for examples, their reactions make a bit more sense. My laughter is usually followed or proceeded by copious amounts of blood and or screaming. Fair reaction I suppose and not wrong in this case either.

Our girl needs us first. Playtime will have to wait until later.