Splendid Shadows (Book 2) The Beautiful Darkness Series

Chapter Twenty-Three-Macon

Hello, Lovelies,

I hope everyone is having a great day!  Thank you so much for reading Splendid Shadows!  I truly appreciate everyone who has given this book a chance.

News: Above is the cover of a book I am co-authoring with @Ravenpuffhere. It is a murder mystery called Pungophobia.  I would love for everyone to check it out.  

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-XXXX Amanda

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Panic. That was the first thing I felt when I opened the door to Antony's home. Urban was crumpled on the floor. Blood was pooled beneath his head. I glanced around terrified, not finding Jade or the others.

I heard footsteps on the stairs and I turned automatically, a gun pointing directly at Abel. I lowered it as his eyes found Urban.

"Oh shit!" His voice held the panic that I was feeling. "Where is Jade?"

My heart picked up speed as more footsteps were heard coming from the stairs. Gia stood at the base, my son cradled against her chest. I swallowed, drifting between panic and relief.

Abel was kneeling beside Urban, who moaned as his hand lifted to his head. "Jade..." he mumbled. "Jade...Calvin."

I glanced around the kitchen as Antony came through the door assessing the situation in an instant. He moved to the counter riffling around before turning to me.

"My sleeping potion is gone." He shook his head. "Jade took it."

I swallowed, wondering how she had taken it if Calvin was near. "It looks like she might have been putting things back in the cabinet." He ran his hand through his hair. "It's damn good luck she was standing here."

"Good luck!" My panic turned to anger. "She's with him!"

Antony shook his head. "We know where that's at and she at least has something to protect herself." Antony moved toward me and clapped me on the shoulder. "We're going to get her back, son. When we do, Calvin will be dead."

"We need to find out how he knew we were here." I glanced around the room at the men in the room. "For now, I only trust the people in this room."

Tony stepped forward. "No one knows you are here."

"That doesn't mean someone didn't follow you." I frowned. "Or Gia."

Tony swiped his hand across his forehead. "That could have been anyone. In all likelihood, it wasn't one of our men."

"I'm not taking chances." I ground my teeth. "We need a plan to get into that schoolhouse now."

I walked toward the door. "And we need it on the way there."

"We need our men." Tony's voice was calm. "We need the guns."

I took a deep breath, knowing he was right. "Tell them to be ready."

Tony nodded. "I will."

He immediately began to text as we walked out the door. My mind was stuck on one goal. I had to get Jade away from him at all costs. I had to make sure she lived so our son would have his mother even if that meant he lived his life without his father.

I moved toward Gia and bent, kissing his forehead. I raised my eyes to hers.

"Keep him safe." She nodded, meeting my eyes.

"I will but you do everything in your power to bring back both of his parents." She sighed. "He needs you both."

"I'll try." I turned, walking away with the hope that I would return to be the father I had wished to be from the moment I heard of his existence.

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The schoolhouse was built in the 1940s. It was a large brick construction that stretched across an open field away from the town. I wasn't sure but I believed it was a building meant to segregate since another bigger school had been built around the same time near the center of school. Unfortunately, it was now being used because of its distance from town.

"She's here." Tony said pointing toward a window near the center of the structure. "In that room."

"Do you have someone on the inside?" I asked, frowning.

He nodded. "He's the one in charge of bringing them food. Somehow, he conveyed to Jade that he was one of ours."

Suspicion immediately clouded my mind. "She didn't give him Antony's sleeping potion to put in the food, did she?"

Tony shook his head and smirked. "She didn't mention it. You know the first rule dad would have taught her was don't trust it with anyone else."

I sighed. Hopefully, she wasn't tied up and if she was, hopefully Calvin was stupid enough to untie her.

My mind drifted back to when I restrained her. My stomach twisted. We had come a long way since that day.

"Jade's a strong girl, Macon." Abel clapped my shoulder. "Don't forget she's been in difficult situations and got out of them. She's killed two men who attacked her. Even without training, she's a survivor."

I nodded, numbly. I knew that but the fact that she was going to have to fight for her life again bothered me more than I could say.

"So, what are we doing?" Tony asked, frowning.

"I'm going in first." I glanced toward the window. "Make sure everyone else keeps these guys from shooting me."

"That's an open space, Macon." Gaige frowned, pointing. "That's suicide."

I turned to him. "What would you do...If you could do it all over again."

Gaige's eyes darkened with pain as he nodded. I hated bringing up the woman he loved who had died while in his care but it seemed the only way that I could do this without him arguing.

He straightened. "We'll keep them away from you. Just...don't die."

"Awww...You care." Ari chuckled. I would have thought he didn't if I didn't know him well enough to know he joked when he was nervous.

Gaige punched his shoulder and moved to the back of the truck. When he opened it stocked with guns. He handed me a .32 and an AK.

"Don't forget to use them. I know how your mind gets when Jade's involved. She'd want you alive. Remember that."

"I will." I took a deep breath. "Kill everyone but our men on the inside."

"The mortician is going to be busy." Ari waggled his brows. His grin faded as the sound of gunshots went off inside the schoolhouse. My heart leapt as I realized they were coming from the room where Jade was.

"Macon!" I heard my name screamed as I ran without thinking toward Jade, hoping she was still alive.