Jade’s beautiful skin lights up my memories, and even through this fucking hell, I can feel her. I know she's mad as fuck and won't stop until she gets to me. This should be comforting to me, but it scares the fuck out of me. I can handle anything they do to torture me, but if they lay one fucking finger on her, it'll feel like I'm being gutted. It will absolutely devastate and destroy me.
I need to do everything I can to keep her in my mind, where it's safe. Whoever the hell is behind all of this can’t know about her. She’s my fucking weakness and my stone-cold strength. Right now, she's giving me the courage I need to get through this, no matter what my fate might be. I know my team won't let anything happen to her, so I just need to focus on getting myself out of here alive. That’s all I can do for now. I'll let her be my angel in this hell, the woman I’ve fallen in love with, and she'll be the power behind my force and the reason I need to survive.
I hear more voices outside the door and work to translate their disgusting words that are barely audible to my ears. My knowledge of how this works should have me shitting myself in fear, but I'll be fucking damned if these assholes will ever smell fear coming from me.
I wish they'd come in here, untie me, and let me have a fair chance against their bullshit. Chicken shit motherfuckers. I know how this works. Most likely, I'll be left here to die unless they find a reason to keep me alive. In the grand scheme of things, that isn't likely. They can do whatever they want to me. I can spend the last few days of my life knowing I succeeded. I never once failed my country, and given the chance to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat.
There's only one thing I'd do differently. I would have stayed away from her if I had known this was my fate. How was I supposed to do that though? She drew me in the instant I knew about her. I can't change it now, and even if I could, I'm not sure how I could have stayed away.
A tiny tear slips out of my eye and across my nose as I think about the way it should be. I was so close to having everything. My heart is still full, and even though I'll most likely never feel her soft skin again, I swear I can smell her right here and now. I swallow hard and acknowledge the reality of this situation. The odds of me making it through this are very slim. I can only hold on to the memories and die with a vision of her in my head.
Their voices get louder, and I translate a few of their words. They’re coming in soon to attempt to get me to talk.
I will never talk. I swallow around the large lump in my throat and begin to accept my fate.
I'll die soon with only one regret. Jade
Chapter ONE
Jade
“Harris, let me go. I swear to God, I’ll kill you.” I pull out my pistol and set it right on his temple. He looks at me with a sadness that matches my own. I'm hurting so fucking deep I can hardly breathe, and I want nothing more than to kill someone. If I thought for a second it would bring Kaleb to me, I'd do it right fucking now. My hands are shaking. My finger rests on the trigger, while my eyes pierce through Harris’. What the fuck am I doing?
This isn’t right. Nothing about any of this is right. We can't leave Maverick. Not after I fell in love with him. I’m pointing my gun at my best friend’s head while my heart crumbles.
"Elliott. Stop. I'm on your fucking side. We're in this together, so put your damn gun down. The second we can separate from the team, we will. I'm going back to get him and so are you. You fucking know we have to get Al-Quaren back to the States, and we can't do that if we're acting on goddamn emotions. We did what we fucking had to do. Check yourself now, Jade. Right the hell now." He’s right. I’m a mess, and yet here I am, still not able to put my gun down.
We both stand there in the same position as the thumping of the helicopter continues to move us. My head feels like it's about to explode and so does my heart. How is this happening?
I start to lower my gun, and he pulls me into his arms while the gun dangles in my hand. I'm dying inside, and the last thing I want to feel is the warmth of a man who is not Kaleb.
I slam the gun into my leg holster and push away from him, moving over to the monkey straps that bound me in earlier. I fight with everything I have not to kill every single one of these guys and try to fly this motherfucker back myself. How could they lift off without him?
"Ice. I'm working on a plan, and when we get to the drop, I'll take you myself." Jackson moves closer to me and talks loudly over the whipping of the helicopter blades.
That's three of us going. It sure doesn't feel like enough though, but with the rage I'm carrying, I don't care if there’s an entire army waiting for us out there. I’ll go in by myself if I have to.