Freedom

by KC Kean

  I have everything I want in a world I hate, but I don’t want to be anywhere else.

  I just need my mother out of my life, and since I bumped up the timeline, we have until tomorrow to locate where my father is before they start causing a scene. I refuse to give Reece the satisfaction of thinking he’s won.

  Shaking my head, I try to forget about it, for today at least. Dropping my towel, I find the pajama set Aiden surprised me with laying on the bed. I can’t contain the chuckle as I read the print on the pale blue t-shirt as my heart swells in my chest.

  Petal. Sunshine. Beautiful. Ours.

  I love it.

  Slipping it over my head, I step into the matching leggings, the material soft against my skin.

  I walk into the living room at the exact same time Aiden is letting Maverick in with the coffee he went to get, and I don’t think I could love him anymore if I tried.

  “Gimme, gimme, gimme,” I chant excitedly as I bounce over to him.

  “Wow, I expect this kind of greeting even without the Frappuccinos, petal,” he grins, and I kiss his cheek, taking the caffeinated goodness from him.

  “Maverick, I want your caramel cockiato dripping down my chinnamon scone on the daily,” I respond with a wink, and Aiden bursts out laughing while Maverick’s eyes widen in confusion.

  “Where the fuck do you get this shit from?” He asks, still stunned as I laugh along with Aiden.

  “I heard someone say it on a video, and I’ve been itching to say it too. You’re welcome.”

  “Mine too, sunshine,” West adds, grinning at me from the sofa as I take the seat beside him.

  “Of course, the more cockiatos, the better.”

  His arm instantly goes around my shoulders as Aiden sits to the other side of me, leaving Maverick to glare down at us.

  “I did the coffee run, and you two still don’t share,” he groans, placing their coffees on the table as he takes a seat on the edge, lifting my feet into his lap. “Nice top, petal.”

  “I think so too,” I murmur, taking a sip of my drink.

  “I’ll set a movie up,” West says, kissing my cheek and rising from the sofa, and Maverick doesn’t waste a second, stealing his spot before he even fully stands.

  “Oh, while you do that, I have another quiz,” I mumble, grabbing my phone off the table and hearing Maverick grumble beside me.

  “Don’t moan, Maverick. Remember last time? You suffered through the quiz, Jess did a little reading, then we got to fuck,” Aiden whispers excitedly, and I shake my head with a laugh.

  “Shit, you’re right,” Maverick responds, clearing his throat. “What quiz, petal?” He asks, and I gape at the two of them sitting beside me with angel-like smiles on their faces. Assholes.

  I can’t seem to bring myself to say that won’t happen, though, so I proceed to open the quiz. “Now, this is really important. It’s to find out which TVD character you are.”

  “TVD?” Maverick questions, his face scrunching in confusion.

  “Yes, now appreciate I’m only quizzing you on it in general, and not taking it too seriously, cos this shit’s make or break, babe,” I answer meeting his gaze, and I don’t expect the softness I see there. “What?”

  “You called me ‘babe.’”

  Did I? Biting my bottom lip, I’m not sure if he’s happy or upset, but it just slipped out.

  “Ah, shit. I was so sure you would nickname me first, Jess. Now I owe this fucker one-hundred dollars,” Aiden sighs beside me as Maverick’s cheeks turn a little pink.

  “Wait, you’re embarrassed?” I ask, watching him swipe his hand down his face as a grin takes over his face. “And you guys placed a bet on who I would use a nickname on first?”

  My head whips between the two of them, and I glare at West as he steps back into the living room with another one of his DVD’s. God, it’s cute how much he loves those things.

  “What’s going on?” He asks, casually sauntering towards us, and I glare at him.

  “Were you in on the bet too?”

  “Damn it. Who did she nickname?” West grumbles, and I drop my head to my hands. I can’t even deal with these guys right now.

  “Meee,” Maverick sings, and I can’t even be mad that they placed a bet against me when they’re this happy and carefree.

  “You better do well in my quiz now. I swear to god. Otherwise, I take it back.”

  “No way will I let that happen, babe,” Maverick murmurs, pulling me into his chest, and I let the smell of leather and sandalwood envelop me.

  “We’ll see,” I grumble, bringing up the quiz.

  “Aiden can go first this time,” West says, sitting on the coffee table while the movie loads.

  I glance at Aiden, and he nods for me to continue.

  “Okay. First, how would your friends describe you? Brave, loyal, generous, hardworking, intelligent, or charming?” I ask, and he just looks at me with a raised eyebrow. His blond hair a little overgrown and messy on the top of his head as he runs his fingers through it.

  “Charming,” he answers with a smile, and I can’t argue with him, but Maverick scoffs beside me.

  “Pick your favorite school subject: History, Art, English, Science, Math, Foreign Language.”

  “Science.”

  “Alright, who is your favorite vampire? Edward Cullen from Twilight, Spike from—”

  “Edward Cullen. Don’t waste your time with the rest. We both know his bone structure makes our knees weak,” Aiden interrupts, and I chuckle, so not wrong.

  “Which supernatural creature would you rather be? Vampire, werewolf, witch, hybrid, tribrid, doppelganger.”

  “What the fuck do those last three mean?” Aiden asks, scratching the back of his neck, and I shake my head.

  “It means you’ve never watched TVD, that’s for sure,” I murmur, and he squeezes my thigh.

  “Vampire,” he answers, not taking me on.

  “Pick a character to team up with. Oh, you don’t know any, I’ll choose for you.” Pressing Elijah Mikaelson out of the options and continuing. “Choose a monster to fight; Dragon, gargoyle, necromancer, banshee, zombie, or malivore.”

  “Uh, necromancer,” he mumbles with a shrug of his shoulders, and I have to be at least grateful they play along with my games.

  “And finally, pick something important from the TVD universe. A daylight ring, Elena’s diary, Vervain, the cure, the Salvatore house, or Mystic Falls Founders Day celebration.”

  “I have no idea what any of that means, but a daylight ring.” His fingers trail against my arm, distracting me, but I smile, continuing to focus on the screen as Maverick does the same on my other side.

  “Yes! You got Damon. He’s my favorite. So dreamy,” I cry out, high-fiving Aiden, who just stares at me confused.

  “Wait, dreamy? Who the fuck is Damon?” Maverick grunts, pulling me closer and taking my phone from his hand.

  “Stop, he’s the hottest character on there. Followed closely by Klaus, Elijah, and Stefan, but still, I’m Team Damon forever. He’s the signed photo I got from Parker.”

  “I’m going to kill him, and Parker too,” Maverick gripes, and I laugh at his frown as he stands with me in his arms.

  “Maverick, put me down,” I laugh, but his expression doesn’t change.

  “Tell me you’re Team Maverick, and then I will.” He stares at me expectantly, and I huff at him.

  “You can’t be real. It’s just like with Twilight, Team Edward forever. Am I right, Aid?” I say, trying to twist myself around to see him, but I find myself being placed in West’s lap on the coffee table.

  “Somebody else take her, she’s too much right now,” Maverick grunts, and my jaw drops as he let’s go of me and takes a gulp of his coffee, turning his back to me.

  “Did he just dismiss me?” I ask, glancing at Aiden, who is doing a god-awful job of trying not to laugh.

  “Fuck both of you! Tell them, West,” I moan, turning to see the bewildered look on his face, completely c
onfused with whatever actually just happened here.

  But my wiggling has his mind in a different direction. Pinning me against the hard line of his cock beneath me, I gasp.

  “Don’t start what you can’t finish, sunshine.”

  Holy fuck. Yes, please.

  “Hello?” Maverick says, making us pause as he gains our attention, holding his phone to his ear, I watch as his back stiffens. “Okay, no worries.” Dropping the phone from his ear, he glances at me as a knock sounds at the door.

  “What’s going on?” I whisper, feeling the energy change in the room as he swings the door open, letting Luna and the Aces in.

  They clearly weren’t planning to be here, all still in their comfy clothes, as Maverick answers his phone again.

  “You’re on speakerphone, Rafe,” he murmurs, walking back over to me with the others following behind him.

  “Is everyone there?” Rafe asks, and it’s Luna who responds.

  “We’re here, Dad, what’s going on?”

  My heart pounds in my chest as West holds me against him even tighter.

  “Jess, darling. We found him. We have his location, and I need half of you on a plane, like yesterday,” he rushes. “Jess, I need you to remember that I can’t promise your mother’s safety.”

  I’m lost for words as a sob passes my lips, my hand to my chest. Thank god.

  “I don’t care. Thank you.” It doesn’t even frighten me how much I mean those words. Just like Luna, I’m better off without my mother. Her safety during all of this has never been my concern.

  In a whirlwind, West stands instantly, handing me over to Maverick, who cradles me tight in his arms as we watch half of the room disappear in an instant. For me. It seems I wasn’t a part of a conversation that discussed who was going to be where, but I trust them to know.

  “Please be safe,” I yell just as they’re at the door, and they all nod in acknowledgment as West wraps his hand around the door handle.

  “I love you, sunshine.”

  West

  Taking a deep breath, I continue to stare down the scope of my sniper rifle, ready for any sudden movements at the front of the house. Placed strategically in the center of this small town, I’m surrounded by a variety of neighborhoods. From the rundown trailer park two miles behind me, to the gated community I have my sight set on.

  It was the first time Lucienda had left her home. So, it was a little surprising to find her at the home of Reece Wicker. Following her, the security team literally scaled the Wicker home.

  Jess’s father is apparently tied to a bed in the top left room of the house. We just can’t see anything else inside the house to give us a clear path, and Lucienda hasn’t left.

  Who would have thought that a gated community, with pretty little suburban houses, all perfectly painted and smelling of money, could hold such sinister people?

  “How is the surveillance system looking?” I ask Rafe as he lays beside me, hearing it through the earpiece we’re all wearing as I remain in my position.

  “I’ve hacked their cameras, but they don’t have any set up inside. Just the outside entryways are covered. Stay sharp.”

  So, we’re going in blind. Well, the rest of the team are, but we’ve been in much worse situations. This is just personal, so it could escalate quite quickly. It also doesn’t seem right that Lucienda traveled here by accident. It could be a setup.

  “In position,” Roman murmurs, and I see him against the side of the house, Luna and Oscar behind him as Bryce takes the other side with Juliana and more of his security team, heading for the back.

  I wasn’t surprised when Luna headed straight for the front door after Rafe called earlier today, and nobody argued because we knew it would all be wasted breath.

  On the other hand, Juliana surprised the hell out of me when she picked up a gun and a bulletproof vest and declared she was going in too. Sometimes it was easy to forget she was a member of The Ring and would have competed in The Games for her spot.

  “Ready,” whispers Bryce too.

  There are probably two dozen of Bryce’s men surrounding the property, but we always move first, especially when it’s family.

  Now, we have to break into a suburban house in Georgia, in the middle of winter, and try not to cause any disturbance with the neighbors. This is what we’re trained for.

  That’s how I find Rafe and myself over half a mile away, dressed head to toe in black, lying on the roof of a Walgreens. There isn’t anyone around since the store is closed. It’s the whole reason we’ve had to wait until the early hours of the morning, but if it makes the job easier, we do whatever is necessary.

  The only sounds I can hear are the occasional car speeding by on the highway, but other than that, it’s just Rafe and me. My motorcycle is the only vehicle in the parking lot, hiding under a tree in the shadows. Rafe’s SUV is parked in the diner parking lot next door.

  With the suppressor attached, it won’t exactly mask the sound of a gunshot, but it’ll hide the muzzle flash, so it’ll be difficult for them to pinpoint my location. Though, the sound would be lost to the wind anyway.

  Taking a deep breath, I relax my body into the gun. My finger is poised over the trigger as I stare at the house. If anyone points a gun at our team, posing a threat, I shoot. It’s how I was trained, and right now, I’ll do anything to take the worry off Jess’s shoulders.

  “Movement, bottom window. It looks like Mr. Wicker is fidgeting with the curtains by the bottom left window. Is anyone visible to him?” Rafe murmurs. “Another man, top right. I think they know we’re here.”

  “How do you know?” Roman asks, at a loss since he can only see what is right in front of him. As soon as he asks that question, the front door opens, and Mr. Wicker steps out onto the porch with a shotgun in his hands. “Ah, shit. Nevermind, I see.”

  Cocking the shotgun, he takes another step out onto the wrap-around porch, and now is my time.

  “Now,” Rafe orders from beside me.

  I close my eyes for the briefest moment, visualizing the distance in my mind and feeling the strength of the breeze around me.

  Releasing my breath as I look through the scope once more, I pull the trigger.

  You would think a bullet traveling that distance would take forever to reach its mark, but in seconds I watch as it pierces through Mr. Wicker’s skull, and he drops to the floor, the shotgun clattering behind him.

  I feel nothing. I barely blink, my bloodline trait washing over me like a second skin.

  “Go,” Rafe orders through the earpiece, and I watch as everyone starts to move.

  This is the part I hate about being the best-skilled sniper in Featherstone. Now, I have no fucking clue what’s happening inside, and I’m no use to them if anything goes wrong unless I can see through the windows. All I can do is maintain my stance and watch for any threats that I can stop.

  “I need fucking eyes inside, and I need them now,” I growl as I clear the shell casing and load another round.

  “I’ve got you,” Luna murmurs, stepping through the open door after Roman.

  “In and out, no fucking around,” Rafe adds, but the sudden sounds of chaos that filter through my earpiece set me on edge.

  Luna

  I’ve never seen someone killed by a sniper, and it kind of blows my mind to watch Reece’s father drop dead to the floor out of nowhere. I barely even heard a whistle in the wind.

  I’m going to have to remember to tell West how fucking impressive that is when all this shit is over and done. For now, I need to move.

  The second he drops to the floor, yelling comes from inside the house, alerting us to the other people in there, and I raise my gun just a little higher.

  “Go. Go. Go,” Rafe orders through the earpiece, and Roman starts moving, and with Oscar behind me, I follow.

  My heart pounds in my chest, the unknown always setting my adrenaline alight as we step into the entryway of the Wicker home.

  The space is open with a d
oor to either side of the entryway, and the stairs sit perfectly in the middle of the floor plan.

  “Clear,” Bryce calls out as they enter through the back door.

  At the same time, movement from the left gains my attention as a middle-aged man draws his gun in our direction.

  My reaction time is quick, but Oscar’s is quicker as he pulls the trigger, and the guy falls to the ground. Blood pooling around him from the bullet hole in his chest.

  “Please, oh lord, please. Don’t hurt us. Please. This isn’t our plan. We don’t want to die like this.”

  The woman’s cries pause my movement, forcing me to turn to the right. Standing in the kitchen doorway is a woman and a young boy with his head buried in her coat, hiding from the scene exploding around them.

  Fuck.

  “I need two guards, now,” I shout, aiming my gun at her.

  “Please, I-I… Whatever is going on here has n-nothing to do with us,” she pleads, tears flowing down her face easily, but I hold my position.

  “That may be true, but we operate on guilty until proven innocent. Unless you’re a child.”

  She frowns, glancing down at the little boy at her side as she processes my words.

  “Please don’t separate us. H-he gets scared of new people,” she blubbers, holding him tighter.

  “If you’re unarmed and as innocent as you say you are, then it’ll only be for a minute,” I murmur, my heart remembering my world exploding around me as a child and the damage that did to me. This little guy does not need to see any more than he already has. “What’s your name?”

  “R-Rachel Wicker, please don’t associate me with these people. I swear I j-just showed up to see my mother, and she isn’t here,” she whimpers, pulling the little boy in closer to her side.

  Just as I’m about to yell for the fucking guards to hurry up, Oscar pulls me to his chest, dropping us to the floor as Roman shoots two bullets, and I watch as two dead bodies fall down the stairs.

  Shit. They have me distracted. But who the fuck is a threat when there are children inside the damn house?