by M. Malone
Jonas chuckled. "Man, I hope we find them. Because I want to see the look Lucia gives you when she finds out that you're still tracking her movements."
"Man, shut up. You worry about your woman, and I'll worry about mine."
"Yeah, if only that was the way it worked. Because the moment you start yelling at yours for pulling a stunt this stupid, mine's gonna jump on the bandwagon and start chewing your ass out."
Noah grumbled. "Yeah, you're right about that.”
Matthias pulled up their location and cursed softly under his breath. "I have them. Neither one of you is gonna like where they are."
"Out with it, Matthias," Jonas prompted.
"Bliss, Connecticut. Looks like they've gone hunting on their own."
Rafe cursed. “They’ve gone to my old house.”
Matthias nodded. “I guess JJ got fed up with us not looking into it.”
Jonas took the laptop out of the kid’s hand and stared at the monitor. "Oh, for the love of Christ.”
Lucia and JJ had gone after Chamaeleon on their own.
"I knew you'd come back. I bought this house for you."
JJ backed away. "David. You don't want to do this."
"Do what? Have you? You are mine. I was sent away for a while. But, I'm back now. And there's no reason we can't be together."
JJ frantically searched for a weapon. Something. Anything. Lucia had the gun. She hadn't wanted anything to do with it. So all she had was a nail file in her back pocket as part of the lock picking kit they’d brought. Such a dumb idea. What made them think they could be in and out and he wouldn’t notice?. What the hell had she been thinking? You were thinking about keeping Jonas safe. What skills did she have?
You are Jessica freaking Jones. You are smart. Think your way through this. He wants you. He's not going to hurt you. Lucia was protected because she had her gun. Which meant JJ just had to keep him talking until Lucia could shoot him. Yeah okay that was a plan. Maybe not the most thought-out one she’d ever had, but hey, in a pinch it wasn’t bad.
Maybe not, but you do have your phone. And one thing she was good at was texting with her eyes closed. She put her hands behind her back even as she stepped backward trying to keep him talking. "David, listen to me. We don't want to do this. You and I, we don't work. You weren't happy with me anyway. I never made you happy."
"I decide what makes me happy. And it's not about happiness. I own you."
JJ hoped she'd managed to unlock her phone and had found the app properly by memory. Lucia was the last person she’d texted, so she should get the message. Send help. He’s got me in the kitchen.
"Why did you have to do it? Hook up with that guy? He's weak. He's not as strong as I am."
“He's stronger than you are. He's a better man. He's kinder, and I love him. And he's better in bed." Okay, maybe that was going too far, but the truth was the truth.
David lunged for her, and she scooted out of the way. But she wasn't fast enough and he managed to grab her by the wrist, hauling her up against him. Then he grabbed the front of her dress and lifted her easily off the ground. "You were always such a lying whore. You know I'm the best you've ever had or ever will have again. I am Rafe fucking DeMarco.”
JJ blinked at him. Jesus, he’d lost it. Having her call him Rafe during sex was twisted enough but he really believed that he was Rafe. That was —sick. Yeah, any way she looked at this, they had arrived at cray-cray town.
“You are going to live here, and you're going to be my wife. We are going to raise children in this house. Just like the life you always wanted with me. We’re going to live in the house I grew up in. I'm going to have the one thing that he couldn't have."
"You've got it wrong. I didn't love Rafe. He was a crush. This obsession you have, you can't see the truth. Rafe and me… we were never a thing. Your obsession with him, it's why you sought me out. Lucia was too broken. But I was the perfect target. I know this isn't about me. This is about Rafe."
“No, no, no, no." He pressed her up against the wall, and she tried to struggle out of his grip. "I am Rafe. We are going to have children in this house. Two of them, and we're even going to name them Rafe Jr. and Lucia."
"You're a sick bastard."
"I'll be as sick as you want. Is that what you're into now? You know I bugged Castillo’s apartment, right? You like being controlled. I know that much. You like being told what to do, you like being dominated, you like having control stripped away."
"You're an asshole of the lowest order. I hate everything about you."
He bared his teeth, and she could see the fury written all over his face. He banged her against the wall, and pain ricocheted through her skull, making her teeth ache. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the self-preservationist part of her brain told her to be quiet. To stop talking. To not make it any worse. But she couldn't help it. "You realize you're a little-dick motherfucker right? Shit, I have balls bigger than yours. The fact that you have to scare and terrorize a woman to make her be with you makes you pathetic. It makes you sad."
Again he banged her against the wall. Fuck that hurt.
And then she saw a flicker from the dining room. She could only hope, she could only pray that it was help. So she kept him distracted. "Do you know that every time we had sex, I used to imagine it was Rafe? I mean I didn't know what sex could be, and all I really wanted was that loved feeling, but I hated having sex with you. Every single time, it was awful. God knew I never once, not once, had an orgasm. And you know what? All Jonas has to do is look at me, and orgasm is imminent. You could never do that. Because you’re half the man he is. Hell, you want to borrow my brass balls for a second?"
He lifted her again, ready to bang her head into the wall. But then his grip eased on the front of her dress, and JJ's feet hit the ground. David sagged, and Lucia stood over him holding a metal pipe. "That's for taking my baby."
JJ met her gaze. "Oh my God. I cannot believe you did that. Although, that’s what I call laying pipe."
Lucia stared at the metal in her hand, her lips twitching with a hint of a smile. "I think he's been living in the basement. It’s where I found this. There’s only one room with anything in it. I couldn't figure how to get the safety off the damn gun, so I had to get closer. I'm sorry. Are you okay?” She reached for JJ, and JJ winced.
"I am, let's get out of here."
But as JJ stumbled over his body heading for the dining room and the front door, David grabbed Lucia's ankle. "You're not going anywhere."
Lucia went sprawling, and so did the pipe and the gun. "JJ, take those. Run."
The hell she was running without her best friend. JJ picked up the gun and checked the safety. It was jammed. With all her might, she pushed up to release it and heard the click. Then she aimed. God, the last thing on Earth she wanted to do was hit Lucia. And Lucia was putting up one hell of a fight. Elbows, knees, biting, scratching. There was blood everywhere. But when David had her best friend pinned down with his hand on her throat, JJ didn't even think. She just fired.
The loud crack reverberated throughout the room. But she didn't stop there.
She remembered every single time he’d ever lifted his hand to hit her, every single time he’d ever held her down and ignored her protests about how she didn't want to sleep with him. She remembered every single time she'd been made to cower, every single time he’d deliberately hurt her, and she fired again. Crack. She thought about all the things he’d said to her about how she was pathetic and sad, and the times he’d told her that she wasn't beautiful. Crack. She’d fired a bullet into his chest, one in his shoulder, and another in his neck, but the rage was still in his eyes as he continued to choke her best friend.
Terror shook JJ’s body as she spoke. "I only came here to tell you to stop. This has to end. You don't have to die today."
He sneered at her then stared down at Lucia. And Lucia just gasped for breath. "I will never stop.”
She knew he wasn’t lying, that every word out
of his mouth was the truth. Then with calm in her heart, she released another bullet. That one got him between the eyes. And then he fell forward on top of Lucia.
chapter 18
Jonas was frantic.
It baffled him that anything got done over the next hour because his brain felt like it had been through a blender. His entire universe had realigned in the space of just a few seconds.
JJ was out there, possibly in danger, and he was too far away to help.
“Can’t we go any faster?” he barked at Noah, who was currently driving the car practically at warp speed. The look his friend shot at him would have turned a lesser man to stone. As it was, Jonas felt his balls shrivel a few sizes.
“I know where your head is at, brother.” Noah said in a deceptively calm voice. “My woman is out there, too. You know I’m going as fast as I can without this Jeep growing wings.”
Jonas took a deep breath and then another. Attacking the people on his side wasn’t helping the situation. Plus, he knew how they all felt about JJ and Lucia. Those women were special to each of them in different ways. There was no other team more invested in bringing them home safely. But still, they didn’t have their entire lives wrapped up in this outcome. Well, Noah did. But the others, they had no idea. Until you felt that way about someone, you couldn’t understand how their safety and happiness was the key to everything being all right in your world.
“There’s a chance we’re panicking for nothing,” Noah continued. “Lucia wouldn’t put them in direct danger, not after all of the safety lectures she’s gotten from me. If anything, they’re probably just driving around that area looking for clues.”
“Maybe,” Jonas hedged. But in his heart, he knew that if his JJ was out there, she wasn’t hiding in the car. Crazy woman that she was, she wouldn’t approach with caution, she’d charge straight into trouble and tell everyone there to go to hell.
Jesus.
“What the hell were they thinking?” he muttered.
“I hate to be the voice of reason,” Matthias began. “But they were probably pissed that we didn’t investigate the information JJ offered more thoroughly.”
“Well, why the hell didn’t we?” Jonas roared.
Was he having a heart attack? It felt like the damn organ was bouncing around in his chest like it wanted out. Everything was out of control and he wasn’t sure exactly what he was supposed to be doing. All he knew was that whatever he did might not be enough.
Because he knew what kind of trouble Jessica Jones was capable of getting into.
Oskar’s meaty hand landed on his shoulder, probably the only thing strong enough to keep him from launching out of the seat.
“We’ve always done the best we could with the information we had at the time. It didn’t seem likely that Chamaeleon would be hiding out playing house in some sleepy little Connecticut town. But seeing how crafty this dude is, maybe that’s why it makes sense. He’s always doing what we don’t expect.”
“And information changes,” Matthias interjected. “Because when I searched before, there was nothing to indicate that Chamaeleon was there. But I just got the utilities records back, and Rafe’s old house is drawing more power than it should considering that the owners are out of the country.”
Jonas swiveled in his seat. “Shouldn’t there be no power if no one is currently living there?”
“There’s always a residual amount drawn as long as the power is connected. But there are spikes here at night, which definitely indicate that someone is using it. Could be squatters but…” Matthias shrugged.
“But you don’t think so?” Jonas pressed.
“With this new information, the fact that the other hideout is empty, and his obsession with Rafe, I don’t think so. I think he’s been there for a while, plotting.”
“And JJ tried to tell us.” Jonas rubbed a hand over his face. If he couldn’t get to her in time, he would never forgive himself. She’d tried to tell them. She’d trusted them to protect her.
No, she trusted you to protect her. And you let her down.
“What the hell are we walking into?” Jonas asked.
“It could be anything. Maybe we’ve taken him off guard and this will be a quick, in-and-out, take-him-out operation,” Oskar answered.
“Or?” Jonas was almost afraid to ask about the other option. Because he had a gut feeling that the “or” included JJ and Lucia putting themselves in danger.
Or was not something he was prepared to face.
Apparently Oskar felt the same way. “Let’s hope ‘or’ doesn’t happen. We need to find this dude and fast. Before he realizes that JJ and Lucia are looking for him.”
Noah slowed as they exited the highway and entered the small town of Bliss. From what Jonas knew, there wasn’t a whole lot to the place. Small country ramblers, a general store, a few mom and pop stores, and a whole lot of fields. Not the kind of place where you’d expect a psychotic, ex-secret agent with a weird bro-crush to reside.
“We’re going to proceed with the same amount of caution we’d use under any other circumstances,” Noah stated with a pointed look for Jonas. “Going in with guns blazing could backfire if he’s got the girls.”
Rationally, Jonas knew he was right. But it didn’t quell the urge to palm two guns and bust through the door in a blaze of glory.
“We’ll be tight,” Oskar assured Noah. “I just texted Rafe to approach from behind as usual. Then we can go in the front and fan out in teams of two.”
They all checked their gear as Noah parked down the block. In addition to all the guns, they were all fitted with in-ear comms. From a distance, the house in question was dark and looked completely unassuming. Jonas made a signal to Noah that he would fall behind as they approached, the only sound the barely detectable whisper of their boots over the grass.
“Front door is locked.” Oskar’s soft murmur came over the comms. A few seconds later, they heard Rafe confirm that the back door was open.
Noah pointed at Matthias and Oskar to remain at the front and then headed for the back, with Jonas right behind. There were no lights on, but they all had excellent night vision. Jonas could easily make out the shape of Noah right in front of him, and then once they turned a corner in the house, Rafe ahead of him.
Movement to their right had them all swinging their weapons in that direction.
“Hands up!” Rafe commanded.
Feminine screams erupted.
“JJ?” Jonas asked.
“Oh my god! It’s you!” JJ dropped what she was holding. “I’m so glad you’re here. We didn’t know what to do!”
He heard Noah’s voice over the comms letting Oskar and Matthias know it was safe to come in. But the only thing he could focus on was what JJ had been holding. As soon as she stepped back, he could see what it was. David West’s arm.
“Holy shit. Is that–” Rafe stared incredulously.
“David? Yes, he’s dead. I shot him.” JJ huffed. “We were trying to figure out how to get him out of here.”
“I thought we could wheel him out in this suitcase,” Lucia continued, gesturing to an oversize brown suitcase next to her. “But it turns out he’s way heavier than he looks. So it’s a good thing you guys are here. This part sucks.”
Rafe burst into laughter and glanced over at Noah. “This is what you’ve done to my sister? I raised a perfect angel, and now she’s hiding dead bodies?”
Noah snickered. “She’s a DeMarco. What the hell do you expect?”
“Um, hello?” Lucia screeched. “Dead guy at two o’clock. Are you guys going to help us get rid of this or what? Because I need to get home and feed the baby. Nonna will be expecting to hear from us soon.”
JJ grinned. “That’s right. And I’m sure she’ll want to know her plan went off perfectly.”
“Her plan?” Rafe repeated.
“Of course. Nonna is quite the mastermind.” JJ took great pleasure in watching all the guys’ shocked expressions.
Men a
lways thought they had the women in their lives figured out. Well, no one was ever going to put her in a box. She hoped to be just as gutsy and causing as much trouble as Nonna in her older years.
Her eyes landed on Jonas. More than anything, she hoped to be causing trouble with him.
“Take me home, please,” she whispered.
“You got it, baby.” Jonas pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “After this stunt you’ll be lucky if I ever let you out of the bed again. At least I know you’re safe there.”
JJ smiled. If he thought she was safe in bed, he had no idea what he was in for. She planned to cause just as much trouble in the bedroom as she did everywhere else.
Matthias watched everyone leave.
JJ was being unusually docile as she allowed Jonas to lead her out the door. He overheard something about never letting her out of bed again, which he ignored. No more mental images of those two were needed. Some of the things he’d overheard lately could never be forgotten. It was a wonder he could look anybody he lived with in the face these days.
Speaking of PDA, his boss was currently trying to be stern with his wife, while Lucia was pretending to listen. The smile on her face pretty much said ‘I’ll play nice for a while but in the end, I do what I want.’ As sweet as she was, Lucia was surprisingly headstrong. Oh, she’d keep a smile on her face the whole time, but no man controlled her. It was one of the things Matthias had always liked about her.
A woman like that would fight by your side through anything.
“Sorry to put you on cleanup duty, Matthias.” Noah actually did look apologetic, not something he did often. But it was no real secret that Noah and the others tried to shield him from anything too grim.
Matthias cringed. He hated that anyone knew so much about him, about the things he’d done. It was weird knowing that they were all watching, expecting him to go off the rails if he was exposed to anything too dark.
He didn’t need to be coddled. He pulled his weight. Always had. Probably more than his fair share.
