The Color of Jade (Jade Series Book 1)

by Redding, Mae

  “Yeah, we’re friends again.” I gave him a weak smile.

  “Good… You should go out there and talk to him.”

  “Oh no, don’t even go there, Kane. I don’t want to talk to him.”

  “Ya… you’re right, drag it out… make him suffer… make yourself suffer.”

  I rolled my eyes. He chuckled but didn’t pursue the issue further, I watched him as he stood slowly. His biceps curled tight against his cotton tee shirt as he picked up the pot, weighed down with cut potatoes and water and carried it into the living room then set it on the wood burning stove. The hinges screeched as he opened the stove door, a skin crawling sound like nails on a chalkboard. I shuddered at the irritating noise.

  I heard muffled thuds, as he placed wood in the hearth for a fire. Soon, the smoky scent drifted through the air as the gentle pop of the fire grew louder.

  “I’m supposed to leave in two days and starting to wonder if it’s a bad idea for me to go right now,” he said, as he returned to the kitchen. “Maybe I’m going about this wrong.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “With Morrison, maybe I need to back off.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because, it’s not worth your safety,” he hesitated, a somber expression in his eyes. “You've already gotten hurt.”

  “Do you think what Morrison is doing is wrong?”

  “He’s wrong in every way possible, and it’s not just that I don’t like the guy. Morrison cannot be trusted. ”

  “You said things with him are getting worse. Will it continue if you back off?”

  “Yeah...” Kane said, discouraged, as he absently grabbed a handful of raw peas and tossed them in his mouth. I gave him a scowl as I pulled the bowl away from him, and then continued to shell the remainder of the peas for the potato soup.

  “Morrison will win.”

  “If I don’t back off, you could get pulled into this. I don't want that.”

  “I’m fine, if you need to go then go.”

  “It’s just that… I do need to, there is no one else my connection will trust yet, he’s expecting me. He won’t like it if I send someone else and I don't want to jeopardize our agreement. Joel and Mike are already going and we need at least three men to go… But I won’t go if you don’t feel safe, Jade.”

  “Trey will be here, we’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll try to make the trip as short as possible okay? If you need anything Raύl and Chale are here, Gage is close by-”

  “I won’t need anything, Kane!”

  “Okay, but if you do… They’re around. I'll be leaving Monday night and should be back in three to four days at the most.”

  Trey walked in and stopped short when he saw us. I was relieved and disappointed at the same time to see that Gage wasn’t with him and he looked relieved that Kane and I spoke to each other again. I gave him a weak smile as I picked up the bowl of peas and went to check on the soup.

  ***

  My ride to Marge’s grew unusually quiet along the trail. I didn’t have anything to trade. I just needed to talk to her but I wondered if my timing was bad. Kane said I could go but to hurry. He needed to leave sometime this evening, and wanted my help with a few things.

  Fire’s snorts and the sounds of my breaths were the only sounds I heard amongst the trees, which seemed to close in around me. Everything else seemed unusually quiet. Fire’s ears pricked upward, suddenly on alert, as she slowed her pace and turned her head to the left. I peered out into the trees. I couldn’t see anything that would explain my unease and her sudden interest. The breeze picked up slightly and my increased awareness of the rustling leaves sent shivers down my spine. Goose bumps crawled over my skin like a million tiny spiders and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling that someone watched me.

  Relief bubbled in my chest as Fire and I cleared the trees without incident. I allowed myself to breathe again only to draw it up once more as I looked at Marge’s store. Militia stood guard and lined the front of her store but I knew they would be there. Kane said they were everywhere. However, to my surprise, there were more of them than I expected. I suddenly wanted to be home. I pulled Fire to a stop pretending to mess with my saddle as I searched inward for enough courage to go.

  I nudged Fire along. The click-clack of her shod hooves against the road drew the Militia’s attention. With the stares of six sets of hardened eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to head to Marge’s. I couldn’t circle back either. It would look too suspicious to ride all this way only to turn around and go back so I had no choice but to continue on the trail.

  I needed to get used to seeing the Militia without cause for panic, since they hovered around every corner. The Militia sent the jitters through my body. Morrison made it clear they were here to stay, to maintain order and enforce his self-appointed superiority. More like a dictatorship in my opinion.

  I brought Fire to a stop once out of sight of the Militia. I slumped in the saddle, pressed the pads of my fingertips to the sides of my forehead, and closed my eyes in an attempt to relieve the tension that gave me a sudden headache. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. Out of the eerie quiet, the faint sounds of an assembled group grew into my awareness. A male voice boomed out occasionally over a loudspeaker.

  Hesitantly, I urged Fire towards the sounds. As they grew louder, I rode off into the rustling deadfall to get a better look. I tied her to a sturdy branch and headed to the fence line of the elementary schoolyard that ran up to the edge of the trees. My fingers brushed along the chain link fence as I walked. Hidden by the trees, I headed towards the gate.

  There were people, many people, more than I’d seen in a long time. Maybe a couple hundred or so, men, women and older teens and even a few children gathered around a stand set along the back of the elementary school. People continued to filter in through the gate and I wondered why. Some people talked in hushed tones, others louder to talk over one another, all in a muddled sea of words.

  I reached the boundaries of the trees and stopped in the last bit of safety of their cover, maybe fifty yards from the guarded gate. Militia stood tall amongst the fenced in people, dozens of them all armed with pistols at their sides and assault rifles in their arms as they scanned the nervous crowd watching for anyone who wanted to cause problems.

  The air grew warm once out from under the shaded canopy of the trees. My skin grew moist as the sun warmed my cheeks. I pulled my hair tie off my wrist and swept my hair up into a ponytail. The back of my neck instantly cooler.

  A girl headed towards me as she held the hand of a little boy. Our eyes met. She looked familiar, but I couldn’t place her. Grey eyes hollowed in her sockets looked large against the backdrop of her gaunt looking face. Her sunken cheeks, visibly pronounced by her sharp cheekbones. As my eyes drifted down her fragile frame, I noticed her thin unhealthy appearance except for roundness around her middle that took me by surprise. Her clothes hung big and would have done a good job of hiding her swollen belly, if she wouldn’t have used it as an arm rest.

  I gasped at the realization of her pregnant condition. She looked so young, so alone, so sad, and I felt bad for the young girl who would have to bring a baby into the world the way it was.

  “Hi, Jade.”

  Surprise replaced my curiosity as she passed by but then I recognized the voice.

  “April Hudson?”

  “Yeah, you look like you’re doing well.” She gave an honest smile, myself shocked by her appearance. I’d known her since the second grade and Trey harbored a secret interest in her for just as long.

  Her shiny blond hair looked dingy and tangled. The little boy, just as thin, who must have been her brother, couldn’t have been more than five as he hid behind her and clutched her hand.

  “Is Trey… okay?” She asked with hesitancy in her voice, as if unsure if she wanted to know if the news was bad.

  “Yeah… he’s fine.” Relief settled in her eye
s as her worried glance softened briefly into a sincere, pleasant smile. “What are you doing here?”

  “Someone from every household has to be here, it’s just the two of us now,” April said, as her smile quickly faded and she anxiously looked towards the gate. “I got to go. It was good to see you.”

  “Wait, April!”

  I called out for her but she turned with a saddened smile. One of the militia guards grabbed her arm and pulled her from the crowd as she walked through the gate. She glanced at him with the least bit of surprise as if she expected it. He spoke gruff with annoyance. I couldn’t tell what he said but his harshness, grossly visible in his expression.

  Heat cursed through me like an electric current as I grew increasingly angry. The safe boundaries of my elementary school, where many of my pleasant childhood memories stemmed from, turned into what looked like a Nazi prison camp. Suddenly, I wanted to be inside the fence. I wanted to hear what was about to be said. I wanted to find out what happened to her, why that guard talked to her that way, why she was pregnant.

  I stepped into line as the people moved slowly, like cattle herded into a corral. My breath caught suddenly as I glanced at the guard that spoke to April. He stood five feet ahead and I realized I recognized him. His eyes scanned over me and followed my every move. I froze in place as Rubin Morrison's heated glare penetrated deep, taunting me as if he dared me to come closer, to walk past him. I slowly stepped to the side and let others pass, unsure if I should go through with it. Perspiration beaded at my neck and prickled down my spine. Nervous energy from his intimidating glare suddenly set my insides ablaze and I forced myself to look away.

  With my fingers laced through the links of the fence, I watched the crowd and as I scanned over the sea of people, my glance shifted to a way too familiar face. I looked closer. Trey. Shocked to see him, my curiosity grew and I watched until he got lost in the crowd.

  “You shouldn’t be here.” I jumped, startled half to death by the voice next to my ear. I whirled around suddenly breathless with a racing heart to see who provoked my alarm.

  “Gage!” Frustrated, I gave him a shove as I waited for the beat of my heart to slow back within normal range. “You scared me!”

  “Sorry.”

  A momentary faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips, slightly amused by my being startled. Then his gaze changed and the seriousness of his expression discouraged me, unsure how to feel by his unreadable expression. The first time we talked had gone all wrong. Well, not completely, but it ended terrible, so his impression of me, I imagined, probably a bad one. I hoped the next time I saw him, things would go better, and that I would want to see him, but I didn't, not here. Embarrassed still and under the current circumstances, I felt slightly irritated that he caught me here.

  He took my arm gently, but yet deliberately guided me away from the entrance of the gate and stopped at the edge of the trees. He positioned himself between the gate and me so I couldn’t see Rubin anymore. Gage looked over his shoulder, the black and silver pendant dangled loosely over the collar of his tee shirt as his determined eyes scanned the crowd in search for someone.

  “Why can’t I be here?”

  “What do you think Kane would do?”

  “Did he send you to keep track of me?” I asked angrily. I pulled my arm from his grasp. I held my frustration on the tip of my tongue and I wondered if Gage was the reason I felt intruded upon earlier in the trees.

  “No.”

  “Have you been following me?”

  “No! I don’t live far from here. I was on my way over and saw you,” he said, suddenly on the defense. “But you shouldn’t be here.”

  “Trey is here.”

  “I know… Did he see you?”

  “No,” I paused for a moment, glad he didn’t. I had a feeling he wouldn’t have been happy with me as well. “There are girls here younger than me, and kids, too.”

  “I know, but… Jade… You shouldn’t be here. Come on. Let’s go back in the trees.”

  “No! I want to hear what they have to say!”

  “You can hear from the trees,” Gage said firmly, as he pulled me out of sight. The intensity and strength, visible in blue eyes sent my heart into a tailspin as he continued the uncomfortable interrogation. “That guard looked like he knew you.”

  “He’s the guard that…” My heart sank, as I knew I wouldn't get past Rubin unrecognized. I peered around a tree to see if he still watched me. My voice trailed off as I watched him talk to a man. The man’s back, turned towards me and hid his face.

  “He's the guard that what, Jade?” Gage asked with an urgency in his voice that sent chills over my skin. He looked to see what caught my attention.

  My breath caught as I watched Rubin point in our direction. As the man turned, I saw him. My eyes met Damian’s as a smirk surfaced across his face then his look turned agitated as his glare shifted to Gage. I couldn’t bring myself to look away as his glare settled on me again.

  Damian stood upright, his shoulders squared and his steely eyes penetrated through me. With his jaw set tight, his predatory glare caused me to shift uncomfortably, even with Gage next to me. Damian had too much support, too much back up here if he wanted to cause a problem and he knew it. Yet, he just stood there unmoved as if his intimidating glare was enough.

  “Jade…”

  Distracted, I rubbed gently at the faded bruise on my forehead. It was still a little tender. “He’s the guard that pushed me into the wall,” I said softly. I pulled myself from my stupor with the sound of my own voice answering Gage’s question. He pulled me back out of sight and I turned my attention back to him. He stood close as his hands gripped the sides of my arms.

  “He's the guard that held a gun to you?”

  I instantly turned frustrated with Emery for telling and with Gage for remembering. My eyebrows furrowed as I gave him a scowl. “Yeah…”

  “That’s Rubin Morrison.”

  “I know…”

  “You are going home, Jade.”

  I opened my mouth to protest but stopped short by his insistence. Gage’s stern voice sent me reeling and I felt surprisingly captivated and utterly irritated at the same time.

  “Now, Jade!”

  “Why do you care if I’m here?” The tone of my voice cut sharper than I wanted it to as the negative momentum continued to roll. I wished I could take it back a moment too late. He replaced a fleeting hurtful glance quickly with one of austerity and seriousness. The anger in my tone lashed back as if I had thrown Gage a boomerang. With icy blue eyes, he returned harshness in his voice.

  “Get on your horse and go home.” I shot him a menacing look at his insistence as the sense of fascination left quickly and irritation took over. Despite my protests, I did have the sudden urge to be home but for him to tell me I had to, caused my blood to boil.

  “I'm not leaving. I'll find somewhere else to watch-”

  “Yes you are. Your horse is that way,” he said, as he cut me off and pointed in the direction of Fire.

  “Whatever…” My cheeks burned as I huffed inwardly then turned, flipping my pony tailed waves behind me. As I walked swiftly towards where I left Fire, I heard Gage’s footsteps crunch in the deadfall behind me as he followed.

  I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. I just wanted to hear what was going on, especially after I saw April. I didn’t like how Rubin recognized me and after I saw him talk to Damian and look my direction, I felt uneasy about being there.

  Despite my stubborn pride I knew Gage was right. His actions weren't unpredictable since I challenged his persistence. Kane and Trey would have done the same, probably not as nice. I don’t know why I reacted to him the way I did. However, with the way he insisted I go home, I felt defiant. There were easier ways to persuade me, and to say I couldn't do something, wasn't it. You'd get the same reaction if you set a fire underneath me and told me I couldn't jump in the lake.

  I regretted my unreasonable tone and felt I just du
g a hole too deep to climb out. I sighed out of frustration, then reached over and untied Fire from the tree. I stood next to her with my arms, folded across my chest as I watched Gage swing himself into my saddle. My peculiar glare brought a smirk to his face as he leaned down towards me and held out his hand.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Making sure Kane’s little sister gets home safely.” His voice stayed even and gave no hint as to if he was kidding. My jaw dropped as my brows furrowed with the intensity of gasoline on a raging fire burning in my chest. Suddenly, I got it. He didn't say it in as many words, but I was nothing more to him than his friends' little sister. He did Kane a favor by taking me home.

  I bit at my lip to hold my fuming tongue as his smirk erupted into a full-blown grin. He enjoyed this way too much. With his hand still outstretched, he chuckled as I reluctantly gave him mine. He grabbed my upper arm as I attempted to grab his, unable to wrap my fingers completely around his curling bicep. The strength in his arm surprised me as he helped me swing up behind him on the skirt of the saddle.

  “You haven’t changed a bit, Gage.” Sarcasm hissed sharply against my tongue as the memory of a confidently daring, haughty, and full of taunt and tease little boy came to mind.

  “Neither have you, Jade,” Gage said, as we rode along the trail. He looked back at me over his shoulder. He removed his grin but then a faint smile crept at the corner of his lip. His blue eyes danced with laughter at my expense. “You always were a pretty stubborn little princess.”

  My jaw dropped. “I am not a princess!” He laughed. My cheeks blazed a hot crimson red and set my insides on fire. If I ever sat on the fence over what I felt for him, I leaned towards uninterested and indifferent, even though what I felt was fuming mad, fueled by the pain as my heart wrenched into a twisted knot. I wasn't sure what upset me more. The fact that I dug my own hole and deserved everything he threw at me at this point or that I was naive enough to think he might have liked me. My eyes burned and I swallowed hard at the knot in my throat.

  His deliciously intoxicating manly scent lingered just under my nose. The broad shoulders directly in my sight of vision tormented me as I sat close to him. The warmth under his shirt penetrated through mine and aroused awareness that places of my body touched his. I peeled the front of me from the closeness of his angular back as I realized I still had my hand on his arm and swiftly removed it as if freshly burned by a scorching hot iron.