Collateral Damage: A Tethered Novel

by Wayne, Jessica

  “She was nearly drained. I could have killed her!” Lindsay insisted.

  “I told you,” Malcolm warned. “You are not allowed to kill her until her magic is completely drained. That itself will kill her.”

  Frustrated at her own failure, she rolled her eyes. “What does it matter anymore? You have that other one.” She pointed to the woman in the cage situated in the corner of his office.

  “Paislee is special to me, her magic is pure and the strongest I’ve ever tasted. If we’re going to have ultimate power, we need it all.” He turned to Jake and gestured to the other woman still bound in the corner. “Kill her.”

  Still gagged, she tried to move.

  Jake pulled out his gun and fired a single shot. Giselle fell to the ground, and the woman in the cage flinched.

  “Get rid of the body and find a way to get me Paislee. By any means necessary. We need to be able to move forward, I have people waiting for my orders, and the longer they have to wait, the more their fingers itch for the trigger.”

  “I will bring her to you,” Jake assured him.

  “Alive.”

  “More or less.”

  “Be sure it’s more.”

  “Please.” The woman in the cage reached for Jake as he started to walk by. “Please let me go.”

  Jake stepped closer to the bars and grinned. “Haven’t you figured it out yet Jayde? You belong here.”

  “Why me?”

  “Because you have something I want,” Malcolm spoke up and dismissed Jake. “You should feel proud Jayde, you are going to be the one who helps me to shape a new world.”

  Her eyes widened. “A new world?”

  “Oh yes, we are going to destroy this one and rebuild it.” He reached into his shirt and pulled out the garnet.

  “No, please, not again. Please!” she screamed, and he yanked her arm through the bars. She crumpled as he felt the power being pulled from her body.

  She was no Paislee, but her power was strong nonetheless, and before long he would have all he needed.

  * * *

  “Shit.” Timothy hung up the phone and began to pace.

  “What is it?” Paislee looked up from the magic book she was studying.

  “This is so much bigger than we could have imagined.”

  “What do you mean?” She set the book aside.

  “Ashton called some buddies he has with the FBI. It seems Malcolm is on their watch list. Apparently, the reason we couldn’t find any information on him before was that they have been sealed for security reasons. They think they may have a leak somewhere up the chain and didn’t want to tip him off.”

  “Why would the FBI be watching him?”

  “Not just the FBI. He has been tied to some recent terrorist organizations. Homeland Security is watching him as well.”

  Her jaw dropped. “What? Which ones?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Absolutely. I helped him force people to do his bidding, what if I helped in some way-”

  “You didn’t.”

  “How do you know? How could you possibly know?”

  “Paislee,” his voice was calm, but there was an edge to it that told Paislee she wouldn’t win an argument right now. No matter how guilty she felt.

  “Which attacks, Timothy?”

  “As far as anyone knows, none, yet. But there has been word that one is coming.”

  “They don’t know anything else about it?”

  He shook his head.

  “Is that why he wants my magic? So, no one can question him? So, no one will stand a chance against him?”

  “He won’t get you or your magic.”

  “We can’t wait around Timothy, we have to make a move sooner rather than later. Do they know when the attack might take place? Or where?”

  He shook his head. “If anyone knows they aren’t saying anything. But my guess would be it will take place in an incredibly populated area that would cause enough bloodshed to get him whatever power it is he wants.”

  “This is horrible.” She put her head in her hands. Never in a million years would she have considered this possibility. Murder, manipulation, torture, those things she knew Malcolm was capable of. But killing thousands of innocent people just to gain the upper hand against who knew what? She wouldn’t have thought him capable of such horror.

  Timothy rubbed his hand on her back. “We will get him, Paislee.”

  “I hope so.”

  Chapter 29

  “McGinley,” Timothy said when he answered his phone three hours later.

  “It’s Myria.”

  He smiled slightly at the sound of his old friends’ voice. “What can I do for you?”

  “You’re going to die,” she choked out. “Helping Paislee will kill you.”

  He straightened in his chair. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I had a vision, Timothy. You tried to save her, but you died instead. You cannot die, we just got you back.”

  He could hear the tears in her voice and tried to steady his own. “I’m not going to die Myria, it was just a dream.”

  “It wasn’t just a dream. Do you not think I can differentiate from a dream and a vision?”

  “That’s not what I said-”

  “That’s exactly what you said,” she interrupted.

  “I am not going to give up on her because of a dream Myria. You should know I don’t scare that easy.”

  “You are going to die, Timothy. Is her war worth your life?”

  “Her war is my war Myria.”

  She was silent a moment. “You love her.”

  “This is none of your business.”

  “You’re wrong. Aengus and I are your friends, whether you live, or die is our business.”

  “What do you expect me to do Myria? I won’t turn my back on her.”

  “Because you love her.”

  “Because she will die and whatever Malcolm is planning will come to fruition if I do.”

  “Do you still have the cuff I sent you for her?”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache setting in. “Yes.”

  “Wear it,” she said, and the line went dead.

  Timothy slammed down his cell and cursed. Just who in the hell did she think she was? She had turned her back on him two hundred years ago. One trip out to see her wouldn’t erase that.

  Did he wish things had turned out differently between them? He used to. He’d believed that he was in love with her all those years ago and he’d be lying if a small part of him didn’t still hate her for turning him away.

  But things had turned out differently, and that was the fact of it. No amount of time would change it, and if he had the chance, he wouldn’t even change it.

  She had Sheamus and their kids, and he had Paislee. Whatever came next could be handled as long as those two constants remained.

  “Is everything alright?” Paislee stood framed in his doorway. The light behind her cast an orange glow and made her appear as if she were the one providing it rather than the fading sun outside.

  He nodded. “Myria was just checking on our progress.”

  “Myria.”

  He didn’t miss the tone of her voice, and it brought a small smile to his lips. “You jealous then?”

  “No, of course not.”

  Timothy leaned back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest. “How are you?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “Tired and a little sore, but fine. Any word on Giselle?”

  “Unfortunately, not but that’s not surprising.”

  “Oh?”

  “If she’s working with Malcolm we may never see her again.”

  “Does that bother you?”

  His eyes narrowed on her face. “Not in the way you’re thinking it might.”

  “I just thought that-”

  “Whatever you’re thinking right now needs to be forgotten.” He got to his feet. “I want you Paislee. It was over with her before I even knew how
I felt about you.”

  “Look, Timothy, what if we’re only distracting each other? What if this is a mistake?”

  “Who says we don’t deserve to be distracted every once and awhile. You may have been fighting this war most of your life, but until I met you, I was fighting for a reason to stay alive. You’ve given me that reason. Don’t give up on me now.” He walked over and looked down into her eyes. “Give me time, and I swear to you we will nail that son of a bitch.”

  “Okay,” she said softly, and he pressed his lips to hers.

  * * *

  “I want you to teach me to fight.”

  Timothy looked up from his computer. “What?”

  “I want to learn to fight. I never had the time and always assumed since I had magic, it wouldn’t be necessary.”

  “It’s not necessary.”

  “Don’t you want me to be able to protect myself?”

  “I don’t want you running off into a fight because you think you are a professional boxer.”

  “I won’t ever think that I just want to be able to defend myself. My magic is temperamental at best and the chances of me mastering it in time to stop Malcolm is a pipe dream. I need to be able to have other means of fighting back.”

  “Paislee-”

  “Please? If you won’t teach me, I will find someone else who will.”

  The thought of her rolling around, sweaty, with someone else was too much for him, so he nodded. “Very well, we can start tomorrow.”

  She kissed him loudly. “Thanks, Timothy.”

  Ashton passed her as she was leaving Timothy’s office. “She looks happy.” He commented and shut the door behind him.

  “Apparently I’m going to teach her to fight.”

  “Good idea.”

  “You think?”

  “After Giselle, definitely.”

  “Any word on her or Jake?”

  Ashton shook his head. “We found the real Jake Parish though.”

  “I was afraid of that. Where?”

  “In the deep freezer of his parents’ basement.”

  “They knew about it?”

  He shook his head. “Apparently, they didn’t see their son much. There was a private entry in and out of the basement where he was living, and they rarely interfered.”

  “He was missing for at least seven months. How did they not notice?”

  “The mother said he had received a letter asking him to travel and be the test bunny for some big gamer company. They had been receiving letters from him every two weeks but according to those letters, couldn’t call because it would breach the security of the companies.”

  “They never questioned?”

  Ashton shrugged. “Between you and I, I think they were happy to have him out of the house.”

  “So, if the real Jake Parish has been dead seven months, who the hell has been working for me?”

  “Isn’t that the million-dollar question.”

  * * *

  Ashton took a seat on his couch, a glass of vodka in his hand. He closed his eyes as images of Jess played through his mind. He hadn’t realized until she was gone how deeply he cared for her.

  She had been the bright light in his day, and someone he had envisioned himself ending up with, but all that had been torn away. Had Jake killed her? His hand tightened on the glass, the bastard had come to work every day smiling, pretending as though he was the poor bastard they’d found in the freezer.

  He took a shaky drink and tried his best to fight back the tears. He was not an emotional man but seeing Jess wide-eyed and lifeless had broken him.

  There was a knock on his door and he stood to check the peep hole. His hand clenched on the pistol at his back when he saw who it was, but he pulled open the door anyways.

  “Allison.”

  “Ashton, it’s good to see you.” Allison Carver smiled brightly at him and stepped into his apartment.

  “Wish I could say the same, what are you doing here?”

  Allison had been his partner at the bureau and the very reason he had left in the first place. She’d been caught trading secrets with a criminal and even though he turned her in she had gotten off on a technicality.

  He’d had it with the corrupt assholes at the top of his chain of command, and so he’d left to start his own company.

  Not long after she had done the same and named it BlackPoint Security.

  “I wanted to see an old friend.”

  “Sure, that’s it.” He folded his arms.

  “The years have been kind to you, Ashton.” She eyed him with all the heat a lioness has in her gaze just before she pounces.

  “Did you come here to give me small talk or do you actually have business?”

  “I came to offer you a job.”

  “No thanks, now goodbye.”

  “I know you’re working for McGinley. You’re on the wrong side Ashton.”

  “I think you’ve got that backward, Malcolm is a psycho, and he’s got you doing his dirty work.”

  She shrugged. “He pays well. Much better than McGinley it seems.” She sneered as she looked around his small apartment.

  “At least I can sleep with a clear conscience.”

  “Alone to it seems.” She pouted. “It really is too bad that secretary ran into a blade isn’t it? I hear you had a thing for her.”

  His body stiffened. “You responsible for that?”

  She laughed. “I don’t get paid enough to kill in cold blood.”

  “No, of course not, you just protect the ones who do. So, who killed her then?”

  She shrugged again. “What does it matter? She’s dead.”

  “Leave. Now.” His body was shaking, and the longer she stood in his presence, the more likely he was going to snap. He was not a murderer though, and killing Allison would do nothing to stop Malcolm.

  “I’m not done yet.”

  “What. Do. You. Want.”

  “I want to warn you. I have a bit of a soft spot for you, even after what you did to me.”

  “Warn me about what?”

  “Malcolm has some things planned, things that are going to change the world.”

  “Tell me why I shouldn’t put a bullet in you? That would put a hitch in his plans wouldn’t it?”

  “Hardly.” She laughed. “It’s not just BlackPoint he has on his payroll anymore.” She smiled. “That’s what I have for you, sure you don’t want a job? I would triple whatever you’re making now.”

  “No thanks.”

  “That really is too bad Ashton, I’ve missed you.” She stepped forward and pressed a hard kiss to his lips before he could move.

  “See you later.”

  “I ever see you again I will put you down.”

  “Oh honey, we both know you don’t have the stones for that. Otherwise I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

  She shut the door behind her and Ashton picked the bottle of Grey Goose up off his counter. He turned it up and drank deeply, desperate to feel the burn from the liquor. Desperate to feel anything but the dagger in his heart. He prided himself on being an honest man, one that followed the rules otherwise he would have killed her right there, or at the very least taken her into Timothy for questioning.

  But doing anything against his carefully laid out guidelines went against who he was. The rules were changing though, and if he didn’t catch up, Ashton knew he was going to be the next one in a body bag.

  He pulled out his phone and dialed Timothy, who answered on the third ring.

  “What is it?”

  “Allison Carver was just here.”

  “Allison Carver of BlackPoint Security?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “What did she want?”

  “To offer me a job. and warn me that Malcolm is planning something big.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “Gone.”

  “Anything she say credible?”

  “Definitely. She wouldn’t have come here without a reason. Other th
an the job offers, which I know to have just been a way to get under my skin, everything she said will check out. I’ll look into it tomorrow, but I’d be willing to bet we’re running out of time.”

  “Alright, thanks, Ashton. Watch yourself, I don’t want you to be next on Malcolm’s elimination list.”

  “I will.” He disconnected the call and took another drink.

  * * *

  “Why haven’t I seen this before?” Paislee asked stunned as she stood in the doorway to the home gym in Timothy’s apartment.

  “I never had much of a reason to show you.”

  “This is amazing.” Professional equipment lined the walls and a giant bag hung in the center of the room over some mats. She watched him walk over to it, and after pushing a lever, he shoved the bag, and it slid over against the wall on a track.

  “Seriously? This is awesome!” She had never been one to exercise, she’d been young when Malcolm had taken her and hadn’t had the opportunity to enjoy that particular pastime while in his custody. Then after she had escaped, her sole focus had been on learning as much as she could about her magic.

  After her run-in with Giselle though, Paislee was beginning to understand just how important it was to learn to protect yourself hand to hand.

  You never knew when you would need it.

  “Okay, we’re going to start with some basics.” Timothy pulled his shirt off, and Paislee did her best to not let her mouth water as he stripped down to nothing but a pair of shorts that hung low on his waist.

  She suddenly felt very overdressed in her baggy t-shirt and yoga pants.

  He cleared his throat and Paislee blushed. “You said basics, I’m listening,” she defended.

  “I can see that.” He smirked and stepped onto the mats.

  She followed suit and let him walk her through how she was supposed to stand and the rules of throwing a punch.

  “You want to be sure the contact is coming from your knuckles and not the flat parts of your fingers.” He ran his index finger over her knuckles and then stood next to her. “When you execute, you want to put your body weight behind it, but make sure you stay balanced otherwise you’re going to end up on the ground.”