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forty-one

Freedom

Jade

Standing here with the barrel of a gun pressed against my forehead as I stare my mother in the eyes is not what I had planned the moment we ran down those stairs and out the doors to safety.

"Mother or not, I'll fucking leave you here for dead." I spit, pressing the knife from my holster into her pelvis, adding pressure the longer the cold metal tip is pressed against my head. She clicks her teeth as she looks at me and the others, especially my brother; her son.

"Just like your father, I see." She says and I roll my eyes.

"Which one would that be? Seeing as I've been raised by one and kept away from the real one. Tsk, tsk mother. All the lies you've spewed and all the secrets you've kept. My, my, Theresa, the sheer fact that you are alive is shocking, but not surprising in the least." I say, my tone laced with venom as the woman before me looks every bit like the mother I remember, but the minute she opens her mouth, I just want to cut her tongue out.

"Think Kitten, we need to get out of here. The window is closing very quickly." Dario whispers in my ear. Hearing his voice is like a blanket covering my body, making me feel safe and secure for the next move I'm going to make.

"You've always been a sassy kid, Fallon. Maybe it's time to learn some manners." She threatens and I laugh.

"Not yet, mother." I sneer as I sink my knife into her pelvis.

"But maybe one day after I get all the answers I seek." I confess. Looking over at Jameson I nod and all hell breaks loose. I push my mother to the ground as she takes aim at my head, but Ryder pushes me out of the line of fire, slapping the gun out of her hand. I take the handle of my knife and smash it upside her head, knocking her out.

Looking around at the others, everyone seems to be handling their own. Fuckers.

"Kitten, it's time to go. Head for the fence, I'll be waiting for you." He says and my heart does a little flip.

"Roger that, Big Man." I giggle and he laughs.

"That's not what your nickname is for me." He says as I look at the others, telling them to move their asses as I take off through the tall grass, retrieving my sniper rifle.

"So tell me, what was my nickname for you? Don’t tell me it’s Daddy," I say with a giggle as Spade comes out of nowhere, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I'm the only Daddy around here, Ri can kick fucking rocks." He growls against my neck, causing me to laugh. But before I can reply, Jameson is punching Spade in the arm.

"There's not an inch of you that is Daddy material. Shut the fuck up." He chides, making me laugh even harder.

"Damn, Princess. I’ve missed that laugh." He says and I shake my head.

"You've got to come up with a better nickname because Princess aint it buddy." I say and his eyes widen.

"Since when? It's never bothered you before." He says and I take a deep breath before confessing that I don't remember him.

"Jay, can we put this on ice? We still aren't in the clear." Spade interjects. Thank fucking god.

"Fine." Jameson growls and stomps off towards the open fence where Dario is waiting. Kane saddles up beside me nudging my arm.

"All these men for one little lady? I can dig it. As long as they don't harm you, I'll try to stay out of the way." He says and I laugh.

"Yeah, okay. They won’t give you much of a choice, but to say I'm not here for the bullshit that's going to ensue, I'd be a liar." I say and he shakes his head.

"It's just too bad I didn't make you fall for me before we got back here." He says with a frown.

"If anything Madra, I would've killed you before confessing my love for your bitch ass." I wink and he grabs his heart.

"You wound me, Gra." He says with a chuckle. I glance over at my brother who is leaned in, speaking in quiet whispers with Spade before I see their eyes widen. I snap my eyes to the right and see Jameson with a knife to Kane's throat. Fuck.

"If I ever hear that name come out of your mouth again, I will send your insides back to where you fucking belong." He growls, and I step in between them, pushing Kane back as he pushes me into Jameson.

"Siren, I'm going to need you to step that sexy ass aside so I can gut this prick." he says with a sinister smile that's damn near frightening. A flash of white hits my vision and the image of me and Jameson in a basement full of blood while a man hangs behind us becomes all I can see.

"Kitten, kitten, come back. Drop the knife. You're safe." Dario says as my vision clears. I take a quick breath and drop the knife I had to Darios neck.

"I don’t think it’s a good idea to grab me while in a trance like that. I don’t want to hurt anyone," I whisper and he nods in understanding.

"Well, dickface wasn't doing anything to help you, so I was left with no choice." He admits, cupping my face. I lean into his touch as the others around us leave through the fence leaving only Spade, Dario and Jameson standing with me.

"Someone want to explain what the fuck is going on?" Jameson demands.

"Not here, can we do it at the house?" I plead, looking into Dario's eyes.

"Of course. Let's get out of here" He says, and I nod as we all take off through the fence and back into the van.

"Everyone accounted for?" I ask and Dario nods, confirming we all made it out.

"Yep. Let's go." He orders. I sit back for a moment replaying everything that just happened. Between my mother being fucking alive, then threatening to kill us, to Jameson and Kane arguing and then the vision, it was quite the fucking day. The more and more I'm around these guys, the more they trigger my memories, which is a good thing. But something is telling me that not all the memories are going to be good and I'll end up breaking my own heart again.

"Hey Ry, have Ryker meet us at the house. It's time for a little chat." I say and he smiles.

"Agreed, he's going to need to be on alert with mom being both alive and the enemy. Like what the fuck was that?" he questions and I shake my head.

"I’m not sure, but I don’t fucking like it. I'll call Flynn and see if he can do some digging.” I say as we all take a breath and head back to my house.

Home, the place where all the truths and lies are about to spill. I just hope we all come out intact and no one loses an eye.