Page 32

CHAPTER 31

JAXSON

Ping. Ping. Ping

Lykos just came inside from running around in the yard. I pour his kibble into his food bowl and refill his water as my phone continues going off. I smile when I see Aurora’s name on the front of my screen, but my heart quits beating as I open my texts.

Aurora: Winchester

Aurora: Winchester

I switch to my Maps app and see that her location services have been activated. I watch the dot move further away from the base before my brain comes back online and starts functioning. Lykos must sense my change in mood because his head snaps up from his bowl, and his fur stands on end. I sprint toward the general’s office with Lykos on my heels. Laughter reaches me through the door, but it dies when I burst in and they see my expression.

“Rivers, what’s wrong?” Carver asks, rising to his feet.

“Aurora. We have to roll out,” I order.

“Stop,” General Parks commands. “Rivers, what the fuck is going on?”

“Aurora sent an SOS, Sir,” I explain. “She sent me a text with the word Winchester.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” He paces around his desk. “She’s on the base. She’s safe here.”

“General, she turned on her location services,” I explain. “Aurora isn’t on the base anymore.”

“Fuck!” he yells as he opens his closet door and begins tossing guns and ammo at all of us. “Suit up.”

“Oorah!” we holler.

The general grabs his phone and keys off the entry table as we rush out and start piling into vehicles. Lykos jumps in the back of mine, along with Hudson.

“Son of a bitch,” General Parks mutters as we turn out of his driveway. “Aurora sent me a text an hour ago. Lace’s being released this morning. Hudson, call over to the hospital and find out if anyone knows anything.”

I glance in the rearview mirror, and Hudson’s expression mirrors mine.

“Dr. Sheppard, please,” Hudson says into his phone. “Hello, Dr. Sheppard, this is Ben Hudson. Can you keep Lace a little longer? Something ca—” He pauses. “Yes… Of course… I see… Thank you…” He disconnects the call before punching the seat. “Shit!”

“Talk to me, Hudson,” I say.

“Lace was discharged,” he explains. “Aurora was with her, and they both got into an SUV. She isn’t sure who picked them up.”

I slam my fist into the steering wheel. “Fuck… Fuck… Fuck!”

“Enough!” General Parks roars. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

My mind spins as questions assault me.

Is Lace behind all this? How does she tie in? There’s no way she faked those injuries.

I hit a button on the steering wheel. “Call Bennett.”

Bennett answers immediately, his voice emanating from the speakers. “Rivers?”

“Get me any information on Lace Krukov.”

“The fuck you say?” Thomas growls.

“Lace was discharged from the hospital,” I rush to explain. “Both she and Aurora got into an SUV and are missing. It's pretty coincidental that this chick happened to be the only one in that building the other night—the same chick who was with Aurora the night she was taken.”

“I’ll kill the bitch,” Carver promises.

“Get in line,” I say.

“Aurora’s resourceful, man,” Carver says. “She killed the Senator and that Potts guy with no is?—”

“What. Did. You. Say?” General Parks enunciates each word.

“Why didn’t you tell me I was on speaker?” Carver screeches.

“Fucking idiot,” I mumble. “Bennett, get me that information.” I disconnect the call.

The general’s face is turning a deep shade of purple. “You better start talking now, Rivers.”

“Um… Well, Sir,” I begin. “When we started to train Aurora self-defense… Remember I mentioned that she was really good at knife throwing and deadly with a pistol?”

“Go on.”

“Turns out, she was taking that knowledge and storing it, Sir.” I pause. “I got a phone call one night, asking for help. She sent an address, and we left to get her, having no idea what we were walking into. Aurora was in Richmond the night of the fundraiser dinner, the same one you and Vera were at. She stalked the senator and followed him to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town.”

“Why would she do that?”

“He bought her, Sir.”

General Parks stiffens. He sits without moving for several moments, and just as I’m about to ask if he’s okay, the general balls up his fist and starts pummeling the dashboard until his knuckles are bloody. “That goddamn son of a bitch!” he yells over and over with every punch he lands. Eventually, he tires out, although my dashboard needs replaced. “Carver said the Senator and Potts?”

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it, General. Aurora has a kill list.”

“How many, Rivers?”

“Five total,” I admit. “She’s killed three.”

We sit in silence for ten minutes. I glance over at the general every few minutes to make sure he’s still with us and look back at Hudson who simply shrugs and pets Lykos as if we didn’t break Aurora’s trust.

“What I don’t understand is why she called you after she killed the senator. No one would’ve known her secret.”

“According to her, we never went over how to dispose of a dead body in our training,” I deadpan.

General Parks chuckles, and it turns into a full-blown belly laugh. “Sounds like my daughter.”

Since he’s laughing, I decide I might as well go all in. “The team decided it was in Aurora’s best interest for us to help, not only to keep her safe but also to make sure she didn’t get caught. We were already going after traffickers, so the punishment fits the crime,” I justify. “It was personal for Aurora; I couldn’t tell her no.”

“I wish she would’ve told me herself,” he says sadly. “I’d do anything for her, including hunting down the monsters who terrorized her. Obviously, you and your team feel the same.”

“I’m in love with your daughter,” I blurt.

Hudson cackles from the backseat. “Smooth, brother, smooth.”

I flip him off. “I mean, Aurora and I have been seeing each other… Wait… well…No, I love he?—”

General Parks places his hand on my shoulder. “You’re the reason my daughter has a smile on her face again and doesn’t jump at every noise she hears. You keep doing that, and you and I will never have an issue.”

“Roger that.”

Ring. Ring.

“Rivers, you were right,” Bennett announces when I answer.

I sit up straighter behind the wheel. “What did you find out?”

“Lace Krukov, daughter of Dmitri Krukov, next in line for the Bratva throne, so to speak. The night we killed Dmitri was her initiation ceremony into the Bratva. There’s even a marriage contract signed by Dmitri for her to marry Vladimir Pavlov next month.”

“Vladimir Pavlov?” I ask. “Isn’t he th?—”

“Largest arms dealer in Russia, yeah he is,” Bennett finishes.

“She fucking played us,” I growl.

“Something doesn’t seem right,” Thomas pipes in. “This information is a little too convenient, isn’t it?”

“How do you figure?” Hudson asks.

“We searched for these assholes for over six months with no leads on who Dmitri was or how to find him, and now all of a sudden, all this information is falling at our feet?” Thomas points out. “Doesn’t make sense.”

When he puts it that way, it really fucking doesn’t. Is someone setting Lace up to take the fall?

“We’ll keep an open mind,” General Parks commands. “If it turns out Lace is the one behind all this, I have no qualms with Aurora killing her.”

“No shit,” Carver says shocked. “I thought you were gonna kill us when you found out she went with us to kill Dmitri and Oleg.”

General Parks’ head snaps in my direction.

“Dammit, Carver,” I bite out. “Keep your fucking mouth shut.”

“How was I supposed to know you didn’t tell him tha?—”

I hang up on him.

“Something you forgot to mention, Rivers?” General Parks asks, his brow cocked.

I spend another ten minutes giving the general the cliff notes version of how Aurora killed Dmitri while I killed Oleg. I only leave out one detail because I’m not about to explain ‘fire in the hole’.

My phone pings, and I glance at the screen to see the red dot hovering in one location. “I think they’ve finally stopped moving. They’re at the Port of Baltimore.” I forward the location to Bennett and hit the accelerator. We’re only fifteen miles behind them.

Turning into the docks, we park our vehicles out of sight behind some storage containers. Everyone makes sure their guns are loaded, and we grab extra magazines.

Carver straps his knives to his thigh with a scowl on his face. “Aurora doesn’t have her duffel bag.”

“Duffel bag?” General Parks asks, perplexed.

“It’s got all her goodies in it for her extracurricular activities,” Carver explains. I smack the back of his head. “Ouch, what was that for?”

Dumbass!

I raise my brow at him. “Carry extra.”

Carver grins. “We do have Lykos, I guess.” He scratches the top of Lykos head.

“We go in hot,” General Parks orders. “Shoot to kill. We take Lace alive since we still don’t know if this is a setup or not, and I won’t have the blood of an innocent girl on my hands.”

“Oorah,” we say in unison.

Slowly, we ease our way toward Aurora’s cell. There’s a dark blue SUV parked in front of a warehouse with two guards on the ground and one on the roof. They’re heavily armed and looking for threats.

“Bennett, take the guy on the roof,” I order. “As soon as Bennett makes the shot, Thomas and Carver, take out the two on the ground.”

“You want to make that much noise?” the general asks.

“I’m hoping if we cause enough of a distraction out here, Aurora can do some damage inside,” I admit.

“Is she really that good?” he asks hopefully.

“Better than you can imagine,” I say with pride.

“Then let’s give her a distraction.”

“Roger that.” I signal to Bennett to move forward.

Bennett’s shot rings out, echoing through the sky, and the man on the roof drops. The other two spin around, hunting for the source of the gunfire, only to meet their own death as Carver and Thomas fire at the same time, hitting each of them in the chest. Four more men run out the door and start shooting wildly. We return fire, ending the fight before it even begins.

“Lykos, guard,” I command. Lykos’ ears perk up, and he moves in front of us, taking a defensive position. “Track Aurora.”

Lykos whines briefly and sniffs the air. He takes off in a sprint for the entrance, and we chase after him. He barks and paws at the door until I open it, and he takes off again.

I hear Aurora yell, “Zwickel!”

The command is followed by the familiar sounds of the Wolamute’s jaws snapping and screams of someone in pain.

After walking in on Aurora killing the senator, I thought I’d seen it all, that there wasn’t anything else that could possibly shock me. I was wrong. Lykos’ jaw is clamped down on some guy’s dick, and even though the guy is either passed out or dead, he has no intention of letting go. Lace is on a stage like the one from the other warehouse, chained down like an animal.

The main attraction is Aurora and Vera fighting in the middle of the room. Aurora sweeps her leg and knocks Vera down before jumping on top of her. Aurora rains blow after blow down on her face. Vera screams and yanks Aurora by her hair and rolls them over, gaining the upper hand.

Guess our distraction worked.

“Girl fight,” Carver says gleefully.

“Why’s she pissed at Vera?” Bennett asks. “What’s she even doing here?”

“You Russian bitch,” Aurora shouts as she dodges a punch. “My dad won’t get a chance to end you because I’m going to fucking kill you.”

“That’s right, daughter. I fooled everyone. Vera Krukov doesn’t exist anymore, only Vera Parks, loving mother and wife.” Vera laughs maniacally and rakes her nails down Aurora’s face. “Your dad is never gonna find out. My men probably already killed him and the others.”

Aurora roars and bucks Vera off her. Both get to their feet, and Aurora charges, landing a kick to Vera’s gut, causing her to double over. Aurora quickly brings her knee up, and the distinct sound of a bone breaking knocks us out of our trance.

“Lykos, heel!” I call. He drops his chew toy but doesn’t listen. His hackles are still raised as he watches his owner still battling an enemy. The Wolamute barks and starts snapping at Vera.

Aurora doesn’t need Lykos’ help and yells, “Down.” He backs off, but he stays alert, his teeth barred.

General Parks pushes between the two women, and before he can even speak, Vera cries and points at Aurora. “Victor, Aurora’s gone insa?—”

General Parks aims his Springfield XDM at Vera and empties the clip into her body. The last bullet he puts between her eyes. “No one fucks with my daughter.” He hangs his head and turns to face Aurora. “I’m so sorry, baby girl. I didn’t know… I would’ve protected you. Please, forgive me.”

Aurora throws herself into his arms and sobs. “It’s okay, Daddy. It’s okay.”

“It’s not, but I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you,” he vows and kisses her cheek. “I think someone else is anxious to see you.”

I spin her around and grip the back of her neck. I crash my mouth to hers in a searing, claiming kiss for everyone to see.

“Get a room!” Carver yells. “Told you I didn’t want to see that shit anymore.”

I break the kiss. “Can’t leave you alone for five minutes.”

“They started it,” she sasses.

I cock my brow. “And we get to clean it up?”

She winks. “I didn’t shoot anyone this time. That was all you!”

“Keys!” Thomas yells from the platform where Lace is chained.

Aurora leans over Vera’s dead body and digs in her pockets for the requested keys before tossing them to Thomas.

“Friend or foe?” Carver asks, pointing his gun at a shaking Lace. Thomas pushes her behind him.

Aurora places her hand on the barrel of his pistol and pushes down. “A little bit of both. This isn’t the time or the place, but she’s coming home with me.”

“You sure about that?” I cross my arms.

She stares into my eyes. “Do you trust me, Jaxson?”

“With every breath in my body.”