Page 13 of Stand: Part One

I was truly surprised he wasn’t taking a more direct approach with Daniel. Instead he was wasting his time trying to fuck with me and my investments. It seemed Matt preferred spending more of his time as a goddamn snake, crawling on his belly between the shadows to avoid the inevitable firefight he was clearly heading for. Maybe he knew I was Daniel’s best defense, that killing me would ensure Daniel’s destruction, and then there’d be no one left to avenge us.

Twenty years in the business, and this was where we were now.

I should just finish him myself at this point, but with Miguel Spade’s impending revenge for the death of his brother and his family, I had to expand my resources to prepare for that as well. Matt was slow to these kinds of things. He didn’t have the experience I did, so I could take my time with him. But Miguel would strike at first sight.

Though Miguel would be easier to dispose of than Matt would, Miguel’s resources being that small and inadequate in comparison. Matt would need to be destroyed from within, and that would take much more time and planning than I wanted to deal with. Especially when my attention was also being divided by Jaden’s lengthy recovery.

And therein lies my other issue. My wife was once again at the mercy of her vulnerabilities. This time, without my intent. The first time had been a lesson she needed to learn, that her entire state of being was wholly dependent upon my will. If I wanted her broken, she’d be broken. If I wanted her strong, she’d be strong. The point was that none of it was up to her. Her body and mind were mine to command, and she would submit to that whether she wanted to or not.

But unfortunately, this was not something I could snap my fingers and change in an instant. This was entirely outside of my carefully constructed control of her and the environment I kept her in. My enemies were starting to penetrate my defenses, and Jaden was paying the price for it. Now I would have to watch her struggle in ways I was unprepared for.

She couldn’t walk.

This little girl, who could bring scorpion kicks to my chin, who could back flip midair, who could strangle me with the strength of her thighs alone, could no longer fucking walk.

She would be bedridden for months until the bones in her hip and pelvis healed, which meant she wouldn’t be allowed to move her legs any more than a few inches.

Even after everything she’d been through, Jaden was still very prideful. This level of destruction to her body would devastate her. It was bad enough she was as small as she was. Now she was injured on top of it, during a fucking war no less. From a goddamn gunshot wound that should have been impossible. I couldn’t believe the chances of it, and on my own fucking property, with my own fucking men.

I’d had every gun in that training section under review for any more mishaps that could occur, those two guns thankfully being the only ones. I had the fucking things destroyed out of spite.

It had only been three days since Jaden woke from surgery. She was still in the infirmary, sleeping more than anything else. I hated leaving her down there, but with her injuries, it was the best place for her to be right now.

At least she wasn’t alone. I’d stationed Carla down there and had even allowed a bed to be placed in the corner of the room for Camaro. And she still had Clive and Owen to stonewall her like usual until she stopped trying to annoy them. My little spitfire of a wife was going to have a very long, hard road ahead of her, but she had no choice in the matter. Like always, she would do what was expected of her. Endure. Adapt. And evolve. Luckily, those traits were some of the best things Jaden was a pro at. And once she was finally passed this giant roadblock, we could move on to the next phase of our lives.

Starting a family.

Her single ovary be damned, I’d make that fucking thing produce the best goddamn eggs of its life. Once Jaden was fully recovered, there would be no more waiting. I’d have the fucking family I deserved, and she would give it to me whether she was ready or not.

Time was no longer on either of our sides. It was now or never.

Stepping away from the window, I pulled some spare black cargo pants and a light gray T-shirt from one of the drawers and changed my clothes and shoes. As I headed down toward the shack, my blood began to rush with visions of violence and carnage. This little “redemption” fight was more than personal, and it would certainly leave my soldiers with an impression they would never forget. Not everyone got to witness these fights, but for those who did, I’d never had any one of them even blink in the direction of betrayal.

But this little match was specifically for all the trainees new to the ranks. They were about to learn the deadly cost of their incompetence and betrayal.

Making my way to the bottom of the steps, I saw about twenty trainee soldiers gathered around the four traitors of the evening. Even though they all looked like shit from the torture and beatings they’d been put through, I made sure they had eaten well and rested the day before to give me somewhat of a challenge. But by the looks of them, I doubted they would last very long.

Which was why I decided to take on all four of them at once.

The stakes had been laid out, their crimes and failures revealed for all to hear, each word only further fueling my need for vengeance and gore.

What occurred next was a bloodbath to rival any other.

By the time it was over, only ten minutes had passed, and I found myself coated in more blood and gore than ever before. Four mangled, completely unrecognizable bodies were spread out across the concrete floor, the cheers of my newbie soldiers slowly dying as the screams quickly filled the air.

When the wails finally stopped, a grim silence had befallen the chamber, my men avoiding eye contact as they came face-to-face with the brutal consequences of harming what was mine in any way, directly or indirectly.

It was a dark lesson, but I wanted it ingrained in every one of their brains.

I left the shack without another word, blood still dripping from my hands as I made my way past my terrified soldiers. Satisfaction was instantaneous but minimal, wishing I could relive that moment on repeat, but you could only kill a man so many times before there was nothing left to bring back.

Vengeance had been served. Now needed to be the time for healing. And I would ensure Jaden had the best goddamn recovery this world had ever seen.

6

Endurance

Nighttime had befallen my hospital room. Even though I had no windows, I could feel the ominous darkness taking over.