Page 10 of Traitorous Lies

But as soon as he fired that first shot, he lost the element of surprise.

So he had to make the most of these first seconds.

In his career as a SEAL and then with Prey, Jax had killed before, he had no qualms about taking the lives of these men. They were the enemy, and they’d come to kill him, and at the very least hurt Monique.

What kind of father ordered people to run a car off a dangerous mountain road while his daughter was sitting inside it?

Samson Kerr was a rapist and there was every chance he’d laid his dirty hands on his own daughter.

For a second, anger almost claimed the calm he was striving so hard for, but at the last second he was able to shove it away.

Time to even the playing field a little.

Just as the man at the vehicle leaned over the open window to look inside and Jax readied himself to take the first shot, already locking into place in his mind the positions of the other five men, Monique stirred beside him.

“Jaxon!” she screeched, jerking upright in a panic and giving away their location before he had a chance to fire any bullets.

October 31st

8:59 P.M.

Pain and terror mixed and twisted inside her until Monique couldn’t fight against it.

With no comprehension of where she was or what had happened beyond the crushing understanding that something was wrong, her shattered mind reached for the first thing it could think of that made it feel safe.

An anchor in the storm of confusion.

Jaxon.

Jerking upright, Monique screamed his name as loud as she could, knowing only that she needed him, that if he was there, everything would somehow manage to be okay.

No sooner had she called out to him than the sounds of something loud rocketed through the air, making her whimper and curl in on herself.

What was going on?

Think, Monique.

The pep talk did little to cut through the fog of fear that had settled around her. It was so thick that she couldn’t seem to see through it.

Something bad had happened, of that she was certain. Something to cause the hammering pain inside her head.

She remembered the Halloween ball, remembered meeting Jaxon, remembered leaving with him, talking in his car, and then …

Nothing.

Just pain and fear and confusion.

“Shh, princess, it’s going to be okay.”

The words cut through the fog, clearing it a little, and she reached out blindly needing to touch him, feel him, to know that Jaxon was really there.

Her fingertips brushed against something soft, warm, and firm. Jaxon. Here, beside her, safe.

Only the loud bangs didn't stop, and they were quickly washing away any semblance of security, knowing Jaxon was here had given her.

“If you don’t want to die tonight, then you better stop shooting,” a voice called out when the banging temporarily stopped.

Banging … shooting?