Page 29 of Love is Blind

Who the hell would be dumb enough to have my kid? I’m a monster. A killer. A man who uses his fist more than his words. I hit first and ask questions later. Grown men are afraid of me and women usually cower in my presence. And now I’m supposed to help raise a child and hope I don’t give them nightmares. How am I supposed to be a father?

I hit play again. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. Again. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. Again. The always raging beast that lives in my chest so persistently calms the more the thumping plays. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. Again. The only other thing that has ever made me feel this way is Wren.

The thought of what that bastard could be doing to her has me clawing at my face. He already took her eyes. What more could he want? The sick fuck is obsessed with her, that’s clear, but why? A part of me knows why Wren is perfect. Unlike any woman, I have ever met, but Adrian doesn’t want to covet it. No, he wants to ruin it.

There’s a pounding on my door before Mav yells. “Jax, get your ass downstairs now. Xander got a message.” I’m up and out the door, trailing Mav as we rush down the stairs to Xander’s home office. The door is already open, but the office is trashed. Xander’s usual desk decor and papers are thrown across the floor, broken glass and whiskey litter the far corner. A leather chair has been overturned, and an entire bookshelf has been tossed to the ground. It looks like an F5 tornado tore through the room in a matter of minutes. I spot his phone on the desk but don’t make a move into the room yet.

“Xander, what the fuck is going on? You said you got a message with information.” Mav raises his hands in defense as he steps into the room. Smart man, show the raging beast you’re not a threat. Xander just nods to the phone, and I take that as my cue to approach as well.

Mav turns on the phone and the screen lights up. My eyes take a second too long to focus on what I’m seeing. Wren. Wren curled into a ball on a dirty concrete floor covered in filth, grim and blood. I focus on the bright red contrast of the blood against the usually creamy pale skin she has.

“He says if we want to keep her alive, he wants to meet.” Xander’s eyes turn cold like death. “To negotiate the terms of his new ownership of the city’s underground dealings.”

“Just like that. We give him the city and Wren lives?” I snort. “He can have the city; I don’t give a fuck, but Wren is ours. And we’re not stupid enough to think this was all about claiming territory over the entire city, right?” I look between the men I call my brothers. “He’s not just going to let us walk away. This supposed meeting is to get rid of us.” I tell them. I should know, it’s what I would do. Hold something over someone’s head, get them to meet, then bam. No more problems, solved with a single bullet to the head.

“I know, but with Wren’s condition.” He starts, but I stop him there.

“Condition?” I snarl. “It’s not a condition, Xander. She’s pregnant. With our child. Our blood.”

“I know Jax. I want Wren and our child back just as much as you, but we need to figure out what he has planned at this meeting first. An ambush? Another fucking bomb? If we want to get our woman back, we need to play this right and not end up dead.”

“He has a point, Jax. I don’t think charging in headfirst will fix this.” Mav turns back to Xander. “What are you thinking, man?”

Xander takes a second to think it over. “I have a feeling he won’t even be there. He has Wren right now. He’s been so focused on her the last few weeks, she’s his obsession. I don’t think he will leave her right now.” He’s quiet for another long minute. “I think it will be another bomb. Fires have been going up around the city for the last two days. What’s one more, right? The address he gave is on the south side, near the industry area. He knows we’ll be suspicious of the area, so he won’t have an army of men hidden. Maybe a few to watch and make sure we go in, and so they know when to set it off, but he knows we aren’t stupid. So, here’s the plan.”

Over the next fifteen minutes, we review Xander’s plan and weigh the pros and cons. We’ve already sent a few of our men to get into position on the outskirts of the area. Climbing into the SUV, I tuck Doc’s phone into my pocket for safekeeping, not that it matters since I can still hear the thumping of a little heartbeat in the back of my head playing on repeat.

It doesn’t take long to get to the south side, but we pull up short of the warehouse meeting spot. Xander messages our men, letting them know we are in position before we all get out ourselves. Splitting up, we all head to the areas where at least one man has been spotted. Moving between buildings, I find the leader I was looking for and climb. The guy I’m after is the only one that was spotted high up. Which makes me think he needs the vantage point to see when it’s time to blow it.

Just as I round another corner, I see whom I’m looking for. Quietly, I tuck my gun in the back of my waistband and creep up. I watch my foot placement to ensure I don’t give away my approach, since we need this all to be quick and efficient. Time is ticking for Wren.

I’m about to make my move when the gravel under my foot shifts. The man kneeling in front of me whirls around, eyes widening. Yeah, a guy my size can be a ninja too. He must realize who I am because he dives to the side where I know his own gun sits, but it’s the wrong move. His fingers barely graze the butt of the gun before my hands wrap around his leg, and I’m dragging him back. Twisting around, he kicks out. His foot lands against the back of my leg. The leg with the gunshot recently stitched up by Doc. My knee gives out for a half second, but it’s enough for the man to jump up and land another kick to my stomach. Another wrong move. He must think he is some type of Flash as he turns and dives for his gun again, but I’ve decided I’m over playing this game.

Grabbing the knife attached to my belt, I fling it at the man’s leg. It hits true to aim and gets embedded deep in his muscle. He falls to the ground with a howl of pain, giving me time to get up and kick away his gun. Deciding this asshole pissed me off, one too many times, I punch him straight in the face for good measure.

Glancing around the roof, I spot exactly what I was looking for. A black backpack sits off to the side and against the ledge. Taking a peek inside, I pull out a laptop and hold it up. “You’ve been a naughty boy, haven’t you?” The man glares as he holds the blade steady in his thigh. His face is covered in blood as well, so I must’ve broken his nose. Oops.

Opening the laptop, I glare at the password protection screen. Somehow, I don’t think this asshole is ready to cooperate with me yet. My phone going off makes me grin wickedly. “You’re in trouble now.” I say as I answer.

“Ready when you are.” I say, glancing over the edge to see if I can spot anyone yet.

“We’re headed up now.” Xander replies before hanging up.

“So, you’re the cleaning crew, huh? I don’t think this is going to be a successful job.” I let out a deep sigh. “You could make this easier on yourself. Give us what we need to know, and we’ll let you walk away and pretend this never happened.” I attempted to give him a sincere and honest look, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t come out that way. Which is fine because he knows I’m lying, anyway. Footsteps on the gravel sound before Xander and Mav round the corner, and I give them a nod before focusing back on the asshole.

“Look.” I start, then reach forward and quickly yank out the blade I left in his thigh. “See, a sign of good faith.” I wipe the blood on the backpack at my feet before sheathing it away.

Xander steps forward with a menacing look. “Your boss took something very important of ours, and we want it back. If you don’t give us the information we want, we will hunt down every single person you have ever cared for and kill them one by one. We will make it painful, and they will know it was because of you.” The man audibly gulps before looking at his computer in my hands and then at my face. I give him my best twisted smile and nod excitedly, so he knows I’ll enjoy it all.

“It was just a job. I’m supposed to blow the warehouse once you three went in. Then call him to confirm you three were dead. That’s all.” His eyes drift from one face to another, but I see the twitch in his eye. There’s more.

“What else? Where is Adrian West hiding?” I growl, pulling out my blade to show him I use it again.

The man tries to scoot away but doesn’t get far with Maverick standing behind him. “Look, that’s all. Blow the warehouse, call to confirm, and pick up the other half of my payment.” His eyes go wide at the last part.

“Where?” Xander growls.

“The address is in my backpack, but if I don’t call him, he is going to know you’re not dead. He will send more people after you.” I snort. He can try.

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