Slade (The Protectors #6)(79)
“No worries, Steve. Just hold on and you can tell this story however you want.” Slade’s voice was firm.
A sad smile tilted his lips before he swallowed hard. His eyes met Slade’s. “Take care of Jill and Adam. They’re my family, you all are.”
Slade nodded, watching as the life slipped away from Steve. “Goddammit!”
The van stopped. Slade met Sloan’s eyes in the rearview mirror, a silent message passing between the two Warriors.
Chapter 23
Jill, along with Adam and Dillon, sat in shocked devastation. Jared walked over, sitting next to them.
“Slade is going to do everything he can for him. He’s a damn good doctor. You know this.” He wrapped his arm around Jill, giving her a squeeze. “As soon as we are given the all clear here, we’ll head to the hospital.”
Nodding, Jill watched numbly. The events and scene around her appeared dreamlike and hazy. She caught her thoughts and grimaced. No, a nightmare, a horrifying nightmare. Duncan headed toward them, his face a mask of anger. “They caught two and are bringing them down now.”
Jill, along with Adam and Dillon followed Duncan to where five Warriors dragged two bloodied men to the group, tossing them to the ground. Two of the Warriors pulled them up to their knees.
“We told you everything we know,” one cried, his frightened eyes scanning all the Warriors surrounding them.
The Warrior closest to him knocked him in the back of the head with his foot. “Shut the f*ck up.”
“They were hired by a man who works for Mayor Ferguson,” one of the Warriors spoke, directing his response to the older Council member who had been in charge of the initiation. “There were ten all together and the others are being hunted as we speak. They were told they would get a thousand dollars each and a bonus if they got her alive.”
Every eye went to Jill. Anger so raw and deep hit every nerve in Jill’s body. She walked up to the two men, jerking her arm away when Adam tried to stop her. Duncan, Jared, Sid, Damon and Jax stepped up, surrounding her. “What did you just say?” Her voice was low with anger.
“She’s talking to you.” The same Warrior nudged the man again with his boot. “I’d advise you to answer.”
“The guy who hired us doesn’t work for the Mayor, but the Mayor’s fiancée,” the other guy answered, blood dripping from his nose.
“And how do you know this?” Sid asked, taking a step forward, watching the guy closely.
“Dude, you’re going to get us killed,” the first guy cried out. “Just shut up. They can’t kill us. They’re VC Warriors. They have to follow the laws.”
Damon grabbed the man who spoke, lifting him up off his feet. “Look around this field, motherf*cker.” Damon shook him. “How many dead Warriors can you count?”
Tension and anger was so thick you could taste it among the Warriors who stared with hatred at the men who had taken down their brothers.
The man’s eyes did scan the area before Damon’s face was back in his. “There is no law for us to follow now.” Damon gave him another hard shake. “So one of you better start talking. If not, you will be the first to die by my hand.”
Jill watched from her position in front of the man still on his knees. She had never seen Damon so angry; it was truly a scary sight. She looked back to the other man. Adam moved up close to her. Reaching out, he wrapped his hand around the man’s throat. “Start talking, motherf*cker, or I will snap your neck with a smile.”
“I was asked if I wanted to make some money and told to meet at a house downtown. There were fifteen of us in total. Once we found out what the job was, a few tried to leave, but were stopped.” He swallowed, trying to move his neck away from Adam’s hand, but Adam gripped harder.
“Is he telling the truth?” Sid glanced down at Adam.
“So far.” Adam loosened his grip. “Keep talking.”
“We were told we would each get a thousand for every Warrior killed.” His eyes looked at Jill. “That’s when the Mayor’s fiancée pulled out a picture of you. She said there was a bonus if we got you alive.”
Jill’s mind worked frantically. Frustration wasn’t close to how she felt, knowing Alice had been in her sights just the day before. Taking a step back, she looked at Adam. “Is that true?” Adam nodded, looking away. “I swear, if my friend dies, I will kill you myself.” Jill tried to keep the tears out of her voice.
“If we didn’t listen and do what she said, we were going to die anyway. The bitch is determined to see the VC Council go down and has the backing and information on you guys to do it, from what I can tell.” The man frowned. “I just wanted to get paid, man. That’s all. I don’t have anything against you guys.”
Jill walked backward through the crowd of Warriors as the two men continued to get drilled. Shouts sounded from the right as more Warriors came forward with more men. As soon as Jill was at the back, she turned and ran toward the parking lot. Looking around frantically, she found a car and prayed she could get it started. She spotted Jax heading toward her from the other side of the parking lot.
“Hey?” He walked up to her. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to find a car I can steal so I can go kill a bitch,” Jill sneered, trying different doors, but they were all locked. “Doesn’t anyone trust anyone anymore? Fuck!”