JINXED: (Karma Series, Book Two) (16 page)

Chapter 25

Almost Miracle Grow

When I woke, I was lying in a muddy field in the middle of the reserve. My purse lay next to me in a puddle. I guess they’d forgotten my address, this time.

I coldly surveyed the damage. My knee would require a lot of wrapping before it would be able to take any weight at all. From the feeling of my midsection, Luke or his goons had given me a couple parting kicks to the ribs.

 It took some effort to push myself up out of the mud. A hard glove under my elbow startled me, and I jumped back to see the guards there. One of them was holding out a polishing rag for me to wipe the mud from my eyes.

“Thank you,” I said, as I took the offering.

“Bad,” the guard said, looking at me as his word reverberated through me.

“Looks worse than it is.” And not as bad as Kitty was doing right now. “I didn’t call you guys. How did you know I was here?”

“Paddy.”

Paddy; the only person I felt might be able to handle this situation, and I couldn’t find him. He clearly knew what was happening, though. For someone that had been so interested in the beginning, he’d shown his true colors quickly.

“Where is he?” There was an edge to my voice I couldn’t hide.

They shook their heads and then dropped them, as if sad they couldn’t help.

Fuck Paddy. I didn’t need him. I was handling it myself.

I struggled to get to my feet to move forward, allowing myself to lean on the guard who walked beside me.

***

After staying at a hotel in my effort to avoid Fate, I swung by the building I’d met Luke at yesterday as soon as I could get out of bed. It was abandoned.

The window that had framed Kitty being tortured was smashed. The chair she’d sat in was there, the ropes still hanging from it. They knew I’d come back and were sending me a message. They wouldn’t use it again. I looked through the place from top to bottom anyway, all the while knowing I wouldn’t find her.

Mid-step into the other room, the phone vibrated in my pocket, area code from nowhere calling. I hesitated for a split second before I answered it, as my distaste warred with my duty to Kitty.

“What?”

“Why so angry?” Luke mocked.

I closed my eyes for a second and calmed myself before I asked, “What do you want?”

“There’s a job to be done, as soon as you finish chasing your tail.”

“Text me the details.” I hit end on the phone before he replied and left the building.

***

Another “save” job; a new person to keep alive for Malokin’s grand plan, which I was still unable to fathom. I could live with those on my conscience. Keeping someone alive could be undone. Killing them was final and a line I’d avoided crossing so far.

If I knew why he needed them alive, maybe I’d change my mind, but one job at a time was my motto. Still, I dreaded the day when I’d understand his purpose.

I was hidden behind some bushes when they walked into the clearing. Two guys pointing a gun directed some other guy they called “Tom” on where to go. As far as karma, it was a close call on who was the worst of them. They were all dull and had cracks running along their skin.

“Move it,” one of the guys with the guns said.

“Please,” Tom pleaded. “Don’t do this to me. I didn’t do what he said.”

Tom kept talking, but I didn’t bother listening. It would be easier to save him if I didn’t know what he was being accused of. Didn’t look like the henchmen were listening, either.

They were five feet past where I was crouched when I jumped out. I nailed the guy closest to me with the hilt of my knife to the back of his head. He landed flat on his stomach, alerting the other two to my presence at the same time.

The second henchman spun, his gun aimed at me, now. Their hostage froze, not knowing what to do. Seriously, did I have to do everything for this guy? I kicked the gun out of the guy’s hand and yelled to his hostage, “Run!” since he didn’t seem to have the instinct to do it himself.

Tom took off into the woods and I was left with the last conscious henchman. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re going to pay for that.”

“If I were you, I’d leave now.” This was one of those times I wished I looked like a linebacker. Even in my all black “don’t mess with me” clothes, no one took me at my word. Seriously, how could he miss my “I mean business” ponytail?

He circled me and I followed, keeping him in sight. “You dumb bitch, you don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

“You need to leave this alone.” I watched his face get angrier as I spoke. “I’m really not looking for a fight. I don’t want to have to kill you.” I held my hands up. See?

It didn’t matter what I said. He came at me. I ducked his swing and took out his legs in the process. I turned back and saw him already getting to his feet. His friend started to moan, alerting me he was awake now, too. That would complicate things. It was harder to keep two of them off me without doing any mortal damage.

This went on for a while. One would swing and I’d take him out and then the other would come at me. I could’ve done it all night, until there was a gun pointed at my head. Somebody had been a bad henchman and found it while I’d been busy trying to not kill his friend.

“You don’t understand, I’m trying to let you guys go. Don’t do this.” I kept shaking my head, hoping they’d eventually catch on that I’d been going easy on them and leave.

“Who do you work for?” The one holding the gun asked.

“Name’s Malokin.” I found a perverse humor in telling them.
Good luck doing anything with that information
.

One guy’s face scrunched in concentration. “You know that name?” he asked his friend. When the guy shook his head, he turned back to me. “Who the hell is that? And why’s he getting into our business?”

“I have no idea. I’m just the hired hand, but I think it’s time to call it a day.”

They decided not to, and the next thing a bullet that I barely managed to dodge was whizzing past my ear. Then it really got ugly. They had a friend. There was a punch in my kidneys and then a kick to my shoulder.

It became crystal clear once I felt the stab in my side that it was going to come down to them or me. If I didn’t start playing for keeps, I wouldn’t be walking out of this forest; I’d be buried in it, fertilizing the trees.

Chapter 26

What a fate.

My elbows dug into the soil as I dragged myself on my stomach into same brush I’d jumped out of. It wasn’t far enough away to do me much good, but it was all I could manage at the moment until I recouped some strength.

By time it was over, it had become a blood bath. I’d only narrowly escaped with my life. So much for not killing anyone. I’d taken out three humans who shouldn’t have died, even if they might have deserved it.

It hadn’t been easy, either. I wasn’t in top form, these days; I’d only made it out by sheer force of will.

Closing my eyes, I tried to pinpoint the pain. Towards the end of the fight, the blows were coming from every direction, but I’d stopped noticing them. I’d gone from conscious choices and maneuvers to pure instinct, blocking out everything—including pain—that I didn’t immediately contribute to my survival.

Even my memory of the fight seemed hazy now, as if I had stepped outside of myself in those moments. Now, I was definitely back in my body, and it was telling me a pretty gruesome story of what had happened. 

I was covered in blood, and more than a healthy amount of it was mine. Everything hurt, but I had to prioritize. Staunching the bleeding before it stole my consciousness needed to come first.

It was a new moon, making the evening even darker. That wasn’t normally a problem anymore, except for the black spots floating around my vision. I shook my head, trying to clear it, and ran my hands along my body. I’d sprung a bad leak somewhere, and I didn’t want to wait for the puddle to form before I found it.

My lungs didn’t want to work either, and there was a sharp pain near my ribs. I tried to think back to a first aid class I’d taken. ABC: airway, breathing, circulation. My airway was clear, but my breathing was getting rough. That trumped finding the leak.

I ran a hand over the spot and found the source of the breathing and the bleeding. I had a stab wound and perhaps a collapsed lung? I put my palm over it. Needed to maintain the integrity of the chest cavity, or I wouldn’t be able to breathe at all, soon. 

Oh no, this wasn’t going to be the end. There was no way I was going to let myself die in the woods while Malokin and Luke walked off. With determination, I groped around in the dirt and twigs, feeling for my phone. If I could call for a door, the guards would get me help. It didn’t matter if they dropped me in the middle of the office, a bloody mess. I came up with nothing but branches. 

No, I hadn’t gone through all this crap to end up bleeding out in the dirt. I tried to push myself up. My car was a mile away. I could get there. I’d lie here for a few minutes and then I’d drag my body there, inch-by-inch, if that’s what it took.

I heard a branch snap in the distance and then a rustle of leaves. Someone was approaching and quickly. Had someone been waiting for the guys’ return? If they came looking, they’d see the bodies and then find me. I hadn’t had the energy to hide them but left them in the middle of the clearing for all to see.

I tried to pull my legs in closer but that meant being able to use the muscles in my abdomen. It didn’t appear to be an option.

Dragging my body onto my stomach with my good arm, I made it a couple more inches into the brush and stopped. It was too noisy. I was better off lying still and hoping the dark shielded me.

A hand flipped me over. Before I could let out a scream—or attempt to, depending on how much air I could get into my lungs—I saw Fate looming over me.

“What happened?” His voice was cold, clinical. His hand lay over mine, where I was trying to keep the air from entering my chest cavity. “Never mind. Don’t talk. Just keep your hand there. Nod if you can do that?”

I nodded. Something about him being here, right now when I needed him, made me want to break down, but I didn’t. Even still, the relief was staggering.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Paddy.” His eyes met mine. “Stop talking.”

“I’m not in good shape,” I said, as it weren’t obvious.

“I thought I told you to stop talking. And you’re not going to die. I won’t let you.” There was no softness in his tone. It was more of an order, and it tripped a switch in my brain. Why did I feel like I remembered this? It was right there, a memory just out of reach. “You’ve said that before. When?”

“You really don’t listen well. Stop talking.”

I didn’t have the energy or breath in my lungs to argue.

One arm lifted my shoulders while his other went beneath my knees. I bit my cheek to stop myself from crying out.

“I know it hurts. Just hang in there.” His voice was soft against my ear.

He took off at a run with me in his arms. It hurt, but I didn’t say anything. I could see a set of doors looming in the distance and knew it wouldn’t be long.

He paused just before he went through, to speak to the guards. “Nothing. Not a word, or you’ll wish all you had were dings in your armor.”

It stunned me. I could get my head around him keeping me alive, but why was he protecting me, when he knew I was probably working with the very people he was seeking? It was a fleeting thought before we were moving and the pain drove it out.

“Will protect her.” Their voices rang out deeply, sending vibrations through me. It was the longest thing I’d ever heard them say.

We were through the doors and climbing the steps to his house the next minute.

“My condo.” Those two words were all the protest I was capable of at the moment. It shouldn’t have mattered, but I felt vulnerable already, and coming here seemed to magnify that feeling.

He ignored me as he walked into his house and into his bedroom. He laid me on his bed and started making calls. I lay there and wondered if I did survive this, was the cat so far out of the bag that I’d be the walking dead anyway? How far over the line could I go before someone would step in and say “enough?”

Paddy had sent Fate to get me. He knew what was happening, but how much? Would he try and kill me now? But why help me first?

No amount of pain could distract me from how bad this looked. Fate had seen the dead men. That was definite. He’d had to step over them when he carried me from the scene. Neither of them had been slated for death. If they had, the Universe would’ve been a little more helpful. As Fate, he’d know this. He knew when most people were going to die. The only salve to my conscience on that was they’d all been evil men, with sallow, ugly auras, but it was a blatant rationalization.

I turned to locate Fate and see how bad the condemnation in his eyes would be. He’d already disappeared out of the room. When he came back, he had scissors, plastic wrap, tape and gauze in his hand.

He placed the items on the bed next to me but wouldn’t look at my face. He started to cut my shirt open and panic ripped through me. If he couldn’t look at me now, what would happen when he really saw?

“No.” I grabbed his hand with my free one.

“Stop,” he said, pushing my hand away and finally looking at me. “I’ve got to bandage it.”

His face was closed off, not even the smallest sign of what he might be thinking.

He started cutting again. There would be no pretending after this. Not that he’d believed my lies before but having the proof written all over my flesh, which was about to tell its very ugly secrets, was worse.

I closed my eyes and waited as I heard the scissors work their way through what was left of my shirt. When the sides were laid open, and he said nothing, I thought it was safe. Maybe I didn’t look as bad as I thought. It wasn’t like I was looking at myself every day in the mirror. I’d taken to getting dressed and then assessing the exposed flesh for evidence. Maybe I didn’t look too bad?

I opened my eyes and looked down. Even from a limited vantage point, my entire torso was a mish mash of bruises in all different shades. There were healing cuts, with fresh scabs crisscrossing in some places, and newly formed scars in other spots.

 Fate said nothing. The proof was clearly before him but still not a word or a look. If I’d been working in unison with the Universe, I never would’ve been injured like this. My past deeds screamed out their guilt in a rainbow of injuries.

He kept working, wrapping the wound that was affecting my breathing and disinfecting other areas. The only sign he was angry was his refusal to make eye contact with me again.

“You need to tend these wounds better. You aren’t immortal.” His voice had an edge in it that raised my own ire.

This was the condemnation I’d expected, finally leaking out. Who was he to cast judgment?

“You’re hardly innocent yourself. If you find this so objectionable, then you don’t need to help me.” I tried to push off the bed, but he pressed my shoulders back down.

He hovered over me, where I was pinned to the bed. “I’m mad because you’re in over your head and currently too stupid to realize it. How long do you think you can keep this up?” He stared at me, waiting.

As long as Kitty was alive, I couldn’t answer that question. “Why don’t you ask Paddy what’s going on?” I wasn’t sure if it was anger or desperation that spurred me to say it. It was probably a combination, as they were both overwhelming me lately. I never should’ve said a word though, not with all the ears listening.

Something shifted in his expression and he backed up. Perhaps he had asked Paddy already. What did he know? The worst thing about it was I couldn’t ask. If he told me, they’d know as well.

“Whoah, someone’s been busy.” Cutty was standing in the doorway. His eyes immediately took in my mostly exposed torso. He whistled low. “You aren’t looking so hot,” he continued. “Someone in this room hasn’t been playing by the rules. I say we all get one guess who that might be.” He cleared his throat loudly and jerked his head repeatedly toward me.

Who knew Cutty could have a sense of humor? I guessed he was one of those people who became funnier as the situation worsened. It was a relief, since the tension in the room had been reaching an unbearable level.

Fate stood and backed away from the bed. “I’ve got the worst wound bandaged, but she needs some stitching. You’re better at it.” He pointed to the supplies he’d placed close by.

Cutty came and took a seat next to me on the bed and pulled out a flask. “Here, take a good swig.” Cutty pushed the container toward me. “Although I’d say the stitches are going to be the least of your pains. Probably won’t even notice, looking at the rest of you.”

“No, I’ll get you something better.” Fate grabbed the flask and disappeared for a minute while Cutty was figuring out which cut to tackle first.

“Here, it’s Maker’s Mark,” Fate said, when he came back holding out a glass.

I took it and gulped liberally as Cutty started to sew up one of the gashes on my side.

“You’re a tougher chick than I gave you credit for,” Cutty said, obviously impressed I wasn’t crying like a total baby.

I wanted to, though.

“Too tough,” Fate added. “Stay with her. I’ll be back.” 

The second Fate walked out of the bedroom, Cutty leaned in closer and asked in a soft voice, “What the hell is going on? You’re a wreck and he looks like he’s about to kill someone.”

“Nothing.”

“You’re really going to lie here and say nothing?” He raised a hand and made a sweeping gesture over my dilapidated form.

“Can you at least tell me why he’s so pissed off?” His head bent over my torso as he resumed stitching. “Least you can do, I think, considering I didn’t duct tape you to the chair and now I’m stitching you up better than a Build-a-Bear.”

“I have no idea why he’s mad.” And in truth, I didn’t. It wasn’t like he played by the rules, so to be angry with me for not playing by them as well was simply hypocritical. Hell, he didn’t even believe in rules, by his own admission. Why he felt like he was in charge of what I was doing was beyond my reasoning, as well.

There was a crash in the other room, and both of our heads swung around. After the next crashing sound, Cutty’s eyes met mine. “Seriously, what the hell did you do?”

“Maybe you should go in there and make sure he’s okay?”
And buy me some time to sneak out of here
. I was held together by tape, string and plastic wrap, but it was enough. The longer I stayed here, the worse it would be. I needed to keep my distance from them. Everything that happened in front of me, Malokin would know. Every word that might be said could endanger someone else. No one realized the threat I posed to them.

“Fuck no. You did this. You check on him,” Cutty said, but there was no anger in his words.

Another crash. What the hell was he doing in there?

“What if he’s hurt?” I had to get Cutty out of here so I could leave as well.

“The only one that’ll get hurt is me, if I get in his way.” Cutty met my eyes, humor fading into something more serious. “Really, what’s going on between you two? Fate doesn’t get like this.”

“Nothing. He just gave me a ride.”

He tied off another knot and placed the needle beside the bed. His eyes went to the door, back to me, and then he shook his head. “Not good. I was worried about this.”

“What?” I was curious and defensive all at once. I could feel the blame for something heading my way.