34. Devon

Chapter thirty-four

Devon

T he click of the cutters sounds as loud as a fucking gunshot, and it takes me a moment to realise the bomb didn’t explode.

“Shit, that was a gun.” Finn snaps from behind me, and a choked sob falls from my little mouse as she realises she’s still alive.

Air is trapped in my throat, and I pull back, taking in those blue eyes, still so fucking frightened as I clear my throat, trying to get my fucking lungs to work.

“Here.” Finn shoves his phone back at me. “I’ll go see what’s happening.”

I nod and grunt, not daring to drag my gaze from Jaxcen’s as another sob lurches from her lips.

Finn’s feet pound back up the cellar stairs, leaving us alone, other than the fact my little brother is still on the phone.

Fuck.

I owe him now.

“A-are we really a-alive?” Jaxcen stammers, her cheeks soaked from her never ending tears. “I-is it really o-over?”

Dragging my eyes from hers, I glance down to see the timer on the front of the explosive has stopped, but I can’t tell her it’s over yet, because it isn’t. Not until that thing is off her body and I can be sure it won’t explode.

“War,” I hiss at my phone screen as I hold it up to see my brother’s face. “The timer has stopped, but will it go off when I remove it? ”

“There might be a trigger. You’ll have to check under it. Slide your fingers between it and the girl. If you feel something shifting in and out then there’s a trigger,” my little brother, who is an expert with explosives, explains.

My gaze lifts back to Jaxcen, her sobs quieter now, slowly running out of fizz, like a soda that’s been left sitting.

“It’s nearly over, little mouse. Hold this.” I hold out Finn’s phone again, and her trembling hand reaches up to take it. “I’m going to feel around the device, okay, beautiful?”

She nods quickly, taking a big gulp like she’s trying to dislodge a lump in her throat.

“Say hi to my brother.” I gesture my head to the phone, wanting her attention on something else as I do this. It could still go off at any second. I won’t be happy until it’s off her and a long fucking way from her or anyone else in this town.

Angling the phone her way, I watch as Jaxcen gazes at the screen, blinking and frowning a little before she pulls the screen a little closer.

“Well, hey there, darlin’. I’m Warrick.”

I roll my eyes at my brother’s cocky tone. He thinks he’s so fucking smooth with chicks.

“H-hey.” Jaxcen stutters and clears her throat. “Hi. I’m Jaxcen.”

“Hey Jaxcen. Are you one of my big brother’s rescues?” Warrick asks, and the moment Jaxcen’s lips twitch in a smile, I start running my fingers over the device strapped to her, between it and her body.

“No.” Jaxcen responds to my brother, but then changes her answer. “Yes. Kinda.”

Warrick chuckles. “A bit complicated, is it?”

“Yeah,” she responds, lifting the phone higher as I shift closer, wanting to make sure I reach every part of the explosive that’s attached to her.

“Tell me, Jaxcen, have you seen my son?”

I stiffen, my eyes darting up to watch her face.

“Your son?” her tone is surprised, and her brows are hitched .

“Damon. He has my hair colour and eyes,” Warrick explains, and I want to end the fucking call.

No one is meant to know his son is here. What the fuck is he doing?

“Oh, do you mean the little boy I thought was Devon’s?”

I jerk back at her words, her amused gaze darting to mine briefly before she continues talking to my brother.

“He’s your son?”

“Yeah. Wait… Why’d you think he was Devon’s son?” Warrick asks, and I’m just as fucking curious to find out that answer, so I listen intently and I move my fingers over the top part of the device.

“Well, he looks like Devon, but I guess so do you. You look like a younger version of him.”

“But better looking, hey?”

I roll my fucking eyes again as Jaxcen giggles slightly, but then stills, like she’s scared her moment of happiness will set off the fucking bomb.

Easing my fingers from around the device, I’m about to take the phone back when Jaxcen speaks again, her tone snappy.

“What did you do to Marilda?” she asks my brother. “Why is she here hiding from you?”

A chuckle rumbles from my chest. “She’s got you all figured out brother,” I say, but Jaxcen keeps the phone angled her way.

I want to tell them I can’t feel a trigger, but there’s just something about her conversing with my little brother, and telling him off that has me sitting back on my heels and watching on.

“Look, it’s not what I did.” Warrick tries to explain, “It’s what my wife did.”

Jaxcen frowns, her lips parting to speak and then snapping shut before she manages to ask her next question.

“Your wife? As in Marilda?”

It’s natural for her to come to that conclusion. Marilda had his son, after all .

“No,” Warrick answers quickly, and I’m fucking curious as to why he’s giving Jaxcen the time of day to answer. He tends to be cautious around strangers. “Marilda isn’t my wife. Amanda is.”

I snicker at the confusion sweeping over Jaxcen’s face, and decide to put her out of her misery.

“Long story short, Warrick stepped out on his wife, Amanda, with Marilda, who didn’t know he was married at the time, since he conveniently left that out,” I explain and Jaxcen’s shocked blue gaze shifts to me. Fuck, I love her eyes on me. I love her attention. “War got Marilda knocked up, and when she came calling to tell him, she came face to face with his wife.”

“Oh,” she murmurs and I laugh.

“Yeah, oh.”

“Not fucking funny,” Warrick snaps, dragging Jaxcen’s gaze back to the screen.

“Kinda is,” I mutter, standing and moving around the chair Jaxcen is strapped to, checking if there are any more obstacles before I can free my little mouse.

“But why is she here? Who is she in danger from?” Jaxcen asks, and again, most people assume a man is the culprit, but occasionally, the violent one is the female, especially when said female is already naturally violent, and learns that her husband cheated on her and knocked the woman up. The fact Warrick still has his dick is a fucking miracle.

“From Amanda. My wife. She…” Warrick trails off, and now that I’m behind Jaxcen, I can see his face as he looks around, like he is checking to make sure Amanda isn’t nearby. “She’s very possessive of me.”

“Oh.” Jaxcen nods, but I cut their conversation off, taking the phone from her grip.

“I can’t feel a trigger.”

My brother nods on the screen. “Should be okay to take it off her. Nice and slow, though. And then, put it somewhere far fucking away from Damon. We can do another call to make sure it’s fully disarmed. ”

“Okay. Thanks.” I go to end the call, but Warrick speaks again, his tone firm.

“I wanna see my son.”

I stiffen, raking my hand over my face in frustration. “Fine. But you can be the one to let Marilda know,” I snap, and Warrick shakes his head.

“Nah, man. That won’t work. She still won’t speak to me.”

I don’t blame her. Not only did he lie to her and knock her up, but because of Amanda’s attempts to try and kill her, and the fact Amanda tried to kidnap Damon from the hospital when he was first born, Marilda had to uproot her whole life and go into hiding here. Hell, she could have just run and disappeared, but she didn’t. She wanted Damon to have a family, so I’ve been that for him.

“Fine,” I concede, “I’ll talk to her, but I can’t promise anything.”

“Okay. Good. Thanks,” Warrick mutters, before we say our unloving goodbyes and I end the call.

Slipping Finn’s phone in my back pocket, I stare at my little mouse, still prisoner to the device strapped to her chest.

“Let’s get that thing off you.”

She nods quickly at my words, but remains quiet, as though her fear has presented itself again.

“I’m going to cut it free and then cut you free from the chair, okay?”

She nods again, so I don’t hesitate a moment longer.

Moving to the front of the cellar, I take the box cutter laying on the bench, and return to Jaxcen, slowly slicing through the straps on the explosive until it loosens enough that I can slip it over her head.

She’s so still as I do it, like she’s stopped breathing and turned to stone, but the moment it’s off her, a whoosh of breath expels from her lips, and I see her shoulders drop as she relaxes.

Placing the explosive in the far corner, I hurry back to cut through the tape securing her to the chair, and the moment she’s free, she leaps into my arms .

Fuck.

Now I’m the one trembling. My muscles coiled so tight that I feel like I’m potentially crushing her to death. But I can’t let her go. I just fucking can’t.

“Jax.” I breathe into her hair, right by her ear, and her nails dig into my shoulders like she can’t get close enough.

I know the fucking feeling.

“I thought…”

“I know.” I rush out as her words falter. “You’re alright. I’ve got you,” I rasp, wishing the fucking explosive wasn’t so close so I could strip her and show her how fucking close we can be.

The crack of another gunshot has us both stiffening, reminding me that this is not fucking over yet.

Releasing Jaxcen, I feel around for my long forgotten earpiece and shove it back in to hear multiple voices coming at me.

“He’s shooting at someone else.”

“It looks like a woman. Who is that?”

“He’s heading back towards the town centre.”

Fuck. What the hell is going on out there?

I want to keep Jaxcen safe, and sending her to my suite would be the best bet if there wasn’t a fucking bomb down here under my Palace.

“We have to go. Under no circumstances are you to leave my side unless I tell you to,” I snap, and she nods in agreement, not at all put off by my abrupt mood change.

Taking her hand, I tug her along behind me as we climb the stairs, and before we reach the top, I pull my gun from under my red fucking Santa suit.

Aiming it out in front of me, we walk quietly through the empty bar, and out onto the street where music no longer plays, and a large group of people seem to be congregated down at the chapel.

“Cameras have picked him up dragging Melissa around.” Finn hurries up the path to us. “Last sighting was of them heading back this way, but we lost them in the woods. ”

“I heard chatter.” I tap on my ear where the earpiece is. “Who was he shooting at?”

“Dunno. Dom seems to think it’s a woman. She was chasing them, surprisingly.”

Frowning, I glance over his shoulder at the chapel where some of my men are guarding.

“Are the visitors in there?” I gesture my head and he nods.

“And our women and children. All except Melissa and Jaxcen.”

“Do you think it’s one of the visitors?” I ask and again he shrugs.

Pulling out my phone I call Dom, who answers immediately.

“Boss.”

“This other woman. What does she look like?”

“I haven’t been able to get a good look. She keeps to the shadows. Her hair is long and dark.”

My gaze shoots to Finn, who is frowning now.

“Where was Mr V running from? Do we know where he was before this woman started chasing him?”

“I don’t know exactly. Somewhere up near Wattle Way. Near Finn’s joint.”

Finn’s eyes snap to mine, and a slow smirk kicks up my lips.

“Have you checked to see if your guest is still locked up?” I ask Finn, who shakes his head, eyes wide with panic.

“I drugged her though.”

“Who’s your guest?” Jaxcen butts in, and Finn answers absentmindedly as he looks over his shoulder up the street, as if considering running up the hill to his house.

“Her name is Frankie. We saved her from Holly River Estate before we set fire to it.”

Jaxcen starts laughing, like really laughing. The kind of laugh that’s full bodied and a little deranged.

“Little mouse?” I ask, and she waves me off, like I’m an idiot before trying to compose herself.

“You drugged her? With what?” she asks Finn, whose brows are pinched .

“The stuff Dr Xavier had for you,” he answers.

“And did you use the dose amount on the bottle?” she asks, trying not to laugh again.

“Well, yeah, maybe a little more.”

She scoffs, waving her hand. “That woman has been in the facility for years. She would have built a tolerance for the drugs. It would take a lot more to keep her out for an extended period of time.”

My brows hitch and Finn looks even more panicked.

“Fuck. She’s escaped.”

“Escaped yes, but it seems she’s hunting Mr V.” I shrug, but he still looks panicked.

“What if she… what if she kills both of them?”

He’s right of course. We have no real understanding of how unhinged Frankie may be. Hell, there may have been a legitimate reason why she was locked up in that place.

“Dom, did you hear all of that?” I ask, putting the phone back to my ear, having forgotten I was on a call with him.

“Yes, boss.”

“Keep eyes on the woods. We need to know the moment they step out. The rest of us are going hunting.”

“On it.” Dom hangs up, and Finn sucks in a deep breath, accepting his phone back from me, before typing out a message as I turn to Jaxcen.

“Little mouse, I want you in that chapel with the others. Safe and out of the way of harm, okay?”

When she shakes her head and crosses her arms over her chest, my brows hitch.

“Did you just shake your head at me?” I snap and she nods.

“You said under no circumstances am I to leave your side.” She lifts a brow like she’s winning an argument, but I shake my head.

“You left out the part where I said, unless I tell you to.”

Her eyes turn to slits. “You need me there. Frankie will freak out at all the men chasing her. It’s been her against abusive men in that facility for god knows how long. She won’t trust any of you. But she’ll trust me. ”

“Melissa will be there,” I counter, but she scoffs. Fucking scoffs.

“Melissa, if she’s not already dead, has no idea how to handle someone who has been locked away like Frankie has. I’m a better bet. Let me come with you. Give me a gun.”

I scoff this time. “In no fucking way am I giving you a gun. You might get fucking trigger happy and shoot me.”

“Maybe you deserve it.”

I square up to her, ready to throw the little minx over my fucking shoulder and give her a good spanking, when a group of my men hurry our way.

“We’re ready. Let’s go.” Miles announces, and I turn to look at Finn, who’s smirking my way.

“It’s up to you man, but she’s right. She might be able to reason with Frankie.”

Fuck. He’s right. I know he’s right but I can’t fathom putting Jaxcen in danger like that.

“I’ll stay behind you unless I’m needed,” she states, her gentle hand coming to rest on my arm.

Gritting my teeth, I glide my tongue over them before pointing sternly at her.

“You’d fucking better do everything I say.”

“I will. I promise.”

Fuck. I believe her.

“Fine.” I turn back to my men. “Let’s join the fucking hunt.”