chapter 18
Jonas was frantic.
It baffled him that anything got done over the next hour because his brain felt like it had been through a blender. His entire universe had realigned in the space of just a few seconds.
JJ was out there, possibly in danger, and he was too far away to help.
“Can’t we go any faster?” he barked at Noah, who was currently driving the car practically at warp speed. The look his friend shot at him would have turned a lesser man to stone. As it was, Jonas felt his balls shrivel a few sizes.
“I know where your head is at, brother.” Noah said in a deceptively calm voice. “My woman is out there, too. You know I’m going as fast as I can without this Jeep growing wings.”
Jonas took a deep breath and then another. Attacking the people on his side wasn’t helping the situation. Plus, he knew how they all felt about JJ and Lucia. Those women were special to each of them in different ways. There was no other team more invested in bringing them home safely. But still, they didn’t have their entire lives wrapped up in this outcome. Well, Noah did. But the others, they had no idea. Until you felt that way about someone, you couldn’t understand how their safety and happiness was the key to everything being all right in your world.
“There’s a chance we’re panicking for nothing,” Noah continued. “Lucia wouldn’t put them in direct danger, not after all of the safety lectures she’s gotten from me. If anything, they’re probably just driving around that area looking for clues.”
“Maybe,” Jonas hedged. But in his heart, he knew that if his JJ was out there, she wasn’t hiding in the car. Crazy woman that she was, she wouldn’t approach with caution, she’d charge straight into trouble and tell everyone there to go to hell.
Jesus.
“What the hell were they thinking?” he muttered.
“I hate to be the voice of reason,” Matthias began. “But they were probably pissed that we didn’t investigate the information JJ offered more thoroughly.”
“Well, why the hell didn’t we?” Jonas roared.
Was he having a heart attack? It felt like the damn organ was bouncing around in his chest like it wanted out. Everything was out of control and he wasn’t sure exactly what he was supposed to be doing. All he knew was that whatever he did might not be enough.
Because he knew what kind of trouble Jessica Jones was capable of getting into.
Oskar’s meaty hand landed on his shoulder, probably the only thing strong enough to keep him from launching out of the seat.
“We’ve always done the best we could with the information we had at the time. It didn’t seem likely that Chamaeleon would be hiding out playing house in some sleepy little Connecticut town. But seeing how crafty this dude is, maybe that’s why it makes sense. He’s always doing what we don’t expect.”
“And information changes,” Matthias interjected. “Because when I searched before, there was nothing to indicate that Chamaeleon was there. But I just got the utilities records back, and Rafe’s old house is drawing more power than it should considering that the owners are out of the country.”
Jonas swiveled in his seat. “Shouldn’t there be no power if no one is currently living there?”
“There’s always a residual amount drawn as long as the power is connected. But there are spikes here at night, which definitely indicate that someone is using it. Could be squatters but…” Matthias shrugged.
“But you don’t think so?” Jonas pressed.
“With this new information, the fact that the other hideout is empty, and his obsession with Rafe, I don’t think so. I think he’s been there for a while, plotting.”
“And JJ tried to tell us.” Jonas rubbed a hand over his face. If he couldn’t get to her in time, he would never forgive himself. She’d tried to tell them. She’d trusted them to protect her.
No, she trusted you to protect her. And you let her down.
“What the hell are we walking into?” Jonas asked.
“It could be anything. Maybe we’ve taken him off guard and this will be a quick, in-and-out, take-him-out operation,” Oskar answered.
“Or?” Jonas was almost afraid to ask about the other option. Because he had a gut feeling that the “or” included JJ and Lucia putting themselves in danger.
Or was not something he was prepared to face.
Apparently Oskar felt the same way. “Let’s hope ‘or’ doesn’t happen. We need to find this dude and fast. Before he realizes that JJ and Lucia are looking for him.”
Noah slowed as they exited the highway and entered the small town of Bliss. From what Jonas knew, there wasn’t a whole lot to the place. Small country ramblers, a general store, a few mom and pop stores, and a whole lot of fields. Not the kind of place where you’d expect a psychotic, ex-secret agent with a weird bro-crush to reside.
“We’re going to proceed with the same amount of caution we’d use under any other circumstances,” Noah stated with a pointed look for Jonas. “Going in with guns blazing could backfire if he’s got the girls.”
Rationally, Jonas knew he was right. But it didn’t quell the urge to palm two guns and bust through the door in a blaze of glory.
“We’ll be tight,” Oskar assured Noah. “I just texted Rafe to approach from behind as usual. Then we can go in the front and fan out in teams of two.”
They all checked their gear as Noah parked down the block. In addition to all the guns, they were all fitted with in-ear comms. From a distance, the house in question was dark and looked completely unassuming. Jonas made a signal to Noah that he would fall behind as they approached, the only sound the barely detectable whisper of their boots over the grass.
“Front door is locked.” Oskar’s soft murmur came over the comms. A few seconds later, they heard Rafe confirm that the back door was open.
Noah pointed at Matthias and Oskar to remain at the front and then headed for the back, with Jonas right behind. There were no lights on, but they all had excellent night vision. Jonas could easily make out the shape of Noah right in front of him, and then once they turned a corner in the house, Rafe ahead of him.
Movement to their right had them all swinging their weapons in that direction.
“Hands up!” Rafe commanded.
Feminine screams erupted.
“JJ?” Jonas asked.
“Oh my god! It’s you!” JJ dropped what she was holding. “I’m so glad you’re here. We didn’t know what to do!”
He heard Noah’s voice over the comms letting Oskar and Matthias know it was safe to come in. But the only thing he could focus on was what JJ had been holding. As soon as she stepped back, he could see what it was. David West’s arm.
“Holy shit. Is that–” Rafe stared incredulously.
“David? Yes, he’s dead. I shot him.” JJ huffed. “We were trying to figure out how to get him out of here.”
“I thought we could wheel him out in this suitcase,” Lucia continued, gesturing to an oversize brown suitcase next to her. “But it turns out he’s way heavier than he looks. So it’s a good thing you guys are here. This part sucks.”
Rafe burst into laughter and glanced over at Noah. “This is what you’ve done to my sister? I raised a perfect angel, and now she’s hiding dead bodies?”
Noah snickered. “She’s a DeMarco. What the hell do you expect?”
“Um, hello?” Lucia screeched. “Dead guy at two o’clock. Are you guys going to help us get rid of this or what? Because I need to get home and feed the baby. Nonna will be expecting to hear from us soon.”
JJ grinned. “That’s right. And I’m sure she’ll want to know her plan went off perfectly.”
“Her plan?” Rafe repeated.
“Of course. Nonna is quite the mastermind.” JJ took great pleasure in watching all the guys’ shocked expressions.
Men always thought they had the women in their lives figured out. Well, no one was ever going to put her in a box. She hoped to be just as gutsy and causing as much trouble as Nonna in her older years.
Her eyes landed on Jonas. More than anything, she hoped to be causing trouble with him.
“Take me home, please,” she whispered.
“You got it, baby.” Jonas pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “After this stunt you’ll be lucky if I ever let you out of the bed again. At least I know you’re safe there.”
JJ smiled. If he thought she was safe in bed, he had no idea what he was in for. She planned to cause just as much trouble in the bedroom as she did everywhere else.
Matthias watched everyone leave.
JJ was being unusually docile as she allowed Jonas to lead her out the door. He overheard something about never letting her out of bed again, which he ignored. No more mental images of those two were needed. Some of the things he’d overheard lately could never be forgotten. It was a wonder he could look anybody he lived with in the face these days.
Speaking of PDA, his boss was currently trying to be stern with his wife, while Lucia was pretending to listen. The smile on her face pretty much said ‘I’ll play nice for a while but in the end, I do what I want.’ As sweet as she was, Lucia was surprisingly headstrong. Oh, she’d keep a smile on her face the whole time, but no man controlled her. It was one of the things Matthias had always liked about her.
A woman like that would fight by your side through anything.
“Sorry to put you on cleanup duty, Matthias.” Noah actually did look apologetic, not something he did often. But it was no real secret that Noah and the others tried to shield him from anything too grim.
Matthias cringed. He hated that anyone knew so much about him, about the things he’d done. It was weird knowing that they were all watching, expecting him to go off the rails if he was exposed to anything too dark.
He didn’t need to be coddled. He pulled his weight. Always had. Probably more than his fair share.
“It’s all good, guv. You know I can handle things.”
Noah smiled at the slang term for boss. He’d always found the British way of speaking amusing. Matthias loved to remind him that Yankee slang was just as strange.
“Good. Call me as soon as the ORUS man comes through.” Noah saluted as he led Lucia out.
He didn’t let out a breath until the door closed behind them. Then he turned to survey the grim scene left behind in the house. With his training, he could see exactly how things had played out.
Chamaeleon on the ground, maybe on his knees? JJ must have been standing over him to get that angle. He knelt slightly to examine the bullet wound in the former David West’s forehead.
Dimly, Matthias was aware that this was a little twisted. Some of the most cold-blooded agents he’d worked with had been a little squeamish about getting close to the dead, but it had never bothered him. Hell, the hard part was over at that point. It was actually rather fascinating, how someone could be alive in this world in one second and then gone the next.
He supposed it was a by-product of seeing so much death in his life that it fascinated him so.
Once he heard the Jeep pull away, Matthias pulled out his phone to wait. Once Noah made contact with the head of ORUS, they’d be sending a cleaner out. It wasn’t exactly glamorous work, but someone needed to be here to oversee things and make sure nothing was missed. They couldn’t afford any aspect of ORUS’s fuckup to blow back on them later. The girls being here added another layer of complication to things, because they didn’t have the training to conceal the forensic evidence of being here. After the grim work was done, Matthias would go over every inch of this place until there was no trace that JJ or Lucia had been there.
That anyone had been there.
He killed an hour playing a puzzle game on his phone before he got the message from Noah that ORUS was sending someone. Another hour went by before he heard someone at the front door. Reflex had his gun in his hand before he could even blink. The man who stepped through the door was unfamiliar but completely recognizable. Hair shorn close, non-descript clothes, blank eyes.
Matthias figured he was probably just as predictable.
“You’re the cleaner?”
The man nodded once and turned his arm slowly to reveal his wrist. The small pattern of dots revealed were similar to the ones that Matthias still sported, as did Noah and Rafe. The symbol of a grim brotherhood.
“Good. Let’s get started. There’s a lot of blood and I want a completely clean sweep of this place.”
The other man nodded. “This is going to take a while.”
Matthias pushed up his sleeves, ready to get to work. He didn’t mind if it took all night if it meant JJ and Lucia were protected. It was something he could give back to the people who had become his family. They thought he was standoffish and distant, but if they only knew where he’d started… Emotionally, he’d given them the very best he was capable of giving.
Whatever was left of his heart was theirs, even if they didn’t know it.