Page 50 of Remnants
“Gordon,” I whisper.
Dane shakes his head. “We can’t take credit for that. They took out their own guy, which means everyone else in that line is probably a lot stronger or more important.”
“Regardless,” Aiden continues, “we need to learn the Board member names and everything about them so we can plan to take that group out.”
“And the rest of the list?” Kell drawls.
“We’ll need information on them, too, to find the right time and plan of attack,” Aiden responds. The hope I’d felt with knowing the identity of the head of GE withers at the number of people still between us and him. If Thorne isn’t taken out with Royce, then thatadds another to the list.
Aiden finishes our discussion with, “Speaking of Raegan’s kill list, we’ll be leaving in a few hours to deal with Gordon’s body. Make sure you’re ready.”
Chapter fourteen
Raegan
Thehumofthemotor is the only sound on the long drive. The city lights disappeared a while ago, giving way to intermittent house or porch lights and our headlights to guide us.
I’m sitting sideways on Jackson’s lap, my head tucked into his neck and chest while my ankles rest against Dane’s inner thigh. His thumb idly strokes the inch of skin where my pant leg ends. He leans against his bent arm on the window, his hood down for once, gazing outside with a pensive expression. Now that we’re not hiding from GE anymore, he doesn’t have to care about being hidden or not. He’s staying at the Tower, and they know it. If they want him, they’ll attack him there.
Even though he’s lost in his thoughts, his thumb never stops moving over my skin. Maybe he’s thinking of me. Or maybe, even if his mind is elsewhere, I’m never far from his thoughts.
Jackson’s heartbeat draws me back to him. To the slow, steady beat that encourages my own wild pulse to settle with his.
Kellan’s four-seater car isn’t the only reason I’m sitting on top ofthese two in the back.
I finger the thin, metal loop at the end of a knife within the hoodie I’m wearing. At first, I was fascinated by the smooth, protective material lining the inside. I keep finding myself playing with it, searching for another pocket for a knife to slip into, leaving only the smallest bit of handle exposed. Jackson left three flat throwing knives in his hoodie for me, but by my count, he could fit at least thirty of those between the front and sides. I can’t reach the back to count the rest.
It's an easy distraction and one that I cling to for the beginning portion of the drive. Once that task loses its enjoyment, I burrow myself deeper into Jack, breathing him in on a drawn-out inhale that he mimics when his mouth presses against the top of my head. I’ve wrapped myself in his hoodie, in him, with the small hope that I can somehow soak in his calm confidence. That I can bolster my courage for what’s coming next.
The guys didn’t tell me where we’re going to take care of my wishes, and I didn’t ask.
We turn off the road into the woods, the car bumping and bouncing as the terrain shifts to dirt and rock. A thud in the trunk grabs my attention in a chokehold, and my breathing stops.
Dane curses when he hears it, too, snapping at Kellan in the driver’s seat. “Turn something on the radio, for fuck’s sake.”
Jackson tightens his arms around me. He says nothing, knowing there’s nothing to be done for me right now more than what he’s already doing.
“What do you want to hear, beautiful?” Kell asks, his eyes reachingmine through the rearview mirror.
“We have another thirty minutes until we get there,” Aiden answers my unspoken question from the passenger seat.
What do you listen to when you’re on the verge of burning to ash the very man who ruined you? Is there a playlist for that?
“Anything. Whatever’s on the radio.”
Kellan pushes the button to turn the radio on, but it’s Aiden who begins scanning the stations for a song. He stops on one, then casts a glance over his shoulder. It’s an old song, one that brings up happy memories with them. I offer him a small nod and close my eyes.
The high-pitch sound of brakes and crunching tires on dirt wakes me.
“We’re here,” Jackson whispers.
Kellan drops his seat forward and helps me crawl out of the back, Jack following behind. It’s darker than expected when I step out on shaking legs from sitting as I had for so long. I can hardly see my hand in front of me. The cover from the trees is thick enough to block most of the moon’s glow, trapping us in its shadow. There’s a low background hum of some bug that fills the area, while a sporadichootcan be heard in the distance.
We’re well and truly in the middle of nowhere.
It’s perfect.
If we’d done this close to the city or Old Red, where I’d feared they’d bring me, then I wouldn’t be able to pass by without thinking of Gordon. And what I want more than anything right now is to forget him. To make him so unworthy of my thoughts that I disintegrate them with his body tonight.
