Page 1 of Resolve
Chapter one
Jackson
Thecopperytangofblood blends with salt and brine on the ocean breeze. The others must be in the thick of taking down GE agents since we split up. Kellan escaped with Dane to the base of the cliffs while Raegan and Aiden block agents from chasing after them. I’m still stuck on the other side of Royce’s beach house at the top of the cliff, hidden from the rest while I fight to save Reid. The agents I’m facing would be dead already if they were on their own. Paired together, they’re troublesome.
Once I’ve knocked the woman with paralysis-inducing nails to the ground, I reach toward the second agent and fist my hand. He runs at me, swinging punches that I easily evade while keeping his flow of oxygen suspended.
The female tries to sneak up behind me, as if I would somehow forget that she was there. I’m keeping her in my peripherals as I dodge the other one. His movements slow at an exponential rate the more he attacks me. I just need her to keep her distance until I’ve taken him out.
She raises her arm, and I push off the sandy grass, using my giftto glide out of range before her nails swipe across where I’d been standing. The move unfortunately forces me to drop my focus on the male agent, and he gasps for air.
I land in front of Reid. He’s still frozen in place by the venom that woman injected into his neck. I’m guessing only she can free him from it, either by choice or her death.
I’m aiming for the latter, but the male agent has continuously intervened in my attempts so far, which has driven me to shift my attention to him. I slip my hands into my hoodie pocket and finger the remaining blades as I tilt my head and smile at them both.
“As much as I enjoy a good fight, you’re keeping me from the others. I can’t promise a clean death the longer you draw this out.” Licking my lips, I add, “I’m losing my patience,” in a darker, serious tone.
“You’re the one dying here today,” the guy says, sneering and then wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
I chuckle. The sound is hollow and devoid of any humor. Seeing them shiver in response ratchets my smile to a maniacal grin. “Those are unfortunate last words.”
Plucking two knives free, I toss them at the venomous agent with my gift boosting their speed. As expected, the male dives between them and the blades clatter against him and drop. His body is hard and sharp like jagged rock, his skin jutting out in strange angles that are just as likely to stab or cut me if I were to attack him directly.
Which is exactly what I’m going to do now.
My wind attacks have proved fruitless against him, just like throwing any sharp projectiles. The only attack that works is limiting his air, but his partner has intervened every time, and I’m not practiced enough on this newer technique to hold it without fullconcentration. And I can’t get to her without him getting in the way, so he dies first.
While he’d moved in front of my knives, I jumped high above them, drawing another knife free. I drop onto his back, slamming him to the ground with my thick boots. I grab his hair and yank back, then drive my knife through his eye. It plunges deep enough that it’s lights out for good.
The woman screams behind me. I roll off the dead agent in time to miss her pointed nails. Now that her partner is gone, she’s an easy kill.
I wave my hand in a sweeping motion. All my fallen knives rise and surround her. Wrenching my blade free of her partner’s eye, I stand and offer her another smile. “Release Reid, and I’ll consider letting you live.”
She scowls, eyeing the knives hovering in a circle around her. “And if I don’t?”
“Then you die right now. I don’t care for prisoners.”
I give her until the count of three to think about her choices. I’m already pushing my patience the longer Raegan’s out of my sight. We’ve just defeated Royce and all the strings attached to him—Thorne, Vera, and a horde of zombies—only to have Charles appear and kidnap Dane. I’m not worried about the agents with him, but I know the GE president will be hard to beat. The sooner I get back to her, the better.
Aiden’s with her.
It should settle the frenetic energy coursing through my veins to get to her, but it doesn’t. Nothing will soothe it until I see she’s safe and unharmed. I’d also like a front row seat to watch her eviscerate our enemies, and these two agents have been delaying me for toolong.
“You can have him if you swear to let me go. I’m not buying your consideration crap,” she snaps.
“I swear to let you go.”
Her eyes narrow, but she walks to Reid. I mirror her on his other side, staying out of her reach but keeping close to Reid so I can monitor what she’s doing. My knives clear a forward path and maintain their distance around her.
She wraps her hand around Reid’s shoulder and leans in, her eyes closing as she drags her tongue over the area she’d punctured.
Hm. Probably a good idea I hadn’t killed her right away, then. Luckily, she values her own life over taking down one of our allies with her.
“There.” She steps back from Reid.
His surprised expression melts back to its usual stoicism. As he blinks, I take the opportunity to shove the woman over the cliff with a burst of air.
The only promises that mean anything to me are the ones made to Raegan and my brothers.
