Jason (Blue Halo Book 2)

The street was quiet as Jason made his way to the truck with Courtney and Logan. That wasn’t unusual for Cradle Mountain. As it reached late afternoon, most people were home, preparing dinner.

He tightened his hold around Courtney’s hand.

They stopped beside Logan’s truck. He’d parked in front of Popshaw, which was a few doors down from McKenna Counseling. The restaurant’s windows were dark since the restaurant was closed on Mondays.

Courtney glanced at the store with a dreamy look in her eyes before flicking her gaze to Logan. “Bet you guys are eating plenty of dumplings since Grace opened her business.”

Jason almost laughed. The woman and her dumplings…

Logan unlocked the doors. “Nah, we’re not big dumpling fans.”

Courtney’s mouth dropped open. This time Jason did laugh. “It’s unlocked, darlin’.”

She shook her head, climbing into the truck through the passenger side.

Logan pulled out his phone, glancing at the screen. “Grace is going to be another ten minutes.”

“You know that dream I had last night?” Her muffled voice sounded from under the passenger seat. “It was of the night Jessica gave me this necklace.”

Jason frowned. “Jessica gave it to you? I thought it was your grandmother’s?” She’d said that the necklace had been passed down in her family.

“It was. She left it to Jess, and Jess gave it to me.” Her arm reached beneath the seat. “Do you know something strange? Joey actually said something weird about it today. He said, ‘the thing’s worth a lot’, and when I asked him how he could possibly know that, he said, ‘it just looks valuable’. He’s been so strange lately.”

Jason shot a glance at Logan. The same surprised but suspicious expression crashed across his friend’s face. “Is it worth a lot?”

“I don’t know. Our grandmother never talked about it being expensive. But then, she didn’t care about that sort of—” A short gasp escaped her lips. “Oh my God, I can feel it!”

A low hum vibrated in the distance. Car engines. More than one. All drawing closer.

“Do you hear that?” Logan asked quietly, the muscles in his arms bunching.

“Yes.” Jason scanned the streets, an uneasy feeling building in his gut.

Courtney was just climbing out when cars careened around corners from their left and right. Two from each direction. All traveling fast and directly toward them.

Jason grabbed Courtney’s arm, yanking her behind him. She gave a small squeak.

“What are you—”

“Put the necklace in your pocket, Courtney. Now!” He didn’t look behind him to make sure she listened.

Popshaw was closed. No way were they leading them to McKenna Counseling. Instead, he and Logan positioned themselves in front of Courtney, blocking her from view of their visitors.

Logan quickly dialed a number. Jason could hear Grace’s voice on the other end as he told her not to go outside. To lock her doors and hide.

Courtney’s quiet gasp sounded behind him. “What are they—”

The cars stopped, surrounding them on the sidewalk. Men climbed out, a handful from each vehicle, all of them with guns raised. Courtney’s heart thumped loudly, like a drumbeat cascading through the air. Her arms trembled where she was pressed against his back.

Jason’s world narrowed to pinpoint accuracy. He pushed down the rage at finally seeing the men who were responsible for blowing up Tyler, the fury at having guns pointed at them, and he let his years of training take over.

Tommy Lima headed the group. His black eyes were as deadly and dangerous in person as they’d been in the images. The eyes of a killer.

“Hello, gentlemen. Miss Davies.”

Jason kept his voice low and even. “What the fuck do you want?”

Lima’s eyes remained steely. “Where’s the necklace?”

“Window.” Logan whispered the word so quietly under his breath that only Jason would hear. He knew his friend’s lips wouldn’t have moved an inch.

“Say we did have it and we handed it over”—Jason shuffled them back a step—“would you leave us unharmed?” Leave Courtney unharmed.

The men edged forward. Jason and Logan edged back again, forcing Courtney to do the same.

Lima’s smile grew. “Of course.”

Jason’s blood ran cold. It was a lie.

The second they acquired the necklace, they’d shoot to kill. Because in the Mafia, leaving witnesses was a mistake.

The safety clicked off a gun. The man had tried to do it silently, but it penetrated Jason’s ears like a gunshot.

“Now,” he whispered.

A split-second later, they both turned, bodies a blur. Jason wrapped his arms around Courtney, shielding her as he threw them through Popshaw’s glass window.

Courtney’s scream was overshadowed by the sound of gunshots exploding. Pain seared through his shoulder as a bullet landed a moment before they hit the floor behind the brick wall.

Ignoring his wound, Jason continued to cover Courtney’s body with his own. Sticking close to the side wall, he crawled toward the back of the shop, keeping her beneath him the entire time.

At the back of the shop was a long, narrow hall, kitchen, and bathrooms leading off to the sides. He continued to crawl, only stopping once they’d reached the door at the end.

Logan was behind him when he stood. Jason pulled Courtney to her feet, his hand going to the back door, but he stopped before pulling it open.

Movement from outside, right near the back door. And what was worse, the men out front were approaching the window, their steps slow, obviously cautious.

Goddammit.

Plan B.

“I’ll hold them off from the front,” Logan said, turning and moving back.

It wasn’t ideal. But Logan was smart and well-trained. And once they were in close quarters, the other men would have less of an advantage.

He turned to Courtney, hating the utter terror on her face, how pale her skin was.

His hands went to her cheeks. “Baby, I need you to listen to me.”

One quick nod from her.

“There are men outside this door. When they enter, I’m going to fight them. Take all their attention. When the door is clear, I need you to run.”

Her eyes almost bugged out of her head. “You want me to leave you? With all these men with guns and knives?”

“Yes.” Jason reached into his pocket, pulling out a ring with two keys. He pushed it into her cold hand, closing her fingers around it. “The keys to Blue Halo. The alarm code is two-two-five-eight. Repeat it to me.”

“Two-two-five-eight.”

“Again.”

“Two-two-five-eight.”

Good. “Once you’re inside, lock the doors. We installed the best security money can buy in that place. Once the door is locked, no one can get in unless you let them.”

She opened her mouth. She was going to say no. He could see it before the word had even formed. The sounds outside grew closer. Any second now they were going to enter.

He lowered his head. “I need you to do this. I will be okay. And I need you to be okay too.”

She swallowed, her eyes closing for a moment. When they opened there was determination on her face, sparks of strength. “Okay.”

Some of the tension that had been gripping his chest loosened.

Fighting sounded from the front of the shop. He blocked it out, trusting Logan to take care of himself.

Jason pulled Courtney into the bathroom closest to the door, making sure she was out of view. Then he moved into the kitchen, hiding in the shadows. Waiting.

He didn’t have to wait long. A second later, gunshots hit the door, then it flew open. Six fully armed men barged in. Jason waited until all six had entered the hall.

Then he stepped out of the shadows, attacking, keeping them away from where Courtney waited.

His shoulder screamed at him, but he ignored the pain. Pushed it down. Focused on survival.

Courtney’s uneven breaths shuddered in and out of her chest. Her fingers shook, tremors spiraling through her limbs.

Gunshots, followed by the crash of the door splintering, caused her to jump. Then there were footsteps. The men were moving quickly.

She pressed her eyes closed at the first sound of fist colliding with flesh, praying it was Jason doing the hitting.

Her mind threatened to shut down with fear for Jason. He was bigger and stronger, but he was also unarmed, injured and outnumbered.

The sound of fighting moved farther down the hall. Taking a risk, she cracked the door to peek out of the dark bathroom.

“Run!”

Jason’s voice thundered through the hallway even as he threw a punch at one of the men.

His voice propelled her feet forward. She sprinted out the back door, all but falling into the street. Then she ran, shoes slapping against the concrete, the stench of garbage filling her nose. The sound of fighting lingering behind her like angry whispers behind her.

She gasped in air, worry for Jason all-consuming. Her heart begged her to slow, her brain wouldn’t let her. Going back would just distract him. She couldn’t be a distraction. Not when he was fighting for his life. Fighting for their lives.

She cut down a dim alley, needing to get back to Blue Halo—but her feet crashed to a halt when she saw a dead end in the form of a brick wall.

She spun around but immediately stopped again. Footsteps. Loud. Heavy. They pounded against the ground, coming from the direction of Popshaw.

Oh God. Someone was coming! And they were coming fast.

Desperate, she scanned the alley, gaze zeroing in on a door to her right. She tugged on the handle. Her heart stopped when it didn’t budge.

She slammed her fists against the wood, pounding it violently, frantic. The footsteps on the street grew louder.

Please, please, please, someone hear me.

When the door opened, she almost fell into a man. He was wearing a white apron. The smells of cheese and dough assailed her. She was at Pizza Malloy.

“Lock the door! Men with guns are coming!” she shouted, pushing off his chest and running down a hall into the main restaurant area. She collided with a young man holding a tray of dishes. Plates crashed to the floor, splintering into a million pieces. She barely paused, air whipping across her face as she ran out the door and onto the street.

She quickly looked both ways, trying to get her bearings. Men were no longer in front of Popshaw. Probably all inside. And she was close to Blue Halo. Two blocks away.

She sprinted again, legs aching, lungs clawing for breath. She pushed herself hard, forcing her body to run faster. All the way to Blue Halo Security.

She could barely breathe when she finally reached the door. Her fingers shook so violently it took four tries before she got a key to fit—miraculously, her first choice for the outside door was the right one. Then she was moving up the stairs. Sprinting.

At the top, she tried the next key. Again, it took her far too long. Half a dozen tries, maybe more. She almost cried when the thing finally opened and she fell into the reception area.

The space was dark as she turned to the alarm, keying in the code Jason had given to her, forced her to repeat—two-two-five-eight. Numbers she could have easily forgotten, but was thanking every God she knew that she hadn’t.

She was just turning back to the door to close it when someone stepped in. Her heart catapulted into her throat.

Agent Peters—holding a gun.

“What are you doing here?” She took three large steps back, hands raised, breaths rushing from her chest.

“I was sitting on the street in my car taking a work call when I saw you run in here. Are you okay?” He kept his weapon down as he took a couple steps of his own.

Suddenly, details started slotting into place. Peters had walked into The Grind at the exact moment she’d remembered where the necklace was, overhearing her explanation to Joey. Then, minutes later, the entire Mafia showed up. They somehow knew that she’d found the necklace.

Had Peters known they’d wanted the necklace all along? Did he know it was valuable? Hell, it had to be worth a lot to warrant all this…

“Courtney, I’m here to help.”

On his next step forward, Courtney didn’t think—she swung. Her fist crashed into his face, sending him stumbling back a step in surprise. She followed with a kick to the balls.

The gun dropped from his fingers and he fell to his knees.

Quickly, Courtney reached down, swiping the gun before running into the hall. She silenced her steps, choosing the fourth office down—Aidan’s office, maybe—and crouching beneath the desk.

Closing her eyes, she worked hard to silence her breaths. Her heart.

The gun felt heavy in her hands.

Slow footsteps sounded down the hall. “Courtney, tell me what’s going on! I’m on your side here.”

She swallowed, one of her hands dipping into her pocket and pulling out the necklace.

This is what they’d wanted all along. And the entire time it had been in Logan’s truck.

What did you give me, Jessica? It was beautiful—of course it was—but was it really worth so much violence?

Shaking her head, she placed it on the floor.

More footsteps sounded, this time closer. But then she heard something else. The sound of the lobby door opening again.

Courtney’s heart clenched. Was that Jason’s team? Were they here?

Peters’s footsteps retreated. Muffled talking sounded from the other room. Courtney frowned when she thought she heard a female voice.

Then she heard a gunshot.