Fighting Temptation (Men Of Honor) (36 page)

“How did it happen Jax? I mean, you don’t have to go into details or anything, but I’m curious how you guys were held captive for so long. Didn’t the Navy know where you were?”

Blowing out a heavy breath, I roll off her and bring her with me so she’s draped across my chest. Staring up at the ceiling I think about how much to share with her, “The rescue mission we did, it wasn’t sanctioned. Actually we were ordered not to go. We had just finished a mission that we were sent to do in Iraq. We were there for 2 weeks, learning the territory that we needed to cover and coming up with our plan of action. In that time Cade would leave in the evenings. Wherever he was going had him tied up in knots when he came back. Some nights he came back, I don’t know… maybe relaxed and happy? Then other times he was moody and restless. Sawyer and I didn’t have a clue what the fuck was going on with him…”

“He met someone,” Julia states, interrupting me.

I look down at her in surprise, “How did you know?”

She smiles up at me, “Because he’s a lot like you.”

Huh, well fuck if that isn’t a little true. “Anyways, moving on Miss-Know-It-All,” she giggles at my teasing, “the day before we were supposed to come home Cade was moodier than usual. Something went down the night before in his room. That’s when Sawyer and I realized he was seeing someone, which was a big deal because the guy never sees the same girl twice.” After I say that it strikes me again how similar he and I really are. I clear my throat, “Anyways Sawyer and I decided to take him out for a beer at a local bar we had gone to a couple of times, to try to talk to him. In the middle of our beers a kid came running in. Screaming, crying and yelling at Cade, half in English, the other half in Arabic. Pretty much all we could figure out was, ‘He took her, he took her.’ Cade understood more than we did and seemed to know the kid from somewhere. When the kid finished Cade went fucking crazy. I have never seen him like that. Don’t get me wrong, the guy is lethal, but in a calm way. Anyways, to make a long story short, turns out the girl he was seeing was an American. She was there on a mission trip with her church. Cade got into it, the week before, with some local asshole who was harassing her. As it turns out that asshole was part of some pretty serious shit. He took the girl to punish him. Cade took off half-cocked and ready to shed any blood he had to, but I held him back. Told him we would go to the Admiral and get back up, more resources, he agreed. But when we went to the Admiral, he said no, told us that it wasn’t our problem and we were to have our asses ready to ship out in 10 hours. We fought with him, tried to get him to reconsider but he wouldn’t. Sawyer and I knew Cade wasn’t going to leave her there and we sure as fuck weren’t going to bail on him. The three of us always stuck together through everything.” I shrug again, “So we loaded up with what weapons we could and the kid said he would take us to her. But it was a fucking set up, the kid led us right into an ambush.”

Julia gasps, “Why would he do that?”

“He didn’t have a choice, he was forced to do it. He was the son of one of our captors. Things are different there, boys are raised to start killing from a young age and they follow however their fathers see fit.” I go quiet for a moment, my stomach sinking with dread thinking about what ended up happening to that poor fucking kid.

“So in the end the Navy finally found you guys?”

I laugh sarcastically, “No, we fucking got out on our own. With help from someone on the inside. The only reason why we were honorably discharged was because we made the fucking Navy look good. They didn’t want it outed that we were ordered not to help another American, so disclosures were signed and the three of us walked away with a big settlement.”

“Did you guys get the girl out?”

My chest tightens as bile fills my throat, thinking about more than one American girl, “Ya, but… not before she was hurt.”

“Oh no,” Julia hugs me a little tighter, “Why isn’t Cade with her now?”

I shrug, “I don’t know and he doesn’t like to talk about it.”

Things are quiet for a few minutes before Julia speaks again, “Jax?”

“Ya.”

“The men… the men who hurt you, are they dead?”

“Most of them.”

“Good,” she says firmly, hugging me tighter.

I smile and before long we’re both drifting off.

“Julia?”

I moan from Jaxson’s urgent whisper, “Again? Lord, man don’t you ever sleep?” I mumble teasing.

“Julia, get up now.”

I shoot up at his tone, realizing something’s wrong. Looking over I see Jaxson out of bed throwing on his jeans. I glance at the clock and see it’s only 3 am.

“What is it, what’s wrong?”

“Someone’s in the house.”

“What!?” I screech in fear.

He reaches over and covers my mouth, “Listen baby, everything’s going to be alright, but you need to be quiet okay?”

I nod my head. Removing his hand from my mouth he reaches under the bed and pulls out a gun. I gasp in shock, “Oh my god, you have a gun? In my house?” I whisper harshly.

He looks at me like I’m stupid, “Of course I have a fucking gun.”

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he does, but I deserve to know if I’m sleeping over top of one for god-sakes. I climb out of bed quietly and follow behind Jaxson to my bedroom window that looks out over my front yard. Suddenly a clanging noise comes from downstairs. I jump, startled, and grab Jaxson’s arm.

He hands me his cell phone, “Call Cooper, tell him what’s going on and to bring back up.”

“What? Where are you going?”

“I’m going down to find out who the fuck is in here.”

I grab on to the belt loops on his jeans, “No! Jaxson please just stay here and wait with me. We have no idea who’s down there or how many,” my voice starts to shake with fear.

He cups the back of my head, “I can handle myself Julia, I promise. But I need you to be strong right now and do what I ask okay?” He tries handing me the gun and I throw my hands up.

“No! No way! I have no idea how to use a gun Jaxson. I hate guns.”

“Listen to me!” he whispers harshly, “the safety is off, all you do is point and pull the trigger. You probably won’t need it, but just in case.” He places the gun in my hand, forcing me to take it. “I want you to stay right here,” he pushes me back into a corner between the wall and my nightstand. “Call Cooper and don’t fucking move from this spot. If anyone comes in that door you shoot first and ask questions later, got it?” He pulls another gun out from behind him, for himself.

When the hell he did put that there?

“What if it’s you?”

“I’ll make sure you know if it’s me.”

The sound of a door slamming comes from downstairs. Jaxson’s head snaps to the window, “Fuck! Call Cooper now!” he yells and takes off, running out of the room.

Sitting up I look out the window and see someone in all black running into the woods. A second later Jaxson is running out of the house, barefoot with no shirt on, into the woods after them. “Oh my god, oh my god.”

With shaking hands I struggle to dial Cooper. He picks up after the second ring, “Do you have any idea what time it is asshole?”

“Cooper?” my voice is thick with tears, shaking from fear.

“Julia? What’s wrong?”

“Cooper you need to come quick. Someone broke into my house. Jaxson took off running after them, he has a gun and…”

“Okay calm down. I’m on my way, stay on the phone with me alright?”

Tears stream down my face as I nod my head.

“Julia you still there?”

“Yes sorry, I’m here. Just please hurry. I’m scared for Jaxson, he went running out into the woods after the person.”

“Of course he fucking did. I’m heading to my car now I’ll be arriving in a few minutes can you…”

Cooper’s voice fades out when I hear a squeaking noise come from downstairs, or is that a whimper?

“Shhh!” I tell Cooper to be quiet, which he does. Listening more closely I get up and walk to my bedroom door, hearing the noise more profoundly.

“There’s a noise coming from downstairs, it sounds like whimpering. I think someone’s hurt Cooper. I should check.”

“No! Julia just stay where you are. I’m almost there.”

“It could be a matter of life and death,” leaving my room I slowly start down the stairs.

“Goddamn it Julia, are you fucking listening to me?”

“Shhh! I’ll keep you on the phone.”

“Oh for fuck-sakes!”

Once reaching the bottom of the stairs, I realize the noise is coming from the kitchen.

“It’s coming from the kitchen,” I whisper shakily to Cooper.

“Jesus Julia, will you please just fucking go back upstairs!?”

I continue to the kitchen, the noise getting louder and louder. I realize now that it isn’t a whimper but a squeaking sound. My heart is pounding so loud I’m surprised I can hear anything else but it’s thundering beat. Walking on shaking legs I enter the kitchen. And what I see has my heart stopping and bile rising in my throat. The phone slips from my hand as I scream louder than I ever have in my entire life.

Gun in hand, I race down the stairs. I see the guy running into the woods just as I make it out the front door. Instincts kicking in, I speed up, keeping him in my sites. Gravel bites into the bottom of my feet but I’m too jacked up with adrenaline to feel it.

“Jennings is that you, you mother fucker?” I yell heading into the woods after him. At first I thought maybe it was that asshole Vince from tonight. But this guy isn’t big enough to be him.

My heart pumps faster, lungs working harder, as I gain on him.

You’re fucking mine you son of a bitch.

Suddenly a piercing scream tears through the night, stopping me in my tracks. I look back towards the house, realizing it’s Julia. “Fuck!” Without a second thought I take back off towards the house, running faster than I thought myself possible. “Julia!?” I scream as I reach the front door.

I’m about to run upstairs until I see her legs in the kitchen entryway. I run towards her, finding her on her knees with the gun beside her, retching and crying as she throws up. I’m on my knees beside her in a flash, “Julia baby, what’s wrong?”

Something catches the corner of my eye, “Jesus fucking Christ!” A dead, gutted coyote hangs from her ceiling on a chain above the kitchen table. Half the kitchen is a fucking blood bath from its insides, including the kitchen window where blood spells out, ‘You’re next whore’.

Mother Fucker!

Turning back I pick up Julia’s shaking body, “Okay baby, it’s okay I got you.” Just as I’m heading out of the kitchen Cooper comes bolting through the door, almost throwing it off its hinges as he slams into it.

“Jesus Christ! Is she alright? Goddamn it Julia, you scared the fuck out of me. What happened?”

I throw my head towards the kitchen, indicating for him to go look, as I carry Julia to the family room couch. Positioning her on my lap, she cradles her body into me. My arms vibrate from her shaking as I hold her.

“Ho-ly fuck!” I hear Cooper from the kitchen. He walks back out, with his jaw clenched. He looks around, “I guess you didn’t catch the son of a bitch.”

I shake my head, “I almost fucking had him but then I heard her scream and left him in the woods to run back here.”

A couple of deputies come running in, “Sheriff?”

Coop points outside, “Get out in the woods across the way and search for him. He’s probably long gone now, but look for anything that can link us to him.” Cooper looks at me, “What was he wearing?”

“All black with a hood over his head. Medium build about 6 feet tall. He’s armed with at least a knife,” I say, thinking about the fucking gutted animal in the kitchen.

The deputies run out following Cooper’s orders.

Just the thought of how close I was to catching the fucker pisses me off. I grab Julia’s face to yell at her and ask why she didn’t stay where the fuck I told her to. But when I look into her pale tear-streaked face, her body still shaking, my anger evaporates, “Why did you come down here?”

“I, I’m sorry. I thought someone was, was hurt,” she covers her ears, “oh god make that sound stop, please!”

I realize she’s talking about the squeaking that’s coming from the chain as the heavy animal sways from the ceiling.