The supernatural, asshole.
Nicholas's tongue protruded from his mouth, his face a dark shade of purple as his lips began to swell. The whites of his eyes had now turned crimson, two red orbs filled with pure terror. Droplets of blood ran down his neck where he ripped open his own skin. Finally, he fell to the deck, his face frozen in a mask of horror and fear.
His co-worker turned to the house as if he considered going inside to escape. Jordan met his gaze. Although he didn't recognize the man, he knew that anyone associated with Nicholas could very well be bad news, and most likely deserved to die. Either he'd been brainwashed, just as Jordan had, or he worked for Group Nine fully aware of their doings.
"Please, no," the man begged through the window.
His reasons for being here didn't matter. Jordan had Ava and his friends to protect.
He focused his power on the threat, who began to gasp and grab his throat just as Nicholas had. Jordan heard footsteps behind him, but didn't turn around as he concentrated on delivering the man's demise.
"What the fuck?"
He recognized Ruben's voice, but it seemed far off. His attention remained on the guy now writhing on the decking, just as Nicholas had.
A moment later, he, too, died.
He jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder.
"Jordan?"
Turning, he stood face-to-face with Ruben who lifted his hands to his shoulders as if surrendering.
"Don't kill me, Jordan. I'm just trying to make sure you're okay."
He took a deep breath and looked over Ruben's shoulder. Garrett and Zachary stood behind him, not bothering to try to hide the shock on their faces.
Was he okay?
The past few minutes had been a complete mind fuck as he recalled everything about his past, and then realized his ability. However, it all made sense now. He had his memories back, and he fully understood his past, including his time with Group Nine. So, yeah, now that everything made sense, he'd be just damn dandy.
"I'm fine. Ava and Joe are upstairs, and we need to make sure Lucas and Brody are okay. Based on the wall of water outside, I'm assuming Brody is."
Garrett went around him, stepped out onto the deck, and began yelling for Brody and Lucas to come in.
"I'll do a quick sweep on the front of the house," Ruben said.
Jordan took the stairs two at a time and pounded on Joe's door. "It's me. Everything's secure."
Joe opened it and nodded, Ava standing behind him with a gun in her hand. "Is everyone okay?"
"We think so. We're rounding everyone up now."
Joe nodded, then wheeled himself out of the room, talking over his shoulder as he headed for the elevator. "I want everyone in the living room right now."
Ava wrapped her arms around his neck, and he held her close.
"What happened?"
"Let's go downstairs, and I'll fill you in."
36
Ava sat in the living room and could feel the tension while the others filed in. Relief flooded through her as everyone seemed shaken up, but physically okay.
"I want a full report on what just happened," Joe demanded. "There are two bodies on my property, and I need the details so I know how to best handle this."
Brody nodded. "We were outside down at the beach, shooting the shit. Garrett wanted to talk to Ruby, Ruben wanted a nap, and Zach and Ella needed to feed Savannah, so they went inside. Then someone started shooting at Lucas and me. We were unarmed, so we hit the sand. They had us pinned against the driftwood."
"We could see them up here by the house," Lucas continued. "But we knew they would take us out unless we protected ourselves, so Brody made a wall of water and pushed them back onto the deck. We were hoping at that point someone would put a bullet in them."
Joe looked around the room. "And then?"
Jordan cleared his throat. "I figured out what my ability is, Joe, and I used it."
"And what is that?"
"I can kill people without laying a hand on them. I basically crushed the shooters' windpipes with my mind."
Ava gasped, and a few low whistles sounded.
Even having the old Jordan back didn't mean things would be the same. He could kill with his thoughts. Joe had been right-his mind was incredibly strong.
Joe narrowed his gaze. "Is this ability under control?"
Jordan nodded. "Yes. Well, I believe so."
"What fuels it?" Joe asked. "With Ruben, his fire-starting abilities are fed by anger. Is yours similar?"
"I don't think so. I just have to concentrate. In fact, from what I remember from when I woke up from the explosion in Guatemala, the calmer I am, the easier it is."
A moment of silence ensued as everyone digested Jordan's words. She stared at her husband, trying to come to grips that he could kill with his thoughts.
"I want to hear more about that later, but we have other concerns right now, like how, exactly, did Group Nine find us?"
All eyes went to Jordan and he shrugged. "That, I don't have an answer to."
Joe gazed over at Ella. "What about on the computer front?"
"Our networks have been secure."
"When the dead guys don't check in, I think we can assume they'll be sending in reinforcements," Garrett said.
"Yes, we'll need to evacuate," Joe agreed.
Ava placed her hand on Jordan's knee. He stared at the floor, deep in thought. After a moment, he glanced over at her, then said, "I'll be staying behind to wait for the second wave."
Panic gripped her chest. She couldn't even fathom leaving him here alone with more Group Nine operatives on the way. "No, Jordan. You need to come with us!"
He shook his head. "No, I need to finish this with them."
Tears pricked her eyes as she glanced around the room waiting for someone to back her up. No one did.
"Jordan, you can't do this!"
He took her hand and met her gaze. She recognized he tried to calm her, but his low, steady voice only made her more upset.
"I have to, Ava. They took away a year of my life, time I'll never get back. They wiped my memories of you, of my past, of my friends. They made me a monster. I've killed a lot of people, and I need to even the score."
She wished they could hash this out in private. She needed him to understand that she'd just gotten him back, and she didn't want to risk losing him again.
"Let's get packed up," Joe announced. "Jordan, come with me."
Jordan squeezed her hand as he stood.
Everyone left the room. Apparently, she had no say in her husband's future. Anger brewed in her gut as she stood and headed for the staircase.
37
Jordan knew he needed to fill Ava in on everything, and guilt railed through him that he'd left her hanging. However, he had to complete his task.
After meeting with Joe, he stood in front of her bedroom door and took a deep breath. He tapped lightly, and a moment later, she opened it.
She stared at him, her blonde hair in tangles around her face. Her cheeks flamed pink, and she crossed her arms over her chest. He didn't have to recall any memories to know that she was angry.
"I just need you to hear me out," he said.
"Why? My opinion doesn't mean anything. You're going to do what you want regardless of what I say."
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Can I come in and just talk to you? Please?"
She stepped aside and motioned for him to enter.
He sat on the bed and patted the space next to him, hoping she'd take it. After a moment of hesitation, she did.
Grabbing her hand, he studied her slim fingers. Memories of them in passionate embraces flooded his mind, but he pushed them aside. This was not the time or place for such thoughts. He needed to concentrate.
"I believe that relationships are built on trust, so I'll tell you where I'm going and what I'm going to do. But, here's the thing, Ava. Please don't try to talk me out of it because this is something that I need to do, for both of us."
She didn't answer, but glared at him.
"When I first woke up from the explosion in Guatemala, it wasn't in the hospital like I'd been led to believe. I now recall I was in a concrete cell, naked and completely terrified. I didn't know who held me prisoner. I didn't know where the rest of my unit had gone. My captors wouldn't show themselves, but I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. They fed me well, but the conditions were awful. My toilet was a hole in the corner of the floor. I didn't understand what had happened or why I was imprisoned."
He didn't bring his gaze to hers when he heard her gasp.
"I don't know how much time had passed-probably weeks-when I started to get this cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. It grew into its own force, one I didn't understand until I had a couple of visitors. These were the first people I'd seen since the jungle, since the explosion. They walked into the cell, their guns pointed at me, saying they wanted to talk. I remember standing up, and all my anger, frustration, and confusion came to the surface. I wanted to hurt them, not talk to them, and suddenly, I realized I could."
"What did you do?"
"I took a deep breath to calm all the emotions within me. Then, I imagined my hands around their necks, squeezing the life out of them. Except, I didn't need to touch them. That's exactly what I did to Nicholas and the other man who showed up here."