Chapter 46: The Turning Point

Chapter 46: The Turning Point


Jake stood in front of the mirror, his reflection staring back at him. Expression blank. Posture perfect. Emotionless.

Lisa’s voice echoed in his head. “You’re almost ready.”

Jake swallowed hard and forced his mind into place. He had to be smarter now. Stronger. If Lisa wanted him to break, he would let her believe he had. But inside? He was still fighting.

The Act Begins

Lisa had a cup of tea in the large study when Jake arrived.

She smiled at him. "You look like a brand new man."

Jake shook his head. "I have done some thinking. What you said to me. Trust. And my future."

Lisa set her tea aside. "What about it?"

Jake's face twisted as he fought to get words out. "I don't want to fight anymore."

Lisa's smile grew a fraction wider. "You're guaranteeing to listen?"

Jake shook his head, beaten math. "Yes."

Lisa scowled at him, drumming fingers against the table. "Then do it."

She pointed at one of the enforcers, leaning against the wall. The man stepped into the room and set a knife on the table. "Kill him."

Jake didn't blink. "Why?"

Lisa made a sweeping gesture with her hand. "Because I said so. Because if you're going to be tough, you can't second-guess."

The enforcer scorned him. He was testing Jake too. They all needed to know if he would crack.

Jake tightened his hold on the blade, curled his fingers around it. That was the test.

He moved toward them, protesting every cell of his body as he did.

Then, with a smoothness that was like rotating a wrist in a dance move, he reversed the blade—

And plunged it into the enforcer's leg.

The man shrieked in agony, crumpling. Lisa's guards stepped forward to pin him down, but Lisa raised a hand, halting them. Her expression was blank.

Jake glanced at her, voice unbroken. "Killing him is a waste. A dead soldier accomplishes nothing. But pain? Pain is a lesson."

Lisa’s lips parted, then curled into a slow smile. He had passed.

She leaned back in her chair. "You’re finally starting to understand, Jake."

Jake breathed secretly. He'd managed to get an extension.

Zane's Escape – A Costly Risk

Zane ached everywhere.

The welts from his latest beating still seared, and now he was running. Shooting. Bleeding.

The corridors of Max's compound were poorly lit, but he knew them like the back of his hand. Every entrance. Every vulnerability.

And standing right next to him?

Lena.

"You're slower than I anticipated," she snarled, ducking behind a column as two guards passed by. "Your boyfriend does this with greater efficiency."
Zane tightened his jaw, gritting hard not to curse through the pain on his injured side. "You can walk away anytime you'd like, Lena."

Lena smiled. "Oh, I will. But not before I see this unfold."

Zane didn't think she was serious at all. Not really. But now? He'd take whatever help he could.

The second guard saw them. Zane moved first, pushing the agony in his side away as he took the man down, slamming his face into the wall. Fast. Effective. Brutal.

Lena whistled. "Maybe you do have your father's blood in you after all."

Zane bristled.

Lena understood. Her smirk took some away. "Ah. Hit a nerve, huh?"

Zane let out a soft breath. "Shut up and move."

Flashback: A Lesson in Cruelty

Zane was ten when Max first attempted to harden him up.

The memory burned. The chill of the training room, metal and blood scent. The raised finger with the knife on his father's hip.

"Kill it."

Zane had gazed down at the shaking, little rabbit in the cage. Afraid. Pure.

He had shaken his head.

"No."

Max had taken deep breaths. "You're my son. That means you've got to be tough. Toughness is taking what all the other dummies can't get."

Zane's fists had been balled. "Toughness is knowing not to kill."

Max had mocked him. Laughed. Been disappointed.

"You'll learn someday, Zane."

Zane had glared at him, his voice stern. "Not from you."

And that was when he knew—

He'd never be like Max.

Present – A Dangerous Escape

Lena opened the last door. "You sure you can jump it?"

Zane glared at her, then out into the distance, over the balcony railing.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Pretty much not." Lena grinned, and shoved him.

Zane didn't have time to think before he splattered onto the ground.

Agony coursed through him. But he was free.

Lena leaned over the railing, her head over his. "Don't die before you see Jake again, yeah?"

And sprinted off.

Zane gritted his teeth hard together, grinding down on agony as he wrestled himself up to his feet. He needed to go. He needed to get out and find Jake.

Mia and Rico's Betrayal

Mia crouched outside Lisa's mansion, observing the patrols make their rotation. The plan was in motion.

"We're arriving in fifteen," Rico growled beside her.

Mia nodded. "We don't have time to waste."

Rico's laughter rang out. "When did we ever ever break any law?"

The instant he'd said it.
Everything had shifted.
The crunch of a branch.
Crushing of leaves.

Then—

Gun pressed against Mia's head.

"Drop your guns. Now."

Rico cursed under his breath. "Shit."

Mia turned her head, angry eyes on the man looming over her.

One of theirs. One of their men. A double agent.

Betrayal once more.

Lisa had waited.

Mia gasped. "This just got a whole lot worse."

The Turning Point

But in the meantime, back at the house, Jake sat on his bed and glared at himself.

Lisa reminded herself she was the boss. Lisa reminded herself she had him.

Jake rubbed sore knuckles. Let her think so.

For a while? He'd play along.