Chapter 50 CHAPTER 50: Decisions we make
JAXON’S POV
The room smelled like blood and gunpowder. It was a scent that I was all too familiar with, but wasn’t bothered by.
It, however, was sufficient to remind everyone in the room of the rules they were supposed to abide by.
Joe lay on the ground, with blood gradually pooling beneath him and with the sound of his weak groan filling the silence.
He was alive, just like I intended.
The entire time, Nathan’s eyes hadn’t shifted from me, as if he couldn’t believe that I’d spared him.
“Take him downstairs,” I said with an unchanging expression, setting the gun down to pull my sleeves down my arm.
When that was done, I carefully returned my cuff link, then lifted my head when I recollected something else. “Be careful, make sure he doesn’t bleed out.”
My order was received with utmost subservience, “Yes, boss.”
I watched as they lifted him with more care this time, simply because I had said so.
Still groaning, Joe’s widened eyes turned to me, and just like Nathan, it seemed as though he couldn’t believe I’d spared his life.
He eventually didn't get to say a word before he was carried out of the room. His groans gradually faded into silence.
Exhaling, I rolled my shoulder blades then leaned back into my seat, now allowing myself to express my fatigue, considering it was now just myself and Nathan in the room.
He stood where he was, watching me.
Finally, he exhaled, “You enjoy that a little too much.”
“There’s nothing enjoyable about it,” I responded flatly.
He stared at me for more than a minute without speaking, and then he asked, “Did you really have to do that? We could have just tortured him the usual way.”
I cocked my head. “Nothing works faster than pain.”
“What do you mean?” Nathan’s brows knotted.
I was silent for a while, but then I explained, speaking calmly, “Torturing him would have only induced fear in him, but the pain he feels now will remind him of what he shouldn’t do for a very long time.”
Nathan gave me a look that suggested he didn’t really understand, but thought my logic made sense.
After another short moment of silence, he asked, this time with a hint of curiosity, “What if pain turns out to be insufficient?”
I didn’t hesitate at all when I responded, “Then they die.”
The silence that followed was heavy, and then Nathan exhaled, as though he couldn’t bear to continue the conversation any longer.
“At least, he was able to keep his life.” I heard him mutter under his breath.
I didn’t say anything in response to that because there was no point in telling him that in the moment, I wanted to.
A couple of minutes later, Nathan’s gaze shifted, as though he’d just recollected what he had come seeking me for.
“Go on,” I said when I confirmed that I had correctly deduced his expression.
He didn’t speak right away but watched as I stood up, walked over to the table, and picked up the glass of whiskey I’d poured earlier.
“One of our guys just checked in.”
I took a small sip of the whiskey before answering, “Which one?”
“The one watching the house,” Nathan said, and my head snapped back immediately.
“What did he say?” I asked, turning around to face him fully.
“The girls are not at home.”
My grip on my glass tightened. “Where did they go?”
Nathan lifted his gaze to mine, “According to him, they’re at a party.”
The silence that followed felt like I needed that sentence to sink in, but really, I was just allowing myself a second to guess the answer to the next question I was about to ask before voicing it.
“Who’s throwing the party?”
“Mason.”
As expected.
It just had to be him.
Irritation prickled my skin, but I ignored it to focus on what Nathan was saying.
“They didn’t tell you, did they?”
My face was the answer to that question.
Nathan sighed. “I was told they left the house about two hours ago, flagged a taxi to the venue, and haven’t left there since.”
I couldn’t deny it; something about it didn’t sit right with me. Not the party or the fact that it was being held at Mason’s house.
It was just the timing…It just had to occur when the waters were so…troubled.
“What should we do? Should I go get them?” Nathan went on, face taut with concern.
I could tell that even if he were still troubled, even if Nancy hadn’t tagged along, and it was just Diana.
“Should I go get them?” He repeated when he still didn’t get a response from me.
The image that flashed in my mind was uninvited. It was one of Mason, smiling brightly at Nancy.
I had no idea why it came to mind at that moment; all I knew was that it heightened my irritation.
Slowly, I exhaled again and then muttered, “No.”
A frown crossed Nathan’s face. “You’re saying we should let them be?”
I let my eyes pass over his face, “They’re not targets.”
“That doesn’t mean they can’t get hurt,” Nathan argued.
He was right, but I wasn’t worried, for a particular reason.
“They won’t touch them,” I said after a moment.
Nathan didn’t sound convinced.
“You’re sure about that?”
“They won’t,” I replied with surety.
Unless they wanted war.
“Just keep an eye on them,” I muttered a couple of minutes later.
There was a pause, and then Nathan nodded, “I’ll tell him that, but to be even safer, I’ll send someone else to join him.”
I nodded, agreeing with him, and soon after, he left the room, leaving me all alone with the stench of blood lingering in the air.
The night had barely begun, but it was already a long one, and when the girls returned home, I had no doubt it would be even longer.