Taken By The Hitman IV by Amber Adams

Chapter 2: Jason

 

Pain.

It’s the first thing I feel as I struggle to pull myself out of the depths of the darkness that I’ve been hanging out in, wincing as I feel the fire lick up my side.

Fuck it hurt.

It only takes my mind a few seconds to process why I might be in pain, and my eyes fly open then, finding the ceiling of the living room above my head and unforgiving hardness at my back.

“Good, you are awake. That’s progress.”

I turn to find Mike standing at my side, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I rasp, my mouth thick as cotton.

He ignores me, giving me a straw instead. “Here. Drink and keep your damn voice down. She just fell asleep an hour ago.”

I don’t have to ask who he’s talking about. I take a few grateful sips before he pulls it back.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” he mutters, his palm on my forehead.

“How do you feel?”

“Like shit,” I answer. “How bad is it?”

Mike crosses his arms over his chest.

“Well, it’s not great but could be worse. I found the bullet and stopped the bleeding. You’ve got a new scar to add to your collection now and will feel weak for a few hours for the amazing amount of blood you lost.

I depleted your stock by the way, but we had enough to give you back what you lost. You’re a real bleeder, my friend.”

“I didn’t call you,” I say, piecing together the few moments I remember before everything went black.

“No, but she did,” he says, hooking his thumb over his shoulder.

I painfully turn my head to find Bianca asleep on the couch, covered with a blanket.

“You are damn lucky she was here, man. You would have died before you got anywhere with the amount of blood you lost.”

I swallow, thinking about the shit we are in now—more importantly, how hard it’s going to be to protect us.

“It’s bad.”

Mike sighs. “Yeah, I figured as much if you brought her out here. I made a phone call to Murdock to see if he knew anything about what I might be walking into. He told me about your contract.”

“Yeah,” I say thickly as I look at one of the few friends I know I can count on.

“Shit,” Mike swears, thrusting his hand through his hair. “I can—.”

I cut him off with a glare.

“No, you can’t. Don’t even think about it.”

Mike isn’t just a physician. In fact, he was a hit man before he went to medical school, pulling himself out of the business once he had enough money to pay off college.

The last contract he had, he nearly died trying to complete it and I just happened to stumble on him at the right moment, finishing it for him. It’s the only time I’ve bailed out someone who wasn’t Murdock.

The fucker grew on me, what can I say? “You are a far better doctor than you are with a gun.”

He shakes his head, a grin on his face. “Careful now. I can still rip out those stitches and shove them up your ass.”

I grin as well. “Thanks, man.”

“No problem,” Mike states, waving a hand at me.

“I’ll just add it to your tab. So, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to sit up,” I start, pushing at the table.

My side pulls like fire, and I hiss through my teeth as Mike hurries to help me, getting me to a sitting position. The room spins for a second and I have to blink several times to clear it. He’s right. I feel like a newborn baby, as weak as I am.

“Careful now,” he says, his arm supporting my back.

“I know you want to think you are superman, but man you are far from it.”

Mike glances at the couch where Bianca remains asleep. “I feel like there’s more to this story than you are telling me.”

“There’s a hell of a lot more that I’m not going to tell you,” I say to him, swinging my legs over the side of the table.

I don’t want to involve him in this life any longer and the more he knows, the worse it can be for him.

“How’s Gretchen?”

He gives me a real smile then. “She’s great. I mean married life is the shit, you know? We’re building a house right now. I want you to come see it when we get done.”

I think about the feisty redhead he married a few years ago.

“Yeah sure.”

“Well,” Mike finally says as he checks my bandages.

“Speaking of my wife. I need to get back to her. You know she rolls her eyes every time I mention your name.”

I smirk, watching him pack up his things.

“I’m not surprised. She fucking loves me,” I painfully chuckle.

On the rare occasions that I’m not calling on Mike for medical assistance, I’ve had dinner at their house a few times, enjoying their company when I’m not busy with work.

Gretchen knows about Mike’s previous life and she’s not once judged either of us for it. While that’s the case, she still doesn’t love it if I’m around too much. She feels safer when she knows that Mike has distance.

“And that one,” he says softly as he grabs his cooler. “She wouldn’t listen to me. She gave me some solid attitude; I think she’s good for you.”

My eyes trail over to Bianca and something inside me clenches.

“She is.”

Mike just doesn’t know the whole story between us. Hell, he wouldn’t believe it if I told him.

“You need help,” Mike continues as I gingerly stand, grabbing my side. “Lots of it, Jason.”

“I’ll call some favors in,” I tell him, not wanting him to worry.

Gretchen will likely put a bullet in me to finish me off if I pull her husband into this shit any deeper than he needs to be.

“You might want to watch out for the next few days. If someone gets wind you are helping me.”

Mike waves a hand to cut me off as he walks to the door.

“Trust me. I’ve taken precautions. Gretchen has already headed out to visit her mom upstate. The house will be locked down. If anyone comes, I’ll know it.”

“You should go with her,” I say, holding my side. “This isn’t your world any longer.”

The former hit man smirks. “I might have gotten out with your help, but you know we never truly get out of the business. There’s always that feeling of watching over the shoulder for shit to happen.”

He opens the door. “Jump out of the way next time, will you? I think you are getting slow in your old age. Pain meds are on the counter, though I know you won’t take them.”

I shoot him the finger and he walks out with a smile and a nod, shutting the door softly behind him.

I let out a breath before taking a painful step then another, until the fire is more of a campfire and not a raging inferno in my side. He’s right. I won’t take the meds no matter how much they will take the edge off. I don’t like to have anything clouding my judgement, and the last thing Bianca needs is a guy who is drugged out on pain meds.

I should call her brother. Scrubbing a hand over my face, I watch her as she sleeps. Mike is right. I’m going to need backup of some sort until I can walk like I’m not a fucking ninety-year-old man.

I gingerly make my way over to the desk to keep my eye on the security monitors, watching as Mike’s car slowly makes its way through the gates.

Things look quiet.

I make sure the gate securely closes and locks behind him before I open the drawer to find another burner phone and carefully make my way to the garage with it so that I don’t wake Bianca.

I turn it on and make the call. I’m not surprised when he picks up on the first ring. “How’s it going?”

“Not great,” I admit, leaning against the concrete wall. “I’ve got a dead body that’ll be basking in the sun soon, and what will be a new scar.”

“Fuck mah,” Murdock swears. “And the lass?”

“She’s fine. We’re both still alive,” I say.

“I need some help, man. You know I’ve been shot. Mike just left and I’m going to be okay, but I can’t protect her right now.”

I hate to even admit it, but I would only tell this to my mentor. He knows me and how serious it has to be for me to ask for help.

“Jesus, Jason,” Murdock says after a moment.

“I can call in some favors maybe. Get some guys tae help with some alerting, but ye know the rules.”

“Yeah, I know,” I sigh.

When there was a contract out, no one is to interfere. An open contract is anyone’s game, but another hit man is not allowed to protect a target, or risk paying the ultimate price themselves. It’s a hit-man code, and I’ve broken it more times in these last few days than I care to count.

“I just would like a heads-up if I’m about to die.”

Murdock lets out a choked laugh. “Wouldn’t we all? Let mah see what I can do.”

“I’ll be in touch,” I tell him before ending the call and smashing the phone for good measure. I can’t do much right now, but fuck it feels good to smash something.

Crap.

My mind goes to the body out in the yard and I’m going to have to get rid of it soon before it starts to attract animals and certainly before it starts to smell.

I sigh, rubbing my forehead.

What Murdock is going to attempt to do is only a temporary fix. It’s only a matter of time before this place is no longer safe and I need to remain many steps ahead, especially now that I’m not at one hundred percent.

Pushing away from the wall, I walk back inside, finding that Bianca hasn’t budged.

Good.

I don’t want to look her in the eye just yet until I have a plan.