Broken Soul (Jackson Family 3)

jaxon

Something was vibrating,and it was annoying as fuck. And whatever the fuck it was, I was about to goddamn break it.

“Turn it off,” Inessa muttered as she rolled away from me and buried her head under a pillow.

I sat up and snatched my phone off the nightstand, blinking at the screen.

Fuck.

It was James, and that only meant one damn thing in the middle of the night. Hell, glancing at the time, I realized I’d only been asleep a couple of damn hours.

“Yeah?” I grunted as I slid from the bed, padding barefoot to the closet so I could get dressed. I already knew this phone call would mean sleep was done for me.

“Need you down in my office in five minutes,” he ordered.

“On it.”

I hung up the phone and quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve black shirt with a leather jacket. After I brushed my teeth and made my hair a bit more presentable, I slipped from the room, heading down to the office. James was sitting by himself, and he looked wide the fuck awake.

I had no damn idea how. I felt dead on my feet without caffeine running through my system.

“What’s going on?” I demanded to know, snatching his cup of coffee from the desk. He scowled at me but didn’t say anything about it.

“Need you to get your best soldiers together and tear the cartel down at its fucking heart. I don’t give a shit how long it takes you.” He slid me a folder. I eyed it as I gulped his scalding hot coffee down. “Everything you need to know is right there. Debrief your men and get the fuck on the road by sunrise.”

I snatched the folder up and set the now empty mug down. I flipped through it, grunting at the man’s face who was at the center of all this. “Do I want to know how you found all this out?” I asked, looking up at him. Just a few hours ago, we still had no idea who was behind it all.

“Probably not,” James confessed. I actually grimaced, and it didn’t take a lot to make my skin crawl. “Get on it.”

Nodding once at him in respect, I took my leave, heading down to where all the soldiers slept. After rousing them all from their beds, I debriefed them on what was to happen and ordered them to be ready to get the fuck out of here by sunrise. I was taking the best ones with me in hopes none of us got killed. Because doing something like this was almost a suicide mission.

But it was for the family, and I’d vowed from day fucking zero to protect its members, even if it meant I lost my life along the way.

After, I went to go say goodbye to my wife. I didn’t know how long this was going to take. I could be gone months—completely radio silent at times. This was going to be one of the first real tests of our marriage. And we hadn’t even been married that long.

This would show if she was truly cut out for being married to me because not hearing from your husband for a long time could take its toll on even the strongest and most independent of women. She would have no idea if I was alive or dead sometimes. Anything that went wrong while I was gone, she had to deal with by herself. I wouldn’t be here to console her or to make it right.

Inessa slowly lifted her head when I stepped into the room. Her eyes were still clouded with sleep as she yawned and sat up. “When did you leave?” she mumbled.

“About an hour ago,” I informed her. I set my phone on the nightstand. “I have to leave in an hour.” She looked a bit more awake at that. “I wanted a little bit of time with you before I go.”

“Leave . . .” she let her voice trail off as she looked up at me. “For how long?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know,” I told her honestly. Sadness clouded her eyes, and I fucking hated it. “I’m being sent on a job. These things can take time. Sometimes, only a couple of days, and others, it can take weeks—months, even.”

She frowned and moved up onto her knees. “I’ll miss you.”

God, my soul. She was going to fucking wreck me.

I leaned down and circled her neck with my hand before covering her lips with mine. She moaned and tugged me down to the bed with her. I didn’t have time for foreplay, and I hated it. I would still need time to shower and pack a bag before meeting the soldiers downstairs at sunrise.

I was out of my clothes in record time, and I ripped her panties before surging up into her. Her moans bounced off the walls as I fucked her, reminding her of who she would always belong to.

She took everything I gave her, meeting me thrust for thrust, her tits bouncing each time I screwed up inside of her. She clung to me, her nails biting into my back, and our lips met hungrily, fusing together, almost like we were trying to suck each other’s souls into our bodies.

After, she kissed me one more time, tears springing to her eyes. “You promise you’re coming back to me?”

I sighed. I never wanted her to ask me something like this, not when I couldn’t promise her that. “I promise I will do my best,” I amended.

She swallowed thickly, knowing she really couldn’t ask me to promise more than that. Because if I did die, I would break my promise to her. And I would never do that.

She watched as I quickly strode towards the bathroom, and I heard her sniffles before I even closed the door.

And I hated that I didn’t have time to console her and make this shit better before I left.