Tears filled her eyes. “Monsters are strong … victims are weak.”
“Oh, baby, that’s where you’re wrong. Monsters prey on others because they have no self-control … they’re the weak ones. And you’re not just a victim, Jess, you’re a survivor and there’s no one stronger than a survivor.”
With one blink of her tear-filled eyes, she released a little more of that pain that she’d been holding onto for so long.
“I did it to him too.” Her lip quivered as much as her voice.
“Did what?”
“I got my revenge and maybe…” she sniffed “…maybe you’re right. Because afterwards I didn’t feel like the victim anymore.”
Luke wiped her tears. “What did you do?”
“By ten the next morning Mick was being hauled out on a stretcher with a broken nose, two missing teeth, and a punctured lung from three fractured ribs. His biggest mistake has always been forgetting that he was only one of the men who trained me.”
Luke gave her a slight nod of understanding. He didn’t want to condone the behavior that he just told her was so counterproductive to her progress, but Mick deserved everything she gave him and so much more.
“What?” she asked as he continued to look at her, contemplating everything she’d just confessed.
“The blood?”
She nodded, brushing the pads of her fingers over her lips, a glassy look in her eyes. “Before they loaded Mick into the ambulance, he whispered, ‘Come here,’ through his weak breaths. I leaned down close to his face and he touched my lips with his bloodied finger. ‘Taste that?’ he asked. I slid the tip of my tongue over my bottom lip. ‘That’s power, sweetheart. And that power will keep you alive.’”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Knight
“Dr. Jones?”
Luke jerked from the strong ammonia infiltrating his nose.
“Welcome back.”
It took a moment to adjust to the light as everything came back into focus. He began to move his hand to rub the back of his head that pulsed with pain, but metal gripped his wrists. Then an aching burn flared along his shoulders, and he realized his hands were cuffed behind the chair.
“I see the connection now between you and Ms. Day. You’re both stubborn, impulsive, and have little regard for your well-being. It’s touching really.” Knox grinned from across the table, with the steam from a fresh cup of coffee spiraling into the air.
“You raped her.”
Knox’s smile faded. He motioned with his head and the three other men standing guard in the room exited.
“You’re an educated man, Dr. Jones. I’m sure had you taken the time to remove your dick from the equation, you would have come to the only conclusion there is: Jessica Day is certifiably insane. She should have been committed. But you wanted to keep her as your little pet instead. You thought as long as you had her on a leash she wouldn’t be a threat to anyone.”
Knox took a sip of his coffee then stood, pacing the room. “What do you know about her training and what we do here?”
“I know you take innocent children and train them to be killers.”
“Killers?” Knox laughed. “Is that what Ms. Day told you? Or is that your own assessment? Because the whole purpose of what we do is to prevent innocent people from being killed. That’s why you’re no longer with your beloved. The day her parents were murdered, her name moved to the top of a list. Do you know what list that was?”
Luke glared at him.
“It was the Next List. As in, she was next on the list to be killed. That’s where we came in to save her life.”
“Witness Protection?”
Knox smirked. “Sort of … but more efficient. Members of our group don’t have to jump through hoops and pray that a bullet doesn’t land in their head before they reach the end. We protect our own at all cost, no questions asked.”
“Who killed her parents?”
“Someone who realized her father was not who he claimed to be. People in the drug trafficking business tend to be a little unforgiving when they find out an undercover DEA agent has infiltrated their circle.”
“If her parents were dead, why would they come after her?”
“Now you’re asking me to think like a drug lord.” Knox shrugged, lighting up a cigar. “I suppose it’s like going to a buffet. Some people keep eating until they’re full, others keep going until they feel they’ve gotten their money’s worth. These kingpins always get their money’s worth, and they have ferocious appetites.”
Luke grimaced as he tried to roll his shoulders.
“Sorry, Dr. Jones. I’d let you go, but I can’t trust you, and I’m not sure how many more of your attacks my patience can tolerate without actually killing you. And your absence in this world would get back to Ms. Day and her unpredictability would most likely bring about the apocalypse. Now, if you don’t mind, it’s time to tell me what the two of you discussed at the hotel.”