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Chapter One
Jarrod James
Pacingthefloorofthis sterile white, boring room, I grind my teeth and pick at the scabs just inside my shirt sleeve. Every instinct inside of me is screaming that I shouldn’t be here, and they’re right. This debt, it’s become too much to pay back. I can’t keep doing it, this is the last thing I will agree to. After this, my debt is considered paid one way or another.
“Detective James?” A nurse asks through a crack in the door. At my nod, she opens the door fully, ushering me into the hallway leading into the psych ward from the waiting room. “We have Mr. Jennings ready to speak with you. Are you sure you’re not in need of a nurse to be present in case he gets violent?”
“I’m sure,” I answer with an air of practiced confidence. Deep inside, I’m anything but confident at the moment. What I’m about to do is so far past my moral code, that’s already weak as it is, that I can’t even look in a mirror at myself. After this is over, I’m gone. Sitting at home on my dresser is my passport and everything I need to start over in a new place.
There’s no redemption after this, only hiding in the rot of my own shame.
Following the nurse, I keep an eye on my surroundings as we pass groups of crazy people. My lip turns up in disgust before I school my face back into professional disinterest. Being a detective was never high on my list of dreams, but I’ve never had a choice in the matter. We’re a family of corrupt cops that gets pulled into the family business by the time we start high school. I’m no fucking different than my father before me and his father before him.
You don’t get a choice to not join the ranks, that’s a sure fire way to have an accident that ends in your untimely death. Once you’re in, which happens before you can even understand, the only way out is being fucking dead.
“Here we are, Detective. A guard and a nurse will be right around the corner, so if you need anything, hit the red button beside the door or just shout,” the nurse explains, opening a solid door with a single small window. She motions me inside and turns to the huddled man across the room. “Mr. Jennings, we expect you to stay on your best behaviour.”
Kevin Jennings Jr. sits with his back to the door, staring out the window as he chews on his finger nails, hunched over into himself. Quietly thanking the nurse, I close the door to the room with a soft click and lean back on it for a moment. Kevin doesn’t turn to greet me or even acknowledge my existence in his room. Not that I blame him, he doesn’t know who I am outside of a detective on his case.
“Kevin,” I say loud enough to catch his attention then wait for a response. There’s no fucking way I’m letting him get away with disrespecting me when I’m here putting my neck on the line for him. If he wants out of here, he better turn around and acknowledge me.
Looking down at the watch on my wrist, I watch the time tick away in silence, waiting for this stupid piece of shit to show me some fucking respect. When a full minute ticks by without a single sound from Kevin, I push off the door and stalk towards him, my anger radiating off of me in waves.
“Listen here, you fucking piece of shit,” I sneer close to his ear, my hands shaking at my sides. “If you don’t show me the respect I fucking deserve, I’ll walk right out of here and with me, goes your only chance of escape. I’m here to finish paying the debt of Harris James Young, so you better start paying attention because I hold the key to your freedom.”
Kevin’s head moves up, his back straightening as he stands up to turn and look at me. “Harris Young?” He asks, eyeing me up and down with a skeptical eye. “The man my father worked with?”
“One and the same,” I say nonchalantly, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring down the back of his head. “He acquired the debt when he failed to uphold his end of the contract to keep your father out of prison. As we’re both the predecessors of them, it’s time for me to fulfill the contract and give you your freedom.”
“Why? My father is dead, it’s not like he can come back and claim his fucking debt!” Kevin snaps, fury in his eyes. “He only lives in my head now. Tormenting and taunting me, making me do the heinous fucking things he always promised to make me do. Does he live in your head too? Why come here?”
“There’s so much more to this than you know, kid. You were supposed to be brought in, but you were too volatile and unstable for them to use. They decided to pass and instead keep an eye on you.” I run hands down my face, almost laughing at the fucking jealousy flooding me. This guy is too fucking crazy to be dragged into this underground world of filth, and I’m envious of that.
Kevin runs his hands through his hair and grips the roots like his head is in physical pain. My eyes roll unintentionally as I watch his crazy up close. The guy is seriously a loose fucking cannon. He’s rocking back and forth, digging his torn apart nails into his scalp as he talks to his dead father.
“This world is so much bigger than our families. It’s connected all across the states which means we all report to people higher up in this fucked up chain of command. I’m here because I have to be,” I explain, wanting to get this over with and get on my way. “You have two months before an escape can be made. There’s going to be a fundraiser for the hospital at that time where staff will be extremely busy. They’ve hired extra security for the week leading up to the event and they just so happened to hire a very specific security company that works in the organization.”
Kevin is staring at me, his bloodshot, red-rimmed blue eyes are taking in every word, yet I can’t tell if he actually understands a word I’m saying. It’s not my problem if he understands, I just need to give him the key and the information.
“During the afternoon of the event, someone on the security team will alert to an intruder as a distraction. This is your time to use the key that will be dropped off on the morning of and get out. You are not the primary target for the night so no one will be helping you,” I advise him sternly. “If you do not get out when you’re supposed to, you will spend the rest of your life in this place. It won’t be a very long life, though. Right now, you’re a liability that either gets out and finishes what he started, or you will be taken out.”
“This doesn’t make sense,” Kevin murmurs, shaking his head back and forth. “My father was in this, but I’m not. Why do I matter? Why am I a liability?”
I laugh without humour, rubbing a hand over my mouth and five day stubble. “Like I said before, there’s a lot you don’t understand about the shit our parents got us into. The people who run this shit show, they don’t let anyone live who they think might know something. They’re using you to get rid of the final foster kid who got away from your father. You do that, and they’ll let you live in peace. You’ll be monitored, obviously, but you’ll get to live. That’s your price to pay in their eyes.”
“This is fucking bullshit! Alayna Morgan will die by my hand, for my own reasons!” Kevin slams his hands down on the metal desk, the sound ricocheting loudly throughout the room. “No one else gets to tell me to do it. I GET TO DECIDE! SHE DIES FOR ME!”
Shaking my head at the lost cause in front of me, I hold up my hands in a calming manner just as the nurse and security guard come into the room. Kevin screams and lunges at me, his hands wrapping around my wrists forcefully. The nurse presses a button, calling for extra help as the security guard tries to restrain him.
In what feels like the blink of an eye, the nurses and security have Kevin completely subdued and unconscious on his bed. My wrists feel tender from where he grabbed me. The fucking little prick never should have put his hands on me.
At least that was one way to cover my tracks. The kid probably won’t even try to break out because he’s too fucking crazy. Why the Dealga Organization wants to put the onus on a crazy person to take out Alayna is beyond me. They should just use one of the many hit men they have on their payroll. Better yet, kidnap her and sell her in their prostitute ring. She’s gorgeous enough to grab more than her worth. Rhys and his asshole friends may be an issue for that, though.
The nurse walks me to the front desk again, her brown eyes concerned and sad. “I’m so sorry, Detective James. I should have insisted we stayed in the room. Are your arms okay?”
“Think nothing of it. They’re fine,” I assure her with an easy smile. “A little danger isn’t going to bother me much. If it did, I’d be in the wrong profession.”
The nurse blushes at my wink, her brown eyes hooded with interest before moving back to serious. “We were hoping he was getting better with the outbursts. I’ll be doing a report to add to his chart with the harm done to you. Did he say anything that I should be aware of for my report? Any threats of harm to you or himself?”
