CHAPTER 10 FIRE IN THE VEINS
1453 Words
CHAPTER 10 FIRE IN THE VEINS
Night settled over Blackridge like a heavy bruise, the sky painted in violent streaks of purple and steel. The wind was sharp, whistling through the skeletons of half-built buildings and abandoned factories. A storm was comingJaxon felt it in his bones.
He and Lena moved quickly through the industrial sector, staying close to the shadows. Their safehouse had been compromised; Viktor’s men were hunting them. Every step they took was a step deeper into danger, but there was no choice. Rafe wouldn't last long if they didn't act soon.
The message Jaxon received an hour earlier repeated relentlessly in his mind:
BRING LENA.
COME ALONE.
THE BROTHER DIES BEFORE MIDNIGHT.
Jaxon clenched his jaw until it ached.
Viktor wanted Lena. Viktor always wanted Lena. And this time, he had baited the trap with the one thing Jaxon could never ignore.
Rafe.
Lena touched his arm gently as they slipped behind a row of rusted cargo containers. “You’re walking too fast.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“Lena, we don’t have time”
She grabbed his wrist, forcing him to look at her. Her voice trembled, but her eyes were steady.
“Jaxon, you can’t save her if you fall apart first.”
His breath hitched not from pain, but from the terrifying tenderness he saw in her face. She cared too much. It made him terrified. It made him alive.
He lowered his head for a moment, grounding himself with the warmth of her touch.
“Rafe was the only family I had,” he murmured, voice thick. “I should’ve protected him. I should’ve kept searching.”
Lena shook her head. “It’s not your fault. Viktor did this, not you.”
“But I left him,” Jaxon whispered. “I walked away from everything. From him. From myself.”
“And now,” she said softly, stepping closer, “you’re walking back. That’s what matters.”
He looked at herreally looked at her.
Lena Rivera. The woman who patched him up, hid him, challenged him, softened his anger, and sharpened his will. The woman who wasn’t afraid of his scars, even the ones carved too deep to heal.
The woman Viktor would burn the world to possess.
Jaxon felt the heat of fury coil in his gut. “He’s not taking you,” he growled. “Not tonight. Not ever.”
Lena smiled not with fear, but with trust. “I know.”
A shout split the air.
“Two targets! This way!”
Jaxon spun, shielding Lena as footsteps thundered toward them. Four Syndicate soldiers rushed down the alley, rifles raised.
Jaxon moved like a blade.
He pulled Lena behind a shipment crate and charged forward. The first soldier swung his weapon toward him, but Jaxon ducked, grabbed the man’s vest, and slammed him headfirst into the steel container. He dropped in a heap.
The second soldier firedJaxon rolled, the bullet sparking off metal where his head had been. He sprang up, kicked the man’s knees sideways, and twisted the rifle out of his hands.
A burst of gunfire lit the darkness as the third soldier shot wildly. Lena crouched low, covering her head, but Jaxon was already moving; he dove, grabbed the fallen rifle, and shot once.
One bullet.
One clean hit.
The soldier collapsed.
The last one hesitated to make a big mistake. Jaxon sprinted, tackled him, and slammed an elbow into his jaw. The c***k echoed sharply. When the man slumped, Jaxon dragged him by the collar and threw him into the shadows.
Lena stood slowly, breathing hard. “Remind me never to argue with you.”
Jaxon smirked. “You argue plenty.”
“Yeah,” she said, brushing hair from her face, “but now I’m more strategic about it.”
He laughed breathless, raw, real and took her hand. “Let’s move.”
They disappeared into the night.
They reached the old Apex Refinery, where Viktor’s coordinates pointed. The place was a graveyard of concrete slabs, broken windows, and creaking pipes. Floodlights glowed across the main lot, cutting harsh white lines across the dark.
Jaxon crouched beside Lena on a ledge overlooking the facility.
“Guards on every exit,” she whispered.
“Means Viktor’s scared,” Jaxon replied.
“Of you?”
“No.” His eyes hardened. “Of losing control.”
Then they saw it.
Through a cracked set of windows, tied to a steel chair under a single hanging light was Rafe.
Bruised. Bleeding. Barely upright.
But alive.
Jaxon’s breath froze.
Rafe lifted his head weakly,
,and their eyes met.
The connection was instant. Electric. Painful.
For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to nothing but the brother's two halves of one childhood, reunited in a cage of metal and cruelty.
“Jaxon,” Lena whispered. “We have to get him out.”
“We will.”
“How?”
He studied the refinery layout, the guards, the entrances, the catwalks.
A plan formed in his mind.
One that could get all three of them killed.
He exhaled slowly. “I need you to stay here.”
Lena gripped his arm. “I’m not leaving you.”
“You’re not leaving,” he said firmly, turning to face her. “But you’re not coming inside either. Not until I signal.”
“No.”
“Lena”
“No,” she repeated sharply. “I’m not sitting still while Viktor uses me as leverage. I won’t be a weapon against you. I’m with you. All the way.”
He stared at her.
Stubborn. Brave. Reckless. And his.
Even if neither had said the words yet.
He brushed a thumb lightly across her cheek. “You’re going to get me killed.”
She leaned into the touch. “Then we go together.”
Jaxon inhaled hard. Her closeness, her courage overwhelmed him. He cupped her face, forehead pressing against hers.
“If something happens”
“Nothing’s happening,” she whispered. “Not tonight.”
Lightning flashed in the distance, casting silver across the refinery.
Jaxon nodded. “Stay behind me. Don’t hesitate. And whatever Viktor says, don't believe him.”
Lena swallowed. “Okay.”
They moved.
Silent shadows slipping into enemy territory.
Inside the refinery, heat pressed down from the old furnaces. Metal groaned overhead like the building itself was warning them to turn back.
Jaxon took down two guards before they could speak, their bodies hitting the ground with soft thuds. Lena stayed right behind him, her breaths steady despite the danger.
When they reached the central chamber, the sound of boots echoed from above three guards patrolling the catwalk.
Jaxon grabbed Lena’s hand. “Stay low.”
They slid beneath a conveyor belt as the guards passed overhead. Once the footsteps faded, Jaxon pushed forward until they reached a narrow walkway overlooking the room where Rafe sat.
Jaxon’s heart clenched painfully. Seeing his brother like thatdefeated, torturedmade something primal ignite inside him.
Then Viktor stepped into the light.
Impeccably dressed. Calm. Hands clasped behind his back.
A viper wrapped in silk.
“Jaxon Cross,” he announced into the empty space. “You’ve made me very proud tonight.”
Jaxon stepped out of the shadows, Lena behind him.
“Let him go.”
Viktor smiled. “Of course. Once you give me what I want.”
His eyes slid to Lena.
She stiffened. Jaxon moved protectively in front of her.
“You’re not touching her,” he growled.
Viktor chuckled softly. “Still pretending you have anything to bargain with? You’re surrounded. Every exit is locked. Your brother is dying. And the woman behind you,” He tilted his head. “Well, she’s always been the real prize.”
Lena stepped forward before Jaxon could stop her.
“You think you own me?” she snapped. “You think I’m scared of you?”
Viktor smiled like a man admiring a beautiful knife. “You should be.”
His hand lifted.
A gunshot exploded.
Lena gasped and staggered back.
“NO!” Jaxon shouted, lunging toward her
But the bullet didn’t hit Lena.
It hit the ground inches from her feet.
A warning shot.
The real trap snapped shut.
Dozens of armed men stepped out from all sides, guns raised.
Rafe groaned in the chair, barely conscious.
Viktor spread his arms. “You came to save your brother, Jaxon, but who will save you?”
Jaxon clenched his fists as guards swarmed them.
Lena grabbed his hand.
“Whatever happens,” she whispered fiercely, “we face it together.”
And Jaxon realized
This wasn’t the moment he fell.
It was the moment he rose.
- Writer
