Burn Out *18+*

Chapter 39

I could have killed Axel. I think part of me wanted to still. But I didn't. In the end, I had lowered the gun and gestured for Jasper and Alistair to come forward. There was no hesitation on their part, as if they weren't approaching a man who – at the very least – ordered the killing of another agent and a hysterical woman with a gun.

Axel's sinister grin faded a pinch. "I knew you couldn't do it. You're a fucking coward."

I didn't even flinch at the venom in his voice. Because all of that aggression, all of that goading, was covering something up. There were thousands of people on this planet that were just like him, playing the system, taking advantage of vulnerable people, bribing, threatening, protecting. But all of those people had one thing in common: pride.

Going down in a spray of bullets was a story that would be told for years. Being tortured and not letting out a single hiss of pain was legendary. Making a government official – or a wannabe in my case – snap and kill you could be converted into dinner time conversation.

Being hauled off to prison for the rest of your life was not heroic. It was not bad ass. It wasn't even noteworthy.

And this man had a family. A family he certainly didn't deserve, but shooting him in the middle of the street would only make his children grow to hate the law. Hate and love were powerful things. It drove me to this secluded highway, standing in the frigid rain. The last thing I wanted was to drive two young kids to despise the system while mourning a father, being inspired to pick up where he left off for no other reason than spite.

And, as a father, I imagined that a shattered wrist and a broken ankle, were nowhere near as painful as watching your wife get tired of waiting for you and seeing your kids learn that the world of crime was not always stolen jewels and imported champagne and protection.

"Give me the gun, Alligator," Jasper instructed, holding a hand out to me.

I plunked it in his hand without a complaint and he set it on the top of my rented SUV. "How did you know I was going to do this?"

"I didn't. Alistair figured it out for the most part," Jasper explained while we both watched the brother in question retrieve a small kit from one of the vehicles they had pulled up in. "We figured that if we followed him, we got to you. You didn't have much other information to go off of, so it seemed realistic. But I have to be honest with you, the choice of weapon threw me off."

"I thought it would," I admitted with a small smile that felt so raw it almost hurt.

Alistair made quick work of pulling out a needle and stabbing it none to gently into Axel's good arm. When the syringe was empty, it was only a matter of seconds before the old man fell into something could only be described as a deep sleep.

"That's one hell of a sedative."

"Not as efficient as just killing the fucker," Alistair muttered, "But I understand why you didn't. and, in fairness, it makes the court case easier for us. He going to rot in prison for the rest of his life and his family is going to lose every estate, every car, every plane, every portrait." His intense eyes settled on me, seeming more troubled than they had been when he was dealing with the human scum. "Gator, put a jacket on and get in Jasper's car."

"But, my car—"

"The rental company is already on their way to come get it. You are in no shape to drive. Of all the things that have happened today, your rental car should be the least of you concerns."

"Yes, but—"

"Just get a jacket, we only have a few hours before this wears off and I want him in a hospital with a small army of officers around."

But the car was my last distraction. Even so, Alistair was right. Axel wasn't dead. Therefore, he was still the priority. We didn't have time to let me play with the windshield wipers or defrost buttons just so that I could keep my brain busy. I grabbed my laptop and my coat out of the SUV sluggishly, watching the brothers hoist the man into the back of Alistair's car then handcuff his arms behind his back despite the broken wrist. Then I followed Jasper to his car, an unremarkable Ford Escape.

We drove in silence for a long time. I pretended it was because I was focusing on the hellish road conditions. In Dex's car with the massive studs on the winter tires would have struggled through this. But Jasper handled it all expertly, following Alistair out of the rural area then to the town's hospital where the entire police force must have been waiting.

We parked and watched them take Axel into the hospital on a stretcher, three men on each side plus the two nurses.

Just like that, it was all over.

Then I was just a girl with a dead mother, sitting in a car with her agent cousin.

"What now, Alligator?" Jasper said after a moment of silence.

"Just take me home. I just want to go home."

~~~Distraction Section~~~

What is the weirdest thing to happen to you while working your job?