The worst part of that was that was my route to her. That was the way to get to her. The other bridge was connected to the other side of the fucking room. I would have had to go out and find the entrance to get there.
I glanced at her, tears glistened her cheeks and her eyes pools of water.
I remembered when I first saw her. The image Ethan had shown me. Not the sight of her in the club. The image.
What I saw in her eyes was desperation. It called to me. It had called to me then and it screamed to me now.
It bellowed and here I was just looking at her. Just watching her.
Unable to help.
Just like Claire.
“Awwww, you should see your face,” Balthazar taunted. I returned my focus to him. “You really should Xander Cage. You’re a pitiful mess. But don’t worry this time when I kill you, I’ll make sure you’re dead.”
I narrowed my gaze at him, and thought long and hard.
Fuck…
Think… I needed to get out of this mess. I needed to save Jia.
How though?
“Come on Xander don’t fight this? Give me the prints.”
“No.” I shook my head. “Her first. Give her to me.”
I was going to try something. Every time I pissed him off he lowered the remote. If I could get it from him or away from him she’d be okay.
I just needed to get it away from him.
This time he made a show of holding it out. He got ready to press that damn button but a bullet sizzled through his arm.
He dropped the remote and yelped. A quick glance to my left showed that Giovanni was just above us on the metal platform.
A quick glance was all you could sacrifice when it came to guys like Balthazar.
I’d just register that Giovanni was on the move and seemed to be heading to a set of metal stairs that led down the platform to Jia.
It took a total of two seconds for my brain to process that.
Then in a heartbeat I charged at Balthazar, knocking him to the ground and away from the fucking remote.
My hands on him…
Just touching him gave me a thrill of that sensation of accomplishment. All this time. All these years, all these very long years and I’d never been able to do this.
Just to give him the bone crunching punch I landed straight in his disgusting, fucking face.
All these long years, even before Claire was killed I wanted to do it and as my knuckles connected with his jaw I got the satisfaction I longed for.
Then it hit me, if I killed him, it wouldn’t bring her back. The hit was one thing but it wasn’t enough. Those long years of seeking vengeance and it wouldn’t bring her back, or any of the others. Not my team or the children in the orphanage. It wouldn’t change the past.
It was my bad for losing focus because he jabbed me straight in my chest with the end of his gun and something cracked.
Once again I folded and he slipped from under me.
In the split second that he moved he whipped out his gun and aimed it Jia.
