The Reaper's Daughter (Book 1 Soldiers Series)

5

Mace sat in the middle seat his body shifted, so his back was against the window. Trey’s shoulder had been stitched up and bandaged, at the moment he was resting in the front passenger seat. Doc was asleep in the seat next to Mace; his injured leg stretched out between the two front seats to relieve his pain. Their driver had been driving for hours and needed a break. He traded out with another man and now sat slumped over in the backseat next to their precious cargo with Fat Boy on the other side of her.

The van had been quiet for some time now she had not spoken a word since they had taken her nor had she closed her eyes. Mace sat silently watching her as she watched him. Her silky black hair rested on the shoulders of her leather jacket. He loved the shining blue highlights in the front of her hair framing her heart-shaped face. Her short brown leather skirt sat mid-way up her thin firm thighs it was a shame her knees were locked together obstructing his view.

She had a flat solid belly; her mid-drift exposed drawing his eyes to the little glowing bead piercing her navel. Her pale-yellow babe-t hugged her trim frame, and the neckline dipped low showing a tempting hint of cinnamon cleavage. He could not help but wonder what she might be wearing under that tiny t-shirt. Did it match the sexy little thong she had thrown at him?

Mace’s gaze lifted higher, and his eyes met hers as she glared at him. “Put your eyes back in your head.” She snipped.

His lips curved in a smile, she was gutsy to mouth off to him in her situation. Mace had yet to see the fear in her pretty eyes, and he admired her courage. Any other woman would have fallen apart, been weeping and begging for mercy by now. She was calm, collected, and unwilling to be intimidated. She was everything he would have expected from her father.

“Why do you dress like that if you don’t want men to look?” Mace asked.

“To annoy my father.” She said simply.

“I bet it works.” He said raking his gaze over her once more. “I bet he hates that sexy little thong we left for him too.” She did not answer him only glared. “What’s your name baby girl?”

“I’m not a child.” She snarled.

“What’s your name?” Mace insisted.

“My friends call me Jess.” She said.

“Alright, Jess-”

“You can call me Jessica.” She cut him off.

“You have some serious attitude, don’t you?” He snapped back.

“Excuse me if I don’t feel like trading pleasantries with the man that murdered my boyfriend.” Jess hissed her dark eyes flashing with anger.

“First off, I didn’t shoot your boyfriend; Trey did that. Second of all, that guy had to be in college or something right? I bet that pissed off dear old daddy?”

“So I like older bad boys.” Jess snarled. “It’s none of your business.”

“Bad boys? Please, that’s a term reserved for guys that got a pair. That pansy you were consorting with was nothing more than a second-rate poser.” Mace growled back. “Real gangsters don’t take kindly to posers. They make us look stupid. He wanted to play a gangster, well s**t got real, and he didn’t measure up.”

Jess lifted her legs and kicked the back of his seat hard jolting the seat forward, and she screamed at him waking the others in the van, her temper exploding. “You didn’t have to kill him. He was nothing, a nobody!” Jess hissed leaning forward to hit Mace with her bound hands. Mace’s hands flew up in self-defence. “He wasn’t a threat to you. You could have let him go.”

Mace got up on his knees and pushed Jess back against her seat. Leaning over the back of his bench seat, he held her down. “Calm down right now.” He ordered. She relaxed and sat back her composure regained immediately. Jess looked away from him turning her eyes out the window. His companions looked at him confused as to what had just happened. “Go back to sleep,” Mace ordered. “I got her under control.”

They sat in silence while the guys settled in once more dozing off again. Jess just stared out the window refusing to look at him. After a long silence, Mace decided to speak once more. “That guy was too old for you anyway.” Jess shot him a nasty look. “Well, he was. He had to be what my age? And you’re I’m guessing eighteen.”

“Almost nineteen.” She retorted.

“I stand corrected.” He laughed mocking her. “I guess you’re all grown up like a big girl.”

“Bite me.” She snipped. “You know no one would even care about the age difference if I was twenty-five and he was thirty.”

“You are right; age means little after twenty.” Mace agreed. “But you’re not over twenty, and he was.”

Jess scowled at him her dark eyes narrowed in disgust. “Are you going to abduct me or lecture me on my dating preferences?”

“You’re right it is none of my concern,” Mace smirked finding Jess a little rough around the edges but otherwise witty and entertaining.

***

Jess studied his well-groomed face. He looked like something off a hip-hop video. Dangerous and rude, but utterly attractive. A man who knew he could have anything he wanted and was willing to take it. “So, do I get to at least know who you are and why I’ve been forced in between dumb and dumber here at gunpoint?” She mocked the men beside her with a nod of her head.

“Why you little…” Snarled the fat Latino who had gotten stuck in her bedroom window. His fist came up to strike her, and the man in charge shook his head denying him his revenge.

“You did get stuck in a window? That was pretty stupid.” He said, turning his dark eyes to her again. “This ugly jerk is Fat Boy Arnez.” He introduced his hot-tempered friend on her left. It suited him she thought. “That’s Shady.” He pointed to the brawny black man on her right. “You’ve met my boys Doc and Trey, the driver’s Tweak, and they call me Mace.”

Jess raised one brow mockingly. “Like pepper spray?”

Mace chuckled in good humour. “It’s a street name Boo. I’ve been hit with mace so many times; I’ve built up a tolerance.”

“What a charming and pointless story.” Jess snarled. “Where are we going?”

“LA.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s where we’re going.”

“Why me?”

“Nothing personal, we want your father, and he’ll come for you.”

“Why?”

“Well unless you’re a total brat, I’m sure he loves you, god knows why.”

“Witty,” she retorted, “I meant why do you want him?”

“Because he’s very good at what he does and once upon a time he made some very mean people very mad,” Mace said with a smile.

“How very elusive.” She mocked. Mace ignored her and shrugged his coat off to get more comfortable. Jess spotted the circular tattoo of black and brown on his shoulder; a red S in the center. She had seen that very same tattoo before. “My dad has that same design on his hip,” Jess commented nodding toward his arm.

“I assume he would; every Soldier gets one once they’re inducted,” Mace explained.

“Don’t you feel foolish, you got the wrong girl. My father was never in the army.”

“No, but he was in a gang, back in LA. He was one of the best, top of his game, and then that stupid b***h wanted him out. Dumb s**t turned tail and run for some stupid w***e. So, you see we got the right girl.” Mace said.

She had no idea what he was talking about. Ran from what? What girl?

“You knew my father?” She asked.

“No, I just know of him, he split long before I joined up; they figured he had died in the fire with your mom until they got the crime scene reports back.”

Jess glared at Mace. “My mother died in childbirth.”

“No, she died in a fire, pregnant with you. At least until your father gutted her like a fish.” Jess’ eyes widened in horror. “Cut her from ribcage to...” Mace illustrated dragging his finger down his belly… “well you know.” He winked. “And left her bleeding in an inferno while he saved his hide. They didn’t find him, but they found her, burnt to an unrecognizable crisp. Oh, and then came the interesting part…no baby.” Mace smiled, it was clear to her he loved telling that story; it was the very thing from which urban legends were born. “Although I have never met your father, Reap is a legend among the Soldiers. Many died trying to meet his high standard, to be his better or at the very least his equal. The man was ruthless, cruel, and good at his job; a personal favourite of Luda and the other Veterans who had the privilege of once knowing him.”

Jess looked away, it was a vile story, and she could not believe her father would do such a thing. She had seen his face sometimes when she knew he was thinking of her mother. It was the face of heartbreak; he had loved her, Jess was sure of it. He could not have done such a brutal thing to her mother. Jess would not believe it, she could not, and this man told the horrible story as if it were some wonderful tale of Snow White or the Three Little Pigs.

“I look forward to meeting him,” Mace said with a grin.

“I hope he kills you.”

“It would be a hell of a way to go.”

***

They drove all night and day, taking turns in the driver’s seat when the others got tired, occasionally stopping for food and gas. Jess was grateful when the smelly man on her right was instructed to drive. They stopped the van long enough to switch seats never letting Jess get out. Mace climbed into the vacant seat beside her. It was the third driver change since they left, and she was getting farther and farther from home, she needed to do something and soon. Jess leaned over to Mace and whispered in his ear. Out of all the men in the van, the only one even remotely trustworthy was the handsome chocolate man now climbing in beside her. “I have to pee.”

“Hold it.” He answered.

“I can’t; I’ve been holding it for almost a day now.” She hissed.

Mace studied her face. Jess bobbed up and down in her seat like a toddler when they had to go to the washroom. “Fine.”

He instructed the driver not to pull away yet as he opened the sliding door. Taking out his knife, Mace cut the tie-wrap from around Jess’ ankles so she could walk, leaving her wrist bound. His arms slipped around her back and under her knees, Mace lifted her out of the van’s back seat. He held Jess cradled in his arms for a moment, her pulse speeding up with the feel of herself pressed against him.

Placing her on her feet, Mace pointed to the ditch and said. “Go.”

Jess looked at the men in the van watching with wide grins and attentive eyes, waiting for her skirt to come up. “No way, this is not a peep show.” She looked over her shoulder at the thick trees lining the ditch. If she could get in there, she might be able to run and lose them. “In there.” She suggested.

“No,” Mace argued thinking the same thing she was. “Here or not at all. I’m not letting you go alone in there; I’m not dense.”

Damn, plane B, one guy was easier to get away from than six. “Ok then you come with me, but I’m not hiking my skirt up in front of these animals. So, you let me go in there,” she nodded to the bush, “or in there.” She nodded toward the van. “I’m sure those seats are absorbent, and the smell won’t be that big a deal, after all, LA is only how many more hours away?”

Mace smiled and shook his head commending her negotiation skills. He instructed his buddies to wait then took Jess by the bicep and dragged her toward the trees. He walked her in just far enough from the road to be out of sight and directed Jess toward a tree. “Go ahead.”

Jess stared at the tree. “What do you want me to do with that? I’m not a guy I don’t just point and aim.” She found a clear spot and reached for the hem of her skirt. She felt as if she would burst, but with her hands bound she could not pull up her skirt properly. Sighing in defeat, Jess looked up at Mace. “I can’t get my skirt up with my hands tied.” She complained.

Mace walked over and pushed her arms up and out of his way. His hands went to Jess’ hips and his eyes locked on hers holding her gaze. She felt his hands drift down over her bottom, his fingers moving to the hem sending shudders through her body. Gathering the back of her skirt in his fingers, Mace’s hands slid around to her side and flattened out over her thighs. Moving up slowly, Mace brought the short skirt up enough for what she needed. He grinned wolfishly, his eyes flashing with mischief. “Happy to help.” He purred and moved away turning his back to give her a measure of privacy.

When she was done, Jess stood quietly and with great difficulty pushed her skirt down as best she could. She took a slow step back while Mace was not looking. Her heart pounded so loud in her ears Jess could swear he could hear it too. When Mace did not look back, Jess took another careful step. Again, she moved her foot and placed it behind her keeping her eyes fixed on Mace.

Snap.

She had stepped on a twig, and the sound was deafening to her, Jess’ breath caught in her chest, her heart skipped a beat. Mace turned suddenly and charged at her, Jess turned and ran into the trees, pushing her body harder than she had ever pushed it before. Her breaths were quick and laboured, her chest aching fighting for air. She jumped over logs and fallen limbs, ducking low branches and thick bushes. The sound of Mace’s footsteps behind her urging her to go faster. Branches whipped at her body scratching at her legs and arms. Jess was not going to stop; she could not let him catch her. She had to keep moving.

***

Mace pushed himself on, racing after Jess taking each obstacle as it came. He could not lose her. His anger fueled his speed. She was fast, but he was not going to be shown up by some cocky little brat. He jumped over a log she had climbed over seconds earlier gaining ground on Jess, branches painfully whipping at him as he raced after her through the thick brush.

Then it happened a break in his favour; Jess stepped in a gopher hole and tripped. Falling forward, Jess scrambled up onto her knees trying to get back up. It was enough time for Mace to leap over a fallen tree and catch up; he was instantly on top of her. Dropping to his knees, he straddled Jess pinning her face down against the ground. Mace rolled Jess over, so she was on her back, dirt and twigs cluttering her dark hair.

Jess kicked and screamed, hitting him hard in the chest with both hands. She had bruising strength for a girl her size. His hand closed around the tie wrap that bound her wrist and pinned her hands against her heaving breasts. Reaching behind him, Mace pulled out his pistol and pressed the barrel to her temple hard. “Shut up!” He barked c*****g the hammer. Jess instantly quieted, her body going limp under him with compliance. “That’s better. Why do they always run?” Mace complained finally catching his breath. She had given him a hell of a chase through the woods. His clothes were now filthy from the trees and dirt. “Any of those other guys would have just shot your ass; you’re lucky I have more restraint.”

“f**k you, get off me.” Jess barked at him. Was she crazy? He was the one with the gun pointed at her head, and she dared to tell him off. “When my dad catches you, he’s going to slit your throat. He’ll shred the flesh from your body in strips and feed it to the strays.” She had guts he would give her that.

Jess arched under him trying to buck Mace off; squirming and wiggling, her hips slamming up against him, rubbing and grinding against him. Mace’s body began to react to the friction and adrenalin flowing through him after that exhilarating run. He felt his loins tighten and stiffen from the excitement of having her bucking fiercely beneath him. She would be wild in bed he could sense it. Mace tried to focus his mind on remembering his task. She was a hostage for god sake and way too young for him.

“Stop it.” Mace snarled down at her with husky undertones. Jess ignored his warning focused only on escaping him. The friction of her hips and pelvis rubbing against his crotch brought Mace to full erection. “Damn it, Jess, if you don’t want to get f****d. I suggest you stop it.” She came to a dead stop under him, Jess’ panting breaths the only sound in the woods.

Mace closed his eyes struggling to repress his darker impulses. He never had in his life entertained the dark idea, but something about this girl tested his self-control. The sooner Mace got Jess to Los Angeles the sooner he would be rid of her. Finally, he stood up and yanked Jess to her feet, his arousal still noticeable. Her eyes drifted to it, and he glared at her with annoyance for having affected him in such a way. The foolish little girl was just lucky it had been him and not one of the others, or she would not have escaped these woods untouched.

Mace pushed Jess back toward the van his gun still on her. “The sooner you accept your fate, the easier this will be for you, but try that again, and I swear to god I will shoot you myself. Now walk.”