Paladin - Jericho's Boys #1 - Ch. 23 & 24 (Patreon)

We're at the end, guys. This is super raw and hasn't been edited or beta'd so read at your own risk. I hope you like the ending. Epilogue will be up probably tomorrow and ARC's probably the 13th. Eek, I hate this part. Please be kind.

Chapter 23

Arsen

“We go in at dawn,” Jericho said, earning a groan from the boys.

“Aw, man. I got off of work at three am. I’m not going to be raid ready in an hour,” Levi complained.

“The exchange is being made tomorrow afternoon. We have to go before then or we run the risk of not rescuing them in time.”

Atticus rolled his eyes. “And it’s the only way to assure we don’t get surprised. According to Cherry, these idiots are out there right now getting drunk and partying. That means most of them will be sleeping or unconscious at dawn and even if there’s a guard, they won’t be on their game. With this many targets, we have to think logically.”

Levi huffed. “I don’t wanna think logically. I want to have one day where I can sleep more than an hour,” he whined dramatically.

“You don’t have to go,” Ever said softly, from where he sat smooshed between Levi and Arsen on the couch. “You can sleep. I’m sure the others can do it.” Ever looked at the others with wide eyes. “Right?”

They all smirked as Levi’s face fell. “What? No. No, it’s cool. I was…I was just saying. It’s all fine. I’m good,” he finished in a barely there mumble.

Ever gave him a huge smile, then hugged Levi’s arm. Arsen watched as his grumpy, tatted friend flushed red to the tips of his ears, staring at the floor. Arsen almost felt bad for him. He didn’t know when or how, but Ever had won Levi over and then some. He was borderline obsessed. He might be worried if Ever showed anything but brotherly affection towards Levi. But he never did. He only saw Arsen.

“We go in shock and awe style, catch them off guard and start shooting immediately,” Jericho said. “Target acquired. Target eliminated. No second guessing. No hesitation. We know they’re armed. And stupid. You’ll have vests thanks to Atticus, but that’s not going to protect your head.

“But…I thought we needed to make this look like a cartel killing?” Nico asked.

“That’s our job,” Asa said. “You drop ‘em, we’ll ugly them up. Make ‘em look real gruesome for the crime scene photos. Don’t you worry.”

Ever stared at Asa hard. “You really like what you do, huh?”

Arsen’s stomach churned. Some small part of him worried after what they’d done to Cherry yesterday and what they planned on doing to others in a few hours, was too much for Ever. He was too soft, too sweet. He wasn’t meant for a world of blood and guts. Maybe he’d leave now that he’d seen who Arsen really was.

“It’s my passion,” Asa teased, not even a little ashamed.

Felix rolled his eyes, looking at his husband. “Can you shut him up before he scares the baby?”

But before Avi could even think to say anything, Ever sighed. “I wish I had a passion,” he said wistfully, blushing when the others laughed. “What?”

Arsen’s heart swelled. Ever was a constant surprise, but somehow just as sweet and pure and angelic as the day Arsen found him. But he was also somewhat feral, prone to biting, swearing and was horny almost around the clock. It was like Arsen had cooked him up in a lab. He was perfect.

“You’re just very cute, besenok,” Arsen assured him, giving all of them a glare that told them not to laugh at his boyfriend, even if Arsen kind of wanted to laugh too.

Ever put so much pressure on himself to go from captive to productive member of society as if that was an easy thing for any of them to do, much less him. When this was finally settled, Arsen was going to sit down with Ever and Jericho and make a plan for Ever’s future.

It was clear he wouldn’t feel settled until he was working towards some kind of goal, even if Arsen thought his only goal should be healing. Maybe a plan is what he needed to start that process?

“You have your whole life to figure that out,” Jericho promised. “In the meantime, let’s get back to the plan. Thomas thinks you guys taking out the cops is too much heat—” A bunch of groans sounded, but Jericho shut them up with a single arched brow— “on such short notice. He’s sending Adam and whichever Mulvaney is free to take them out as we speak. They have the money and the resources to make it look like they were never there. Besides, it’s easier to divide and conquer.”

“I hope they send August,” Seven said. “Imagine what he’d do to those bodies…and he won’t even wait until they’re dead.”

“To be fair, we’re only waiting until they're dead so you guys can play too,” Avi said, then looked at Ever. “I think chipmunk has had enough of the blood and guts for now.”

“He won’t be there so it doesn’t matter,” Arsen said.

Ever’s gaze snapped to his. “What? No way. I’m going.”

Arsen’s mouth fell open and he stared at Ever for a full thirty seconds before he realized he wasn’t verbalizing any of the words bouncing around in his head. He couldn’t help it though. His heart hammered against his ribcage hard enough to steal his breath. “Absolutely not. There’s too many things that can go wrong. You could get shot, you could get taken again. No. No way. I won’t allow it.”

Nico snickered. “You won’t allow it? Okay.”

Ever’s eyes went wide and for a split second Arsen thought he might cry. Then Felix was behind him on the couch, running sharp nails through his hair. “You don’t have to listen to him, gumdrop. He’s not the boss of you.”

Ever’s eyelids flickered as he arched into the touch, practically purring like a cat. He really was touch starved. Good thing, because his friends clearly had no fucking boundaries. Besides, none of that was the point. “I’m not saying I’m your…boss. I’m saying I can’t think straight if I have to worry about where you are the whole time? Please just…sit this one out.”

Felix’s petting wasn’t enough to keep Ever from glaring at him, chin thrust forward, arms crossing. “No. I’m going,” his voice wobbled slightly. “I-I need to see for myself.”

“Wasn’t Cherry enough?” Arsen begged, feeling sick.

How was he supposed to concentrate knowing Ever was in danger? This wasn’t fair. It would be like trying to do this with one of his arms tied behind his back.

“Okay, enough,” Jericho said. “Ever, you can come, but you wait where we put you. Atticus will keep you company. Once they’re all dead—” He looked at Asa and Avi in turn— “But before we start carving up bodies, you can bring Ever in so he can see for himself.”

Ever frowned then shook his head. “I don’t care about them. I never want to see them again. I care about the people locked in that shipping container. Do you know how bad it probably is in there? No bathroom. No ventilation. No blankets or heat. They might not even have food or water. They don’t know what happened or why they’re there or if anyone is coming to save them. I just…I just need to see for myself that they’re all okay. That they’re all…alive.”

All eyes went to Arsen. How was he supposed to argue with that? He wasn’t a fucking monster. “Fine. But-But you have to stay with Atticus. Promise?”

Ever nodded.

Jericho looked at Ever. “I can’t have Arsen distracted or he’ll be a liability. Got it?”

Ever nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

“Good,” Atticus said. “We leave soon. Everyone start getting ready.”

“Why are there so many blankets,” Seven muttered, looking around at the assortment stuffed in baskets and thrown over the sofa and chairs.

“Yeah, do you guys get cold a lot or something?” Nico asked.

Atticus turned red, looking to his husband like he was asking for help. When Jericho just smirked at him, he said, “I hired a decorator. She was…clearly a fan of the look. Neither of us cared enough to change it.”

“Maybe she just noticed you’re pale enough to burn indoors and wanted you to be able to cover up at the first touch of the sun’s rays,” Avi said.

Atticus glowered at his brothers. “Nobody fucking likes you.”

Nico elbowed Asa. “I like you, man. I think you’re hilarious.”

“Aw, thanks, I think you’re neat, too.”

“Traitor,” Atticus muttered. “You’re all traitors.”

Jericho chuckled. “Enough chit-chat. Let’s do this.”

Everyone grumbled but nodded. “Yeah, yeah.”

###

The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon when they parked their cars about a mile down the road at a place that rented tiny fishing cabins. The air was slightly chilled, a low layer of fog making their job harder. Arsen kept Ever in front of him the whole way, holding onto his arm with his free hand, keeping him upright as he stumbled over roots and knotted vines.

When they found the cabin, they stayed hidden, hunkered down behind the trees while Jericho scanned the place with binoculars. “It’s quiet. Not even a guard on duty. Morons.”

He put the binoculars back and pulled out a strange contraption, pointing it at the side of the house.

“What is that?” Arsen asked quietly.

“Think of it like x-ray vision,” Atticus said. “It can tell us where they are in the house by their heat signature.”

“Man, you guys have the best toys,” Levi muttered, then yawned loud enough for his jaw to snap.

It was true. Whenever they involved the Mulvaney’s in their jobs, they always came with kevlar vests, weapons not even available on the market, toys that looked straight out of a spy movie. It was helpful, but also somewhat intimidating.

Arsen held Ever against him, resting his chin on his head. Ever was tense against him, his eyes locked on the only thing he cared about. The shipping container was barely visible from their current location, but clearly the one Cherry mentioned. It looked more like a storage unit or a shed, but the locks were so big Arsen could observe them without effort even at that distance.

They’d brought bolt cutters for that reason. Atticus had insisted, saying the last time they’d done a rescue mission like this there’d been a struggle to find a way to unlock the door without hurting anybody. Ever held the bolt cutters in a death grip, like he was taking his one job very seriously.

Arsen’s mouth was dry, his adrenaline through the roof. These large scale jobs were always way more intense than taking out a single bad guy…or woman. There was so much room for something—anything—to go wrong. And now he had Ever.

“They’re all in there,” Jericho said. “There’s three bodies lying prone in one room at the back. Bedroom most likely. Another two bodies with a lesser heat signature, also prone. Chances are we got another bedroom. There’s two sitting up in the front room and several on the floor. If they weren’t all glowing hot, I’d say someone beat us to it with how still they are.”

“You’re going in two teams. Felix, Seven, Nico and Avi take the back, Arsen, Lake and Asa take the front with me. Head on a fucking swivel. We make no mistakes. Coms check.”

They all checked to make sure they could be heard by the device in their ears, then parted into their own groups. Arsen didn’t want to leave Ever there, so close to the action, even though he knew he was out of the line of fire. He turned him around and gave him a hard kiss, then pulled ear plugs from his pocket, handing them to Ever, who frowned at them.

“The gunfire will be loud. They go in your ears,” Atticus supplied.

Oh, right. How would Ever know that? Arsen shook his head, then helped Ever put the ear plugs in, then took his cat headphones from his bag and gently placed them over his ears. “Please be safe, besenok.”

Ever nodded, then cupped his face, pulling him down for a much longer kiss. “Hurry back, Senya.”

A shiver of lust rolled over him. Now was most definitely not the time, but hearing Ever call him that was still a novelty, still excited him. He hoped that never went away.

“Ready?” Jericho asked. They all nodded, weapons at the ready. “We go on my mark.”

Arsen, Jericho, Asa and Lake jogged quietly across the brown and dying lawn. In Jericho’s hands was a SWAT issued battering ram, the same one Avi carried around the back. There was no way the door would stand up against that.

The sound of gravel crunching under their boots sounded loud as the gunfire that was about to ensue. He could only hope they were all too liquor soaked to hear them coming.

Once they were gathered at the front door, he glanced back at Ever who looked so small beside Atticus. He was doing this for him.

“We breach on three,” Jericho whispered into the mic.

“Uh…” Avi said.

“Yeah?” Jericho said in a harsh whisper.

“Like one, two and then we breach on three or one, two, three, then go?”

There were snickers of laughter in Arsen’s ears, but it did nothing to quell the turmoil. He just wanted this over with.

“I said on three not after three,” Jericho said, irritated.

“Just checking, jeez,” came Avi’s own grumble.

“One.”

Arsen raised his gun, taking a deep breath and letting it out, then cracking his neck.

“Two.”

A wave of perfect calmness swept over him as he narrowed his focus down to the single task at hand.

“Three.”

The battering rams hit the door in sync creating a bomb-like boom as the wood splintered in protest. Jericho kicked the ruined door in just as the first shot rang out from the back. Arsen leveled his gun at a man scrambling for the weapon tucked in his belt, and pulled the trigger, a perfect hole forming in his left temple as blood spattered on the wall and he collapsed in a heap.

It was a slaughter. Totally unfair in every conceivable way. Arsen aimed and fired, aimed and fired, watching with some satisfaction as each body hit the floor.

“Save some for the rest of us,” Asa muttered in the mic even as he took out two men in rapid succession.

It was all happening so fast, but not in Arsen’s head. Whenever he was in these situations, it was like time slowed to give him an advantage, even though he knew it was simply the body's response to stress.

Asa pulled a vicious knife from his belt. It looked like something out of a horror movie. “You want a picture for the boy first or are we good?”

Arsen’s stomach churned. “Do what you have to do, man.”

Asa’s laugh was chilling as he grabbed a man by the hair, taking the knife across his neck in one smooth motion. Arsen watched the man’s skin part, before turning away. There was a sick squelching sound but Arsen couldn’t bring himself to look.

“Fuck,” Lake shouted, sounding pissed. “That fucker shot me.”

“You let them get the jump on you?”

“Seven shot me.”

“You literally jumped in front of my gun, bro. You shot yourself.”

“How bad is it?” Jericho asked.

“It’s bleeding pretty bad. It might have hit an artery.”

“Fuck!” Jericho shouted. “We need you, Freckles.”

Arsen’s eyes went wide. “We can’t leave Ever out there alone.”

“You want him in here? With this?”

Arsen looked at the horror show Asa was creating in the living room. “God, no.”

“He’ll be fine. In about fifteen minutes, you can take him to open that shipping container and be the hero.”

Atticus busted through the door. “Where is he?”

“Back room,” Seven called. “It’s his right thigh.”

Chapter 24

Ever

Ever could hear nothing but the sound of his own labored breathing. It sounded like he’d run a marathon, even though he was only sitting there, waiting for the others to finish slaughtering people in his name. A tiny giggle escaped, drawing Atticus’s attention away from his granola bar.

Ever stifled the next laugh threatening to bubble up from some place deep inside him. Why was he laughing? None of this was funny. People were dying. Ever should care about that. He should feel something. Did it make him a bad person that he didn’t?

He was just numb. That perfect, lovely numbness he usually only got from trauma. But this didn’t feel traumatic. It was…exhilarating. His heart was pounding and his breath sounded like rushing water in his ears.

Maybe this is why people jumped out of airplanes or climbed mountains without ropes. Maybe it wasn’t trauma that caused the numbness but the adrenaline that came from the danger? Even with his ear plugs and headphones, as soon as the first shot was fired, his stomach clenched. It sounded muffled, like he was hearing it from under water, but he heard it nonetheless.

The gunfire sounded like fireworks. The ones he’d seen kids playing with that made a cracking sound when you lit one end. Then they would just…pop, pop, pop. Then silence.

Ever looked to Atticus, who seemed unfazed. Until he didn’t. He spoke, but not to Ever. To someone in the house talking to him from that little button in his ear. The world was a strange place and Ever didn’t think he’d ever fully understand the technology available, but if it helped keep Arsen safe, he was grateful for it.

Atticus gently removed Ever’s headphones. “Stay here. Don’t move. Lake is hurt. I need to go help.”

He didn’t give Ever any time to process that information, just started to run across the lawn with his backpack in hand. Ever pulled the earplugs free, grateful for the almost eerie silence that followed. Until he realized it wasn’t silent.

At first he thought it was an animal. This high pitched sort of keening wail like it was injured. Ever frowned, moving towards the sound without thought, making sure he stayed behind the cover of the tree line. The closer he got, the louder the sound grew, until he realized it wasn’t an animal at all, but a baby. A human baby, crying hysterically.

Ever looked back to the house, than at the shipping container where the sound came from. There was a baby in there. An actual baby. There was no more gunfire. It had to be safe to open the doors. What if that baby was alone? No. Cherry had said there were two women and other children in there. He couldn’t leave them in there.

He took a deep breath then let it out slowly, then he marched across the lawn to the container, lining up the bolt cutters against the lock and squeezing. Nothing happened. He tried again. And again. But he wasn’t strong enough.

The people inside heard him attempting to open the doors. They were banging on the metal sides, speaking in a language Ever didn’t understand. A knot formed in his throat, tears pricking his eyes as he tried and failed again and again.

“What have we here?”

Ever froze, trying to see who was behind him. The man made it easy, taking a step to his side so he could place the barrel of his gun directly against Ever’s temple. He wore a dirty black t-shirt and baggy ripped jeans. He had three teardrops beneath his left eye. He smelled sour.

“I’m guessing you're with them?” he asked.

Ever couldn’t speak. He vaguely noted the bolt cutters in his hand falling to the ground and the racket it made when they bounced off the metal side to land at his feet.

“Yeah,” Ever said, his mouth a desert.

“Good, then you can come with me and maybe I’ll make it out of this alive,” He gave a gruff laugh. “Probably can’t say the same for you.”

Ever couldn’t move. He wanted to, but he was frozen in place, aware of nothing but the barrel of the gun cold against his sweaty temple. Arsen was going to be so mad at him.

“I-”

“Ever!”

Arsen. The man swung his gun in Arsen’s direction, clearly intent on firing. Ever cried out, then grabbed for the man’s arm. But it was too late. His head just…exploded. Not really but that’s what it felt like. Bits of blood and bone hit Ever’s face as the man beside him dropped. He stood there, trembling so hard his teeth were clacking together.

“Ever? Ever? Can you hear me?”

Ever could hear him, but it was hard over the ringing in his ears. “There’s a baby in there,” he whispered.

“What?” Arsen said, gripping his shoulders and turning him around. “Are you hurt? Did he hurt you? This isn’t your blood is it?”

“There’s a baby in there,” he said again, this time more frantically, trying to shake Arsen off him to grab the bolt cutters. When Arsen fought him, he made a growling sound, wrenching himself from his grasp.

He tried to pick them up, but his hands wouldn’t cooperate. It was like his brain was giving the wrong signals. He gave up on the bolt cutters and just started clawing and pulling at the lock until Arsen was physically dragging him away.

He fought with everything he had, but he was no match for Arsen. But Arsen wasn’t alone. Jericho was there. And Seven. Jericho grabbed the bolt cutters, cutting through the lock in one clean motion.

They moved out of the way, swinging the doors wide but staying behind them in case there was another threat within. When nothing happened, Arsen peeked around the door, gun raised. He dropped it almost immediately.

Ever ducked under his arm, stopping short. There weren’t just two women but four, all filthy and in various states of undress. They were young, some maybe even younger than Ever. One was breastfeeding a baby that looked to be no more than a few months old. The one he’d heard crying.

Jericho held up his hands, holstering his weapon as they all cowered against the back, shielding the children behind them. Once more, Ever tried not to cry. They were protecting them even if it killed them. Seven was still scanning the perimeter, gun at the ready.

“You can come out now,” Arsen said.

“They don’t speak English,” Ever said.

“I do.”

A tiny little body wiggled between the women’s legs, dodging them as they tried to grab him. He was small. Like a toddler. He had brown hair and brown eyes and a dirty face. He seemed surprisingly chipper given the circumstances.

“You do?” Jericho asked. “Is one of those ladies your mommy?”

He shook his head. “No mommy. Borther.” He pointed to a small filthy boy cowering in the back, eerily quiet. We stay with Ms. Tracy but she gave us to bad men for the med-cine.”

Jericho flinched, but then hid it behind a smile. “Oh. Well, you don’t have to go back to Ms. Tracy,” Jericho assured him, gathering him into his arms. “How old are you?”

The little boy held up three fingers. “You’re three? You talk like a grown up,” Jericho gushed.

The women moved forward, one of them picking up the boy at the back. Arsen helped each of them out of the truck, they looked around blinking like they were standing in the noonday sun and not the early morning. How long had they been in there?

The woman handed the frail boy to Arsen and said something none of them understood. Jericho attempted to speak to her in Cantonese, but she frowned at him in confusion.

“Shit,” Jericho muttered.

The others made their way across the lawn, all but Lake and Nico. Atticus reached into his backpack and pulled out more granola bars and water. The boy in Jericho’s arms snatched it, took a big bite, but then immediately broke it in half for the little boy in Arsen’s arms.“Brother’s hungry,” he said.

“We gotta get them out of here,” Seven said. “I know the exchange wasn’t until this afternoon but I don’t want to wait around to see if a bunch of Sons of Anarchy wannabe’s are punctual. What do we do with them?”

“My father has a friend in social services,” Atticus said. “She’s going to meet us at the rest stop just before Bennington. We’ll give them over there. She will make sure to keep our names out of it.”

“This is yucky,” the little boy said even as he took another bite.

They must be so hungry.

Jericho laughed. “I think so, too. How about we stop and get you something to eat on the way?”

“Jericho…” Atticus said his name like a warning.

“Come on, freckles. They’re hungry. A trip to McDonalds in BFE nowhere isn’t going to mess with the plan.”

“Yeah, okay,” Atticus said, giving in easily.

Arsen handed him the toddler in his arms. “Here you go. Good luck. The rest of us are heading home.”

“Lake is heading to a private clinic,” Atticus said, I’ll drop you a pin. He’s gonna be there for a while. That wound is bad.”

Arsen gave a single nod.

Ever wanted to protest, but Arsen was already dragging him away. He looked back over at the women who were following Jericho and Atticus at a slower pace than Arsen’s.

“Why are you dragging me?” Arsen didn’t answer, just kept tugging, leaving Ever no choice but to let him. “Hello? Why aren’t you talking to me?”

Arsen turned on him abruptly, causing Ever to come up short or plow directly into his chest. Arsen gripped his shoulders hard. “You could have died. You could have fucking died. That man had a gun to your head. What were you thinking?”

“I-I heard a baby crying,” Ever said quietly.

Arsen’s face crumpled and he dragged him into his arms. “You…If anything had happened to you, I would be ruined. Do you hear me? I will never get over it.”

Ever’s tears soaked Arsen’s shirt. “I had to do something. They were crying so hard. I thought maybe it was alone.”

“Your soft heart could have gotten you killed,” Arsen said against his ear.

“I just wanted to save somebody,” Ever said.

“You did,” Arsen said, voice raw. “You saved me. You saved me the day I found you and if I lose you I will never be okay. I know you have a big heart, and you want to help the world, but please let me be selfish with you. I can’t stand the thought…” he trailed off. “Please, besenok. Can I just be selfish with you? I will give you your happily ever after. I promise. Can you just let me do that? Can you just let me love you and keep you safe?”

Ever could barely speak past the lump in his throat. His happily ever after.

“Yeah,” he whispered against his shoulder. “You can do that.”

“Thank you,” Arsen breathed against his cheek, like he’d granted him some gift.

“Can we go to the bookstore?” Ever asked suddenly.

Arsen pulled back. “What?”

“I-” Ever blushed. “All my books got rained on in the fire.”

“I was professing my undying love and devotion and you’re thinking about books?” Arsen asked, sounding more amused than angry.

“You said happily ever after, which made me think of books, which made me remember my books are all damaged. You said you’d give me my happy ending. My happy ending has books.”

Arsen laughed. “Okay, besenok. Once we get home and get some sleep, I’ll take you to get books.”

“And to the diner?” Ever asked, giving him big eyes.

“You’re happily ever after includes diner food as well?”

Ever nodded. “And dessert.”

“Are you trying to take advantage of me in my weakened emotional state?”

Ever grinned. “Is it working…Senya?”

“You really are a little demon. Yes, it's working. Let’s go home.”

Home. Ever had a home. Well, he would have a home, with Arsen, wherever they ended up. Hopefully back in the apartment over the garage, but if not, somewhere else. Arsen was his home. Arsen was his happily ever after.