Jason (Kings of Guardian #4) Read Online Free Page A

wouldn’t.



Chapter Four
    “Hi, my name is Daniel, and I’m an addict.”
    The murmured responses of the people who attended the NA group washed over Jason like a soothing balm. He let the tenor and tone of the meeting soak deep, filling cracks that had once again threatened to consume him. His tattered emotions lay open and raw, bleeding from the beating he’d taken by looking at that file.
    That damn file. He wasn’t listening to the words being said, but he needed to be here. He needed the strength of knowing he wasn’t the only one. He struggled to come to terms with the emotional turmoil the file had unleashed. Jason sat at the back of the room, elbows on his knees, hands clasped, eyes closed tight against the relentless onslaught of memories.
     
    ***
    Almost three years ago…
     
    He’d searched for hours for his team. He reached the primary rendezvous point and waited. Not one team member showed. He spent most of the night working his way to the secondary and then, finally, the tertiary site. That was where he found three of his four teammates. Bound, on their knees, and at the business end of several Russian AK-47s.
    Theo Collins had just taken the stock of one of the weapons to his face. Jason slid closer to the group, his weapon off safe and levered to semi-automatic. He cursed in a silent stream of anger and frustration. The position of his men prevented him from opening fire. He’d kill them along with the extremists.
    Jason’s mind raced as he tried to formulate a plan—anything that could help.
    “Tell me! Who are you? Who do you work for?”
    Theo spat blood at the foot of the man. It cost him. The hollow thud of the man’s weapon against Theo’s face resonated again in the small opening.
    “Answer me or I’ll kill you.”
    Theo struggled back up to his knees. Through the snot and blood hanging from his broken nose he sneered as much as his battered face would allow. “Kill me, you bastard. I won’t talk.”
    Jason watched the man raise his rifle, heard the metallic click of the weapon’s safety being released.
    “They work for me. I’m their leader.” Jason emerged from the darkness of the trees and was immediately covered by automatic weapons. He raised his hands, gun held high, pointed at the sky. He motioned toward Theo. “He couldn’t tell you anything. None of them can, but my people will pay—and pay very well—for our safe return.”
    “You are Americans. Americans don’t pay.”
    “The American government doesn’t pay. We aren’t government.”
    Jason was pushed to his knees. His arms bound behind his back with wire. Once he was secure, his captors started arguing loudly in their native tongue.
    Theo caught Jason’s eye and nodded toward the young guard on the right. The kid wasn’t more than thirteen. Jason made sure the guards were still engaged in a bitter argument and shook his head. They were all bound, without weapons, and there were too many to overpower.
    Theo nodded again. Jason twisted so his team could see his hands and signed: No, we wait for better odds.
    The other members nodded their understanding. Theo hesitated, but acknowledged the command. Jason knew trying to get the upper hand at that point would be a death sentence for everyone. They’d find an opportunity that gave them a chance at making it out alive.
    Finally, the man who spoke English returned and stood between Jason and Theo. “They pay, but not for him.” The shot rang out before Jason had any idea of what the man was doing. Theo’s body flopped to the dirt. The image of Theo’s brains scattered over the hardened tan and gray soil seared itself into his mind.
    Jason’s enraged growl reverberated as he launched from his knees at the man who’d killed his teammate. Rage blocked out all rational thought and Jason fought like a wounded, feral animal. Leveling the man with his enormous height and weight, Jason grabbed ahold of the fucker’s neck with his teeth and bit down. The