Jaded Hearts
Chapter 46

Matt

At a little after eight o’clock, I walked up to The Diston as planned. I made sure that my face was covered with murderous rage, which wasn’t hard when I focused on all the pain that Taylor had been out through. I pulled out my phone when I got into the lobby, and after looking at the screen, I went to the elevator and up to the twenty-fifth floor.

From the outside looking in, I was every bit the enraged man who had tracked his fiancé and found her at a hotel with another man. But the fire that was burning in me was fueled by excitement, not rage. I’d finally get my hands on the man who had haunted Taylor for years.

I’d break every bone in his body before we let him die. Break them, allow them to heal, then break them again. He would suffer; there was no doubt about it. And I’d take pleasure in every ounce of his pain.

When the elevator chimed, I strode out and down the hall to suite 2517. I knew the guys were next door in 2515, but they had somehow found a way to mask their scents, so it smelled like only humans were on this floor.

Impressive.

To put on a good show, I banged on the door as hard as I could. “Taylor, open the f*****g door. I know you’re in there.”

After a few seconds, there was nothing but silence, so I banged again. The door across the hall opened a crack, and a woman poked her head out, ready to let loose on me.

“Hey, you a*****e, some people are trying t—Well, hello, gorgeous, what’s got you so upset? You know, if she doesn’t open the door for you, you could always come over here with me. I’m sure I could put a smile back on that face of yours.”

“Mind your own f*****g business,” I said and turned to bang on the door a third time.

I heard her let out an offended huff behind me before slamming and locking her door. Good for her, because s**t was about to get crazy on this floor. When the locks disengaged and the door finally opened, I was hit with Taylor’s scent, and it immediately calmed me.

She was beautiful, and a damn good actress. “Matt? What are you doing here? I thought you had a meeting.” She looked around nervously, and I was so proud of how good she was doing.

“It ended early, but imagine my surprise when I was told that my fiancé wasn’t at home waiting for me like she was supposed to be, but out having dinner with someone else. And now you’re here?”

“I can explain, I can!”

“Good, then start explaining.”

She took a step back in time for me to “push past her” and into the room before I slammed it shut and locked it. When I turned around, she was standing before me with a smirk on her face.

“This is some sexy-a*s roleplay. If we weren’t here to finally catch Drew, I’d kick Tyson out and keep this thing going.”

Tyson was sitting in the corner on his phone, but he chuckled at hearing her words.

“We’ll take a raincheck on the cheating fantasy, babe. But I’m happy to see you’re alright. How did everything go at dinner?”

“I was nervous at first, but Terrance and Tyson were good at helping me calm down. I’m just ready to be done with it all.”

“So am I. Tyson? Where do you need me?”

He stood up and stretched before walking over to me. “Bathroom. And as much as it pains me to say, we’re going to have to trade a few blows.”

“I thought he was supposed to be shot? Isn’t that how Hades usually does things?” Taylor asked.

“It is, but he just caught me with his fiancé. There’s no way I’m getting out of here without a scratch on me.”

Good point.

I shot my fist out and slammed it right into his nose, easily breaking it.

“What the f**k?! You couldn’t warn me?”

“Nah, the anticipation would have made it worst. Besides—”

Tyson returned the favor, crushing my nose and making my vision instantly blur. Taylor’s eyes went wide, and she took a shaky step back. “Ugh. I can’t.… This is too much,” she said before she ran off to the bathroom and threw up her dinner.

When I could focus again, I saw Tyson preparing for the next hit. A left to his jaw and a right to his eye, and he was properly f****d up.

“You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

I let out a soft laugh. “I did. I’ve been wanting to it that since I found you wrapped around Taylor in Rome. You alright?”

“I’m good. The face, I can handle. It’s the broken and cracked ribs that take me out of commission.”

When Taylor came out of the bathroom and looked at our faces, she shook her head and turned towards the door that connected to the other suite. “I’ve got to get out of here. The smell of b***d is too strong and …”

She was gagging and trying to stay on her feet. Poor thing. She knocked softly, and Kade opened the door. “Please tell me you guys have orange juice over here,” she said as she walked past him and into the room.

I saw Alexi help her into bed then go get the juice for her.

“I see you got a couple of nice hits in, Matt. His ribs are his weak spot, just in case you were wondering,” Kade said.

“When this is over, we can go a few rounds. It won’t be so easy when I’m not broken and chained,” Tyson replied.

Kade used to love underground werebear fights. He knew how brutal they were, and he also knew that when Tyson fought, he never lost. But Kade was also insane.

He winked at Tyson. “Sounds like a good time to me. Let’s do it.”

He closed the door and locked it, leaving Tyson and me to finish what we’d started.

“Alright, let’s get this over with. Get in the tub, and get comfortable. But before you do, I’m going to cut you over your heart, not enough to hurt, but enough to draw b***d. That’s where the supposed bullet wound will be.”

He took a small butterfly knife out of his pocket and jabbed it into my chest. I didn’t even feel the blade when it sliced into me, but right afterwards, the b***d started flowing. He then took his gun, equipped with a silencer, and a silver bullet casing out of his bag and laid them on a nearby table.

“I’m making the call now. When he gets here, don’t move. Try not to even breathe until I say it’s time.”

I climbed in the tub and positioned myself to look as tossed in and uncomfortable as possible. The b***d from my nose and the cut over my chest was just enough to create a small pool of b***d underneath me, adding to the illusion.

Tyson stood over me and snapped a picture, then sent it off. Immediately afterwards, he picked up the phone and made the call.

“It’s done. Get your a*s over here quick. He made a big f*****g scene in the hall when he found us, so we’ve already got attention we don’t need.”

“No witnesses, just a nosy b***h across the hall. I can handle her if we need to. You’ve got ten minutes before my cleaners get here and he’s gone. Room 2517.” Tyson hung up and tossed the phone on the counter.

“I have never hated anyone as much as I hate this guy.”

“The feeling’s mutual. How do you know he’ll be here in time?”

“He was at the restaurant, or close by. Close enough to see Taylor and reminisce about the first time they met.”

I let out a deep growl that echoed off the tub and filled the room, making Tyson take a step back. “Chill out, Alpha boy. We can’t have you doing that when he gets here. And he didn’t get anywhere near her, so don’t worry.”

“Knock him out quick. I don’t know how long I can keep myself calm around him.”

There was a quick knock on the door that Tyson left to go answer.

It was showtime.

* * *

Tyson

When I opened the door, there stood Drew, smug and pompous on the other side. I wanted to end my career with him as my final kill, but his life wasn’t mine to take. I stepped aside and let him in before any words were spoken. I didn’t want anyone hearing anything they shouldn’t.

He looked around and frowned. “So, where’s my flower? Shouldn’t she be here?”

“First of all, f**k you. Second, she’s not your flower; she belongs to me now. The dead body in my tub says so.”

“Did she see you do it? That would’ve been a great punishment for all that she’s done.”

“What is wrong with you? Just do what you came to do and get the hell out. I’m done dealing with your psycho a*s.” This guy was really pissing me off. I was going to snap any second.

He shrugged and looked around, bored. “Are you sure you want to take her instead of the cash? She’s been used plenty of times by him. Probably by the entire pack. You’d have a better time f*****g a trash bag.”

I snapped.

My fist flew out and landed right on his mouth, splitting both his top and bottom lips, and probably loosening a few teeth. “I’ve warned you about disrespecting her, but you don’t f*****g listen!”

Three sharp punches to the ribs and one to the throat, and he was down on the ground. I crouched down to his level and yanked his head up.

“If you want to get out of here with your life, get the f**k up and confirm my job is done. Otherwise, I have no problem having the cleaners dispose of two stray dogs tonight.”

He gasped for breath, and the sound irritated the hell out of me. I wanted to kick him in his face.

“You really are the devil. Your name suits you,” he wheezed.

“Move, now!”

He pushed himself up and slowly made his way to the bathroom. When I heard him begin to maniacally laugh, I knew that there was no hope for him. He had lost his mind a long f*****g time ago. “I may not have my flower, but seeing this absolutely makes up for it. All who are weak will be—”

That was enough of that bullshit. I punched him right at the base of his skull, making him immediately pass out. As soon as he was on the ground, I injected the tranquilizer Xander gave me into his neck, making sure he wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon.

Matt jumped up from the tub and proceeded to kick Drew in the stomach, then again in the face.

I had really wanted to do that.

A few of his teeth landed on the tile floor, but that was all the motion we got out of him. I figured I should probably get the rest of the team in here before Matt beat the a*****e to death, so I walked to the adjoining suite door and knocked. Xander opened it a second later and frowned when he saw my face.

“We had to make it look good, but you guys need to get in here. Matt is about to stomp this dude out, and I don’t think I really want to stop him.”

Xander sighed and walked past me and into the bathroom. Taylor was asleep, so the other guys followed along. When we all got to the tiny bathroom, Matt was sitting on the edge of the tub with his hands in tight fists. Surprisingly, Drew was still breathing.

“You didn’t kill him?”

“No, Xander, I didn’t kill him. I told you I wouldn’t. But I never said I wouldn’t f**k him up.”

We looked down and saw that at least four teeth had been knocked out in addition to the busted mouth I had given him. His nose was bleeding, and his left eye was on its way to being swollen shut.

“I want him to feel everything I do to him. There’s no use wasting my energy while he’s tranquilized.”

Xander left the room and got on the phone, making arrangements to have Drew moved to the house.

“I can’t wait to get him home. I’ve got some new techniques I’ve been wanting to perfect. He’s the perfect test subject,” Kade said with a smile on his face.

“The team will be here in twenty minutes. Matt, take Taylor and go home. We’ll finish up here, and I’ll let you know when we arrive,” Xander said when he stepped back into the room.

“Sounds good. I’ll see you guys soon.”

Matt headed for the door, then stopped and turned to me. “Thank you, Tyson. You did exactly what you said you would do. You’re free to go now if you choose, but know that you’ll always be welcome in our home if you ever come back.”

“I agree, your debt to us is paid,” Xander added. Kade just grumbled like he usually did.

“I’ll be sticking around, at least for a little while. I’ve got to kick Kade’s a*s before I can even think about leaving.”

“Then you’ll be here a long f*****g time, cause that’s never gonna happen.”

Matt laughed at the two of us, then walked out to collect his girl and head home. Now it was time for the fun to begin.