Grim Judgment Read online

  Grim Judgment

  Book Two of A Grim Trilogy

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Two | THEN | 1982

  Chapter Three | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Four | THEN | 1982

  Chapter Five | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Six | THEN | 1982

  Chapter Seven | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Eight | THEN | 1983

  Chapter Nine | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Ten | THEN | 1983

  Chapter Eleven | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Twelve | THEN | 1986

  Chapter Thirteen | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Fourteen | THEN | 1999

  Chapter Fifteen | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Sixteen | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Seventeen | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Eighteen | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Nineteen | THEN | 2003

  Chapter Twenty | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Twenty One | THEN | 2015

  Chapter Twenty Two | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Twenty Three | NOW | 2016

  Chapter Twenty Four | NOW | 2016

  Epilogue

  Dedication

  For my mother-in-law.

  Thank you for everything you do.

  For my father-in-law.

  I still miss you to this day.

  For Rocky.

  Wait for me, wherever you are.

  And, of course, for Anton.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved © 2017 Jennifer Reinfried

  Grim Ambition character art by Stephen S. Gibson

  Grim Judgment character art by Evelyne Paniez

  Cover design by Stephen S. Gibson

  Edited by Chelsea Roque and D.W. Vogel

  Chapter One

  NOW

  2016

  Blood seeped through Jaxon’s fingers. Frantic, he applied pressure against the exit wound in Shawn’s shuddering chest. His brother was still breathing, but only just. Tears flooded over Jaxon’s lower eyelids and splattered into dark red pools.

  “Shawn, don’t you dare.” His voice was rough, his heart wild with fear.

  The moments on the rooftop were all blended together. He tried to make sense of the jumble as he watched his brother’s life slowly slip away underneath his hands.

  Shawn attempted to gasp in a mouthful of air, his chest hitching. Jaxon frantically wondered if CPR would help. No. He stared at the wound that still leaked, knew no matter how much he tried, anything he attempted to do wasn’t going to reverse a hole that big. He rested a hand against Shawn’s cheek. The roughness of his brother’s ever present stubble was coarse on his fingers.

  He’s going to die. Shawn is going to die, and there’s nothing I can do to save him.

  Sirens were closing in fast, but he doubted they’d get there in time. Jaxon choked as a sob boiled up from his chest and bounded from his throat. He pushed on his brother’s wound with both hands again, harder this time. The pain will keep him awake, he thought, a new ferocity burning inside. I have to keep him conscious. Can’t let him slip away.

  Footfalls passed as Emma bolted to her friend’s side, the one with curly hair. Jaxon didn’t know the man’s name. He didn’t care. He glared at her through narrowed eyes, hate merging with the fear inside of him. The man sat up after a moment, a dazed expression on his face, which was pale from blood loss. Bleeding, Jaxon remembered suddenly. That man had been bleeding heavily when I came up here. Emma obviously wouldn’t have hurt him. Did Shawn? Doubt twinged in his brain. No. Then Alex. If Alex had hurt him, and Emma was trying to get away...

  Jaxon glanced up just in time to see Emma kiss the man on the ground, and any hesitation he had begun to feel disappeared. What he’d heard Alex saying had been true: she was a plant, a fraud. Instead of coming to Shawn, who she claimed to care for, she ignored his peril.

  “This is all your fault,” Jaxon flung at her. “You lured us all into a fucking trap. You made Shawn fall for you and now look at you. He bleeds to death over here but all you can think about is yourself.”

  “No, Jaxon.” Emma let go of the other man and stood. “Please, listen to me.”

  “Get away from us.” He continued to hold Shawn’s wound. His brother’s breathing was now coming out in ragged and irregular gasps.

  “Jax—” Emma took a step forward.

  “I said get away. Don’t fucking push me.”

  “Jaxon, listen to us.” This time it was the man on the ground who spoke, his face full of pain, blood seeping from between his fingers as he pressed a hand to the gash in his stomach. “Alex would have said anything to get—”

  “She planned it. She weaseled her way into our group of friends and she tore it apart!”

  “Why would you listen to Alex?” Emma’s eyes seemed full of sorrow as she spoke. “You’ve seen what he did tonight, to everyone, including me.” She walked forward slowly, hands out, palms up to the dark sky.

  “Emma, don’t,” the man on the ground warned.

  “Alex used me. He lied to me, to you,” she said softly. “You know damn well I care about Shawn.”

  Jaxon calmed at the sound of her voice, her words. She’s right...and even if she hadn’t been in our lives, Vance would have come for us eventually. He stared at her. There was fear in her eyes, too, along with compassion and despair. His cheeks flushed hot and he looked away. The memory of her trying to get past him with her injured friend, how she had screamed at Alex to stop his psychotic torments, the sound of her cries as Shawn was shot, even how she looked at the two of them in that very moment, all made him consider that she had been a victim that night as well. He almost believed her.

  Almost.

  Jaxon looked down at Shawn, helpless as his best friend died. It doesn’t matter. In that moment, nothing could quell his hatred for anyone associated with Vance, and he faced her once more.

  “Get...away,” he spat. “If he dies, I’m coming for you, Emma. You better pray I never see your face again.” The hate in his heart filled his voice.

  Sirens pulled up below them. Tires screeched and voices shouted as Emma went back to her friend, or whatever he was, and knelt down. Jaxon glared at her as she held the man’s face close to hers, and in a split second considered finding one of the discarded guns and shooting her brains all over the curly-haired fucker’s face. His eyes widened and he looked around for one of the weapons.

  There. His gaze landed on a glint of metal mixed with the gravel a yard away from where he sat. Jaxon removed his bloodied hands from Shawn’s chest and began to rise when a handful of police officers burst through the door.

  “Help him,” Jaxon rasped as cops moved toward him.

  “Hey, kid.” A dark-skinned officer knelt next to Emma. He was addressing the injured man by her side. Jaxon frowned. “We’re gonna get you patched up, get you to a doctor. One of our own.” Emma’s face showed relief at the words.

  Their own? Aren’t they going to help us? Help Shawn? Frantic, Jaxon looked around at the people filling the rooftop. He felt the danger he was in before he noticed the cops surrounding him had their guns trained on his and Shawn’s faces. Oh, hell no. Emma’s not leaving. None of these fucks are. A vicious grin stretched out his lips, and he summoned his wraiths. He did not feel fear, did not feel sorrow. Instead, power surged forth inside of him as someone said, “Don’t worry, we’ve got two bullets with their names on ‘em.”

  That’s what you think, asshole.
/>   A sudden, small wave of power burst forth from Jaxon. He could feel it escape his body, and nearly giggled as those closest to him fell backward. His wraiths appeared, coming to his aid once more.

  Jaxon turned to the place Emma had occupied moments before only to find it vacant. She had used his attack on others as an opportunity to escape with the young man and older cop while Jaxon had been distracted. He let out a cry of rage and released a larger, more intense shockwave, flinging the stunned people around him even further. A couple of the cops toppled over the nearby edge of the roof, disappearing from sight as Alex had.

  It wasn’t enough.

  They were the enemy, sent here to kill him, to kill Shawn instead of save him, and they had to suffer for it. He gathered his fury inside of him again, intent on sending out another blast, when he felt a hand grab his ankle in a weak grip.

  Jaxon toppled to his knees next to Shawn, ignoring the officers who struggled to their feet nearby. His brother’s lips were moving, eyes still closed.

  “I don’t want to die,” Shawn whispered, barely audible.

  Jaxon’s heart burst in pain. He took his brother’s hand and held it tightly. “You’re not going to. I’m not gonna allow it. I need you, Shawn. I need you around, okay?” His vision blurred slightly from tears that welled but didn’t quite fall.

  Police officers raised their weapons again, but Jaxon no longer cared. If Shawn wasn’t going to make it, he didn’t want to live with the pain of losing him. He slouched, defeat crushing his mind, body, and soul. He held Shawn’s hand and placed his forehead against his brother’s. A sudden wave of intense déjà vu flooded his mind, as if he’d experienced this exact moment before. A hand touched his shoulder and the world froze.

  Silence fell. Gone were the voices of people shouting from the street below, the sounds of the officers on the roof. Jaxon looked up. Not a single thing moved. Each person stood frozen in the night, not moving a muscle.

  Glancing around in disbelief, his heart thudded. Did I do this? Is this a new ability? He felt a strange pride flow through him, and he stood slowly. A light voice spoke from behind him, interrupting his thoughts.

  “Don’t panic.”

  Jaxon spun around, hands raised, and his eyes landed on a young woman with light blonde hair that spilled past her shoulders. The sight of her stopped his heart, and, for a moment, he thought it was Cassie. He started to smile, then noticed the stranger’s deep blue eyes and freckles that were scattered across her nose and flushed cheeks. He frowned.

  “Who—” he began, but movement behind him caused him to turn his attention back to Shawn. A man with short brown hair knelt over his brother, and Jaxon felt his anger return. “Get away from him.” The man didn’t turn around.

  “We’re here to help you, Jaxon.” The woman stepped toward him. “We want to save his life, and yours.”

  “Let us help you.” Another voice, a male, spoke up, and Jaxon whirled again. A bearded man stood behind the blonde - Jaxon hadn’t noticed him before - looking at him with watery brown eyes beneath thick auburn eyebrows. “We can save his life, but you have to trust us.”

  Fear for Shawn coupled with a wave of heavy hope and, not knowing what else to do, Jaxon nodded. He turned back to see the other man, the one who had been kneeling over his brother, now standing with Shawn’s limp form in his arms. The man’s face was turned away from him, but there was something familiar in how he moved.

  “We need to leave. Now.” The blonde woman started for the door. “Hurry, Lucas.” The man holding Shawn was already nearing the door to the roof with quick, effortless strides, as if Shawn didn’t weigh an ounce. Another stranger, a tall blond man with a large scar tearing down the left side of his face, watched from the doorway, stepping aside for the man named Lucas.

  Exhaustion toyed with Jaxon as he passed the frozen bodies of the officers. He stared at them in wonder until he reached the door and started down the steps, only a few paces behind the four strangers who had his dying brother.

  Jaxon stared around the frozen world as they burst out of the door and onto the street. Officers had been in the process of ushering large clusters of onlookers away from the dangerous scene. Faces were frozen in shock and fear, curiosity and concern. The four strangers spoke in hushed tones as they maneuvered around the petrified, and Jaxon had no choice but to follow them as they approached a large, white van with all of its doors wide open. The strangers loaded Shawn onto a flat plastic surface in the back of the vehicle. Jaxon saw medical tools and even a makeshift IV before something else caught his attention.

  The body of Alex lay a couple yards before him, splayed and bloody in the headlights of the van. As the others worked to get Shawn into the vehicle, Jaxon moved forward and stood over Alex. Hate and rage fluttered in his chest. He spat on the broken face of the man beneath him, then kicked the side of Alex’s head. Oddly, the assault didn’t seem to affect the body. Instead, a sharp pain shot up Jaxon’s leg, as if he had kicked a boulder. He cried out in shock.

  “You can’t move the frozen.” The blonde woman had left the three men to tend to Shawn and was walking up to Jaxon. “Or hurt them.”

  “Why not?” Jaxon resisted rubbing his foot.

  She shrugged. “Just how it works.” A light sweat gleamed on her forehead, and she looked ill. Her eyes moved to Alex’s face, taking in his torn skin and mangled eye. She grimaced. “Jesus.” She stared at Jaxon.

  “Who the hell are you people?”

  A pause, then she said, “I’m Mari. Duncan has the beard, Aaron has the scar, and Lucas is the...other. We need to get back to the van.”

  Thousands of unasked questions flipped through Jaxon’s mind as he hurried behind her, back to the waiting vehicle, his eyes still taking in the surreal sight of the frozen population around him. The man she called Duncan stood by its open back doors, a handful of bloody gauze clutched in one hand. Aaron was peeling Shawn’s left arm out of the Grim suit.

  “Hurry,” Duncan muttered.

  “Aren’t you going to stitch him up?” Jaxon urged, worry lining his every thought. “He’s still bleeding.”

  Duncan turned to face him. “Don’t worry about that. We’re going to get an IV in him. Everything will be completely fine.”

  “How?”

  “Got it, but I need a few minutes.” Lucas’ voice was a low growl from the darkness of the van. Jaxon’s brow furrowed: he knew that voice. Impossible. I’m hearing things.

  “Mari, quick.” Duncan pointed into the vehicle.

  She stepped next to him and took his hand, then reached inside the van. Lucas’ fingers reached out of the gloom and closed around hers. “Make sure you’re not touching him,” she instructed.

  Lucas said nothing, but scooted further away from Shawn.

  Duncan’s hand fell onto Jaxon’s shoulder in a firm grip.

  “What are—” Jaxon never finished his sentence. In a quick second, everything around him sprung to life. A loud sound slammed over him, replacing the hushed quiet of the night he’d grown accustomed to since their arrival on the roof. He jumped, stifling a cry. The frozen people around them shuddered in a single movement, then all was silent again.

  “It worked.” The tension in Duncan’s shoulders disappeared and he smiled at Jaxon.

  “What just happened?”

  “Long story short, you and Shawn aren’t like normal humans. Neither are my colleagues here. Mari here can stop time, which she graciously did so we could save you two. Aaron’s our mind reader.”

  There it is. No beating around the bush like in the movies, just...BAM.

  “Then why aren’t we...”

  “The freeze won’t affect those—”

  “She touches,” Jaxon finished.

  Duncan nodded. “As long as we establish a link to her, we don’t stop with time.”

  Anxiety built inside of him as he remembered Shawn. “Well, hurry up. He’s dying. Patch him up. Can we get a transfusion? Why are you smiling at me?” His hands c
lenched and he scowled at the sparkle in Duncan’s eyes.

  “We can’t move the frozen.”

  “I already told you that,” Mari muttered. Jaxon glared at her.

  “We had to get Shawn down here and ready to be hooked up. After a moment’s rest in which we can have a slight break from the chaos, we will be on our way. Shawn is now frozen. We have plenty of time to recoup before we get out of here.”

  “No, we don’t.” Mari looked at Duncan, exasperation on her face. “You know damn well I can’t hold it forever. I’m already sweating, my heart is beating faster. I have maybe fifteen more minutes.”

  “Okay, okay.” Duncan held up his hands in her direction. He was about Shawn’s height, maybe slightly taller, and older than Jaxon initially thought, mid-fifties at the most. “Let’s roll. We’re going to get him to a safe place and patch him up. Jaxon, you’re up front with me. The others will stay in the back with Shawn.” He glanced in the back of the van, where Lucas crouched, the only stranger Jaxon hadn’t fully seen. “You’ve got this.” Duncan began to walk around the van.

  Jaxon, his mind whirling, paused. Down the street he saw Emma underneath the arm of her injured friend. In the hectic trek to the van, Jaxon had completely forgotten about the criminals. They shouldn’t be allowed to get away. Not after what she did. He started toward them with a quick step.

  “Jax!” Mari’s voice was angry, pleading. “Come on, don’t waste our time.”

  Duncan jogged up next to him and stopped when Jaxon did, mere feet from Emma’s tear-streaked face.

  “It’s their fault.” Jaxon couldn’t take his eyes from hers.

  “We either save Shawn or stop them.” Duncan spoke with a softness in his voice. “We can’t do both. The moment Mari releases, we either drive away or stay here and risk our lives to stop people who are obviously connected with the police. Which completely surround us right now.” He reached out and gently turned Jaxon to face him, understanding in his eyes, an almost fatherly look on his face.

  Anger, a now familiar and constant emotion, filled Jaxon’s heart at the unfairness of the situation. He wasn’t going to let Shawn die, but the criminals who had pulled his life to shreds shouldn’t be allowed to survive. They’re almost to safety, almost out of my grasp.