Badass in Disguise (Shadow) novel Chapter 201

Chapter 201

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96

Jade’s POV:

Ethan’s arms tightened around me, his expensive cologne mingling with the metallic scent of blood. His heart hammered against my cheek, the rhythm erratic and desperate.

“Jade,” he whispered, voice breaking slightly.

My eyelashes fluttered at the sound of my name on his lips, but I kept my expression neutral. The gash on my arm throbbed mercilessly, but pain was an old friend. I’d learned to compartmentalize it years ago.

“I know it’s selfish to ask,” Ethan continued, his voice steadying, “but can I request one more birthday gift?”

I remained silent, waiting.

“No matter what happens in the future, in any situation–promise me you’ll protect your life.” His voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “Please.”

The desperation in his tone was unexpected.

“Fine,” I said finally. “But you were very loud just now.”

As I shifted in his embrace, my fingers brushed against something wet on his arm. I pulled back slightly, noticing for the first time the dark stain spreading across his custom–tailored sleeve. Blood had soaked through the expensive fabric, turning the navy blue almost black in the dim light.

Ethan seemed to realize I’d noticed his injury. He loosened his grip and pulled back, his hand moving to wipe the blood from my face with surprising gentleness.

“You’re hurt,” I said, gripping his wrist to examine the wound.

“It’s nothing.” He carefully dabbed at my face with his handkerchief, then improvised a quick bandage for my arm. ‘Just a scratch from Eclipse.”

I stood, pulling him up with me. “Back to base. We need to treat these wounds properly.”

Ethan draped his coat over my shoulders without being asked. The weight of it settled around me, still warm from his body, I suppressed the strange comfort it brought.

In the car, the silence stretched between us until Ethan broke it.

“When did you figure out I was behind the arms dealers?” he asked, gaze fixed on the road ahead.

“I suspected in Crimson Valley when I first saw you,” I replied honestly. “Confirmed it when I was buying the

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8:27 Thu, Sep 25

Chapter 201

explosives.”

His lips quirked upward. “And you didn’t say anything?”

“You were playing your cards close. I was playing mine closer.” I glanced at his profile. “You should know that if you’d been a day later arriving, I would have blown your territory to hell.”

Ethan actually laughed, the sound surprisingly genuine. “Blow it up if you want. Once we’ve treated your wounds, you can destroy whatever makes you happy.”

96

I ignored the burning sensation as Ethan’s medic cleaned my wound. The cut was deep enough to see muscle tissue, but I’d had worse. Much worse.

My phone vibrated. Night’s name flashed on the screen. I picked up immediately.

“Where the hell are you?” His voice was tight with worry.

I’m back. Getting patched up,” I replied calmly.

Night’s relief was audible. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Just crashed into Chris in the stairwell–he’s bleeding from the shoulder.”

“How bad?” I asked, watching as the medic applied antiseptic to my gash.

“He claims it’s just a flesh wound. Said something about bad luck, fighting and getting stuck with the strongest one of the three.” Night’s voice lowered. “He asked if you took care of Ace of Spades.”

“Tell him it’s done,” I replied simply.

“I’m coming to you,” Night said before hanging up. “By the way, I just passed Sloane and Maverick nursing injuries in the corner. Looks like Haxton’s men were more involved than we thought.”

Five minutes later, Night burst into the medical room, practically shoving Ethan aside to examine my injury himself. His face was flushed from running, eyes wild with concern.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he hissed, eyes widening at the severity of the gash. “This is what you call a small injury‘?”

I shrugged my uninjured shoulder. “Because it is.”

Night knew my standards–small injuries meant you could still walk away; serious injuries meant you might lose a limb; fatal injuries were self–explanatory.

“Where’s that bastard Ace’s body?” Night’s eyes darkened dangerously. “I’ll cut it into pieces, and feed it to wild dogs.”

I almost smiled at his protectiveness. Almost.

8:27 Thu, Sep 25

Chapter 201

96

The door swung open, and Maverick entered, shoving Eclipse and two Shadow Organization assassins ahead of him. All four prisoners had their hands bound behind their backs and wore identical expressions of cold defiance.

“Brought you some party favors,” Maverick announced.

“Chris?” I asked, looking past him.

“Flesh wound,” Chris replied from the doorway, his arm freshly bandaged. “Nothing serious.”

Night circled the captives like a predator. “What about the other higher–ups? Let’s break them–get all the information at once instead of giving them time to prepare.”

I studied Eclipse’s face, remembering our fight. “No need. They’re loyal to Shadow. Keeping them alive is just creating future problems.”

My words hung in the air. Eclipse’s eyes narrowed.

“Who are you?” he demanded, straining against his restraints. “What’s your connection to Shadow?”

I met his gaze evenly, seeing the confusion and growing suspicion there. Behind him, I noticed Connor, Maverick,

and Sloane exchange glances, clearly shocked by the mention of Shadow.

Night stepped forward, positioning himself between me and Eclipse. “She has no connection to Shadow,” he said coldly. “But she does have one to me.” He turned to Maverick’s men. “Take them downstairs, cut their hamstrings, and guard them. I’ll deal with them personally later.”

As they dragged the prisoners away, Night turned to Ethan with a smirk. “Always the modest one, aren’t you, Mr. Haxton? Playing the humble businessman while running one of the largest arms operations here.”

Ethan barely acknowledged Night’s taunt, his eyes fixed on me instead. After several seconds of silence, he shrugged. ‘I admire your flamboyant style, Night.”

“Not as much as I admire your commitment to the act,” Night shot back. “Leaving a perfectly good compound to squeeze into our shitty little building. Dedication to the undercover role, I suppose.”

Ethan’s expression remained neutral, but I caught the slight tightening around his eyes. “I had planned to reveal my identity earlier, to move you to my compound, but then Jade’d invited me into her room and we’d…”

Connor stood expressionless beside Ethan, apparently accustomed to his employer’s unusual decisions. Maverick, on the other hand, couldn’t hide his shock as he stared between Ethan and Night.

8:27 Thu, Sep 25