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Marshal had been a nightmare at the Labs. His extreme training methods and cruelties had often resulted in painful punishments. Complete obedience, no emotion, no weakness was his motto. From a young age Jacob had learned how easily an emotional attachment could be used against him by the enemy. Namely, Marshal.
As Jacob straightened his pants, zipping them casually, he noticed that the other man hadn’t changed much in six years. He still stood tall, imposing. His blue eyes were cold, his blonde hair receding. He appeared as cruel as he ever had. At the moment, his gaze, as well as the two men with him, were trained on Faith as she struggled behind him to fix her clothing.
“You got past my alarms. ” Jacob pulled their attention back to him. “That must have taken some work. ”
He had known Marshal would come. As Jacob’s trainer, only he had the knowledge to track him. But Jacob hadn’t expected him this soon. And he had never imagined he could pass all the alarms so effectively.
Marshal sneered in response. “A few perimeter alarms? Really, Jacob. I had heard your security measures were much better than I found. I had come myself after you took out the force I sent last night. I didn’t expect so few men, or alarms. ”
Which hopefully meant that Stygian was aware they were within the house. Jacob hadn’t expected another force to move in quite so soon, but the information they needed had dictated the lack in security, which would allow them to breach the house. Always be prepared for the unexpected, he thought with a sigh. His lust had endangered Faith, his need for her had put her in the line of fire.
“My men are there. ” Jacob shrugged, containing his own smile of amusement.
Confidence in the face of the enemy. Never let them see you sweat. The old rules were the hardest to forget, and now he used them to his advantage. Never show weakness.
A flash of worry crossed Marshal’s expression.
“Check again,” he spoke into his own comm. link.
How many men were with him? Had Marshal taken any of the Enforcers out, he would be gloating over it by now. He was filled with his own self-importance, his utter confidence in his own abilities. It had been his downfall more than once.
Jacob stood firmly in front of Faith as she moved closer to his back, allowing him to shelter her for now. It would be best if the men who watched her were unaware that she was more than capable of protecting herself. Her delicate build, her air of frailty would only work in her favor. And in Jacob’s.
“What are you doing here, Marshal?” Jacob asked him curiously, keeping his anger, his hatred of the man carefully controlled. “I thought the Council had given up on recapturing us. You should be more than aware of the trouble this will cause for your superiors. ”
Marshal frowned. “This has nothing to do with the Council,” he grunted.
His gaze went to what little of Faith he could see, sheltered as she was behind Jacob’s body.
“We just need your woman for a while. ” He smiled in lustful anticipation. The look had Jacob tensing with rage. “We promise to return her, perhaps the worse for wear, but alive, in a few days. ”
Jacob crossed his arms over his chest, wondering where the hell Stygian and his men were. Now would be a good time to drop in.
“You must take me for a fool, Marshal. ” Jacob fought to keep his voice mild, to keep his rage under control. “This is my mate you’re speaking of. I think you know well I won’t let her go. ”
A brief frown crossed Marshal’s face. Jacob had been the Breed least likely to buck his orders at the Lab. Jacob had played the game well, biding his time until they could escape, careful to keep all hints of aggression contained. The perfect lapdog, Marshal had once called him. Jacob swore he would rip the man’s throat out first chance he got.
“I can kill you, then take her. ” Marshal shrugged. “What good will you be to her dead?”
Jacob felt Faith tense behind him. He also felt her arm moving, sliding around her side. Damn, he bet that gun was still tucked into her back pocket. Keeping his actions protective, he reached back with one arm to secure her to his back. At the same time, she slid the Colt revolver into his hand. It was little enough, but it might be all that would protect them until help arrived.
“What good will she be to me if you take her?” he countered softly, his tone deadly. It was time the master learned that the pupil no longer followed his lead. “You know I won’t release my mate, Marshal. So evidently you came to kill me anyway. ”
Marshal smiled. A baring of teeth, a cold display of cruelty.
“Emotional attachment, Jacob? Didn’t we teach you better than that during training?”
And they had. Years of punishments or brutality he still remembered only in his dreams, they had taught him to never care, to never let another become important to him.
“It has little to do with emotion. ” Jacob shrugged, though in that moment, in that single instant, he knew better. He knew it had everything to do with a heart he thought was missing, and was only now realizing had survived, scarred, but intact. A heart that belonged only to Faith.
“No emotion?” Marshal asked him, his expression condescending. “Then you have no problem releasing her. ”
“She belongs to me. ” Jacob gripped the gun, his stomach tightening in warning as he watched the three men who faced him. “I marked her, I mated her. She’s mine. ”
“She will never conceive. ” Cold calculation lit the other man’s eyes. “Give her to us, Jacob. We will return her, I promise this, capable of conceiving. ”
