The Last Hero (Villains & Monsters #2)

Chapter 35

Still, he couldn't shake the awful thoughts of what would happen if Daija or the others found her. They'd hurt her to get to him. He knew that they would. He faced her once more, then took another step closer to her. "Listen to me. If shit goes downhill, I'm putting you in charge to take the others and run. Don't try to save me, don't try to fight with me. Just go."

"Jason-"

"Promise me, Layla." His voice shook on her name, and his hands squeezed into fists at his sides. He cared about her and Victor. He was worried sick over CJ being back at base. Amaya and Desmond were now his responsibility.

This was what it felt like to be a leader. Constantly worried, thinking of back-up plans, forcing people to make promises, then making promises that he more than likely wouldn't be able to keep.

She stared at him for a moment, then reached a hand towards his face. First, her fingers flexed hesitantly at his forehead, then once his eyes softened -- a look of permission -- she gently ran her hand through his hair. Then her hand slowly slid down to cup his cheek, and he reached up to hold it in place, nuzzling his cheek into her palm. The gentleness of it all had him wanting it to last forever.

"I promise," she whispered. "Can you promise to stop shutting me out?"

He knew he had to.

"I promise."

Jamie would do anything if it meant keeping her and the others alive and safe. Everything between him and Daija had nothing to do with them, and he'd take the fall a million times over if it meant saving them.

The door opened, and Desmond poked his head out, his eyes widening at how close Layla and Jamie were. "Oh, uh... I hope I'm not interrupting. We're all awake, and we just heard from CJ."

The two of them separated, and their expressions hardened. Time to work and time to get moving.

-----

"I just got off the phone with him," Victor said as he put the flip phone back in his phone. "Simon is pissed. Everyone is going to be looking for us, even our old friends in our unit. There's a colossal bounty on each of our heads," he said before pointing at Jamie. "Especially yours."

Figured. "But he's okay, right?" Jamie asked.

"Yeah. He was questioned by Wylan and Austin, but that's because everyone in our unit was questioned."

Amaya sighed as she rested on the cheap couch of the motel. "Okay, what's the plan?"

"How much time do you need to create that formula?" Victor asked Jamie.

"As much time as I can get. I'll need to get into a few places to get supplies."

Desmond's eyes lit up like he remembered something. "I know someone who can help with that. His name is Pat. Not only can he get you into the factory that's near downtown, he could also get you into the chemistry lab."

Jamie nodded. "Alright, then I hope he won't mind helping."

"Don't worry, he won't. He owes me a few favors."

"How long should we stay in this motel?" Layla asked. "I walked around last night. We're just outside of Kunross. I'm sure there will be teams checking every part of the city before starting to search outside of it, but at the same time, they might change it up or even have teams search everywhere all at once. Did you ever give Tony a hint about where you'd go once your deal with Valerie was up?"

"No," Jamie replied. "We'll have to be careful and find ways to avoid them."

Victor took some time to think, then said, "This place is pretty secluded. I think if we can get away with staying here for another two weeks while we get what we need, then that'll be perfect. We'll just have to remain hidden, get things one at a time, and Amaya will continue using her abilities on the staff to make sure this place is still safe for us."

Amaya nodded. "Alright, but what about after that?"

"We'll just have to see," Victor said with a shaky sigh. "I won't lie. I don't know."

"At one point, we'll have to go back into Kunross," Desmond said. "Let's just hope that it's not against our will."

Layla paced back and forth in the small room, crossing her arms as she tried to piece something together. "Okay, CJ being back at base helps us more than we think. He can keep an eye on the leaders and hopefully give us enough time to prepare in case something goes wrong."

"Alright, so we have this partially figured out," Amaya said before turning to Jamie. "So, what's the first step of your plan?"

Jamie reached into his pocket to run the pad of his thumb over the flash drive. Oliver's plans, theories and formulas were all on there, waiting to be read and dissected. A part of him couldn't believe what he wanted to do -- what he was about to do.

But what choice did he have?

"First, I need to get to a printer."