A knock at the door. Jason glanced up, eyes narrowed. He glanced at April and made a shooing motion as he walked to the door. She nodded and herded everyone out of the room as Cooper sprinted for a different door. Jason fought to keep a smile off his face as he reached for the handle. He reset his emotions, kept a neutral expression, and opened the door. A guard was standing there. Jason recognized his darkly lit red eyes from Noah's description.
"Hello, sir, how can I help you today?"
"Are you aware of the reports of criminals staying here?"
Ah. So that's what this was about. "I have no clue what you're talking about, sir. It's just been me." Luckily Jason was decent enough at lying that he didn't raise visible suspicion.
"We've received sightings of people entering your home, matching descriptions of those who have been missing for a month." Oh, boy. That wasn't good. Time to distract.
"You don't have a search warrant, do you?" Jason turned his face from neutral to unimpressed. He went to shut the door. "I have no knowledge of criminals, thieves, or otherwise in my house. Goodbye."
The guard violently kicked the door open and punched Jason square across the face. He stopped, wincing as he touched the point of contact, and glared. "That was unnecessary."
"You're harboring fugitives. Admit it."
Time to be direct. "No, Mr McPunch. There's nothing to admit." He grabbed the guard by the shirt and pulled him in close. "Fuck off before I beat you up," he whispered.
He let go and the guard stumbled backwards. "Good day."
"Don't bring your ass around here again without legal causation." Jason slammed the door before the guard could get a word in and locked it. He walked to a mirror a few feet away, tilting his head. A bruise was already starting to appear on his jawline and he winced again. "Lynn's gonna notice that." He shook his head, ignoring the pain for the moment.
Jason turned and watched Cooper follow Noah into the room and noticed his little brother's face go from concerned to very concerned as he took in the black, blue, and purple mixing on his lower jaw. He froze, voice quiet. "Holy shit. I-"
Jason put his hands up. "It's fine, it looks worse than it is."
"What, did- did they hit you?" Jason watched Cooper stiffen. He glanced back at Noah.
"Hit, punch, same thing." He tried to smile. "I'll be fine."
YOU ARE READING
Shadowstruck
FantasyA girl wakes up in a forest with her memory wiped. Now they have to figure out who's behind The Uprising and, more importantly, how to stop them. If they can stop them. They're losing time. And the gods aren't on their side.
