Ashes and Allies
last update2025-07-12 07:36:58

Chapter 9: Ashes and Allies

Smoke curled from the tip of Jaxon’s cigar as he sat on the broken rooftop of an old church in South Heights, the city lights flickering like dying stars around him. His knuckles were still bruised from the Zenith raid. His ribs screamed with every breath. But his mind… his mind was burning.

They made it out alive.

Barely.

Lyra slept inside the church below, wrapped in an old coat, curled against a pew. Cain was out cold on the floor beside her, still bleeding from a graze to the shoulder. Miko was gone, off reconnecting with one of their last remaining street cells.

And Jaxon?

Jaxon was watching his city choke on its own poison.

From this rooftop, Cape Heights looked peaceful. Almost beautiful. But he knew better. This city had always been a two-faced bitch—perfume on the surface, rot in the bones.

He exhaled slowly and let the smoke drift into the stormy sky.

“You look like hell.”

The voice came from behind him—low, raspy, amused.

Jaxon didn’t turn. “You always show up when I least want to see you.”

The figure stepped out of the shadows.

Vera Locke.

Ex-boss of the Heights Syndicate. Once his rival. Now a ghost.

“I bring gifts,” she said, tossing him a USB drive. “That’s the shipping manifests from Kade’s east port route. He’s bringing in something new—heavy artillery. Anti-drone weapons. Riot control gear. Stuff meant for war zones.”

Jaxon caught it, surprised. “And you’re giving this to me out of the kindness of your black little heart?”

Vera smiled. “Let’s call it a peace offering.”

He finally looked at her. Same short hair, same sharp eyes, but the cold ruthlessness that once defined her was tempered now… by weariness.

“You’ve been quiet,” he said.

“I had to be. Kade’s been hunting anyone who ever sat at the council table before him.”

Jaxon’s eyes narrowed. “You lost people?”

“I lost everyone.”

They stood in silence for a long moment, the weight of their shared history thick between them.

“You were never a friend,” Jaxon said quietly.

“No,” Vera agreed. “But I was never your enemy either.”

“That’s what enemies always say—right before they stick a blade between your ribs.”

She stepped closer, voice calm. “I didn’t come here to fight. I came to tell you something important. Kade’s not just trying to kill you—he’s trying to bury the truth about your father.”

Jaxon stiffened. “What about him?”

Vera’s expression changed. “Your father didn’t die of a heart attack, Jax. That was Kade’s lie. He was poisoned. Silently. Slowly. Over weeks.”

His blood ran cold.

“That’s not possible. I saw the body. The doctors—”

“Were paid,” Vera interrupted. “And the toxin he used leaves no easy trail. But your father was getting close to cutting Kade out of the business. He wanted to hand the empire to you, not him. That’s why he had to go.”

Jaxon’s fists clenched so hard, his knuckles cracked.

“He killed my father.”

“Yes.”

“And everyone knew?”

“Some suspected,” she admitted. “No one had the balls to confirm it.”

Jaxon turned away, jaw tight.

“You came here just to tell me that?”

“No,” Vera said. “I came to tell you I’m ready to help you finish what your father started.”

He looked over his shoulder.

“And what’s the price?”

“Cape Heights District 5,” she said. “Once Kade falls, that territory is mine.”

He considered it for a long, hard moment.

Finally, he nodded. “Deal.”

The next morning, they burned one of Kade’s safehouses to the ground.

Jaxon didn’t watch it happen. He walked away after the charges were planted, leaving Cain and Vera’s crew to handle the fireworks.

He had other business.

Back at the church, Miko returned with news.

“Dom’s resurfaced,” she said. “He’s holed up in a dive bar near the northern docks. Word is he’s trying to buy protection from a Ukrainian crew. He knows we’re hunting him.”

Jaxon stared out the stained glass window, the light cutting across his bruised face.

“Let him run,” he said. “He’ll lead us somewhere useful.”

“You really think he’ll bring us to Kade?”

“I think he’ll bring us to someone who will.”

He turned to Lyra, who had been sitting silently nearby, eyes heavy with guilt and exhaustion.

“You okay?”

She nodded slowly. “Why’d you come back for me?”

“Because they used you to get to me,” he said. “And I don’t let anyone use what’s mine.”

She looked at him carefully. “I’m not yours, Jax.”

He didn’t blink. “Then don’t make me fight like you are.”

Silence stretched between them like a loaded gun.

Finally, she looked away. “If we’re going to take him down… we need more than guns.”

“I know,” Jaxon said.

He pulled a second USB from his coat pocket—the one Vera gave him.

“We need everything.”

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