Badass in Disguise Chapter 276

Jade's POV:

A body sailed through the air, landing with a sickening thud several feet from where SPECTER stood. He lifted his foot from Wraith's wounded leg.

SPECTER turned, his cold gaze locking onto me as I stood over the last of his operatives, my chest heaving with exertion. Behind him, Milo lay motionless on the ground. I couldn't tell if he was still breathing.

"Still have some fight left in you?" SPECTER's voice carried easily across the distance between us, the howling sea winds seeming to part for his words.

I wiped blood from my lips with the back of my hand. "Only when a killer has even one breath left in their body. You taught me that."

His eyes narrowed slightly. I didn't give him a chance to respond, launching myself toward him with everything I had left. My muscles screamed in protest, but I pushed through the pain. This was it—the confrontation I'd been waiting for since I opened my eyes in this new life.

SPECTER was near Shadow's level at his peak. But even in my prime, with my original body, I hadn't reached my full potential before they betrayed me. SPECTER might be older now, but he was still deadly—perhaps the deadliest person alive besides me.

If I weren't injured, if my body wasn't running on fumes, this would be a fair fight. As it was, I knew I was at a severe disadvantage, but I had to try. I had to hold him off until help arrived.

To an observer, we might have appeared evenly matched, but I felt each exchange draining what little reserves I had left.

The bastard wore body armor beneath his clothes. My punches and kicks barely fazed him.

I spotted an opening and thrust a sharp stone toward his neck, aiming for the carotid artery—one of the few exposed areas. His hand shot up with frightening speed, catching my wrist just inches from its target. Blood immediately soaked through my bandages as his grip tightened on my injured forearm.

With a quick twist, he attempted to snap my arm. I contorted my body, following the direction of the force to avoid the break, but pain still exploded through my nervous system as damaged tissue tore further.

I managed to break free, simultaneously kicking at his legs. He deflected each attack with practiced ease, sending me staggering back another step.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Wraith struggling to his feet. He'd managed to bandage his leg wound, though blood was already seeping through the hastily applied dressing. He limped toward us, determination written across his pain-contorted face.

SPECTER forced me back with a flurry of strikes, then whirled to face Wraith. Before I could call out a warning, SPECTER had closed the distance between them, grabbing Wraith by the throat and lifting him off the ground.

"Time to end this," SPECTER said coldly, his grip tightening as he prepared to snap Wraith's neck.

I lunged forward without hesitation, knowing I wouldn't reach them in time but unable to stand by and watch. SPECTER's free hand shot out, palm connecting with my sternum with bone-crushing force. I felt something crack inside my chest as I was thrown backward, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth.

I'd saved Wraith, at least temporarily. SPECTER had dropped him to deal with me, but the cost was high. I lay on the ground, each breath sending shards of pain through my chest. A broken rib, maybe two. I coughed, spraying blood onto the rocky ground.

SPECTER stalked toward me, forcing me back until half my body hung over the cliff's edge. The sea spray misted my face, salt stinging my open wounds. The wind howled around us, threatening to pluck me from my precarious position and cast me into the abyss below.

I tried to roll away from the edge, but SPECTER blocked every attempt.

"Tell me who you really are, and I might make your death painless," he said.

I managed a bloody smile. "I'm your nightmare."

"Then take your secrets to hell." His expression unchanged.

I summoned my last reserves of strength and lunged at him. He met my attack with a brutal kick to my midsection. The force sent me flying backward like a rag doll. My body hit the ground hard, momentum carrying me in a helpless roll toward the cliff edge.

I clawed desperately at the rocky ground, tearing my fingernails and shredding my palms. Finally, I stopped, half my body dangling over the precipice. My mutilated hands clung to the cliff edge with what little strength I had left.

Blood dripped from my fingers, making my grip even more tenuous. The ocean churned below, waves crashing against jagged rocks.

Fuck, I thought. I don't want to die in the ocean again.

That bastard—where the hell was he? What was taking him so long?

SPECTER approached slowly, savoring each step toward my inevitable end. One push from his foot was all it would take to send me plummeting to my death. I could see in his eyes how much he was enjoying this moment—the power to end a life that had caused him so much trouble.

SPECTER stood over me, foot poised to deliver the final kick that would send me into the abyss. Just as he began to move, the air was filled with the rattling sound of automatic gunfire. Bullets pinged off the ground around us, forcing SPECTER to step back.

"Arrived late, but right on time. I hope Ms. Morgan won't hold it against me," a familiar voice called out.

Loki stood about fifteen yards away, a submachine gun in his hands, surrounded by over a dozen armed men. His face bore his usual smirk, but his eyes were deadly serious.

SPECTER turned to face the newcomers, visibly annoyed at the interruption. He knelt, now several feet away from me, as Loki's men kept their weapons trained on him.

"My dear uncle, it's been so long. Do you still recognize me?" Loki stepped forward, his voice dripping with false warmth.

SPECTER's expression shifted slightly. "...It's you."

Loki had been part of my contingency plan. Although I trusted Ethan would find a way to evade Shadow Organization surveillance and came to help me, I'd prepared a backup—Loki. When I'd contacted him, Loki had told me Shadow Organization had killed his mother, creating a blood feud. But he hadn't mentioned his mother was SPECTER's sister. No wonder he knew this island so well.

"I'm still alive, surprising isn't it? I'm sure you thought I died with my mother." Loki approached cautiously, stopping about ten yards from SPECTER. "You must be curious about my current appearance."

He ran a hand over his face. "I learned from you, uncle."

Loki shared his escape and transformation story with forced casualness: "This face belonged to Loki Scorpio, the pathetic son of the Scorpio family patriarch and a stripper. I killed him, had surgery to look like him, and took his identity to survive!"

His voice suddenly dropped, venom seeping into every word. "The same year you killed my mother—your own sister!"

Loki's face contorted with rage, years of suppressed hatred and humiliation boiling to the surface.

"I promised I'd return to kill you and those monsters! I've kept my word." He laughed maniacally, raising his voice. "Ms. Morgan, thank you again. Without you, my revenge might have taken much longer."

Fuck, I thought. Shut up and help me first.

But I had no strength to speak.

Loki turned back to SPECTER, smiling cruelly. "You're bleeding quite a lot. Does it hurt? It must be excruciating."

His expression changed abruptly, his mouth twitching. "Did you think about pain when you used your own sister as a living experiment, keeping her locked in a lab like cattle?"

SPECTER only stared coldly at him.

"Ms. Morgan, your friend Shadow, the Organization's most talented assassin, was used for live experimentation. You must be outraged!" Loki's eyes gleamed with madness. "But don't be—this monster was so jealous of his own sister's talent that he had her captured for experiments too."

"Even I am a genetic experiment."

Loki suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter, as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world. His laughter grew louder and more hysterical until he was doubled over, clutching his stomach.

When he finally composed himself, he wiped tears from his eyes. "The suffering you inflicted on my mother and me—I'll repay it a thousandfold!" He gestured to his men. "Bring him here. I want him to experience being an experimental subject himself."

Kneeling on the ground, SPECTER unexpectedly chuckled. Then, with one swift movement, he tore open his shirt, revealing a belt of explosives strapped around his waist. He raised a detonator high in the air.

Loki's men froze in their tracks.

SPECTER's lips curled into a triumphant smile. "My fate won't be determined by a lab rat like you."