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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Jaye Pratt
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February 13 - February 14, 2025
“Run, run, as fast as you can!” a male voice shouts. “I ain’t no fucking gingerbread man!”
The asshole laughs. “Baby, freak doesn’t even begin to describe me.” His tongue leaves his mouth, and my jaw falls open. It’s split . . . like a snake. He wiggles it at me.
Ah, so Marlow is the one who gave me his shirt. I straighten myself up and slip from the hood.
I’m only really acquainted with Boston, Laughn, and Marlow.” “The other two are Davis and Case. Case is the one with the tattoo on his jaw and big stretchers in his ears, and he has a slight punk cross serial killer vibe. Davis is the boy next door that murders you in your sleep.”
“Well Marlow is the mellow, ‘smother you with a pillow’ type. Boston is the ‘kill you with his broody mood swings,’ or orgasms, guy—so I have heard through the grapevine—and Laughn . . . shit, that crazy mofo would skin you alive and deep fry you.”
After English I have Biology, and just my luck, Laughn is in my class. He makes it a point to sit next to me, keeping his hands to himself. We work in pairs, giving me plenty of time to look at his body modifications. His tongue seems to be the most drastic, and while his contacts are weird as shit, I’m not as creeped out as I was the first time I saw them. His body is heavily tattooed with lots of colours, and they seem like old-school tattoos.
They call us G.O.D.S. Gifted, obedient, and deadly students. Our team was given the name Hades. Every child was groomed from birth and attended a specialised primary school run by an organisation called Olympia. We were trained to be used as weapons, then released into the real world during high school to gain social skills, or so the leaders claimed. Each team of six—five boys and one girl—was sent to a different school around the state.
Laughn is already blinded by Jolie. I even think Marlow is hurt by her presence. Case and Davis are harder to read; honestly, it’s a damn talent to get anything out of Case since that day.
Our house has an underground office where Brennan holds all team meetings that keep us updated or deliver jobs we have been assigned. Brennan is our mentor, our handler. He’s in charge of getting our jobs and keeping the bigwigs happy. Asshole gets the easy work. He was also the only person in the whole organisation willing to work with us after we became five.
“I can and I will. Jolie has become an expert at using her body as a weapon. If she sleeps with you, then you best believe it’s for a reason. I have been working with her for almost twelve months now, and I don’t want any of you fucking this up for me.” His tone is serious.
“Just tell us the fucking truth. Who is she and why is she here at the Myers?” Case snaps. “She will be your Sixth,” Brennan almost whispers.
The young rat runs around my bed, exploring its new surroundings. Laughn texts me a few times, but I ignore him. Laughn Baby, why did you steal the snake food? You did look hot AF making your getaway.
“Wanna bet?” he snarls. “I love a good bet.” Both of us are too stubborn to back down. “If you can sleep with all the Gods, excluding me, I will give you what you want and fuck you.”
“Fine, and if you don’t sleep with all the Gods, then you leave. You pack your things and tell Brennan it isn’t working out here.” “Sounds good to me. But you cannot tell any of the Gods we have this bet. Also, you can’t talk them out of sleeping with me with threats or warnings.” His curt nod signals his agreement. “Since we agree, get the fuck out of my room.” I watch the muscles in his arms as he picks up his shirt slowly, while my legs clamp together. Boston pauses at the now open door. “Oh, Jolie, did you know Brennan is a God?” “You fucking cheat!” I scream.
List of suspicious shit. 1- Weird note. 2- Kidnapped and chased… Was it them? 3- Brennan being there to save me. 4- Being fostered by Brennan’s parents. 5- Brennan being a God.
Getting stoned works well for me, while Boston and Davis would have hit the gym, and Laughn would have gone to play with one of his pets. Marlow probably took a nap; stress exhausts him.
The day she died, my heart was torn from my body, and for twelve months, I felt like I was physically dying from the pain in my chest. It still hurt after that, but when they sent us here, I could dull the pain with Marlow’s super drug and girls. If I can hold her—just for a second—maybe I will know it’s really her.
Case puts his nose to my hair and inhales. “Please don’t leave me,” he whispers. I push him to arm’s length and stare up into his green eyes. “Are you okay?” I ask, not really knowing how to respond.
I didn’t notice at first, but they all seem to carry a weapon, though nothing big or bulky. Brennan seems to carry a gun under his suit jacket every day. Memories of the party are patchy, but a few things have flashed back to me. The Gods having weapons is one, and I highly doubt they need protection from the high school kids at the party.
I sit up slowly and turn to see Brennan standing in the doorway. My jaw almost hits the floor as I take in the board shorts hanging low on his hips. Holy six pack, Superman! Who would have thought that cardigan-wearing Brennan has a damn fine body?! “Damn, if I had known you had all that under those clothes, I would have suggested you never wear a shirt,” I call out.
I get pissed off every time she calls Trace her best friend. It’s a good story—a believable one. He was one of her handlers and she was his first job out of training.
Every single one of the guys in the team loved her. I was training to be their handler. They think I was the only one willing to take the job, but unknown to them, I was specifically trained to oversee their team. I hated the jealousy I felt being around them. They were a solid unit; all six of them worked as one. I hated I didn’t have that, and I despised the love they had for her. Why did they get to love her the way they did, but I couldn’t?
They all think they have a choice to walk away, but they couldn’t be more wrong. They were born and bred for a purpose. There is so much they don’t know yet, even my brother. I know he will hate me when he finds out. If he doesn’t kill me with his own hands first.
“What! You care about me? You don’t. I’m just a fucking charity case to you. Trace cares. He pulled me from the wreckage, he was by my side when they had to fix me, and he was the one who kept me safe from them. Not you.” Her tears run down her face, causing anger to flare up—at myself, at Trace, and at the organisation. “If he cares so much about you, where the hell is he now?” A loud crack lands against my cheek, and Jolie runs from the room. I feel like shit. I know I shouldn’t have said it as soon as the words left my mouth. Especially when I know the truth and I’m just being a jealous
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“Now I suggest you start talking because for whatever reason, and there has to be one, you tried to hide her. A trained handler doesn’t go rogue without a good one. Mr Z isn’t happy and has instructed us to do whatever is necessary to get answers. Even if that includes breaking her.” I’m lying to gauge his reaction. None of us are capable of breaking her. The look on his face tells me everything I need to know. That (a) she is who he is protecting, our baby Z; and (b) he wants to hurt me right now.
This is exactly why I was hoping she was just some random—that we were wrong. We could have fucked her out of our systems and moved on. But now we have a huge issue. Brennan has caught feelings for her, along with Laughn’s obsession, and now Boston has fucked her. Huge fucking issues.
Brennan made us agree to not screw with her. We all had the same feeling at that time—except Laughn. He really has no standards when it comes to what he will stick his dick in. So, we made our own agreement that if one of us slept with her, she was free game for Laughn. Now that he knows she is Zircon, he will be relentless.
When your makeup is on, your mask is on. Don’t let your walls down for anyone other than us.
“Case Chambers, care to share what you are talking about with your entire cohort?” the principal sharply questions. “Sure,” Case answers and stands up with a smirk. The principal looks just as shocked as half of the students, who are all now glancing our way. “Laughn wants to defile the new girl, so I was telling him that before he does, he should show it to her. Honestly, sir, if you think his face is fucked up, you should see his cock.”
Boston Where the fuck are you? Laughn I love a good game of hide and seek. I flick through the rest of the texts. Case Can you text Boston back? He’s going to kill someone soon. Davis Just remember you willingly fucked him. Marlow Stage five clinger is looking for you. Boston I’m going to kill you if you’re not already dead. Brennan Call me.
So what are your plans for the rest of the day?” “I have to feed Rathew, but other than that, nothing.” I sigh, watching the world stream past the window. “Rathew?” he asks, curiosity bleeding through his voice. “Yeah, the rat I rescued from Laughn’s house. He just whacks them and throws them in.” Case laughs hysterically. “You stole snake food and named it Rathew?” he finally wheezes out.
We followed a Brad Mondo video on YouTube . . . what could possibly go wrong?
A scream has me running inside Boston’s house. If anyone hurts Jolie, I think I might kill them. I have sat in the background and waited, watching to see if she slips up. But I think Laughn and Case are right and she doesn’t know anything.
“Not just guys, Petal.” Shit. Her face goes white, but she quickly shakes it off. She must have remembered. I used to always call her Petal. The other guys called her Wildflower, but to me she was always the most precious thing, delicate like a flower petal.
I refuse to mention that Laughn is pissed; being afraid of Boston is one thing, but when Laughn gets mad, it isn’t a pretty sight.
We all have our own way of dealing with the life we were dealt: I get stoned, Boston needs control, Laughn keeps his pets, Case drinks, and Davis, well his whole boy-next-door charm seems to be his thing.
“Get a clue, Jolie, but keep this to yourself because Mr Z is behind everything. Don’t trust anyone. Trace isn’t your friend. You know your guys, so trust your gut.” What the fuck? My mind is reeling. “I will help you as long as you stop Laughn from killing me. I have to finish this quick. I’m sorry.”
I got my first tattoo at thirteen, we all got one at the same time. We always called her our wildflower, and when she died, we all had a forget-me-not tattooed over our hearts. A symbol of true love and that we would never forget her.
Now that I have her here, would it be so bad if I locked her up and never let her go? I know the others all love her as much as I do, but for this blip in time, I want to be selfish and enjoy what she is offering me. All good things end, and when she finds out we have Trace and who she really is, she is going to hate us for not telling her. Everything will come crashing down around us and she will be gone once again. But this time, I will make sure she takes me out before she leaves—life without her isn’t one I want to experience again. I don’t care if that makes me the biggest pussy in the
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“Let’s start with the basics, then. G.O.D.S was created by a guy—Mr Z—who basically trains us from when we are young to be weapons. We all have special skills. Within your team, you have Davis, the human lie detector, Laughn speaks for himself, though try electrocuting the bastard and he will just laugh at you—”
Nolan fixes a hard gaze on me, then finally reveals the information I have been chasing. “We are a private organisation, and all members of a team have special skills. Five guys, one girl per team, with one handler for the guys and one for the girl until you complete your training. Team Hades is your team, except yours is special. You were all genetically made in test tubes or some shit. We don’t know details, but whispers say that the guys were genetically programmed to love Zircon, a.k.a. you. When you were around thirteen, you were killed,” he says, using his fingers to make air quotes.
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you, I would be careful. Ask yourself, was Trace running from them or for them? A handler wouldn’t betray the organisation over something small. Unless there was a reason . . . or it was an order from the big guy himself,” Nolan finishes with a shrug.
Laughn has next to no damn pain receptors, especially when he is electrocuted. Davis is a human lie detector. Marlow and computers talk the same language—there is nothing he can’t hack or find. Boston literally remembers everything he wants to remember; not like a photographic memory—this is more situational—but whatever he catalogues in that head of his is there forever. I have excellent vision in the dark, but fuck, as a result, I’m the one that gets sent in first and I sure as shit ain’t bullet proof—I have the scar on my shoulder to prove it. And that is only the quick run-down of our
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The day Trace went missing, Davis made us all promise to forget him. His involvement in Zircon’s accident is why he presumed his brother ran. “Trace was following orders, which I understand is a surprise, but let me explain a few things. Brennan, Trace, Creed, Chester, and Kai were my original super team, but we ran into a few issues with the female embryo not taking,
Creed is Laughn’s creepy-ass brother, who was a handler once upon a time, but now his special skills lie with dead bodies, as he finds solace in the silence. There’s also Chester, a.k.a. our school guidance officer and Marlow’s brother, who they use as an extra set of eyes on us at school or when Brennan is too busy to babysit our asses. And then you can’t forget my dickhead of a brother, Kai. “So, what you’re saying is our brothers are more like our twins, and we are from the same embryos?” Boston rises in disbelief.
“Back to the point. I found as Zircon was growing older, both groups had a love for her. Team Zeus started to resent and hate Team Hades. I couldn’t have that, so I came up with a plan.”
Davis cuts him off. “You didn’t want Team Zeus, as you call them, to be stronger than your surviving team, but their hatred and anger gave you an idea of how to make us stronger, more ruthless.”
Now that I think about it, thirteen-year-old us didn’t get along with our siblings, but isn’t that natural? “So, you sent her away with an older handler who you’re saying had a boner for her.”
“We had this overwhelming instinct to protect her, even from you. I think Mr Z left out a little tidbit . . . that we would have taken you out for looking at her wrong and still would.”
“What Mr Z is saying is we were
