FULL SUMMARY:
When a strange drifter named Nico, (who oddly enough, resembles Carlos) comes into the Saints lives, he offers them a bit of advice. "Take a trip," he says, "Don't sit in your own shit." Jade Moreno, the leader of the saints, decides that Nico has got the right idea. However, while getting away from Steelport, they run into the last person they ever expected to see again. Causing feelings of jealousy to rise and putting Shaundi and the Boss at odds.
Meanwhile, an unknown force comes together to finally take the Saints down.
Three years.
It had been three years since Jade Moreno had left her best friend Johnny Gat in Loren's airplane. Three years since she heard his voice, encouraging her and Shaundi to go on without him. Reassuring his friends that he'd be fine. Three years since she heard the gun shots right before she jumped out of the plane. Three years.
And every day since then has been a living hell.
Sure. Some might say that the boss is an emotionless sociopath with no real regard toward human life. But, some of those people were usually wrong. In fact, they were always wrong. Jade had always put up a good front. Letting a mental Novocaine settle in her brain causing her to feel nothing. The numbness helped a whole lot more than people realized. She no longer flinched when she saw blood, never bat an eye at the many murders she caused, or even being able to laugh when she caused destruction to the city around her. At first it was the adrenaline from the power she felt that caused her not to care. Then, slowly but surely, her conscious set in. And that's when she became numb.
But would she give it up? Fuck no. She enjoyed her violet throne way too much to let it go over a few bad feelings.
Today, however, was more than just a bad feeling.
He was gone. He was really fucking gone. Jade cursed at herself. Silly her to think he'd always be by her side. Silly her to think he truly was indestructible. Silly her to think that when he did go, she'd go with him.
Jade grabbed the whiskey bottle sitting on her night stand and sat up in bed. She took a swig of the harsh liquor and wiped her eyes.
How pathetic am I? Jade thought, taking another drink from the glass bottle. The alcohol didn't even burn her throat anymore. She had drank so much in the past three years that she had gotten accustomed to the taste. To the burn. It was almost like drinking a glass of water.
Amber eyes traveled to the other side of the bed. She watched the small frame sleep soundly, only moving once or twice to get into a more comfortable position.
That's another thing Jade liked to engage in every time she thought of her best friend: sex. Not just any kind of sex, either. It had to be rough, animalistic sex. Something that let her feel every nerve ending being set ablaze. The kind of sex that made her feel alive. And so far, only one member of The Saints could provide her with that.
It was shocking for Jade when she was propositioned by one of her members. Another party was being thrown in Johnny's honor. Shaundi, of course, was somewhere pissed off, ranting how it was "inappropriate." Pierce was usually busy slapping a stripper's ass, Oleg and Kinzie hidden away in a corner conversing over politics and technology, Angel being Angel, Zimos calling up even more girls - even though the party clearly had enough and Josh was doing - well, who really gave a shit what Josh was doing?
Then there was Viola. Viola knew loss too. Her twin sister dying at the hands of that ass wipe Killbane. And it didn't take long for Viola to realize how much Jade was truly hurting. One look in her golden brown eyes and Viola could see past the fake bullshit. Jade was in as much pain as Viola was.
It was harmless at first. A contest of who could take more shots. Viola being the reigning champion usually, but Jade never seemed to mind. Even letting her win once or twice, and from there they only amped it up. Until finally, in her drunken state, Viola kissed Jade.
And Jade, kissed her right back.
That's how it began. A tryst once a week turned into two times a week. Two times a week turned into daily and then daily turned into whenever one of them were feeling downright horny. Feelings were never involved though. They had settled that in the beginning.
Or so Jade thought. She almost felt crazy, but there were times when Viola would look at her with more than just a lustful want. It felt off, but Jade couldn't lie. She sometimes looked at Viola that way too.
Maybe they were filling the hole that death had created for them. Jade didn't know and frankly, she didn't want to find out.
She placed the bottle back on her nightstand, wiping her mouth and getting out of bed. With a few wobbly steps, she headed downstairs to her living room. A few motionless bodies lay around her cream couches and on top of her many tables. The room was littered with alcohol bottles, beer cans and plastic red cups. Soft R&B music played in the background and Jade chuckled, already knowing Pierce was responsible for it.
Jade trotted over to her kitchen and with a flick of a switch, she turned on her coffee maker. She couldn't remember the last time she got a full night's sleep. Sometime before they robbed a morning star bank, she figured.
As the java brewed, Jade leaned against her counter. A pair of slender arms wrapped around her waist minuets later causing the boss to turn around.
"You're up early."
"I never slept," Jade replied quietly.
Viola reached out and pushed a few strands of hair out of Jade's face, garnering a small frown from the leader. It was the little things Jade noticed the most; that made her think that maybe there was more to this arrangement than just fucking to forget.
"Are you coming back to bed soon?" Viola asked, pulling Jade closer to her own body. When her leader didn't respond, Viola repeated the question, but this time she kissed Jade softly. With a shrug, Jade motioned towards the heating pot of coffee.
"We've got so much shit to do today, Vi," Jade answered, slipping out of Viola's grasp and grabbing a mug from the cabinet. "The people from We Used To Actually Play Music tv are coming today. Pierce has his album dropping today -"
"Yeah, cause that's gonna sell," Viola interjected.
The boss gave Viola look, turning to cut off the coffee maker and pour herself a cup. Viola, replied with a look of her own before quickly offering a smile with apologetic eyes. "I'm just saying that you have an entire crew to do your dirty work for you. Why do you need to be there for these things?"
"Because I'm the leader."
"Exactly. A leader, not their parent," Viola told her.
Jade shrugged again. She supposed Viola was right. A day off wouldn't hurt, but she also knew that meant a day in bed with mind blowing orgasms with her fellow Saint. Jade added a third spoonful of sugar to the steaming liquid before pouring a generous amount of creamer in. "Kiki?" Jade asked bluntly.
Taking a step back, Viola shook her head. "Why the fuck do you always think I'm thinking of Kiki every time I'm in the mood to fuck you?"
"Because it's always Johnny when I'm in the mood to fuck you."
Viola didn't respond, instead she rolled her eyes and grabbed her own mug from the cabinet. "Whatever," she muttered, pouring herself a cup of the coffee. Jade opened her mouth to say something, only for her words to stop short at the sound of her penthouse door opening. Jade didn't bother turning to see who it was. Figuring it had to be Shaundi or Pierce because they never knocked. Obviously manners were not their forte.
"A little help here!" A male voice called out.
Jade looked over to see Pierce holding another man by his waist, his arm slung around a small muscular male body, his white shirt soaked in blood and the man's right arm around Pierce's neck, struggling to keep up with Pierce's steps.
A look of shock spread across Jade's face as she walked over, taking the unknown male's arm and slinging around her own neck, opposite of Pierce. She could barely see his face but from the small glimpse she got of him, she almost felt as if he she already knew him. He looked so familiar.
"Who the fuck is this?" Jade asked with a huff, readjusting her balance.
Pierce led them over to the couch. "Remember Cyrus Temple?"
"You mean that old fuck who tried to murder me and almost blew up the city? Doesn't ring a bell," Jade tossed back.
"Well STAG didn't take your advice cause they're still in the city and they're still trying to fucking kill us. This poor guy caught in the crossfire," Pierce said.
That still didn't answer her question. "So the fuck what? People get caught in the crossfire all the time and you decide to bring one home?"
"You speak of him as if he's a pet," Viola added, joining them in the living room.
"Might as well be," Jade mumbled. "Why'd you bring him up here?"
"I felt bad," Pierce began. "Dude was the one who gave me the tip off about STAG. I was walking back from the store and the next thing I know I'm on the pavement. When I looked up, this guy was on top of me and a STAG soldier had his gun aimed my way."
"So a soldier from STAG was trying to ambush you and this man stepped in to push you out the way but he got hit instead. How admirable." Viola lolled her head as she made her way around the couch to help lay the man down. She looked up at the boss after putting a pillow underneath the unknown male's head and asked, "So what are you going to do?"
Jade looked down, peering into the male's face. It was almost like taking a trip into the past. The memory was so vivid.
She held on to his hand and his offered her a weak nod of his head. Jade didn't want to. Especially since they've come so far and he was so close. Carlos had worked his ass off, only for it to end like this. But, he insisted. With a shaky hand, Jade reached out and grabbed his bloody one.
"I'm sorry," slipped between her lips as she used her other hand to grip her pistol. Slowly, she brought it into view and aimed it right between his eyes.
Once Carlos nodded his head again, she gently squeezed the trigger. And for the first time in years, she cried.
"Boss?"
Jade shook her head, snapping back to reality.
"So what are going to do?" Pierce asked.
She looked at the man again, his resemblance to her old friend uncanny. Any other time she would have simply sent for the chopper to take him to the hospital but she wanted him to stay.
"Pierce, call up Andre, and tell him it's an emergency," Jade answered. Andre was the Saints personal doctor. She looked at Viola. "Vi, call up Shaundi and tell her to reschedule the interview today and then get someone to ready the guest bedroom."
"Wait, we're keeping him?" Viola asked while Pierce took out his cell phone.
"Yes, we're keeping him," Jade rolled her eyes. It really did sound like they were keeping a pet. "He helped Pierce, so we owe him this."
"Okay," Viola replied, looking between Jade and Pierce before heading back up towards Jade's bedroom.
She honestly had no idea why she was doing. Maybe it was out of guilt for Carlos because they looked so much alike but when she looked at him, she felt like she had to do this.
Like she needed to do this.