Free Jaq’s Harp by Ella Drake Page A

heart-stopping seconds he jabbed at his opponent and landed strikes ruthlessly beautiful to behold. The other man was good. He dodged and parried, but couldn’t find a way through Harp’s defenses. Harp didn’t need the gun he’d taken from the guard, or her help, but she tensed, ready to come to his aid though weariness had started to seep into her bones.
    A thud drew her dazed attention from Harp. Ochre had reached the bottom of the vine and sneered at her. “Who are you?”
    “The person who’s taking you down.” She took in deep shuddering breaths and made her body stand straight and tall instead of falling over. She was spent.
    But he would not win. Never. Not while she breathed. He would not take the lives of landers hostage for the sake of profit.
    The man who’d nearly killed Merry circled Jaq, keeping to the outside away from Harp, who should’ve downed his guy by now. She didn’t let herself get distracted by the worry.
    Ochre’s mouth ticked and his eyes telegraphed his intentions. He was coming straight for her throat. When he lunged, she came up on the balls of her feet, bounced twice, and swung her right leg around in a fast, arching roundhouse.
    He took it right in the side of the head and went down hard.
    Before he knew what had happened to him, she pounced. She yanked his jacket back so he couldn’t move his arms, pulled the stiletto and pointed it at his throat, pressing hard enough to leave a trail of blood.
    “Don’t move,” she growled.
    Ochre groaned into the dirt beneath his face. Off to the side, the guard Harp had been fighting echoed the groan as he crumpled to the ground.
    Harp knelt beside her and put a hand on her back. “Good job. The cavalry’s here.”
    The small courtyard filled with Mother agents, Bovine in the lead. They soon had the guards and Ochre bound and ready for detainment. Ochre yelled and screamed as he was dragged away. “Leave Vera out of this. You can’t take the company. Don’t make her come down here.”
    After what had happened to Merry, Jaq was a little shocked by the wave of pity she felt for Ochre as she stared at his contorted face. Then he was gone.
    “Move aside, Robinson.” A uniformed Mother agent waved her away as he set to work with a chainsaw on the beanstalk.
    Bzzzz. The loud noise ripped through the air.
    “Where is this thing going to fall?” She cast a worried glance around the courtyard of her apartment building. Harp stood next to the bench they’d sometimes shared while drinking coffee in the morning before going to work. Her dry mouth flooded, the memories burning.
    A hand fell on her shoulder and she flinched. Bovine answered in his usual good humor. “I designed it to collapse onto itself. Don’t worry. Your home will be safe. So will Merry.”
    She turned and hugged Bovine. “How about Merry? Will you be able to help her?”
    “I already have Merry at the hospital. Picked her up this morning, but you’d already left. We’re giving her stabilizers while I synthesize the antidote. You can visit her tomorrow.”
    She blew out a long breath.
    A crash shook the courtyard.
    The beanstalk folded in. Leaves thwapped as they rushed down. The scent of uncooked beans filled the air as green dust coated Harp’s black hair.
    Harp leaned toward Bovine and yelled over the continued crashing of the beanstalk. “They planned on moving it out of trials and onto the streets in just a few weeks. I have all the evidence you need to prove it.” He pulled his special harmonica from his pocket and slapped it into Bovine’s hand.
    “I’ll get this back to headquarters.” Bovine nodded significantly in her direction. “I knew she’d get you out. She couldn’t wait on extraction, it would’ve been too late for the antidote.”
    Harp nodded. “We can put him away for a long time. But for now, I have a few things to say to Jaq.”
    “Soon as the medics clear you, go. Say your things. Take a day or two while I convince the head office to