“What’s going on?” I ask, ignoring the pain in my side as I scramble to my feet.
“Where did she go?” he ignores my question as he turns to me, gripping the front of my shirt in his fist, practically lifting me up off the ground.
“Got the keys,” Stone calls, running down the stairs and to his truck. With a disgusted noise, Bullet lets me go and shoves me toward the truck.
“Where are we going?” I ask him as I climb in the back.
“To get your girlfriend, and my car, back, before something even worse happens,” Bullet snaps.
“What could be worse than this?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he sneers. “Getting arrested for murder?”
“What?” I gasp. “I thought you said you took care of it. What’s going on?”
Bullet and Stone glance at one another as Stone starts up the car. “We didn’t have time to get rid of the body,” Bullet says, sounding guilty for the first time.
“What?” I gasp again. “Why didn’t you tell me? Where is the body now?”
Bullet can’t seem to look me in the eyes now. Facing forward once more, he says three small, one syllable words that I just know will haunt me until the day I day. Which, if this is anything to go by, will be today.
“In my trunk.”
SIX
“What the hell do you mean, Troy’s body is in your trunk?” I yell, leaning over the edge of the seat and staring incredulously at Bullet. “Do you have any idea what this means?”
“Yes,” Bullet yells back, his earlier sheepishness gone. “It means we need to get your girlfriend and my car back before the police catch up to them both.”
I slump back in my seat, totally defeated. This is all my fault, if I hadn’t let my anger get the better of me, we’d all be at home right now, enjoying our Christmas.
“Stop it,” Stone says, interrupting my thoughts.
“Huh?” I ask, glancing up at him.
“I said stop it,” he repeats, not taking his eyes off the road. “You’re not to blame for any of this, Troy is. If you’d done anything differently tonight, Sunshine wouldn’t be with her mother right now.”
“Stone’s right,” Bullet says, but he sounds incredibly reluctant to admit it. “I was watching from the kitchen, I saw the way Natalie fell apart when she had her little girl back. I hate to say it, but you did good bro. Really good.”
“Great,” I say. “But that doesn’t really make me feel any better. We’re all still in trouble, and Natalie is driving around with the dead father of her child in the trunk.”
“We’ll find her,” Stone tries to reassure me. “She can’t have gone that far. She’ll have to stop at some point, to feed Sunshine again.”
I try my hardest to take heart, but it’s almost impossible. I still can’t believe that Troy is dead, or that I’m to blame. All I wanted to do was get Natalie a Christmas present, instead, I’ve destroyed all of our lives.
“What’s that up there?” Bullet says suddenly, interrupting my thoughts.
Leaning forward in my seat, I peer through the front windshield of Stone’s truck, squinting my eyes to see through the light fall of snow.
“It’s Natalie,” I practically shout, bouncing in my seat. “Pull over.”
Stone obediently pulls the car over to the side of the road, and I have my seat belt off and the door open before the car even fully stops.
“Natalie,” I yell, jogging over to her.
She glances up from her flat tyre, narrowing her eyes when she sees me. “What the fuck are you doing here?” she asks.
“Listen to me,” I plead, grabbing her hand. “You need to come back to the house with us, right now.”
“I don’t need to go anywhere with you,” she growls, yanking her hand away from me. “What I need is to get this tyre fixed and to get the hell out of here. I told you, I need time to think.”
“What you need,” Bullet says, slamming the door closed on Stone’s truck. “Is to give me back my car keys, right now.”
Natalie’s face drops, and she kicks at the snow with her bare foot. “I’m sorry about that,” she says meekly.
Bullet says nothing, he simply raises an eyebrow and holds out his hand expectantly.
Blowing a piece of hair out of her face, she drops the keys into his outstretched hand. “I wasn’t exactly stealing it, you know, I was going to bring it back.”
“I know,” he says, surprisingly gently. “But you need to listen to Keets. You’re out here in the cold, half naked, with a baby.”
As though just realising she’s half naked, Natalie looks down at herself in surprise, her face flushing a deep shade of red as she grabs the hem of her shirt and pulls it lower.
“Here,” Stone says, shrugging out of his large camo jacket and passing it over to her. She smiles gratefully at him, slipping it on and pulling it closed around herself. She’s so tiny that the jacket dwarfs her, hanging down to her knees. She looks adorably cute, but as her glare toward me could cut a diamond, I decide against telling her. I’d like to keep my balls, thank you very much.
“So where are you going?” Bullet asks, crossing his arms as he leans against his car.
“I was just going to a hotel for the night,” Natalie says, looking between us all individually.
“Great,” Bullet says. “Grab Sunshine and jump in the truck. We’ll join you.”
“I can manage on my own, thank you,” she glares at him defensively. Bullet says nothing, but steps away from his car and raises his eyebrows in the direction of the flat tyre.
“That’s nothing,” Natalie declares confidently. “Daddy taught both myself and Shannon how to change a tyre before we were allowed to get behind the wheel.”
Before anyone can stop her, she snatches the keys out of Bullet’s hand and walks to the back of the car and sticks the key into the lock.
“Natalie, no,” I shout, holding my hand out, but it’s too late.
The trunk pops open with a dull thud, and I close my eyes in anticipation.
Natalie’s terrified scream pierces my soul, and when I open my eyes Bullet has her in his arms, her face buried against his broad chest. Forcing down the fierce jolt of jealousy, I look helplessly at Stone, who doesn’t seem to know what to do either.
“Come on,” Bullet says gently, lifting her into his arms and carrying her to the truck as Stone slams the trunk closed and removes the keys. He gently gets Sunshine out of the car and puts her into the back seat of the truck. I follow along behind them, trying to ignore the way Bullet’s hand is brushing against Natalie’s bare ass. Now is not the time to be worrying about something like that.
He puts her into the back seat and steps back to allow me to slide in after her. Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her onto my lap and I told her tightly as she shakes uncontrollably. Bullet and Stone slide into the front seat of the truck, and a moment later we’re driving in the opposite direction, away from the car and away from Troy’s lifeless body.
But instead of going back to Stone’s house, as I expected, we end up at the same motel room I was at only a few hours earlier. Has it really only been a few short hours since I took a man’s life? By now, the sun is coming up and the sky is tinged a pale pink.
Merry Christmas, Keets.
Climbing out of the truck, I carry a now sleeping Natalie as Stone carries Sunshine. Entering the motel room, I’m surprised, and a little apprehensive, to find the room still unlocked. Stone and Bullet exchange glances, but say nothing as I deposit Natalie onto the bed, and Stone puts Sunshine back into the makeshift crib.
For a few minutes we simply stand around, our hands in our pockets as we take in the events of the night. No one seems to know what to say or do, so for now, at least, we say and do nothing.
“Is anyone hungry?” Stone clears his throat. “I’m going to see if I can find us some food. Keets, come with me.”
“I should really stay here, in case she wakes up,” I protest, glancing at Natalie’s still fo
rm in the bed.
“It’s okay,” Bullet says with a small smile. “I’ll look after them both. Go and get something to eat, we need to keep up our strength.”
I give him a small nod. “Okay,” I agree. “We’ll bring you back a coffee.”
“And some bacon,” he calls out as we jump back into the truck.
Stone is silent as we drive along, but he keeps glancing at me when he thinks I’m not looking.
“What?” I finally snap, getting irritated at his hovering.
“Nothing,” he says quietly, watching the road once more.
I stare out of the window, watching the sun rise silently above the horizon. By now, Shannon and Zeke will be awake, and they’ll likely be worrying about where we are.
“Are you okay?” Stone asks quietly, glancing at me again.
“Yeah,” I sigh, giving him a small smile. “I’m just wondering how much shit you are going to be in when you get home. It’s Christmas morning, and you’re not there with Shan and Zeke.”
“They’ll be fine,” Stone shakes his head with a smile. “They’re tougher than most people give them credit for. I’m more worried about you, Keets. You killed a man, that shit doesn’t sit well with most people.”
“I’m scared to death,” I admit, letting down my guard for the first time since I killed Troy. “I don’t know what I’ve gotten us all into, or how we’re going to get out of it. I’ve fucked up, Stone, I’ve fucked up so bad and I don’t know what to do.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Stone says, punching me lightly in the arm. “We’re going to get through this. You’re not alone, you know that, right?”
“I know,” I tell him. “And that’s what scared me. I never meant for any of you to get involved.”
“I know you didn’t,” Stone tells me. “But it’s happened, and together we’ll work it out.”
We drive until we find a small truck stop. Pulling into the parking lot, we load up with takeout trays of bacon, eggs, toast, sausages, mushrooms and coffee. Piling them into the back seat, we drive back to the motel.
“We bring food,” I announce, feeling much better as I fling the door open. That is, until my gaze strays to the bed. “What the fuck?”
“Keets,” Bullet says warily, pulling his arm away from Natalie and slowly climbing out of the bed. “I swear nothing happened, man. She was having a nightmare, and-”
Whatever he’s about to say next is cut off when I launch myself at him, landing a solid blow to his jaw. He goes down hard, but before I can get another hit in my arm is grabbed by Stone.
“Leave it,” he says quietly.
“But Stone, I-”
“I said leave it,” he glares at me, his face flushed bright red with anger. I glance over at Natalie as she wakes, and drop my arm to my side.
“Listen, I think I had better go,” Bullet says, climbing to his feet and rubbing his jaw with his hand. “I think my welcome has officially been worn out.”
“Bullet,” Stone starts, but Bullet holds up his hand to stop him.
“It’s okay,” he grins. “I deserved it. Best of luck, man,” he looks at me as he says it. “Take care of her and the kid, you’ve got a real good thing going here with the both of them. Don’t fuck it up.”
“What about the body?” Stone asks as Bullet grabs one of the trays of food and a coffee and heads out the door.
“Don’t worry,” he calls over his shoulder. “I’ll take care of it.”
After he leaves, Stone glares at me, his hands clenched into fists by his side. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he demands hotly.
“Me?” I ask, my eyes bulging out of my head disbelievingly. “He’s the one who was in bed with my girl.”
“Have you taken a look at her?” Stone asks, and I turn to look at Natalie, properly, for the first time since we came back. Her face is screwed up, and there are frown lines between her eyebrows and tear stains on her cheeks.
“Fuck,” I breathe out, glancing over at Stone again. “He was telling the truth.”
“I believe that he was,” Stone agrees with a small nod. “And I believe that he’ll take care of Troy, just like he said.”
“I hope you’re right,” I answer distractedly, watching as Natalie stretches as she wakes up and sits up in bed, looking sleepily between myself and Stone.
“What’s going on?” she asks, her voice still heavy and thick with sleep.
“We brought you breakfast,” Stone smiles, placing one of the hot trays on the bed beside her. Pulling the tray into her lap, Natalie smiles up at Stone as he deposits one of the coffees on the bedside table beside her. “Thank you,” she says quietly, glancing at me.
“Oh my God,” she gasps as she lifts the lid on her food and inhales the rich aroma of the bacon. “This smells so damn good.”
We eat in silence, and finally, when all of our bellies are full, Natalie picks up her coffee and swallows a large mouthful, looking between myself and Stone. “So,” she asks cautiously. “What now?”
“Now,” Stone answers, standing up and gathering the trays. “We go home and try to work out how the hell we’re going to explain to Shannon why we weren’t there when she and Zeke woke up.
“That’s going to be fun,” I groan sarcastically, earning myself a sharp glare from Stone.
“But what about Troy?” Natalie asks. “And where’s Bullet?”
I glance at Stone, wondering how to answer that question.
“Bullet’s taking care of it,” Stone answers confidently, keeping our fight between us. I’m thankful that he’s decided not to embarrass me, I’m pretty sure I’m doing a good enough job of that all by myself. “All you need to worry about is raising that beautiful little girl right.”
“I will,” Natalie’s face softens as she gazes at the sleeping form of her daughter. “I’m going to be the best mother I can be. I owe her that much.”
“That’s the spirit,” Stone smiles happily as he tosses the trays into the bin. “Come on, wake that little sleeping beauty up and let’s get this show on the road.”
Natalie climbs out of bed and wraps her arms around Stone, squeezing him tightly. “Thank you,” she says, planting a kiss on his cheek.
“Hey, it’s just what I do for my favorite sister in law.” He grins at me over her shoulder, and I flip him the bird.
“And you,” Natalie says, breaking free from the hug and turning to me. “What the hell would I do without you?” She wraps her arms around me, burying her face into my chest as she peppers small kisses against me through my shirt.
My arms move around her and I hold her tight against me. How is it possible that I can be so in love? She takes my breath away every single day. “Come on,” I say gruffly, pulling away from her, but not before I plant a soft kiss against her lips and give her ass a firm swat. “Let’s go home.”
SEVEN
“Where the hell have you guys been?” Shannon shouts as she runs down the stairs in her nightgown. Stone parks the car and glances at us with a grin.
“Would you believe we were tracking down Santa?” he asks as he climbs out of the car.
Shannon stops short and stares wide eyed at him, her hands on her small hips. “Ethan Stone,” she says angrily. “Do you have any idea of what you put me through? And you,” she turns to me as I come around the side of the car. “Don’t even get me started on you.”
“Hey now,” I put my hands up in surrender. “I didn’t do anything wrong this time.”
“Never mind, get inside all of you, before we all freeze to death out here. Zeke has been waiting impatiently to open his presents.”
“He actually waited?” Stone laughs, but quickly stops when Shannon glares at him again. “Come on guys, I think we’re toast.”
“Listen, Shannon,” Natalie says quietly. We all turn to face her, and I hold my breath, fully aware of what’s about to happen. Our lives are about to be changed forever by what she says next. “We really need to talk.”
***
/> “I just can’t believe it,” Shannon breathes.
We’re all sitting around the living room, Natalie holding onto Shannon’s hand tightly. “Are you sure he’s dead?”
“Very,” I confirm, looking to Stone who nods in agreement.
“I’m free,” Shannon whispers, glancing at her sister. “We’re free.”
“We’re free,” Natalie agrees, squeezing Shannon’s hand. “You never have to worry about him again.”
“But how is Bullet taking care of it?” Shannon asks, looking at all of us, one by one. “I still don’t understand that. I mean, someone is going to notice Troy is missing at some point.”
“I don’t know how he’s going to do it,” Stone admits, sitting on her other side and taking her free hand. He laces his fingers with hers and brings them to his lips, brushing a soft kiss against her
knuckles. “But if Bullet says he is going to take care of it, then I believe he is going to take care of it.”
“I just can’t believe it,” she whispers again.
Natalie slips away from Shannon’s side. Taking my hand, she leads me out onto the back porch and turns to face me. “You did it,” she smiles, wrapping her arms around my neck. “You set all of us free, and you brought Sunshine home, just like you promised that you would.”
“You’re going to be an amazing mother,” I smile down at her, planting a small kiss against her lips.
“And you’re going to be an amazing father,” she smiles back before pulling away. “I got you something for Christmas,” she says, turning away and walking over to the closed laundry door. Opening it, she stands back and I stare in shock as a tiny chocolate coloured puppy wanders out, a bright red bow tied around its neck.
Wished: A Blaze of Glory Christmas Page 4