"It's the best way to be," Niall said and Tatum breathed a laugh as Saint looked like he was about to start up a tirade.
Kyan punched him in the arm before he could start that though and he gave us a pointed look as Saint shot him a glare.
"I told you assholes that Tate is safe with Niall. The rest of you though? I don't like your chances if you piss him off,” Kyan explained.
Niall laughed loudly as the car hit a bank and my stomach dropped as it felt like we were only driving on two wheels for a couple of endless seconds before it banged back down onto solid ground.
"Does someone wanna take the wheel?" Niall called. "My arm is hurting like an arse that just got fucked with no lube."
He didn't actually wait for anyone to respond before slamming on the brakes and jumping out of the car and as he opened his door, I noticed the bloodstains on his seat.
"What the fuck happened to you, old man?" Kyan asked as he opened his door too and stepped out. I followed right behind him, looking at the blood that was dripping from Niall's left arm down to the floor.
"I got shot a little." Niall ripped a makeshift bandage off of his arm which looked like it had once been his shirt. His heavily inked and scarred muscular torso was flecked with red and I sucked in a breath as the blood pissing down his arm began to drip from his fingertips.
"I told him to do something about that," Tatum insisted as she got out of the car too and Saint took her phone from the cupholder, clearly deciding that he’d be the best one to make the plan if Niall wouldn’t.
"It's nothing, lass," Niall said, waving her off as she tried to get a better look and he unbuckled his belt before slipping it around his arm and cinching it tight above the bullet wound.
He strolled around to the back of the Jeep and opened it before grabbing a roll of duct tape and I took Tatum's hand as we followed after him, my eyes falling on the weird array of items he kept in his car.
"What the hell is all of this shit?" I asked as I looked over the assortment of tools from axes to hammers to a nail gun, the four rolls of duct tape, thick coil of rope, box of fireworks, bolt cutters and what looked like a blindfold tossed on top.
"Hitman," Niall said, pointing at himself before winding the duct tape around the bleeding wound on his bicep a few times and ripping it off with his teeth. “But if the cops pull me over I just say I’m a handyman.”
“How do you explain the blindfold?” Tatum asked curiously.
“I tell them I’m a submissive and that if my mistress calls me I’ve gotta be ready for her to come choke me no matter what time of the day or night it is. Folk don’t tend to question that shit.”
Tatum snorted a laugh while I held back on saying half the things that were running though my head. I’d already known he was a gun for hire from what Kyan had told us, but standing here looking at his killing gear kinda made it more real.
“It looks like you’ve got a good set up here,” I said, wondering if complimenting his murder weapons was the thing to do in this situation. All I knew for certain was that this was fucking weird.
"Why? You need someone dead?” Niall asked casually like he was offering me a soda. “I don't have any openings this week because I really need to get back home and feed my pets. The feisty one doesn't like it if I leave her waiting too long between meals. She gets real mouthy. The other one gets pissy too, but I don’t give a fuck about him so I’m not so bothered on that issue. Still, I wouldn’t want him dying on me before I’m good and ready."
Kyan gave me a look that said don't ask, but I was really fucking curious now.
"Is that sanitary?" Tatum asked, pointing at his duct tape bandage and Niall barked a laugh before tossing the trunk closed and rounding the car to get in the front passenger seat.
"Niall doesn't much care about his own mortality," Kyan supplied with a shrug as he ushered us around the car to get back in.
Blake had taken the driver's seat and Saint was looking at a map on Tatum's phone as he muttered about the best route for us to take to avoid the camp as we headed back south towards Kyan's family's home.
I got into the middle seat and Kyan climbed in beside me, drawing Tatum onto his lap before pulling the door closed.
"Follow this route to the best of your ability," Saint said, handing Tatum's phone to Blake who sat it in a cradle on the dash with the satnav highlighting a route Saint had clearly drawn out himself.
"On it," Blake agreed, pulling into the trees once more and we headed away from the camp as fast as we could.
"We need to send that footage of the camp to the press," Saint said, holding his hand out for Kyan's phone and I frowned at him as I realised he hadn't even really greeted Tatum yet.
"You need to chill, brother," Kyan teased, tossing him the phone all the same.
"I will just as soon as we are away from here and the threat has passed," he snipped back before focusing on the phone and ignoring the rest of us.
Niall kicked his boots up onto the dash and found a baseball cap in the glove box, putting it on and tugging it down over his eyes as he seemed to go to sleep.
"Are you okay?" I murmured to Tatum as I took her hand in mine, turning it over to inspect it for any signs of injuries.
"I'm fine. Niall was a fierce protector, don't worry."
"I think you need a full physical check-up to be sure, baby," Kyan murmured against her neck while running his hand along her thigh.
Tatum sighed contentedly, turning her head to place a kiss against his lips before leaning over to me next. There was something about that which seemed so simple, so easy, her just turning from one of us to another. I didn't even know when I'd fallen into this rhythm with it, but at least in these kinds of situations, it seemed to make so much sense.
Saint was typing away furiously, sending email after email to as many different news outlets as he could and by the time we bumped back out of the forest and onto a road again, he was done. He wordlessly took the SIM card from the phone, broke it into pieces then lowered his window to toss it out.
As soon as the window was closed again, he reached for Tatum, drawing her over to kiss him deeply. When they pulled apart, she moved to lay across the three of us, placing her head in Saint's lap while twisting her fingers through mine and leaving her legs on Kyan.
It made me uncomfortable to know she wasn’t strapped in but Niall’s car didn’t seem to have any seatbelts back here at all, so we didn’t get much choice in that and I tried not to think about it too much.
I relaxed back into my seat as the miles slipped by and Blake drove us in a looping circle away from the camp and back to Kyan's family home. It was still pretty hard to envision an end to all of this, but at least in that moment, we were together and safe and I could focus on that much.
***
I must have dozed off somewhere before we made it to Kyan's grandfather's house because I woke up sharply as we pulled up outside it.
The place was insanely big, looking more like some kind of resort than a home for a single man, but Kyan didn't say anything to explain it as he got out of the car and moved aside to speak to Niall.
"Is it really a good idea for us to stay here?" I asked dubiously, looking up at the imposing building as I followed the others out of the car.
"Liam has been angling to get Kyan back here for a while now," Saint explained. "He's helped us out a few too many times recently and he won't continue to accept an IOU from Kyan as payment."
"What is he going to make him do?" Tatum asked in a low voice just as the huge front door at the top of the stairs was pulled open.
It was still dark as it was only three in the morning, but apparently nothing took the staff here by surprise as a woman dressed in a servant's uniform waited for us to greet her.
"Don't worry about it," Saint said softly, stepping close to Tatum and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "We need a place to stay and Liam O'Brien's house is locked up tighter than a gnat’s asshole. For now, we will allow him to believe that Ky
an is falling into line. It will buy me some time to get the vaccinations to Dr De La Cost and for me to hunt down my father and figure out exactly how we wish to finish this. Once we no longer have need of Liam O'Brien's house and protection, I will find a way to free Kyan from his obligations to him."
"If the dude is as bad as Kyan says he is then I don't see him just being reasonable about anything you might come up with," I pointed out.
"If the only way out is bloodshed then I'll be happy enough to wet my hands," Saint said with a shrug. "I'll let you know once I've decided if it's necessary or not."
He turned away from us and I sighed as I fell into step behind him with Tatum between me and Blake. I still hated it when Saint tried to pull rank like that, but I could admit that when it came down to all of this plotting and scheming, I was out of my depth. So I'd let him think he was in charge for now if that was what it took to keep the peace.
Kyan moved to stand between us and the house before we could go any further while Niall hung back and lit up a cigarette as he leaned against the hood of his car.
"Niall has asked for a favour," Kyan said, rubbing a hand over his jaw. "He said Tatum already gave him a vaccination when he first showed up to help get her out of the city-"
"I did," she agreed. "It made sense. Plus it felt like the least I could do."
"You should have run that past the group," Saint ground out.
"It would have been pretty difficult to explain my attachment to that cooler box if I hadn't told him what was in it," she shot back, tilting her chin in that way which told us all she was up for a fight if he kept questioning her on it. “And once he knew, it would have been kinda rude for me not to offer him one, don’t you think? Considering he saved my ass. Followed by all of your asses, might I add.”
"Fine," Saint sighed. "So what else does he want?"
"Two more doses," Kyan said, glancing over at his uncle who grinned at us as he took a drag on his cigarette.
"Who for?" Blake asked.
"For...the people he has locked in his basement." Kyan shrugged like that wasn't weird as fuck. "I mean, he says he mostly wants one for the girl - that one he purchased from Royaume D’élite - but he says the other one 'would be handy.’"
Saint pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. "Fine. It's a small price to pay for him keeping Tatum safe," he said, though it still sounded like he was kinda pissed.
"Let's just keep the serial killer happy," I agreed. "There are enough people trying to kill us without us adding another one to the list."
Kyan laughed like I'd been joking and took the box from Tatum, removing a couple of doses for him and giving them to his uncle.
“Do you want me to explain how you give them?” Tatum began but he just waved her off.
“I’ll stab ‘em in the arse with them and hope for the best, thanks all the same. I'll be seeing ya then," Niall called cheerily, blood running out from beneath the duct tape bandage on his arm.
"Maybe you should get that checked out?" I suggested as he started to turn away and he glanced down at the blood like he hadn't noticed it before.
"Shit," Niall gasped and I raised my eyebrows as he pointed at me. "I just realised who you remind me of. It's been bugging me all fucking night."
"What's that got to do with the-"
"He's the fella from that show with the bikes and the guns and that shit," he went on, making a gun with his fingers and pointing them at me.
"That could literally be any one of so many shows," I pointed out.
"Yeah, but you know the one I mean. The one with the fella who looks like you." He fired his finger gun at me then turned away and grabbed Tatum in a big bear hug, squeezing her tight and spinning her around as she laughed in surprise.
He set her down, tussling her hair like she was a little kid before embracing Kyan too and taking off in his car again without another word.
“Take care of yourself,” Kyan called after him and Niall’s laughter carried back to us on the wind as he flicked his cigarette out of the car window.
“I’m like a cockroach, lad. You can try to kill me all you like but I just keep fucking kicking.”
"Your uncle is fucking crazy," Blake muttered as he waved him off and Kyan chuckled as he led the way up the steps.
"Yeah, well, when you come from a family like this, I think it might just be the best way to survive. Besides, he’s lived through shit you don’t even wanna imagine. I doubt any of us would be doing any better in his circumstances.”
“I doubt I’d ever turn into a raving clown,” Saint tsked.
“He’s not a clown,” Tatum muttered, looking back over her shoulder and frowning after Niall’s car. “I think he’s lonely. And desperately sad.”
Kyan sighed heavily, nodding and taking her hand before lifting it to his lips and pressing a kiss against her knuckles. “You always see the truth of people, don’t you baby?”
“It’s a good thing I do,” she replied, looking between the four of us. “Or I never would have given any of you a shot. You were all such assholes when we met.”
“Ugh, why do I feel like you’re gonna use that against us for the rest of our lives?” Blake joked and Tatum rolled her eyes as we started walking again.
“Maybe I will. I’ll use it to make you guys do whatever I want whenever I want,” she said.
“We already do that,” I teased and she smirked.
"Good evening, Coco," the housekeeper cooed as we moved up the steps. "Your grandpa has already retired to bed for the night, but he requested that you all take a Hades Virus test before you come into the house." She pointed to a tray which she'd placed on the top step and Kyan made small talk with her as we all quickly carried them out.
We had to wait three minutes for the results to show up, but once they proved us to be negative, she let us inside and told Kyan that we'd have the run of the west wing during our stay. That's right - an entire fucking wing. Who had houses with wings?
I didn't really have anything to say to that fucking insanity, so I just kept my mouth shut and tried not to gawp like the only pauper in the room as I followed Kyan and the others to this fancy ass wing we were being gifted the use of.
Kyan sent the housekeeper off to bed, assuring her we were capable of sorting ourselves out but when he led us into a huge suite, we found a table laid out with sandwiches and drinks as if she'd somehow magically known we'd be wanting them.
"Martha is worth her weight in gold," Kyan groaned as he grabbed a sandwich and started chewing before he'd even finished his sentence.
"We will need somewhere to refrigerate the vaccines," Saint said, barely even looking at the lavish bedroom with the four poster super-king bed and vaulted ceilings.
In fact, Blake didn’t either. Like this kind of lavish opulence was so ordinary to them that they didn’t even notice it. I swear I'd never felt more out of place in their group than I did in that moment.
"Mini fridge is over there," Kyan said dismissively, pointing at a panel in the wall which did in fact open up to a mini fridge with chilled bottles of water stacked inside it when Saint opened it up to place the silver box inside. Because that was totally normal apparently.
A warm hand slipped into mine as I just kinda stood in the middle of the room and Tatum gave me a knowing smile as she tiptoed up to speak in my ear.
"Give me a cosy little B&B and a takeout pizza any day," she teased. "This place is fucking ridiculous."
I broke a smile for her, relieved to find I wasn't the only one thinking that as she started tugging me across the room.
"Where are you taking me, princess?" I asked as I let her lead me along.
"Right now, all I want is to wash this day off of me, crawl into that big bed with all four of you and sleep it away," she explained as we made it into a massive bathroom which I refused to believe was just the en-suite. No one had gold fucking taps and a freestanding bath in an en-suite.
"Wish granted then," I promised her, following he
r lead as I dragged my muddy, torn clothes off and hounded her into the giant shower which stood against the far wall. There wasn't even a screen partitioning it from the rest of the room, just a massive waterfall shower standing over a drain set into the navy tiles.
Tatum set the shower running and I stepped beneath it with her, my eyes drinking in the sight of the water flowing down her naked flesh for so long that I didn't even notice the others following us in until we were all wet and brushing against each other while we washed.
We were too exhausted to turn it into anything more than what it was, though somehow all four of us ended up washing Tatum, our hands touching and caressing her as bubbles slid over her silky skin. My hand may have dipped between her thighs briefly, teasing her clit with a gentle caress while the others toyed with her hardened nipples and tight ass until she was gasping and clinging to my arm, her fingernails cutting into me as I drew her into bliss.
We dried off quickly and piled into the super-king together after that. I found I didn’t even give a shit that there were three other naked guys in my bed as we all drifted off. Because we were together and we were safe and that was more than could have been said just a few short hours ago. So I was going to count my blessings, hold our girl tight and pray that I'd never have to let go again.
***
I woke to the feeling of gentle fingertips trailing across my arm and my cock hardened as I reached for the girl I’d fallen asleep beside. The scent of her clung to the pillows as I searched for her in the sheets and I felt the warmth of her body just out of reach.
The thought of her naked skin so close had me aching to claim her and though I knew she probably needed more sleep, I couldn’t resist the idea of waking her up and seeing if she might wanna take me up on that idea. I’d do it nicely though, with my head between her thighs, waking her up as I ate her out like my favourite breakfast and made her beg for the rest of me.
I shifted closer to her, my hand reaching for her thigh, but instead of finding it, my fingers landed on a solid cock instead.
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