“Remember me, sweetheart?” A voice asked.
My blood ran cold, but I didn’t have any hesitation left in me after hearing that voice. I brought my knee up to get his attention from the movement of my arm, and just as he shifted his weight to counter my movement, I moved.
Remembering what Jack told me about the trigger safety on Glocks, I moved the gun to his chest and fired.
‘Aim to kill. Squeeze lightly. Every last fucking one.’ I repeated the mantra as I unloaded the whole clip into the man lying on top of me. His body jerked. Blood splattered my face and covered my body as I shot him through the heart. No hesitation. I knew if I didn’t kill him, I’d be screwed.
Especially since he got to me in the first place. Which meant he snuck in here, or hurt Jack, because Jack would never let anyone hurt me. Would never even let them within fifty feet of me.
The gun’s hammer made a click as it ran out of bullets to fire, and the silence in the room was deafening. My ears were ringing from the sharp barks of the Glock firing the rounds and the man’s dead weight held me tight to the bed.
Feeling positively claustrophobic, I kicked with everything I had and finally managed to kick the body to the floor. My heart was pounding, and the all too familiar bile was burning a path up my throat again.
The front door slammed against the living room wall just as I managed to fall out of bed and puke on Jack’s side. The lights were on in the next instant, and I looked up over the bed to see Gabe in his underwear, nice underwear that hugged his body like a fucking glove, standing in the doorway of my room aiming his gun at the dead body.
I let a semi-hysterical laugh out that I was even thinking about Gabe’s underwear at a time like this.
As he saw my movement, his gun moved to me, but just as quickly moved away again. Then he took in the rest of the room. I did too.
Blood was splattered across the bedroom wall directly behind where I’d been facing earlier. It was also on the ceiling, the nightstand, the lampshade, the bed, and most assuredly, all over me.
“Jesus Christ,” he hissed and then lowered his weapon.
“Clear!” I heard called from the back bedroom.
Elliott.
“I’m okay.” Tai said, shakily, from the same direction.
“Get out of the fucking way!” Jack roared from behind Gabe.
Gabe moved quickly, and then Jack was on me, pulling me up with him.
“What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck?” He finished on a yell, big body shaking.
Kodiak crowded in at my side and offered me silent comfort; only it didn’t help this time, and I wasn’t sure what would.
Gentle fingers pried the gun from my hand, and I looked over to see Gabe beside me peeling the Glock from my tight grasp.
It took just about everything I had to let it go, but I did.
“Call Luke.” Sam said from the doorway.
I looked up and saw that Sam, too, was here. He was also wearing little to nothing; although, he was wearing a pair of gym shorts. They hung indecently low on his hips and showed off that perfect body that I always heard Cheyenne talk about.
Then there was Elliott, who was wearing a pair of boxer briefs that said ‘Take me to your beaver’ on them. My mind must have slipped because all I could do was laugh, and then I was laughing so hard I was shaking and coughing with tears in my eyes.
Everyone saw the direction of my gaze, but not one man was laughing. They all were highly pissed. So pissed that if they could produce steam, they’d be able to power a locomotive with it.
Not that that sobered me any. I wasn’t in the right state of mind. I’d just killed a man, and I was happy about it. Which couldn’t be normal, right?
***
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Blaine asked from beside me.
I looked over and smiled slightly at her. My eyes traveled to the sleeping baby she had snugged against her chest, and my mood lightened some.
“I’m okay. I’m just ready to go back to bed.”
“You probably won’t be able to go back there for a while. You’re going to have to bunk with one of us.” Cheyenne supplied from the kitchen.
We were at Cheyenne’s place. Not for a particular reason or anything. Only that she had the most kids, and it was easier to bring everyone over here, rather than her to take all three of hers somewhere else.
All the wives were here, as well as the children. They didn’t want us to be alone after the breach into the compound, and felt more comfortable with us all in one place where they could keep an eye on us.
Trying to change the direction of my thoughts, I turned back to Blaine and finally asked what I’d been thinking about a lot in the past four hours. “What the hell is going on with Elliott’s boxers?”
Blaine burst out laughing and jostled Justin until he woke. The first thing he did was grin, and the action was so much like his father that I just couldn’t hold the giggles in anymore.
“Th-they c-came in wearing nothing but underwear,” I said, swiping the tears that were leaking from my eyes. “Gabe came in wearing a b-black p-pair of boxer briefs and a big ass gun. Then Elliott had to one up him and come in wearing those g-green boxers that said ‘Take me to your beaver.’ His gun was bigger, too!”
Everyone was laughing their asses off when Blaine finally explained. “When we met, I was seventeen and he was twenty. He was serving his tour of duty in Afghanistan at the time. I asked him if he needed anything, and he said he needed some new underwear, and he didn’t like boxers anymore. Knowing the weather over there was brutal, I tried to find him ones that were durable, yet comfortable. I started looking on the internet and found a website where they sell all these funny underwear. The rest is history. As you can see, I created a monster.”
“How they can get any funnier, I don’t know.” Ember mused as she shifted her son to the couch and stood.
“Oh, the ones he likes the most say, “Release the Kraken.”
Coffee burned my nose as I snorted in amusement. Setting the cup down, I wiped my mouth with the sleeve of Sam’s sweatshirt that Cheyenne had let me borrow. Jack probably wouldn’t like it, but it’s not like I had many options in clothing choices when my room was a crime scene.
“How did you two meet?” I asked her, as I went to the kitchen and got a wet towel to clean my mess.
Blaine’s smile was wistful. “I met him my senior year of high school. I’d just gotten my driver’s license the week before, so I, of course, was out joy riding on the back roads. My truck was an old Chevy Silverado. That truck was my dream truck,” She paused for a sip of coffee and then continued. “Any who, I came around a curve and a ten point buck was standing in the curve of the road. Elliott was coming in the opposite direction, and there was nowhere for me to go but off the road. That or hit the deer. Either choice wouldn’t have ended well for me. I chose off the road.”
“So, Elliott came to your rescue?” I asked.
Justin started fishing down the inside of Blaine’s shirt and came out with her phone. Smiling in glee, he immediately shoved it in his mouth. Blaine pried it away gently and then laughed.
“You could say he saved me. My truck was wrapped around a tree, and I was stuck in the truck because my door wouldn’t budge. I was bound and determined to shoot the buck though. I’d at least have something to show for the mess I’d made of my truck. I also had a concussion, and I wasn’t thinking very straight. Elliott came to ask me if I was alright, but stopped when he saw me backing out of the truck window with a machete in my hand. From what he’s told me, I was going to kill the deer and mount his head on my truck.”
“Oh, that’s not all. The little devil actually made it about a four hundred meters or so before I decided she was serious. Then I had to go chase her down. That’s when I saw the big cut on the rear of her neck that was soaking the back of her t-shirt with blood. She asked me to stay with her as she passed out, and I haven’t left her since.” Elliott said from the doorway.
<
br /> We all turned and saw Elliott leaning against the door jam. He was, at least, better dressed this time in worn blue jeans and a black sweatshirt. Black hat with his glasses resting on the bill. “Glad to see you covered up a little bit.”
He smiled in my direction, and I admired how hot he was.
“Well, that’s probably the last time, so I hope you enjoyed it.”
Oh, I’d enjoyed it all right. It was also why I was still holding it together so well. I’d needed that release of laughter and joy at the time when I’d just taken a man’s life. I hadn’t wanted to think about what I’d just done, and he had offered a great distraction.
I smiled at him, but didn’t agree or disagree.
A baby cried from the direction of the back of the house, and I saw Cheyenne look at her watch, and then back down at the eggs she was making. “You want me to go get her?” I asked Cheyenne as I entered the kitchen.
“Would you please? I’m almost done. She’s going to need her diaper changed. She has the bladder of an adult male, and pisses like one too.”
Heading into the back hallway, I followed the sound of crying until I came to the last door on the right. Opening the door, I saw Phoebe jumping up and down in her crib. When she saw me, her hands immediately went in the air for me to pick her up. Obeying her silent order, I lifted her high in the air; that’s when I spotted the ornament hanging from the ceiling.
A dream catcher.
One that looked hauntingly familiar. One that had such beautiful detail that it took my breath away. One that Jack had made by hand.
He’d been doing it when I came over to his apartment our first night together. I’d watched him for hours as he worked on it and we talked, and laughed. He gave it to me when he was done; it was the same one he hung in his room above his bed right now.
I hadn’t seen him make any in the last month and a half, which is why it was surprising to me to see his work hanging in Phoebe’s room. “Well, you have a special gift watching over you, don’t you sweetheart?”
Phoebe’s chubby cheeks dimpled as she grinned. Laying her down on the changing table, I made quick work of changing her diaper and brought her out to the living room to join the party.
“Do you ladies need anything?” Elliott asked, giving his wife a quick peck on the lips.
‘No’s’ were said all around, and he nodded his head before turning to me. “Feel up to making a report?”
No. Not even a little bit. “Sure.”
“Good girl. Let’s go. They’re up in the garage office.” He said, holding out his crooked arm in a courteous gesture.
“Take me to your leader.” I said with a dry tone.
It wasn’t until I said it that it had a double meaning. He just laughed, as did everyone else, as we left Sam’s house. “This is just routine. They won’t be taking you in or anything. It’s very obvious that it was self-defense. Tell the truth. Luke’s the one taking the statement.”
Kodiak followed closely at my heels, having never left me for a minute since I’d shot someone for the first time in my life.
I nodded, but didn’t say anything. I also didn’t look at the million police cars that clogged the lot and surrounded our place.
“I think, after you’re done, you need to get Jack out of here for a little while. Take him to a hotel for the night.” Elliott said just before he opened the door.
I studied him for a few moments, noticing the lines that bracketed his face. “Thank you for taking care of him for me.” I whispered and then patted his face before walking through the door.
Jack was the first person I sought out when I entered the room. He wasn’t paying attention though. His face was buried in his hands. His elbows rested on his knees, holding his face up.
He looked dejected. Like a swift wind would blow him over, and I knew he needed me.
Walking to him, I pulled his hands from his face and sat in his lap before he could protest. As his arms wrapped around me, I closed my eyes and sunk into his embrace. His hands found their way up underneath the sweatshirt, and splayed across the bare skin of my stomach, pulling my closer.
I glanced around the room and noted that Luke, as well as his partner Downy, were there. There was also a new guy I hadn’t met yet, but he didn’t look very happy to be there, and I knew instantly that I didn’t like him.
His badge was clipped to his hip as Luke and Downy’s were, but instead of the jeans and KPD t-shirt that they were wearing, he had a suit on. It was also uglier than ass.
“Ms. Stoker,” the man started, but I interrupted him.
“Mrs. Stoker.” I forced out through gritted teeth.
Kodiak growled at the detective. He stepped back in response to the obvious threat that Kodiak represented. My restraining hand on his collar stopped the advancement and the growl, but it didn’t stop the death glare he was giving him.
“Mrs. Stoker, I’m Detective Pierson Howell. My associates and I will be asking a few questions about tonight’s events.” He stated, and then proceeded to question me like a criminal.
Jack’s arms got tighter and tighter on me until he was squeezing me so hard that I was panting for breath. Patting his arm with my hand, he got the hint and loosened his tight hold.
“Detective Howell, I’ve already answered all of your questions. Now, it’s been a long six hours, and I’m ready for a nap. If you have no new further questions, I’d like to ask you to leave.” I said, interrupting the question he was in the process of asking me for the third time.
Luke hid a smile behind his raised fist, and Downy turned away to study the wall of pictures that collected on the back wall anytime someone got some developed.
They wall was actually pretty darn cool. A smorgasbord of everyone’s family. Cute things the kids got into. Horrid things they got into, too. Like Piper and Pru covered in poop standing in their cribs with happy, accomplished smiles on their faces.
The newest one was of Jack and me kissing, recreating the one on his bike that we’d originally created seven years ago. That one was my favorite.
Detective Howell cleared his throat bringing my attention back to him. “Don’t leave town.” He said as he stomped out of the office and to his car.
Kodiak followed him until the door closed between them, stopping his forward progression. It didn’t stop the mean look he gave the interloper, nonetheless.
“Alright, now that the douchebag is gone, how about you tell me how you know this guy.” Luke said breaking the silence.
I turned to him and studied his determined expression. Luke was a good, fair cop. He would do his job, but watch out for the people that needed protecting in the process.
Clutching Jack’s hands in mine, I explained. “I had a dream tonight about being abducted,” I stopped when Jack’s body tensed behind mine. “The man that I shot was the brother of the man who abducted me seven years ago. Benjamin Clayton. They were talking about selling me and already having a buyer.”
Jack’s head fell to my shoulder, and the desperation in his touch was back. “Fuck.” He rasped.
“I pissed him off though. Woke up just after he told me they could find someone to replace me.”
My eyes flicked from one man to the other, and a common theme was on each one of their faces.
Rage.
Chapter 14
Roses are dead, violets are fine. This day sucks balls. I love this wine.
-T-shirt
Jack
“What have you come up with?” Sam asked.
I turned and rubbed my face with wariness. “Government officials, police officers, and reporters. They’re up to their fucking eyebrows, but whoever’s working for them on their end is good, and I haven’t been able to get in yet. Winter would probably get in, but I don’t want her to be a part of this if she absolutely doesn’t have to.”
Sam nodded and turned to James. “How did they get in?”
“Cut the power that went to the fence. Bolt cutters from there. Then skirted the m
otion sensors. Major fuck ups on our part.” James sighed heavily.
My gut churned when I thought about how close I’d come to losing her, again. If I hadn’t taught her how to shoot, we’d be having a funeral now, instead of this discussion.
“Let’s get it fixed. Spend what you need to. There’s no limit here.” Sam stated.
I agreed wholeheartedly. What happened last night could have happened to anyone here. We needed to make sure everyone was protected.
The front door opened, and the bells that Ember hung on them jingled. All three of us looked towards the door and watched as Cheyenne came in and shut the door behind her. She was dressed in tight jeans and a black halter-top. Boots with pointy toes covered her feet, and her hair cascaded in long blonde curls down her back. She looked great. I looked over to Sam, because he’d said he wasn’t planning to go anywhere until we got all this figured out.
Sam’s eyes were glued to his wife. “What’s up, Cheyenne?” He asked her.
“We’re going out. Winter needs a distraction, we’re going to The Back Porch for dinner, and they have a live band coming in at eight.” She declared.
“Ahhh, sis, that’s probably not such a good idea. We men have big boy things to do. Why don’t you just go back to the house and bake some cookies. I’m sure that’ll cheer her up.” James said with a gleam to his eyes.
She picked up the nearest thing, which happened to be a box of tissues, and launched it at his head. The chair he was leaning back in tipped, and he crashed to the floor. “You’re such a girl. What kind of throw was that?” He wheezed.
This time she threw a book. It bounced off the side of his knee and skidded to a stop at Sam’s feet. “Jesus, where do you think Pru and Piper learn this shit?”
Cheyenne looked sheepish, but James was just amused. “Dude, the only thing they fight over right now are baby dolls. Just wait until your sister tries to steal your condoms.”
Last Day of My Life Page 17