by Jess Bryant
That would be the smart move.
Only, as the phone started to ring, he knew those wouldn’t be the words that came out of his mouth. Whoever Lincoln and the boys were going after, he wanted, needed, to be part of it. It wasn’t logical and it definitely wasn’t healthy but there was something inside of him, something dark, that had his fists balling before the ringing ever ended.
“There you are.” Lincoln picked up in lieu of a greeting, “I was starting to worry.”
“Sorry Mom. I didn’t have my phone on me.” He joked and earned a snort of laughter, “What’s up?”
“Somethings going on. That little prick we visited with the other day is at the bar. He’s been running his mouth. Danny called and told Abel it sounded like they were planning another hit.”
“Danny?” He balked at the mention of their youngest cousin, “What the hell was Danny doing at The Rig in the first place? He’s what? Seventeen?”
“Fuck, C. Don’t act like we weren’t all hangin’ out down there when we were that age.”
“But it’s Danny.”
“Yeah, don’t even get Abel started.” Lincoln chuckled, “Anyway, we’re headed down there now to see what’s up. Where you at?”
“The shop.”
“Good. Stay there.”
Colt frowned, “I thought you’d want me with you tonight.”
“Nah. Keep an eye on your place. We’ve worked our asses off putting it back together. I’m sending Remy over there to sit on it tonight. I called him when I couldn’t reach you. Could be nothin’ but I’d rather have somebody there to watch the shop and I figure you’re going home to your sexy little blonde.”
He rubbed his forehead and ignored the fact that Lincoln had called Skylar sexy. If he thought about that right now, his head might explode. Instead he focused on the important part of what Lincoln was saying.
“You think they’ll come back here tonight?”
“Doubtful. They gotta know Deputy Dickhead is doing drive bys on the hour but you can never be too careful.
“Yeah, I guess.” He felt his shoulders tense, “You don’t think they’d go anywhere else, try to hit us where it hurts, do you?”
“I don’t think they’re stupid enough to touch your girl if that’s what you’re gettin’ at. I told you already, I think her salon was an accident but I don’t expect you to leave her unprotected. I’m sending Remy to cover the shop. Go home. We’ll call you once we know more.”
He breathed a sigh of relief at the permission to go home and be with Skylar. He hadn’t expected Lincoln to understand, but he did. In fact, his cousin had seemed to get how much Colt needed to keep her safe all along. It made him wonder if Lincoln had ever had someone he loved like that. He couldn’t remember there ever being any one particular girl in Lincoln’s life but his cousin more secretive than the CIA so who knew.
Colt mentioned his thanks and reminded them to call him when they found anything before hanging up. When he dropped his phone, he groaned at the streak of paint staining it. He glanced at his hands and cursed. Damn it, his phone was a piece of shit but it was all he had. He headed to the back to wash up.
Once he did that he’d see about cleaning off the phone and then he’d call and check on Skylar. Maybe he’d grab some food to take home and they could have a late dinner together. That was something couples did, right?
He was new to the whole relationship thing. Sex. One night stands. Those were his forte. This, building something important, was something he was going to have to work at one day at a time.
He found some acetone under the sink and scrubbed his hands. For an artist, he’d made a damn mess with the paint. He almost chuckled at the thought, remembering how Skylar liked to make fun of his penmanship for that very reason. She’d no doubt laugh at this too when he told her about it.
After a few minutes of scrubbing he shut the water off and his ears twitched in the echoing silence. Only it wasn’t silent. He could hear the distinct sound of footsteps on the concrete floor. He swiped a towel over his wet hands as he stepped back out into the main room. He was expecting to see his brother since Lincoln had said Remy was on his way but he stopped in his tracks at the sight of multiple figures he didn’t recognize crowding the front lobby.
“Hey guys. We’re closed.”
His gaze winged around the room, taking stock. There were three of them. It wasn’t uncommon for his customers to wander in as packs. Most people wanted a buddy there with them when they permanently altered their body. But something about these guys made the hair on the back of his neck stand up and he didn’t like that he was outnumbered.
His phone was still on the counter where he’d left it across the room. Even if he could get to it, he wasn’t sure what good it would do. If these guys were here to cause trouble, like he thought they were, then he wouldn’t have time to dial let alone wait for someone to get here to help him.
“Yeah, we noticed.” The guy near the doorway sneered.
Colt clenched his fists, “Something I can help you with?”
“Oh, I think so.” The guy spoke again, “You’re gonna give your cousins a little message for us. Tell ‘em that if we lose money, they lose money. And when our guys turn up broken, their guys end up broken too.”
The man standing behind the newly rebuilt counter stepped around it, showing his hands for the first time and Colt’s muscles tensed. He was holding a baseball bat. This was an ambush. Something in his gut had told him that from the second he walked out here but that didn’t change things.
He was alone. He was outnumbered. And from the sound of it, they intended to damage a lot more than just the furniture this time.
Three on one. He’d had worse odds. But then the only guy that had spoken jerked his gaze up over Colt’s shoulder.
“You got him, Bug?”
“Yeah.”
There was a fourth! His brain screamed at him for not paying attention. Colt jerked sideways and just barely avoided the fist being leveled at his head. Shit! They’d gotten behind him and he hadn’t even noticed. Whirling around was a bad idea, it put the other three at his back, but instinct was instinct and it gave him a good look at the one they’d called Bug.
Confusion tumbled through his head as he backed away, arms coming up in defense. The others were dressed in jeans and t-shirts. No attempts to hide their identities had been made. Not that it mattered because Colt didn’t recognize them. But this guy was wearing a ski-mask which meant he’d worried about being recognized.
Strangely familiar, rage filled eyes stared back at him but he couldn’t place what made them familiar. They were the last thing he saw before a sharp, blinding pain tore through his head. Somebody had hit him in the back of the head and despite his body trying to right itself, his legs gave and the ground crashed upwards at him.
Blackness blurred his vision but he tried to think before unconsciousness swallowed him. Why were those eyes familiar? Who was the man in the mask they called Bug? And why couldn’t he get his body to work? At the very least he needed to open his mouth to remind them that dead men couldn’t deliver messages.
Colt kicked out when one of the guys moved around him. He connected with a groin and heard a muttered curse. Before he could push up to his elbow and get to his feet to fight back, another foot connected with his ribs. The pain was excruciating but it kept him awake at least.
He was going to lose this fight. He already had. He hadn’t lost a fight since Decker used to pick on him when he was a kid but the bastard hadn’t played fair and neither had these guys. They’d outnumbered him. Circled him and then put him down with a baseball bat.
His thoughts jumbled as the blackness rose up again. His last thought was that at least Skylar was safe. She was at home, warm and probably in bed waiting for him.
She’d waited for him a long time. She’d told him that the other night. But he hadn’t told her he loved her. She was still waiting for that and if they killed him she would never know. That would
end up being his biggest regret.
Chapter Fifteen
Skylar was starting to get worried. Maybe she was being ridiculous. Maybe she was being overprotective. But she hadn’t heard from Colt in hours and a sick feeling had taken root in the pit of her stomach.
He was a grown man. It was Saturday night. If his shop was open he’d be working until at least midnight, probably later. It was barely ten o’clock now but he’d stopped responding to her playful, teasing text messages over an hour ago and she couldn’t seem to shake the bad feeling that was taking her over.
As the clock ticked on and on, she tried to tell herself there was nothing to worry about. She was being paranoid. Just because he’d stopped responding to her messages didn’t mean something bad had happened. It just meant that he was busy or more likely that he was sick of her teasing texts and finishing up whatever he was doing before he came to punish her for being such a brat.
She chewed on her lips and darted another glance at the phone she’d purposefully put out of reach on the coffee table. The damn thing was weirdly silent tonight and it was messing with her head. Jemma and Cash were on the road. Billie was at work. She wasn’t so sure Rachel would want to hear from her since their last conversation had mostly consisted of her warning the girl away from Remy Bomar. If any of them were around to talk to she wouldn’t even be thinking about how long it had been since Colt called her, probably.
Skylar had decided to distract herself by painting her toenails. She’d removed the old pink polish. Then she’d done a wrap. She was taking her time, trying to drag it out and was halfway through the second coat when Katy Perry started belting out the chorus of Hot N Cold. She jumped in surprise and the new ruby red color streaked across the bridge of her foot.
“Shit.” She muttered as she quickly tried to recap the bottle and reach for the phone all at the same time.
Katy was just getting to the line about being up and then down when Skylar managed to grab it without getting the polish on the couch. It was a fitting ringtone. She’d programed it in for Colt the same day he’d given her his number. Mr. Mercurial was hot, hot, hot now though so maybe she should change it.
She grinned as she raised the phone to her ear, “Guess what I’m not wearing.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone and the silence was deafening. Her breath caught in her chest. The worry that she’d been feeling sprouted into ice cold dread and her heart jumped up into her throat as all of her worst fears were confirmed in the span of that long second of silence.
“Uh, Skylar… It’s Remy.”
She shuddered out a breath, “Oh, God. What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Colt was attacked.”
Her entire world shifted off its axis. Colt attacked. Remy calling her from his phone. She had to fight the bile that rose in her throat.
“Is he…?”
“In and out of consciousness. I’m trying to keep him awake. We’re on our way to his place. Can you meet me there?”
“What?” She heard the shriek in her voice but didn’t pause, “Why aren’t you going to the hospital? He needs to see a doctor!”
“Skylar, we can’t do that.”
“Bullshit. If it’s about the money, I’ll…”
“You know it’s not about the money. Doctors ask questions. Questions we can’t answer. We’ll get him help but I’m bringing him home. I called to prepare you. It’s bad, Sky.”
“Remy?” She bit her lip to stifle a cry, “Can I… Can I talk to him?”
“You’re on speaker.” Remy answered and then, in a softer voice than she’d ever have imagined he could use, he sighed, “Hey, little brother? Tell Skylar you’re gonna be ok. You’re scaring your girl.”
Tears pricked at her eyelids and she tried desperately to blink them back, “Colt?”
“Hey angel.” His voice was low, quiet and agonized, but she could practically see him trying to put a fake smile on his face for her, “You ok?”
“I’m fine. You’re the one that…”
“Good. I’m glad. Stay inside ‘til we get there.”
She bit her lip again, “Bossy ass.”
“You…” There was a gasp of clear anguish and then a round of labored, panting breathing, “Like me bossy.”
Her bottom lip was trembling so she nodded before she realized he couldn’t see her, “Yeah. I do.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone again and she fought the urge to scream. She wanted to ask a hundred questions. She needed to know what was going on but she knew now wasn’t the time. She fought the urge to demand answers and asked the only thing she could.
“What can I do? What do you need baby?”
“You. Just you.”
A whimper she couldn’t contain escaped her. For so long she’d wanted to hear Colt tell her things like that. She’d wanted him to need her, but not like this. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. Not with pain and violence.
He said something else, something she couldn’t make out because it was too jumbled. She wiped at her damp cheeks and asked what he’d said but he didn’t answer. There was a commotion and she registered that Remy had taken the phone off speaker when she heard him speak again.
“Okay loverboy. That’s enough for now.” Remy cleared his throat and then spoke to her again, “Skylar, you there?”
“Yeah.” She sniffled.
“Get whatever first aid supplies you have. Gather up any old towels you won’t mind burning too. We’re gonna need them for the blood. I’ll be there in a couple of minutes. Do you have a key to his place?”
Blood? She nearly threw up at the thought. Colt’s blood.
“Skylar?” Remy’s voice jolted her out of those dark thoughts.
“No.” She tried to focus, “No, I don’t have a key.”
“Okay. Well, just get the stuff together then. I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”
The frustration in Remy’s voice was clear to her to but she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “What about a doctor? A nurse? Somebody that can look at his injuries? You said he’s in and out of consciousness. What if he has a concussion or a brain bleed or…”
“Damn it Skylar. I’m doin’ the best I can.” Remy cursed and then lowered his voice again, “I called Link. He’s getting Nessa. They’re gonna meet us there. Other than that… I don’t know. We’ll have to see what she says.”
Skylar fought another wave of tears. She didn’t know Remy well enough to read his tone of voice but even she could hear the desperation when he trailed off with a heavy sigh. Colt was his brother. He was trying to take care of him. She had to trust that he wouldn’t do anything that would hurt his little brother worse than he already was.
“Okay.” She said simply, “I’ll get the stuff and see you soon. Where are you?”
“Turing onto Oak.”
“See you in a minute.” She hung up without waiting for any further details.
He was close and there was no doubt whatsoever that he was driving like a maniac to get Colt home. Remy was a Bomar after all. Their specialty was boosting cars which from what she knew of their illegal business made most of them damn good getaway drivers.
A sick thought tugged at the back of her mind, wondering if Remy was being chased, but she pushed it aside. No. He would have known if that was the case. He wouldn’t bring more trouble to their door if he could help it. She had to believe that.
With no regard for her wet toenails, Skylar bustled around the apartment. She dragged a handful of towels from the hall closet and then searched the medicine cabinet for anything that would be useful. She ended up emptying a shower caddy and tossing in the bottles of alcohol and peroxide that she found then she turned her attention to the pill bottles that lined two small shelves.
Since she’d had her heart surgery, she’d been prescribed just about anything and everything over the years. She had antibiotics that she’d never finished. She had several different kinds of pain pills
. She even had an epinephrine shot because she was allergic to bees and could never be too careful. She threw all of it into the basket and headed for the door.
Almost the same time she walked out onto her porch she heard the squeal of tires as a slick, black Challenger came barreling into the parking lot. She didn’t recognize the car but that didn’t surprise her. Cash and Colt were the clean Bomars so they drove shitty pickups because that’s all they could afford. The other Bomars made their money on illegal cars and drove some of the fastest vehicles in town. Somehow, Remy already having a brand new muscle car didn’t surprise her in the least.
As soon as he slammed the brakes on, she started for the car. Remy was up and out of the driver’s side less than a second later and her steps faltered as she got a good look at him. Every muscle in her body failed her and she felt her knees go soft when she saw it.
Blood. It was everywhere. On Remy’s hands. On his clothes. And her brain knew that it wasn’t his blood. It was Colt’s.
“Oh God…”
“Skylar.” Remy paused and then groaned as he rushed forwards and caught her by the shoulders, “Skylar! Pull yourself together. I need your help. Colt needs your help.”
She nodded, “I’m ok. Promise. I just…”
“I know. This is all new to you. I’m sorry to drag you into this but…” He trailed off and she shook her head.
There was no time for apologies.
“I’m here. Tell me what you need.”
“Take these keys. Unlock the door. Put as many towels as you can find down on his bed. I’ll carry him in.”
Skylar nodded because she knew better than to argue right now. Remy was right. She had to stay strong. Colt needed her. She could do this. She would do this. She was strong, damn it.
Her hands shook as she unlocked and then pushed the door open. She grabbed the supplies she’d collected and rushed toward Colt’s room. She didn’t look back. Not yet. If she looked back and saw him for herself, she wasn’t sure she would be able to function. Just the sight of all of that blood threatened to break her heart and Colt…