“You do have somewhere to go. See, I moved all the stuff out of the storage room. It's your room now and bigger than I'd hoped. Looks nicer than I figured it would, too. You've even got a real bed, not a couch.” Fixing the room up for James had been what she'd spent most of her time doing lately, and it had kept her feeling pretty even. “And don't give me whatever bullshit you're about to say to refuse. You said it yourself, everything has gone to hell. Just say thank you and call it a day. You're family. We stick together.”
“You didn't have to do all that.” James sighed, ran his hands over his head. “And thank you, but I still hate being stuck in here.”
“I thought that you might be getting some cabin fever.” Amelia dug in her bag, past her gun and pulled out a tablet. “Danny's had this for months. It was still in the box. I loaded it with some movies and it's got video streaming.” She handed it over with a smile.
“I love you.”
Amelia laughed. “I love you too.”
“Are you staying for a while? Feel like watching a movie?”
Amelia had nowhere else to be. Danny was on a Davenport job, and all that she'd do at home would be watch television or take silly quizzes online to combat the boredom until it was time to make dinner. “Only if I get to pick what we watch.”
James let out a long sigh. “Fine.” He handed the tablet back to her. “Don't pick some chick shit.” He sat up slightly on the bed, winced. “Hand me my pills and water, would you?” He took a pill, swallowed it with a drink from the water bottle. “Any word on Allison?”
“No. Nothing,” Amelia replied. The moment that James woke up, she'd told him that Allison was the one who had taken Fiona and Taylor. She told him to fight because he wanted to be around to see her get what was coming to her. “They'll find her.”
“You think that it's going to make a difference when she's dead? Do you think it'll be easier?”
“No. I think if we want it to be easier, we're going to have to be the ones to make it easier. We're the ones who have to start letting go. Moving on. Planning for a life that doesn't include them.” Amelia continued to scroll through the titles on the tablet, unable to look at him because she didn't want to see that he couldn't. She didn't want to lose him.
“Yeah, I might not be so bright, but I figured that out. I think knowing that she's dead is going to help. The bitch will never hurt anyone again.” James spoke the words with fire in his eyes. “It has to help.”
“That's true, she won't.” But Missy would. Amelia couldn't stop thinking about the possible damage the woman could cause. That poor child. With Missy and Royal as parents, they were coming into the world with two strikes against them. Any respect that she'd once had for Royal was gone. He steered clear of her, and she returned the favor.
If what Danny had told her so far was true, Royal wouldn't be President for much longer. Nightshade had all but lost faith in his ability to lead. Everything was in a state of flux at the worst possible time, with the Miller threat looming over their heads. Amelia had never laid eyes on Mark Miller, but she feared him just the same.
Amelia didn't realize how close she was to dozing off until there was a shrill scream from downstairs. When she'd come in, there had only been a couple of pass-around women and Clark, a sweet but slow hang-around who kept an eye on the place. She nearly fell getting off the bed. “Stay here.” She snarled the words at James when he tried to get up.
“You're not going down there alone.”
“You're right about that.” Amelia took her gun out of her purse and switched the safety off. “I can't deal with whatever is going on down there if I'm worried that you're going to keel over on me. So stay. Please. It's probably just two pass-arounds fighting over Buster again.” Amelia highly doubted that was the case, but still one could hope. He didn't look happy, but he stayed. Amelia eased out of the room. In the hall she could hear voices but not make out exactly what they were saying. On the stairs she was able make out that they were female; one was Jillian and the other was familiar. She realized it was Allison when she got all the way down the stairs.
There were two pass-arounds huddled by the bar, Jillian in the middle of the floor and Allison holding a gun. All Amelia could see was the back of her head. For a moment she considered just raising her gun and taking the shot. She could kill Allison, but she wasn't sure that she'd miss Jillian, who was directly across from her.
“Put the gun down. We don't need to do this. We don't need any violence. Whatever is going on, we can find a solution.” Jillian spoke in a clear, calm voice. She moved ever so slightly, which made Allison take a step closer. Amelia realized that she'd drawn her attention on purpose. She'd seen her. She was counting on her.
“Shut the fuck up. They're going to kill me. Kill me because of what the fucking bitch did. She set me up! Had me help her do her dirty work and hung me out to dry. Of course she'd be safe. Bet she thought that I wouldn't figure it out either.” Allison was obviously well aware that her days of breathing were coming to an end. “Well, I did figure it out. So fuck her. Fuck you all. I'll kill each and every one of you because at least then, I'll have done something worth dying over.”
“If you want to make an impact, why don't you go after her? Why not kill the person you say set you up? Why come after us?” Jillian questioned.
Amelia took several cautious steps forward, careful not to make a sound. Allison didn't seem to realize that she was there. She was close enough to reach out and touch her, or put a bullet into her head up close and personal, when one of the pass-arounds finally spotted her. “Help. Help us. We don't want to die!”
It all went to hell from there. Allison whirled around, saw Amelia and her eyes widened. Her hands were shaking so badly that her shot went completely wide. The front door was the only casualty. Amelia swung with her gun, catching Allison on the temple and sending her to the ground.
“You bitch!” Allison glared up at her but didn't try to get up. Blood gushed from a cut to her forehead. “She's the one who killed your sister and her kid, but you're pointing a gun at me. How the hell do you look at yourself in the mirror? How?”
“How do you? You were there when she killed them. You could have stopped her. You didn't. You think that you should live when you just let it happen?” Amelia was doing all she could not to scream because she'd suddenly remembered that they weren't alone in the bar. James was right upstairs. Allison was screaming and sound carried. “Jillian, go upstairs and check on James.”
“No need to go upstairs,” Jillian replied. “He's coming down to us, even though he should still be in bed.
Amelia turned her head. It only took one look at James to know that he'd heard everything that had just transpired. Her stomach clenched tightly. “James...”
“Shut up, Amelia. Just shut the fuck up.” His voice shook. “You lied to me.”
“James...”
“You fucking lied to me!” The words seemed to echo through the building. “She's right about one thing. I don't know how you look at yourself in the mirror.”
“Okay. Why don't we deal with one thing at a time?” Jillian suggested. “What about her?”
James moved quicker than Amelia thought he'd be able to. “Give me the gun.” He held out his hand, and she didn't hesitate. Amelia gave it to him, sure that even as angry as he was he wouldn't use it on her. And he didn't. With one shot Allison died, quicker and cleaner than she deserved.
The body slumped to the ground, and for a moment they were all silent. There was more blood than Amelia had thought there would be. Her already on edge stomach flipped and flopped. She wouldn't be sick, it would just be more that they'd have to clean up later. A million thoughts raced through her head. She remembered James, turned her head, but he shook his.
“Don't.” James handed the gun back to her. “Not a word, Amelia. I think I might regret hurting you. Maybe. I'm not sure because you're not the person that I thought I knew. None of you are. She's not enough justice for them. Not
in the least.”
“If you go after Missy, Royal will kill you, James. We talked about this.”
“Shut the fuck up,” James roared. “What part of not a word do you not understand? I never want you to speak to me, ever again. Fuck you, Amelia. Fuck you and fuck Nightshade.”
<#<#<#
“Why didn't you call me before you went down the stairs, Amelia?” Danny was pissed. She'd expected as much. She'd called him right after James walked out, right before she and Jillian set about moving Allison's body and trying to clean up with the help of the two pass-arounds.
“Everything happened really quickly. Like in the blink of an eye.” Amelia felt her head begin to throb, she was already sick to her stomach from the scent of bleach. “Can you yell at me outside? I need some air or I'm going to puke all over your boots.” She didn't wait for him to answer, she headed for the back door.
Train and Ace had already dealt with Allison's body. She'd end up somewhere she'd never be found, and Amelia was fine with that. She wasn't fine with James being in the wind and being so very angry at her. “This is bad. This is really really bad.” Danny began to pace the second the door shut behind him.
Amelia couldn't disagree with him. It was bad. If James went after Missy, and they all knew that he was going to, Royal would kill him. The worst part was that James knew it, too. He just didn't care. “I didn't realize he was there.”
“No one is blaming you. Well, no one but Royal is blaming you. There's nothing you could have done.”
“I could have shot the bitch when she started running her mouth.” Amelia had given it some thought. The second she realized what Allison was saying, she should have ended it. Ended it before James knew the truth and that she had been a part of the deception to keep him in the dark. Hell, she'd been a driving force.
“Why didn't you?” He asked.
Amelia shrugged. “I don't know. I just didn't.” She rubbed her hands over her arms. She was seriously ready for winter to be over, for there to be warmth instead of the numbing cold. “I didn't hesitate to give James the gun, though. He didn't hesitate to shoot her. It was quick, you saw that. And then he grabbed his stuff and left.” She deliberately left out how James had pushed her aside when she'd tried to block his way to the door. He had enough to worry about without Danny wanting to break his neck.
“She deserved to die.” He spoke bluntly, and somehow it made Amelia relax.
“How was your thing?”
“Tense,” he replied. “And long.”
“Do you want to go upstairs or home?” Amelia hoped that he'd say home. She didn't want to stay at the bar. She wanted to be surrounded by her things, by their things. Just to get into bed with Danny, feel him close to her so that she could forget the world.
“You want to go home, don't you?” He smiled. “Grab your shit.”
The door opened before they could go back in, and Royal stepped out. “I need a word with Amelia.”
“Say what you've got to say, Royal.” Danny turned to face his president. There was such a divide between them, Amelia could feel it. It would never heal, no matter how much time had passed.
“I'd like to speak to her in private,” Royal told him. “I'm not going to hurt her.”
“I don't believe that, so he stays.” Amelia spoke before Danny could. “And I don't know what you could possibly have to say to me. I trusted you, Royal, from the day that I met you I trusted you. I still trusted you even when I found out you'd been fucking my sister behind my back. She trusted you. She loved you. Fiona spent all those years in second place, but she loved you so much it was enough for her. Where'd that get her?”
“Amelia...”
“I'm not finished.” She cut him off. Her hands were starting to tremble, so she closed them into fists. “Your wife killed her. Your wife killed your daughter. Your flesh and blood! Stabbed her to death while she was asleep on her princess sheets. Dumped them like trash! Left them to rot so that when I saw them... I could barely recognize them. And you let her get away with it. Did you ever even love them at all?”
“Of course I did.” Royal's voice cracked, and it was the most emotion that he'd shown. “You have no idea what it's like to know that my wife.... that she took them from me. From us. But what would you have me do? She's pregnant, Amelia.”
“Have you got proof of that? She's lied about everything else. Why not that?” Amelia wanted to lunge at Royal, claw his eyes out of his head. Do something that would give him a taste of the pain that she felt. It was the pain that he should have felt.
“She wouldn't.” Royal shook his head. “Not about a child. James isn't going to care about the child, is he?”
“No,” Amelia replied. James wasn't going to care any more about the child than Missy had cared about Taylor. “In case you haven't realized, he was in love with Fiona. And he loved Taylor. And he's still mourning them, unlike you, who never really did. Scheduling a meet the day of their memorial? That's some cold shit. I don't care what you wanted to talk about. I'm done with you. I'm ready to go, Danny. Take me home.”
<#<#<#
The ride back to the house had been quiet. It was cold, the roads were icy, so Danny drove with extra caution and attention. Amelia hadn't known what to say to break the silence. It seemed that everything just kept falling down no matter what they did. His day hadn't been good; it was written all over him from the way he was sitting to the dark circles underneath his eyes. He wasn't sleeping right or eating right, though he was sure to take the time to make sure she did.
When they got to the house, Danny took Chopper out in the backyard. Amelia turned the heat up and walked around the house making sure all the windows were locked and the shades were closed. The routine of it settled her some.
Amelia knew that Danny had to be hungry, so when he was done with the dog and headed for the shower, she headed for the kitchen. They really needed a trip to the grocery store, but they'd both been distracted. Still, she was able to make a grilled cheese and found a can of tomato soup. It wasn't five star cuisine, but she knew that Danny had a weakness for melted cheese.
When she was done, the shower was still running. The bathroom was nothing but steam when she stepped inside. “Trying to boil yourself?”
“I'm almost done. I'll be out in a minute.”
It gave Amelia pause that he didn't invite her to join him. Had she ever walked into the bathroom and not received an invitation? “I made you something to eat.”
“Thanks, but I'm not hungry.”
“You want some company?" Even as she spoke she pulled her shirt over her head and reached behind her back to unhook her bra.
“I'm just going to finish washing up, I'll be out in a minute.”
Amelia let her bra fall to the floor and pushed the door shut as if she'd actually left. She unbuttoned her jeans and slid her underwear down with them. She'd already taken off her boots and socks once they'd gotten in the house. All she had to do was step forward, pull back the curtain and step inside. But she hesitated. What if he still told her to leave?
She shook off the voices that started to whisper every insecurity that she'd ever had and closed the distance. She pulled the shower curtain back. Danny looked surprised as she stepped inside. The water was hot, almost uncomfortably so. He opened his mouth to speak but she shook her head, reached out and closed her hand around him.
He went hard immediately, as she'd known he would. Even with his mind distracted, she knew what he liked. Distracting him from everything had been her original goal, but now she realized that she'd needed this closeness to him more than anything. To shut everything out and just be with him. When he moaned, Amelia couldn't hold back her smile.
Her hand continued to stroke him as she lowered herself down onto her knees and took him into her mouth. Danny moaned. His hands moved to cup her head. Amelia let him control the pace and depth, and soon his hips thrust against her harder and faster. “Fuck. Fuck.” His grip tightened on her hair. Amelia knew he was c
lose when she could feel his muscles straining with every thrust. He was no longer forming words, just grunts.
He came with a roar, her head held tightly in his hands. Amelia felt his body relax, fully relax. He released her hair and she rose to her feet. With a smile she stretched up, kissed him on the lips. “Finish your shower. I'm going to go warm up your soup.” As quickly as she'd gotten in the shower, she got out. Instead of putting her clothes back on, she tossed them into the hamper and wrapped herself in a towel.
“Hey.” Danny was watching her. “Keep just the towel on.”
“I might scald myself with hot soup if I don't put clothes on,” Amelia pointed out. She'd have gladly suffered a little burn just because she was so grateful that there was such an ease in Danny. He was smiling, relaxed, and she could only hope to keep him that way for the rest of the night.
“You'll just have to be careful, then, won't you?” He pulled the curtain back in place. “I'll be out in two minutes, and you'd better not have any clothes on.”
<#<#<#
Amelia opened her eyes to the sound of a ringing phone. It took her a minute to realize that it was Danny's burner phone. If it was ringing, it was club business. She closed her eyes as she heard Danny answer because she knew that it meant he was going to have to leave. “Alright, give me ten. Fuck.”
“What's wrong?”
“Shorter answer might come from you asking me what's right.” He leaned over and kissed her before getting up from the bed. “Do me a favor. Stay in the house today. Keep the doors locked. The blinds closed.”
“Should I barricade myself in the bedroom and wait for you naked?”
“Only if you've got a gun within easy reach. That was Royal. Mark Miller called a meeting. Joseph Miller is awake. Apparently his injuries weren't as serious as originally thought.” Danny frowned as he began to dress. “I've got the feeling that this is going to be a bad day for Nightshade. I need to you to do what I ask. I can't worry about you today.”
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