That lunatic is me.
The man on the ground leans back once he has Braelyn secured. He stares at me with mocking amusement. His lips turn up into a smirk. He doesn’t look a bit worried that Burke will come to my rescue. He doesn’t say a word or try to get me to stop. He just watches me, waiting for me to figure out some punch line I didn’t hear the joke to.
Then, I don’t need to understand anything because Burke is bursting through the door. I barrel into him and use the force to turn him so that he is between the man and me. I feel like a chickenshit, hiding behind him, but I’ll beat myself up for it later. He tries to calm me with soft, comforting words. His behavior only works to further the panic inside me. My air intake gets difficult. I’m breathing in and out at a rate faster than ever, but oxygen isn’t getting to my lungs. A warm sensation takes over my body, which causes me to break out in a sweat. It feels like weights are being dropped on my chest. My vision blurs. All of this only makes it worse. I can’t calm down while my body is betraying me when I need it to function.
Through a haze, Burke’s voice reaches me. “Paisley, you’re okay. I’m here. You’re having a panic attack. I need you to try to control your breathing. Breathe slow, and take deep breaths. I have you. You’re safe. Come on, Paisley. Listen to my voice, and work on steadying your breathing.”
In and out. In and out. Over and over again. Deep breaths. Slow.
Burke holds my shoulders while I concentrate on his eyes and work to control my breathing. Slowly, I bring myself down from the raging panic filling up inside me. In all the years and with all the shit I’ve seen, I’ve never had a panic attack. I never want to have one again. It is way worse than ever being trapped in one of my dreams. Everything around me was real and happening, but I couldn’t control anything. My anxiety completely paralyzed me until Burke helped calm me down. My vision goes back to normal. The sweat still lingers on my skin, but the rising heat within my skin dulls. I’m able to bring my breathing back to normal. I take my eyes off Burke for the first time and look to the guy. He’s not smirking anymore, but he still looks entirely too interested in me. He’s still on the floor with his legs resting against Braelyn’s backside. She must’ve given up her fight because she is lying motionless, facedown on the floor.
My brain is still a little foggy, but something clicks. Burke has never shown any concern about the man in the room. The man is making no effort toward restraining me or Burke.
“Burke, do you know this guy?”
“Yes.”
He gives me a sheepish smile, and I give him a look that demands he explain.
“This is Callen. He works for me. He’s your bodyguard. He’s been keeping an eye on you since you left me at the hospital.”
“I work for myself. I’m currently doing a job for you,” Callen, my bodyguard, clarifies.
His words fall on deaf ears. Burke and I don’t even glance back at his correction.
“You should’ve told me.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I was afraid to tell you when you were pushing me away. You’ve only been back at the house for two days, and I didn’t want to piss you off. We were enjoying our night last night. This morning, you had news of your own. I should’ve told you, but it never seemed like the right time. Callen isn’t the only extra security. We all have extra security. There are four men patrolling the house at all times. Someone is specifically assigned to Teagan even though she hasn’t left the house. There is even men assigned to both Kai and me. There’s also security at the shop and warehouse.”
“You still could have told me, before I found out like this.”
“I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, but I’m not sorry for doing it. He’s constantly been two steps ahead of us. Braelyn knew all sorts of shit about our day-to-day and even admitted there were people constantly trailing us from their side. These guys are not only here for added protection but also to try to scope out who has been watching us. We needed help, so I made extra help happen.”
Makes sense. I guess it was the smart thing to do. I also feel better since I’m not the only one with a scary bodyguard. Mine looks like he eats raw eggs for breakfast and souls for dinner. I bet he rides a bike. Yes, he most definitely has a motorcycle.
“Got it. We’ll discuss this more later, but right now, I think we have a bigger problem. Namely the girl on the floor who is, or was, involved with a plan to have us all executed. Let’s deal with her first.”
Callen rises to his feet and then pulls Braelyn to her feet as well. Her eyes remain downcast on the floor. Her head hangs, and her greasy short hair hides her face. She looks broken. Burke looks her up and down with a hint of something in his eyes that makes my knees buckle. There’s a darkness there. He craves bloodshed.
Carnage.
Revenge.
Death.
Burke looks like he could pull out his gun and shoot her right in the head without another word or thought. The anger throws me off balance. Part of me is uneasy with the idea of what he’ll do to her. The other part of me is uneasy because my body is physically reacting to the murderous glint in his eyes. How did I end up in a world where black and white is so far from fucking simple? Twenty years from now, will I look back in horror at all the blood spilled during my time with Burke? Why does my body like seeing his reaction to Braelyn, the sister I wish I never had? The girl who left me for dead, whose greater involvement in all this we don’t really know yet.
No one speaks while we all watch Burke stare daggers into the top of Braelyn’s head. I wait for his next move. She’s not innocent, but she isn’t the head of the snake either. But does that mean it’s okay to take vengeance into our own hands? I don’t know the answer. I don’t know that there’s a right answer for me here in this situation. I’ll have to live with whatever happens. That, I know for sure.
Burke finally speaks, “Take her to the warehouse. Don’t do anything with her until I get there. When we leave here, we’ll come straight to you. I want extra men patrolling around the house. I won’t leave Teagan and Paisley to be sitting ducks again. Call J. and get more men if you have to. Just make sure we’re covered.”
His voice is chilling. The edge to his tone sends shivers down my spine.
Callen nods tightly and pulls on Braelyn’s cuffed wrists to guide her out the back door. Her feet shuffle slowly, causing him to practically drag her out the door. She doesn’t look at me once as they exit. Burke’s quiet after they leave, and I give him some time to calm down.
It doesn’t matter what just happened; I still have work to do. So, I heave a deep breath and get back to cleaning tables and setting up for the night shift.
Carly comes in ten minutes late, and I barely say hi and bye to her as I run out the door. Burke, who managed to duck out before she could spot him, is right by my side the moment my feet hit the sidewalk.
“Paisley, Braelyn is manipulative. She’ll say whatever she has to in order to get what she wants out of the situation. Whatever we hear from her today could either be complete bullshit or brutally honest. You’ll wish you hadn’t been there to hear her hateful words. It’s not going to be easy or pretty.” It’s the first thing he says when we get into the car.
“You’ve spent twenty minutes with her, Burke. I’ve spent almost my entire life with her. I know how she is and just how deeply she can dig her claws. I’m good.”
Time to deal with Braelyn.
Burke
Something isn’t right. Deep tire tracks have disturbed the entrance of the dirt drive. Branches along the way have been ripped away from the trees. It looks as if a car came through here and had to cut around the gate to get in.
I stop the car and then throw the gear into reverse. Paisley, who still has no idea what’s happening, gives me a strange look. I’m getting her the hell away from here until I figure out what’s going on. I won’t be set up for another trap that gets her hurt.
“What’re you doing? What’s going on, Burke?”
I do
n’t answer her until I have us safely out of the wooded area. I have to concentrate on not slamming backward into a tree while I get us out of there.
“Something is wrong. I don’t know what, but that path looks like someone recently tore down it. I’m not taking you there until I know it’s safe.”
Paisley presses her nose to the window and looks for clues as to what I’m talking about, and I pull out my phone. My first call is to Kai, who assures me that they are fine and playing a very interesting game of Would You Rather? Calling Callen is the next logical step. Can I trust my security team? I’m paying them a lot of money, and they came highly recommended, but could they be swayed? I’m certain there are only three people I can completely trust, and having to rely on others is fucking with my head. Cautiously, I back out onto the main road before making the call to Callen. The line rings and rings until the sound grates on my nerves. I’m about to hang up and call again when the line picks up.
Heavy breathing fills the silence, and my ears perk up.
“Callen?”
No response but the exhales of a man out of air continue to fill the line.
“Callen? What’s going on?”
Paisley sits up in the seat next to me. Her neck swivels as she tries to look in all directions at once. I’ve scared her, and I fucking hate that. The knuckles of my hand not gripping the phone turn white as I lock it around the steering wheel. Why isn’t he saying anything? More heaving breathing continues before anything is heard from him.
“Fuck.” The gruff one word uttered from him doesn’t help my rising concern.
“Fucking speak, Callen, and more than one-word expletives. What the fuck is going on?”
“We’re good,” he finally manages. “I have the situation under control. It’s handled. Braelyn is ready for whatever you want from her. We’re set.”
“What the fuck does that mean? What did you need to handle?”
“Apparently, we weren’t the only ones looking for her. I had to handle someone trying to interfere with my transport. I noticed almost right away I was being followed. Then, on these backwoods roads, it turned into an all-out car chase. I’ve taken care of the situation, and Braelyn is secured. She’s awaiting you, and I’m standing guard until you get here.”
“Thanks. We’ll be there shortly.” I end the call and drop my phone onto my lap before turning the car around. “Sorry, false alarm.”
Her whole body relaxes, and she exhales a deep breath. “Better safe than sorry, right?”
“Right. Do you know how to shoot a gun?”
She shakes her head slowly. “No . . .”
“You’re going to learn how to today. First, let’s see how Callen has dealt with the interference situation and then deal with our Braelyn problem. Then, after that, I’ll teach you how to shoot a gun. The land surrounding this place is perfect for you to learn. I’ll always be here to protect you, but I want you to know how to protect yourself, too.”
Paisley doesn’t respond, and we continue up the dirt path toward the warehouse. This must be why Braelyn was desperate enough to show her face today. If the person she was working with turned on her, she would rather be in our hands than theirs. There’s nothing in me that feels bad for her. The bitch deserves a lot worse. The clearing around the warehouse comes into view, and the closer we get, the more obvious it is that something happened.
Blood.
I see it, and Paisley does, too. There’s a large pool of the dark red substance right in front of the building. A trail of it leads to the front door. Bullet holes litter both Callen’s truck and an extra car parked hastily off to the side. I know Callen said he took care of it, but as soon as my car is in park, I reach to the glove box and retrieve my gun.
“We’re going to get out of the car. I want you to stay behind me until we know the coast is clear. I won’t let anything happen to you, Paisley.”
She nods her head with determination. She’s strong, and I love that about her.
“Wait for me to come around to your side of the car before you get out.”
I hop out of my car and stride over to the passenger side, stepping around the pool of blood. It’s likely whoever the blood belongs to is no longer still breathing, but there isn’t a body, so I can’t be sure. Paisley gets out of the car, and with her safely behind me, I head toward the front door of the warehouse—the place no one is supposed to fucking know about but is somehow on everyone’s fucking radar.
Once the heavy door slams behind us, the tension in my shoulders eases slightly. Being behind closed doors is much safer than out in the open. The warehouse is still relatively empty, and Callen stands toward the center. His arms are crossed, and a gun hangs loosely in one of his hands. Two figures are slumped at his feet. The trail of blood leads to the figure on his left, and more blood pools around the body. Braelyn, who is still handcuffed, now has rope around her feet and is lying in a ball to Callen’s right. It’s good to verify that Callen is indeed on our side. At least, for now, he’s someone who can be trusted.
We continue closer, and with the door to our backs, I pull Paisley to stand in front of me. I’m less worried about Callen, the bloody man on the floor, and a restrained Braelyn than anything that could come through the door behind me. So, I take a moment to activate the security system from my phone.
“Is he dead?”
“No, still alive but barely. He should bleed out within a few minutes.”
“It would’ve been more helpful to me if this guy were alive to answer questions.”
“I’ll try to remember that for next time. It was a bit hard to keep him, this girl, and myself alive. I did what I had to in order to take him down.”
I ignore the sarcasm and annoyance in his tone. My eyes move back to the man about to take his last wheezing gulp of air. There is a gunshot wound on his shoulder, leg, stomach, and thigh. His eyes droop and struggle to stay open, but I force him to sit up anyway.
“Who are you?”
Blood oozes from his mouth as he answers, “Tate.”
“Why were you following him?”
“My boss wants the whore.” Tate struggles to get a breath, and blood speckles his lips when he exhales. “There’s a big price on her head. I wanted to be the one to deliver.” His voice is watery, and his skin has gone colorless.
I have maybe two questions left, three if I’m lucky.
“Who? Who wants her? Who are you working for?”
“Sonnelion.” His throat makes a gargling noise, and he spits out more blood with his answer.
His struggle ends, and my answers die with him.
Fuck. That fucking name again. It’s useless to me.
I don’t want his fucking alias.
I want his identity.
“This shit pisses me off, Callen. I’m paying a lot of fucking money to get answers. How are we not aware yet of who’s watching us? Why wasn’t I told as soon as you knew you were being followed? What the fuck?” I’m being unreasonable, but that doesn’t matter. I can’t believe this has gone on for so long. I can’t believe we haven’t ended this. Where are my fucking answers?
“My assignment is strictly to keep an eye on Paisley. I don’t know any of the other facets needing to be sorted out. This time, they weren’t after you. They were after Braelyn. She gave them an opportunity they couldn’t pass up when she came out of hiding and revealed herself to Paisley. This couldn’t have been predicted from our side or theirs. Let’s look at this as a win. We’ve found Braelyn and taken out another one of this Sonnelion guy’s men. We’re in better shape than we were yesterday.”
Paisley’s shaking warm touch pulls me from my anger. Her hand glides along the tense muscles in my back, and the rage seeps out of me. We’re safe, and hopefully, we can get the answers from Braelyn that we couldn’t get from the dead guy at my feet. I look away from Callen, who’s obviously using all the restraint he can muster not to point the gun at me after I spoke to him like he was a disobedient child. He seems like an
all right dude, but that’s hard to keep in sight when the threat against my girls is still alive and dangerous.
Paisley takes my hand, and my eyes go to the lump on the ground that is Braelyn.
“We meet again. You’ve really let yourself go, Braelyn.”
I look back and see Paisley’s hesitation as she squeezes my hand.
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath of air before she tells me what’s on her mind, “Burke, let me. I need to handle this.”
Knowing this is important to her, I step back and let her take the lead. My girl can handle this. She can handle anything.
Paisley
“Did you know Tate was looking for you?”
Braelyn looks over at the dead man. His eyes, which are still half-open and vacant, stare directly at her.
She studies his face for a while before she answers, “I knew there were people looking for me, but I hoped he wasn’t on that list.”
“Who is he?”
Braelyn looks away from him, as if it’s painful to see him any longer. I follow her eyes and see a lone tear sneak down her face. This man meant something to her. I can’t freaking believe it. She’s crying for whoever this man was who just tried to kill her.
“He’s the man I thought loved me. Obviously, I was fucking wrong. Obviously, I’m as stupid as I always thought you were. He’s dead, and I’m nothing.”
Burke clears his throat. “She didn’t ask who he fucking was to you. She asked who the fuck he was. We don’t care about your sob story.”
I release his hand and turn toward my scowling powerful man. My lips lightly dance against his before I whisper in his ear, “I have this. She’s going to respond better to me than she will to your hostility. We’ll figure out what she knows.”
I pull away from Burke, and he gives me a gentle nod. I glance at Callen, who again is watching my and Burke’s interaction. His stare makes me a bit nervous, but I still give him a small smile before turning back to a distraught Braelyn.
Vengeance in Bloom (The Love Unauthorized Series Book 2) Page 11