“She knows he works there, made some threat about getting to him to get me to go with her when she nabbed me. I have to call and warn him.”
“He’s got that luck, you know,” Izzy said, avoiding the swipe I aimed his way, and managed to pat my thigh when I settled back into my seat to call Thom. Each of my vertebrae tensed and ached as it rang. Finally, skipping like a record, Thomas’ voice cracked out half a confused hello, before the line cleared up.
“—lo? Gwen? Can you hear me?”
“Crisply! Where are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, I guess. I’m lost and my phone—Jesus, are you sure you can hear me? I can’t believe you got through. I’ve been trying to call Carter and mom and dad for, like, an hour. No one can hear me, when I even get through.”
“You’re not at the shop?”
“No, I went out this morning for a jog and … I do this all the time, I don’t know what happened, but my usual path was flooded, so I had to go another way and I just got lost. I’m supposed to be helping Carter but I’m not sure where I am.”
“He’s okay?” Chloe asked.
“Tell him to take a left at the tree that looks like Robert DeNiro,” Izzy offered.
Frowning, bothered by the imagery for several reasons, I glared at Izzy, and then got back to Thomas.
“Can you tell dad to come get me? He’s out here all the time, he knows the area better than me, even when it floods—did it even rain last night?” Thomas asked, suddenly confused and thoughtful.
“I’ll call—”
“DeNiro!” Izzy insisted, poking me.
“Dammit!” I growled, wincing with each jab of his bony finger. “Find the tree that looks Robert DeNiro, take a left.”
Thomas laughed. “What? Gwen are you—whoa, it really does look like … how did you know?”
“Never mind that. Just … Look, I think your luck’s done exactly its job, whether it seems that way or not. I’ll call dad and send him after you.”
“Now the bush that looks like a chocolate chip cookie,” Izzy interrupted, grabbing for the phone. “Lemme talk to him.”
Without asking, he grabbed the phone, greeting Thomas eagerly and leaving me sighing. Chloe reached out to pat my knee.
“Let him, he’ll have your brother home before you know it. We’re going to need you once we’re in there, so get your game face on.”
“I have a game face?” I asked, distracted by Izzy’s babbling.
“Just think about how Kincade got you beaten up by a tree,” Owen said, catching my eye in the rearview mirror. At my ensuing expression, he snorted. “Yeah, that works.”
“You go in first, do your best to maneuver her so she can’t see the door,” Owen said as we approached the building. Izzy and Chloe had gotten out of the car two blocks down, though Izzy had split from her nearly immediately. I didn’t like that she was involved, but I wasn’t willing to brandish a weapon and run two blocks, so that left me out of the loop. Well, almost.
“She’s just going to fall for that?”
Owen flashed me a grin. “Nope.”
“You two are a pain in the ass,” I sighed. Owen chuckled, pausing one store down and grabbing my arm. Turning me to face him, he leaned in to give me a soft kiss and then stood up tall. “After this, you and Chloe will have some things to talk about, I think.”
“Yeah, I think so too,” I said, dropping my gaze as I sighed.
“Buck up, soldier,” Owen said, standing tall and regarding me like a judgmental drill instructor. “Your brother’s fine, Kincade’s one step behind, and the sooner we get this done, the sooner you can take my pants off.”
Despite my dour mood, I laughed, shaking my head but glad for his ability to cheer me up. Winking, he gave a small nod and then jerked his chin toward the shop. I sighed, turned on my heel, and walked up to the door.
With a deep breath to calm my nerves, I pushed it open and glanced around the tiny shop. I shoved my empathy in ahead of me so I would know exactly where the people in the building would be before I saw them. Carter was behind the sample display, looking much worse than he had just the day before. Kincade was next to him, leaning against the very edge of the counter, a pretty, delicate, pink mug in her hand. She took a sip as her eyes roamed to me and a smug sort of joy twisted around my throat. I got the impression she’d been expecting me and I’d walked into a trap. Setting down the mug, she lifted her hand to catch my attention, as if she hadn’t already.
“Lover, welcome. Come, drink some tea with us. I was just telling your friend here about my trip to Italy last year.”
I swallowed thickly, my eyes darting as I considered that, even more than I hadn’t wanted to go back into the forest, I really didn’t want to go any deeper into the store. Carter and I weren’t the only people in there she could hurt. A young woman was in the back corner, curled up reading a book in a fat, torn easy chair. An older man who looked no better than Carter was sitting near the front, a mug of steaming tea held close to his wheezing mouth as if the steam was all that was keeping him breathing. I was worried for them all and really wanted them to leave.
Hell, I really wanted to leave.
Instead, I pushed forward, tried to look angry and powerful. She snorted at my display and it faltered a little
“Which way is Owen coming from?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest so she could point both left and right with opposite hands. “Front? Back? Is he finally getting creative and dropping in from some crawl-space in the ceiling?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said. Carter looked between us, his puffy face full of the confusion I could feel trying its level best to triumph over the exhaustion that was weighing him down.
“You’re not friends?” he asked. Kincade turned to him, gave a condescending little smile.
“We have a history, but I wouldn’t say it was friendly,” she said, matching the tone Owen had used when we’d met.
I glowered at her, walking wide around her as if I had business near the rack of teas behind her and hoped she would turn to face me. Amused, she watched me for a beat, before turning back to face the front of the shop. Frustrated she hadn’t even pretended to fall for my maneuver, I watched as she moved her arm to drape along the bar. Her fingers tucked into her jacket as she took a sip from her teacup with the other hand.
“You know who else wasn’t friendly?” I accused, trying to get her to turn toward me. “That Lofriska you left me with.”
“She seemed delightful,” Kincade said, still watching the doorway.
“Is something going on?” Carter asked, before coughing and grumbling to himself. Owen pushed open the door, confident and armed, while Kincade shifted like water.
Her hand at her breast shoved into her jacket as the other splashed the steaming tea into Carter’s face. He yelped, jumped back, and she darted behind him, wrapping an arm around his neck and holding a gun against the side of his head. Backing up until she was sure I couldn’t reach her and Owen couldn’t see enough of her to aim, she jerked her head toward me.
“She must be a good lay for you to trust her this much,” she said, one eye watching Owen over Carter’s shoulder. Owen glanced at the old man in the chair, at the woman reading her book and then pulled his right hand away from the gun to gesture toward the door.
“Get out.”
They did not hesitate, which made Kincade giggle with glee. Having forgotten to shield, I echoed her immediately, though my giggle had the higher pitch of anxiety.
“I take it you spoke to the trees,” she said. Carter let out a snot-choked whimper and I frowned, eased away. It occurred to me that, while she seemed pretty content with sticking a gun in Carter’s face, I was still just a wide-open target. Kincade rolled her gaze to me as I felt smugness bump out of her to ease against me like waves lapping a shore.
“What did you do with the Lofriska?” Owen asked. Kincade sighed and the smug tide became poisoned slightly with an acidic irritation.
&nb
sp; “You’re here on a job, I appreciate that. Believe me, I respect the profit motive as much as the next gal, but your job interferes with mine. So, what do you say you take your bird, tell your employer to screw off, and I give you a third—”
“Set the gun down on the counter.”
Frustration, explosive and raw, crackled out of Kincade as Chloe melted out of the shadows, pressed her gun to the back of Kincade’s head, and gave her order. The smugness faded away and Kincade’s eyes narrowed. She stayed exactly as she was for a moment, before I saw the finger pressed to the trigger squeeze ever so slightly.
“I could kill him out of spite.”
“But then you’d die,” Chloe said, matter-of-factly. “Don’t bullshit me, Kincade. I know exactly what you value most and it isn’t your pretty tits.”
Carter whimpered and I watched one of his hands come up to pry at Kincade’s wrist, desperation slipping out of him and slapping at me like eels writhing in my chest. I let out a low, wavering cry at the feeling, my whole body shuddering, but Kincade completely ignored him.
I glanced between Chloe and Kincade, wondering where the hostility slinging around the room was coming from. There was no way this was fresh, no way it was based on the fact that Kincade had kidnapped me and left me for dead. Even the fact that Chloe had a gun to Kincade’s head didn’t seem like enough to justify this level of rage.
“I’m touched you remember my tits, Gavel,” Kincade said, after a long, considering pause. Before she could continue, though, Carter let out a massive sneeze. His entire body jerked with it and, next thing I knew, he and Kincade had toppled to the floor.
Exasperation sparked out of Owen as he rapidly crossed the shop, kicking the gun away from Kincade’s limp hand. I gaped down at them, wondering what the hell had just happened. Owen sighed, gun still aimed at Kincade.
“Chloe,” he scolded, disappointment lacing his voice. Chloe, gun held at an awkward angle in her hand looked up at him. A grim was trying to take over her mouth, but she was fighting it.
“Sorry,” she lied. “I though she shot him.”
“No you didn’t,” Owen said.
On the floor, Carter wheezed and groaned, “What happened?”
“You’re fine,” Owen said.
“I am?”
The bell on the door jangled and Izzy entered, completely casual as if this were any other store and not one filled with armed lunatics. I glanced over, found him peering over shelves, mouth wide open, hair mussed.
“Oh my,” he said, crossing the store. “Dumpling Cheeks, you shouldn’t be in here.”
“Hmm?” Chloe asked, crouched over Kincade. She yanked the other girl’s arms behind her back, being just as rough as the anger in her demanded. Still distracted, she dug around on Kincade, collecting an amount of weapons that honestly surprised me.
“They’re sick,” Izzy said, watching her work. “You’re gonna catch it.”
“Oh, dear,” Chloe said, pushing to her feet. I felt a bit of distress flag through her as she met his eyes over the pile of weapons she’d left next to the pretty pots of tea. “Can you help?”
A grin split Izzy’s lips and he gave one nod. “I’m on it.”
The lust started building before he even reached Chloe. When he touched her, though, it was like a swamp. Her arousal, his excitement, and the love between them sucked me in, coated me in a thick, gooey, inescapable morass.
I caught a small smile on Chloe’s face as Izzy hooked an arm around her back, slid one hand into her hair, and yanked her against him in a manful fashion. Despite his slight build and delicate features, he kissed her like men kissed women in old movies. The intensity pushed her head back, his mouth on hers like a bruise. Her arms came around him, held him against her as he pressed his groin to her pelvis and moved the hand on her back to grope her ass.
I took two steps forward, my body throbbing with the need to rip clothes and taste flesh, before I realized what had happened. I caught Owen’s look, his brow up, amused curiosity welling inside. I stared at him, breathing heavily, honestly considering yanking him into one of the storage closets and returning the favor he’d done me earlier. He pointed his free hand at me, the other still aiming his weapon at Kincade.
“Don’t make me buy you more ice cream.”
Izzy pulled away and left Chloe heavy-lidded and swollen with need, catching her bearings. They looked at each other for a moment and, though the lust wasn’t dissipating, it took a back seat to the love on their faces. Owen let them have a moment before he cleared his throat. Below them, Carter let out a little groan.
“What happened? Can I get up? Is she dead?”
“You’re fine, my friend.” Izzy reached down to grab Carter under the shoulder, heaving him up like he was a rag doll and not a portly twenty-something laden with sickness and mucus. Then, he turned to Owen, lifted a brow. “You’re sick, too. You want the same treatment?”
One hand up in surrender, Owen only shook his head. Izzy nodded, turned back to Carter, and slapped him once on the back.
“Go throw up that gack. You’ll feel a bit less sick until they finish this.”
Carter’s confusion warped rapidly to panicked disgust before he made a gurgling sound and I saw his cheeks puff up. Abruptly he turned, dashed into the dark storeroom Chloe had come from. I heard a door slam shortly after, Chloe glancing back at the sound as she holstered her weapon under her coat. Izzy turned to look over Owen and me, a half-smile on his face.
“What’s up, guys?”
“Your girlfriend just concussed our only source.”
“Hunh?” Izzy grunted, looking around the shop until his eyes fell on Kincade, as if he hadn’t noticed her before. “Oh, hey.”
Annoyance sparked out of Owen again and he caught Chloe’s eye. “This is what you’re doing?”
“I’m also a secretary,” Chloe said, infusing her voice with a breathy, childlike pride that would have perfectly matched her blonde hair and pixie features had I not known her so well. Izzy bent down, poked Kincade in the back of the skull and then hopped to the side immediately as Kincade flipped, kicked out a leg, aiming straight for Chloe’s knee. With barely any effort, Izzy cupped his hand outward, blocking her attack.
Despite the power in her kick, he caught her boot in his hand like it was nothing more than a stuffed animal tossed by a young child. His woozy psyche floundered for a second and I felt the sudden giddy glide of glee along my empathy as he knelt there, one hand gripping her boot so tightly it looked like he was denting the thick, reinforced leather. I swallowed and then coughed dryly, feeling like I’d been drinking hot chocolate and someone had dumped in a heap of cayenne pepper. The sweetness was still there but it was briefly transformed, made into a spicy shock to the system.
“Don’t,” Izzy whispered, his expression pleading and serious, his eyes a touch too wide.
The room was silent for a moment before Izzy dropped Kincade’s foot to the floor and stood up straight. His gaze fell on a pink pot of tea at the end of the counter and I felt his psyche settle bit by bit. Stepping over Kincade’s legs, he grabbed a shaker of sugar from the counter, a mug from the back wall, and paused at the teapot. I inspected his expression, found it calm and a little bored as he poured some tea and then upended the shaker over the cup. Kincade’s eyes were on him, worry and interest pulsing out of her. After he’d dumped nearly a quarter of the little bottle into the cup, he looked over at each of us in turn.
“Oh, did you guys want some?”
Owen caught my gaze, then Chloe’s, before looking down at Kincade.
“Spill it,” he said simply, knowing she didn’t need further explanation. She sighed, the tension running out of her body. Her gaze darted once to Izzy, before she rolled over onto her back, propping herself up on her elbows and crossing her ankles as if we were all just having a friendly conversation.
“I sold it,” she said, simply.
“The Lofriska?” I asked. “Why?”
“Look at
what’s going on in town. Hell, look at what’s happening to your boyfriend here. They’re a bio-weapons gold mine. You have no idea how much I got paid just to bring one in.” She rolled her gaze to Owen, opened her palms above the floor to show she meant no harm. When he nodded, she got to her feet, noticing Chloe’s look as she did. They locked eyes for a moment, before Kincade sighed, turning to present her wrists to Chloe behind her butt. Chloe didn’t hesitate, locking Kincade’s wrists together with thick, plastic cuffs, and then moved carefully past her to Izzy. Kincade turned to face us all again as Chloe took a sip of the tea Izzy had offered.
Owen still had his gun trained on Kincade and I wondered how his arm hadn’t fallen off yet.
“Last chance to make a buck, my friends,” Kincade said with a grin. Eyeballing Owen, she lifted a brow. “Sick sounds good on you, Reid. Gives your already sexy voice a real nice gruffness. Really gets the motor revving.”
Owen sighed, irritation at her naked in the tired roll of his eyes, but he didn’t speak. Carter cleared his throat from behind Kincade and it sounded better than it had before. We all turned our attention to him.
“I called the police,” he announced. Kincade laughed derisively and Carter looked to her like a defiant child standing tall in the face of a rule-breaking adult. I was beginning to think of Kincade as someone who didn’t have too many friends.
“I’m sure you’re not the first,” Owen said, catching Chloe’s eye. Chloe gripped Kincade by the cuffs and steered her toward the back door.
Izzy held up a hand, waving at Carter eagerly. “I’ll help you out, man. Thomas is at home for the afternoon and you’re about to have a rush.”
“Who are you?” Carter asked. Izzy set down his cup, crossed the room to pump Carter’s hand genially. Carter’s alarm was palpable and probably not just to me.
“He’s harmless,” I said. Izzy snorted, pulled back, and pointed to the far corner.
“So, I was thinking we need to move some stuff around, starting with that shelf. It really messes with the flow.”
Hollow Back Girl Page 18