Carnival Hill (The Harlequin Crew Book 3)

by Caroline Peckham

  “Fox,” I rasped, feeling myself slipping as I rested a hand on his arm.

  “Don’t JJ, just keep digging,” he demanded, clearly sensing where my head was at.

  “But Fox,” I croaked.

  “Keep fucking digging,” he barked and I did.

  I hadn’t ever been going to stop anyway, I just had to fight back the doubts creeping in, refuse to let them take over.

  I took in a few ragged breaths and met Maverick’s gaze from where he stood across from me. He gave me a stiff nod of encouragement and I continued, the pain in my body starting to recede into a numbness that I wished would seep into my heart so I didn’t have to face the agony of doubt clawing at it.

  We worked on and on until Mutt jumped forward as we made it through a section of shattered tiles, his little nose twitching as he sniffed. Then he barked loudly again and again, wagging his tail and I shared a look with the others before we all grabbed more of the debris and started tearing through it at a furious pace.

  “Rogue!” Fox bellowed.

  “I’m coming for you!” Maverick roared.

  “Rogue – Chase!?” I yelled and my heart all but stopped as a repetitive banging sound reached us.

  “Rogue,” Maverick gasped. “Dig!”

  We all fell into a frenzy, shifting more and more of the debris in our determination to get beneath it. To see her, find her safe. It has to be her. It has to be or I’ll die.

  “Rogue!” I bellowed and a muffled voice called back to me.

  We all froze in the same moment, listening to see if we really had heard anything or if we were all just losing our minds to the desperation of hope.

  “I’m here!” Rogue shouted from somewhere beneath us and the crushing sensation in my chest lifted.

  “Holy fuck, dig faster,” Luther commanded.

  “I’m coming, hummingbird!” Fox called, digging ferociously through the rubble.

  We were all forced closer together as Rogue continued to call out to us and we were soon focusing on one small area, our shoulders knocking against each other’s as we tossed tiles and bricks and mortar away from us. I clenched my teeth, my mind set on this one task and the furious intent in my muscles to pull her from the wreckage.

  I’m coming, pretty girl, I’m coming.

  We reached the top of an iron safe and Maverick kicked away a wooden beam resting over it as her hand reached up to us from the slightly open door at the front of it. I grabbed her fingers, squeezing tight as a flood of relief washed over me and her hands wrapped around mine, a relieved sob escaping her.

  Maverick forced himself down into a gap we’d created just in front of the safe and we all worked to move the debris in front of the door before he wrenched it wide.

  “I got you,” he said, drawing her out of the safe into his arms and holding her against him as she sobbed in relief, her fingers curling around the back of his neck as she clung to him.

  Fox and I reached for her as Mutt barked happily, wagging his tail so fast I was surprised he didn’t take off like a helicopter.

  “Pass her up,” I begged, holding my hands out for her as Luther pulled some pipes away from them which were sliding down the rubble.

  Maverick reluctantly lifted her towards us and I got hold of her, dragging her against me and feeling the soft warmth of her flesh as she trembled in my arms and buried her face against my neck. I fell back onto my ass, wrapping her in my hold and kissing her hair again and again as my heart beat powerfully against hers.

  “I’m here, pretty girl,” I panted. “You’re okay.”

  “JJ,” she croaked. “Swear you’re here. Swear I’m out.”

  “I swear it,” I vowed.

  “Give her to me,” Fox commanded, his hands snaring her but I held on tight, not wanting to let go. “JJ!” he barked and I reluctantly released her, my heart tugging as Fox pulled her against his chest, kneeling down and resting his forehead to hers.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked, looking her over as she clung to his neck for support.

  “I’m okay, I think,” she said but she didn’t really look it. Her skin was pale and it seemed like the only thing holding her up was Fox. “But Chase. Where’s Chase?”

  “We’ll find him,” I promised, moving closer and checking her over for injuries, finding a sizeable gash on one leg that clearly needed attendance.

  “Please take my fucking shoes off,” she half sobbed and I reached for them, unbuckling the stupid things and throwing them away. She tipped her head back against Fox’s shoulder with a heavy sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

  Maverick climbed out of the gap, refusing Luther’s offer of help before he scrambled his way over to us and tried to yank Rogue from Fox’s arms. He didn’t let her go though, a low growl leaving him as Mutt jumped up at her, licking her arms and she released another sob as she petted him.

  “Ow,” she moaned, clutching her hand back against her chest and I moved closer to her, gently examining it.

  “I think you’ve broken some fingers, pretty girl,” I said softly, cupping her cheek in my palm, needing to just see those ocean blue eyes shining with life.

  “I had to keep banging. I needed you to find me,” she breathed, staring at me like I was the rising sun, but then she gave that same look to Fox and Maverick as they continued to fight over her.

  “Stop,” she begged as Luther hurried forward with some water. Fox snatched it from his hand, holding it to her lips and she drank greedily, finishing the whole lot.

  “She needs to go to the hospital,” Maverick insisted. The paramedics were circling but they seemed to be well aware of who we were and how dangerous it would be to force their presence on us uninvited. “Stop kneeling there with her and take her to a fucking ambulance.” He shoved Fox who got to his feet, clutching her tighter against him.

  We all moved after him and I picked Mutt up, rubbing his head and whispering a thank you in his ear for finding her. He whined as he stared at her, looking as desperate as I felt to be closer.

  We got down to the ambulances and paramedics hurried together, laying Rogue on a stretcher as Di, Lyla and Bella came running over from where they’d been digging.

  “Holy shit, bitch!” Lyla cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. “We were so worried.”

  “Just a little house on my head, no big deal,” Rogue said through a hiccup of laughter then winced as one of the paramedics started cleaning the wound on her leg. Her gaze found mine and darkness swirled in her eyes as tears gathered there. I stepped closer, placing Mutt on top of her and he snuggled down on her stomach, licking her arm.

  “Find Chase,” she ordered me. “Please, JJ. You have to find him.”

  Di, Bella and Lyla all piled into the ambulance and I expected Fox to go too, but he just squeezed her ankle and stepped back.

  “We’ll find him, hummingbird,” Fox promised, his brows knitting together as the doors were pulled closed and the ambulance drove away. We stood there for several long seconds and I was surprised when Maverick strode straight back up onto the wreckage and started digging again.

  I shared a look with Fox and we strode after him while Luther headed off to speak with some of the Crew. The three of us fell back into a rhythm as we dug for our brother and my heart started to crack again as I feared the worst.

  “If you hadn’t kicked him out of the Crew, he would have been with us. He would have gotten out,” I bit at Fox, fear cleaving my chest apart.

  “Don’t,” Fox warned, his jaw ticking as he threw a huge piece of marble over his shoulder.

  “He’s all alone down there, and what if he died thinking we hate him?” I demanded, my throat sore from inhaling the dust and making my voice hoarse.

  “Stop it, JJ,” Fox growled, digging more furiously, his muscles bunching and flexing as he refused to look at me.

  “He was sorry,” I croaked. “Things could have been different. We could have worked something out.”

  “I said stop it!” he snapped, looking up at m
e with a snarl on his lips. “Just dig.”

  “You didn’t have to do what you did,” I pressed, my heart like a wild animal in my chest as emotion tore me apart. “You didn’t have to banish him.”

  “I should have killed him,” he hissed, glaring at me with his upper lip curled back. “Don’t you get that? He should already be dead, Johnny James, but I let him go. He got off lightly for what he did. He betrayed us. He betrayed Rogue.”

  “He didn’t mean it,” I rasped.

  “You’re only soft on him because it’s Chase,” he spat. “If it was anyone else you would have cheered me on to put him in the ground.”

  “That’s the point though, isn’t it?” I demanded, stepping closer to him as fury pounded through me. “You know Chase. You know who he is, and he’s not some traitor.”

  “That’s exactly what he is,” he growled, staring me down, a warning in his eyes.

  The whole Crew was here, if I challenged Fox he was going to put me in my place, but right now maybe I’d relish the violence.

  Maverick was watching us curiously, but he kept his opinions to himself, if he even had any.

  “You didn’t give him a chance,” I snarled, getting up in his face.

  “Back. Down,” he said through his teeth.

  “You don’t get to be the king when it comes to the five of us,” I snapped. “I should have had a say in what happened to him. So should Rogue. It wasn’t Crew business.”

  “Everything is Crew business.” He shoved me back a step but I came at him again, just an inch away from his face as my muscles tightened with the need for a fight. “We don’t get the luxury of being a democracy anymore, JJ. We’re not kids. This is real life. And he fucked us over. I had to send him away.”

  “No you didn’t!” I threw my shoulder into his chest, knocking him backwards, his foot slipping on the rubble and sending us crashing to the ground.

  I got in two punches before Fox flipped us over, shoving me down against the rocks and locking his hands around my throat.

  “Enough!” he boomed, but I didn’t stop, breaking his choke hold on me and throwing my fist into his side.

  I forced us over once more and we wrestled on the shattered bricks, my exhausted body somehow summoning the strength to fight. I didn’t mind being bossed around by Fox when it came to the Crew, in fact, I preferred it, but when it came to my family, he didn’t have a right not to listen to me. He didn’t have a right to take one of my brothers away or lay a claim on a girl who was a part of our lives long before we took a vow into the Harlequins.

  Maverick’s booming laughter filled the air as Fox punched me hard enough to wind me, then crushed me down onto the bricks with his whole body, not letting me move.

  “Stop,” he growled in my face, but the fight was already going out of me. Everything hurt and I knew this wasn’t helping to bring Chase back. I needed to keep digging for him, keep fighting for him.

  “He may have done bad shit, but he was sorry. And he didn’t deserve this,” I hissed at Fox.

  “I didn’t bring the house down, JJ,” he said, his eyes two furious pools of jade.

  “You did,” I said. “Just not this one.” I shoved him back and he got off of me, stalking away across the rubble to start digging in another spot.

  Maverick appeared, standing in front of me and blocking the sun. He had a bottle of water in his hand and he causally tipped it up pouring it all over my head and I cursed.

  “Why are you still here?” I demanded in irritation.

  “I want a front row seat to watch you pick pieces of Chase out of the rubble.” He smirked cruelly as I got to my feet. “Nice to know Foxy’s always got your back by the way. Or did he just make an example of you in front of his Crew like a good boy while his Daddy’s watching?”

  “You’re full of shit, Maverick,” I snapped, straightening my spine as I squared up to him.

  “How so?” he asked coolly.

  “Because if you wanted us all dead so bad you could pull a gun any second. I reckon you could shoot at least me and Fox before anyone managed to return fire. Maybe Luther too.”

  Maverick clucked his tongue, his eyes darkening as he stepped closer to me. “What you fail to understand, Johnny James, is that I don’t just want your deaths. I wanna stand in hell with you and watch you burn first.” He gestured to the wreckage around us. “So I’m gonna be right here for the show when Chase Cohen’s head is dragged out of the debris to see your little heart imploding.”

  I opened my arms wide, glaring at him, my body bloody and coated in dust. “Well I hope you’re enjoying the show, Maverick. I hope our brother’s death makes you very fucking happy.”

  His jaw tightened and I turned my back on him, marching away to work alone and search for Chase in peace. If he was under this endless pile of stones, I’d find him. Everyone else may have given up on him in this life, but not me. He was my best friend and I knew he’d be right here searching for me if the tables were turned. It didn’t matter if he was a Harlequin or not, he shared a soul with me and I was sure I’d know if he was dead.

  Hang in there, Ace, I won’t give up on you.

  T here were whispers in the corners of my mind. Voices that crept in past my closed eyes and aching soul and caressed some long dormant part of me. They wound their way around my heart and slipped past the walls I'd been working so hard to keep in place as they beckoned me home.

  And it was such sweet torture to listen to them. Such beautiful agony to live in the dreams they promised.

  But life had never gone that easy on me. I wasn't suited for happily ever afters. Though I was tempted to grab a happy for now and cling onto it as hard as I could.

  "Are the drugs keeping her asleep?" a familiar voice asked.

  "No," a woman replied. "She's just sleeping. Her body has been through a trauma and she needs a lot of rest to regain her strength, but all in all she's in pretty good shape for someone who had a building collapse on top of her. She'll wake when she's ready."

  "Not good enough," Fox growled. "I need to be sure she's okay. And I can't do that until I can look into her eyes and hear her say the words."

  "Well you'll likely have to wait until tomorrow for that. She needs rest more than she needs to soothe your concerns," the woman bustled and a door closed a moment later.

  "Does that bitch know who the fuck I am?" Fox snarled.

  "Everyone knows exactly who you are," JJ snapped, his tone harsher than I was used to. "A ruthless son of a bitch who will rip the world apart just so long as you get whatever the fuck you want."

  "JJ," Fox gritted out. "You know that in my position, I have to-"

  "Shhh," I mumbled, lifting a bandaged hand and waving it in the direction of their voices to silence their noise.

  The sound of a chair scraping across linoleum was instantly followed by the feeling of a set of hands clasping my good one and someone else running their fingers down the side of my face.

  "Rogue?" Fox asked, his voice cracking on my name.

  "It's us, pretty girl," JJ said softly.

  I groaned a little then forced my eyes to part, finding Fox right in my breathing space, his eyes hunting mine as his fingers pushed into my hair.

  "Are you alright, baby? Do you know where you are?" Fox asked.

  "Being suffocated by a badger," I mumbled, my fingers flexing around JJ's as I felt his lips press to the back of my hand and a choked noise escaped him.

  "Fuck, I never thought I'd be glad to hear you call me that," Fox breathed a laugh, but the pain in his green eyes didn't falter and I frowned as it drew me in.

  "What's wrong?" I asked him, trying to see past him to JJ but he was devouring the space around me and trapping me in those emerald eyes.

  Fox kissed me and I stilled, my throat closing up as my fingers tightened on JJ's and I didn't even know if I should kiss him back or shove him off or just close my eyes and fall back into the dark. My skin came alive for him though, my treacherous heart racing as he bra
nded his name onto my lips and tried to drive it all the way down to my soul.

  "Get the fuck off of her and let her breathe," JJ snarled and Fox actually did as he'd asked, pulling away and sighing, his head dropping as he swiped a hand down his face and allowed JJ to move forward.

  "Hey, pretty girl," Johnny James murmured as he looked down at me, a smile playing around his lips which seemed full of relief, though it fell away again so fast that I couldn't be certain. "Are you feeling alright?"

  "I could use a water," I replied, licking my lips and tasting blood from a split in one of them.

  A cup appeared with a straw jammed in the top of it and JJ guided it between my lips, holding it in place as I drank down the lot and sighed.

  "You can sit up if you want to," JJ said, handing me a little control thingy for the bed and I played with it until I was mostly upright.

  I glanced down at my bandaged hand, feeling a dull ache in my left leg too as I tried to piece together what had happened, but the hours I’d spent stuck down in that safe had merged into one long nightmare and I wasn’t totally sure how much my memories of it reflected reality and how many were figments of my imagination.

  “You have a bitch of a cut on your leg,” JJ explained softly, lifting the covers to show me the dressing taped to my left calf. “It’s been cleaned up and glued shut though, so it’ll be all good within a few weeks. And they said your fingers are just badly bruised and swollen – no breaks.”

  He gave me a reassuring smile as he tucked the covers back over me and I sighed as I leaned back against the pillows, plucking at my hospital gown with my good hand.

  “Who knew having a building collapse on you could be so anticlimactic,” I muttered as I took that in. I was clearly dehydrated and a little bashed up, but I had to think that it was something close to miraculous that these few injuries were all I’d ended up with after surviving that carnage.

  I took in the lavish hospital room I'd been set up in. Lavender walls surrounded me, and a tall vase of flowers sat in a wide windowsill.

  "Shit," I muttered, glancing at the needle threaded into the back of my hand and the bag of fluids attached to it. "We should get the fuck out of here before they come asking how I'm going to be paying for this place."