Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Pennsylvania
This was insane. After the guy tried to shoot Gideon, one of Gideon’s men tore through him with more bullets than was necessary.
“We have to get you to the back room,” Gideon shouted over the gunfire.
“Not for nothing, but that guy…” I motioned to the now dead gunman. “He wanted to kill you, not me.”
He glared for a second, then grabbed my hand and yanked me to follow him. I didn’t want to get shot, so I went along without argument. There were bodies on the ground, blood, and a ton of bullet holes. This was gonna cost Alan a fortune. I hoped he had mobster insurance.
The two of us got to the door of the break room but before we could open it, a shot fired right by our heads. We turned and there were two men, clearly not Gideon’s.
“He’ll be coming with us.” A tall man with a jagged scar on his cheek sneered.
Gideon raised his gun, but he was outnumbered. I didn’t own one, and if Gideon shot one of them, the other would kill him.
“Okay, I’ll go.” I shrugged and stepped forward.
“Like hell you will.” Gideon grabbed my arm as I’d suspected he would.
I pulled away with more force than necessary, and my fist slammed into scar face’s chin, causing him to stumble.
With him out of sorts I punched him once, twice, three times square in the jaw. A shot rang out, and I saw Gideon bestriding the other guy. Of course scar-faced dude took that opportunity to sock me right in the face. I snorted at him, spit blood on his shirt, and continued to hit him.
“Penn!” Gideon gripped my arm, and I realized the man was unconscious. “Come on.”
We made it to the employee lounge and once the door was shut, he started barricading it as best he could. There was only a table and four chairs he could use but he did it, then pulled me with him to the corner. He placed me behind him and aimed his gun in the direction of the barricade.
The sounds outside were lessening—I only hoped it Gideon’s team was winning. I had to get my shit and leave this town tonight.
A minute later, there was silence. We waited and listened. Finally when we heard someone call Gideon’s name, we removed the table and chairs and stepped out.
“Report.”
“We lost three guys; Lorcan lost seven.” Alex gestured toward two of them. “Those are the ones that were supposed to be watching Penn, so looks like you won’t have to deal with them. The other was Walt.”
I didn’t know these guys, but it was still sad. I was sure Gideon was close to all of them.
“Sorry for your loss,” I remarked and Alex and Gideon stared at me like I had two heads. “What? It’s hard to lose friends.”
“Something’s not right with you.” Alex huffed out a laugh. “We gotta get out of here, though. Danny’s getting your guys out of here, all that will be left are Lorcan’s. Chief said he’ll handle it.”
“Where’s Alan?” I tried looking around the room.
“Safe.” Alex didn’t say more.
“Okay, well, can someone maybe drop me off at home? I’m getting my things and leaving Northchester tonight.”
“Not happening.” Gideon narrowed his gaze and lifted his chin. “If you think after this carnage that Lorcan isn’t going to hunt you down, you’re nuts.”
“You took out a lot of his men. He’ll need to recoup; by then I’ll be settled, and he won’t even know where.”
Gideon was grinding his teeth so aggressively, I swore I could hear cracking. “I’m sorry, Penn. I can’t let you out of my sight right now.”
“Hmm…I see, so now you are taking me against my will?”
Gideon sighed. “If you must see it that way, fine. Let’s go.”
There were sirens in the distance, so I knew this wasn’t the time to fight. Sandwiched between Alex and Gideon, we left through the rear and got into an idling SUV.
There were already two guys in the vehicle, one driving and another in the back. Alex took the passenger’s seat, and Gideon got in beside me. The second the doors shut, we were off.
I was glad there were no kids in sight at Gideon’s house. Rita, however, was there and speaking a mile a minute in Spanish. Dean was also there, clear fear on his face.
“I’m fine,” Gideon said to Rita. “Calm down, please.”
“Calm down?” she yelled, and I did not want to be part of this screaming match, so I went to the farthest side of the room and sat on a plush chair.
Through the window, I saw a lot of armed people fanning out around the property. For fuck’s sake, I had to figure a way to get the hell out of here.
“And you.” I faced Rita, who was pointing at me. “Stop running away from this house. Do you see now? Do you see who you’re dealing with?”
“I see a war between two men who hate each other, ignited by me doing a good deed. I’m not really part of this, just a piece, and I’m sure when I’m out of the equation, it’ll be one less thing to contend with.”
Rita did a slow pan to where Gideon was standing. “Was he hit in the head?”
“Possibly.”
“I was not!” I rolled my eyes. “I just want no part of this.”
“Well, too bad, because whether you like it or not, you are, and the only thing keeping you safe right now is my protection. So, maybe make all our lives easier for a while and stay put.” Gideon’s face turned red, a vein in his temple was bulging, and there was exhaustion in his eyes.
“Fine, can I at least shower? I have crap all over me.”
“I’ll show you to a guest room that has an en suite. That way you can rest if you’d like also.” Rita smiled now, a lot calmer, thankfully.
I glanced at Gideon before climbing the stairs behind Rita, and the intensity in his eyes almost made me stumble. I couldn’t tell why he was looking at me like that, but I had a feeling that if I stayed here long enough, I’d find out.
Rita showed me where the first-aid kit was, and I promised to clean my knuckles—which were a mess from pummeling that guy.
I’d forgotten about them and while they didn’t hurt, I could hear Tenny in my head, telling me “That’s why we keep clean and check all the time.
” An infection could kill me, and I wouldn’t know until it was too late.
I showered, then cleaned my knuckles, applying the ointment as Rita had told me. When I stepped out of the en suite, a towel wrapped around my waist, I froze.
Gideon was sitting in a chair by the window, a pile of folded clothes in hand.
“I didn’t think you’d want to put on dirty clothes after a shower, so I have these for you. They belong to my brother; you’re both about the same size.”
I grinned and walked over to him. I didn’t miss the way his gaze moved along my body, and I’d have been lying if I’d said I didn’t like how he watched me.
“You could’ve left them on the bed; you didn’t have to wait for me.”
He smirked, and how that made him even more gorgeous I had no idea. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“You mean this?” I lifted my hands. “Or the fact that you’re holding me here against my will?”
He stood abruptly, the clothes tumbling to the floor. I had to take a step back, but he just followed. “It’s for your protection.”
“Why?”
That pulled him up short. “What do you mean, why?”
“Is all this because you don’t want to feel bad if I’m killed because I saved your kids? News flash, Gideon—you can’t stop the inevitable. Even if I survive this with Lorcan, what happens after? Are you going to wrap me in Bubble Wrap so nothing hurts me?”
“Yes. You saved my children and nephew, and I’m more grateful than you know. But Lorcan is targeting you because of me, so I feel responsible.” He inched closer, his chest pressed to mine. “And if I want to wrap you in Bubble Wrap or anything else, I’ll do just that.”
I don’t know what possessed me to do it, but in that moment all I wanted to do was taste his lips. When I lunged forward, he met me with equal intensity. He tore my towel off and threw it somewhere. I didn’t have time to wonder where because his big hands cupped my ass and lifted me up.
My legs wrapped around his waist, he started walking—I didn’t know where…I didn’t care, I just didn’t ever want him to stop kissing me.
Then, suddenly, I was falling backward onto the bed, and Gideon came with me.