Chapter 23
BEASTY
Glass sprayed the room, and everyone dropped.
"Yes, well. She'll get over it when we tell her we were saving the Fashion Boys' asses. She's got a soft spot for them," Parker said lightly as he aimed at the window, firing several shots.
"Jorge and our guys are engaging. Is there a back door?" Parker asked without turning away from the window.
Grey took up the other side, and Lake crouched on his knees in the center. All three men were shooting so quickly I was having trouble processing that we were in a gunfight.
"I'll look!" I dislodged out from under Kim and Joaquin. Atlas fell back on his haunches from where he was trying to cover everyone.
"Beasty!" Kim yelled, the loudest I'd ever heard his voice.
But there wasn't time to waste.
One narrow window sat high above the tub.
It was big enough that most of us could slide through, but we'd be sitting ducks as we tried to climb out.
Grunting, I twisted the rusty lock and shoved it over.
It demanded more muscle than I expected, and I doubted this thing had been opened in the last twenty years.
Peering out, I kept my head down just in case anyone was out back.
Shit! There wasn't a balcony. I leaned to the side and gasped.
Was that...
"There's a fire escape! It's not connected to this room, but it's just to the side of the window."
"Is anyone out there?" Lake called.
I took the shampoo bottle someone had left here and waved it out the window. When nothing happened, I shoved my head out. The back was clear. A breath whooshed out of me.
"No, we're good."
"Joaquin, you go first. Have your gun handy, then cover the others as they climb out." Lake ducked as a chunk of wood splintered where he’d been.
My heart stopped. But Joaquin wasn't stunned. He pushed me aside, and pushed the window until it was open as far as it could go.
"It's going to be tight, but I think I can get out without busting my ass.”
"Why wouldn't we bust the glass out instead of having it half open like that?" Kim joined us with the duffle bags.
I didn't want to burst his bubble, but I wasn't sure they'd fit. He caught me looking and gave me a smirk. "They’ll fit."
My cheeks burned at the innuendo, but we didn't have time for this!
When I turned around, Joaquin was already halfway out the window with Atlas supporting his feet. He dropped down with the grunt and the metal of the fire escape clanked. With the constant sounds of gunfire, I hoped the men out front didn't hear it.
"Kim, you come next. Then Beasty," Joaquin whispered.
As graceful as I'd expect, Kim slipped out in record time. I struggled a bit more, but with Atlas' help, I was through too.
"The bags," Kim tapped on the windowsill.
Atlas somehow squeezed each of the bags through, and Kim dropped them to the ground as Joaquin watched below.
"Quilliam!" We couldn't leave him there.
"On it!" Atlas called. Then Quilliam's cage was turned sideways and pushed through. His little squeaks from being tossed around with the bedding broke my heart, but I'd rather this than have him killed.
Atlas dropped down next to me. Joaquin was already running down the rickety stairs, taking them three at a time with Atlas on his ass. Kim was right behind me, keeping a steadying hand on my back as I followed.
A well-dressed man skidded around the back, dead leaves spraying as he went. He came to a halt when he saw us, his eyes going wide.
"They're—" he yelled, but before he could get another word out, a bullet hit him right between the eyes.
The acrid stench from Joaquin’s gun burned my nose.
"Go, go, go!" Joaquin jumped down to the ground, another flurry of dead leaves kicking up. Kim unlocked the car and grabbed a duffle in each hand. Atlas did the same as I waited behind Joaquin, shielding Quilliam with my body.
Kim got the backdoor open and waved at me. "Come on! Hurry!"
I dove into the back seat while Atlas slammed the back hatch shut.
In a matter of seconds, Kim slid in on one side of me as Atlas jumped in on the other. Joaquin took a few more shots before jumping in the driver's seat.
My lungs burned, and I realized I wasn’t breathing. I gulped in air as Kim tossed the keys to Joaquin, then we were speeding backward. I screeched, trying to stabilize Quilliam as I was thrown forward.
We hit something and it rolled under the car with several clunky thuds.
"Is that?" I asked, trying to keep the saliva from filling the back of my throat.
"Yes." Joaquin's face was grim as he shifted to drive and rounded the front of the motel like a bat out of hell.
Only a few men were left standing and so many littered the parking lot. I didn't want to look directly at them, but I did anyway. I'd never shied away from the ugly side of life, and these men, no matter who they were, were trying to kill us for something as petty as a hurt ego.
They deserved to die.
Joaquin pressed the gas and slammed into the men hiding behind their own SUVs, clipping their doors, taking them clean off the hinges. Scraping metal tore along the side of our car, and I covered my ears and gritted my teeth against the sound.
Our car spun around at the end to face the rooms. We rocked to a stop and only our breathing could be heard.
I waited for the sound of more shots. But none came.
"Is that it? Are they gone?" I twisted to look back at the vehicles. The door to our room banged against the wall as Lake, Parker, and his brother Grey raced down the walkway to the stairs.
They exchanged a few words, then Lake sprinted to us, jumping in the passenger seat, while the brothers ran to their car.
Parker’s men had loaded back up like this kind of event happened every day.
They didn't even look winded. If I had to name it, I’d say they were invigorated. What the hell kind of life did they live?
"Fuck," Lake grunted as he dropped his head back against the dashboard. "The side of the car so fucked up, we’re going to draw attention."
Atlas reached through the center and pulled Joaquin's phone out of his pocket. He put GPS on and somehow, someway, we'd lucked out to only being ten, maybe fifteen minutes from Books' place.
"Slow down," Lake said under his breath. "We don't want to get pulled over."
Joaquin listened, and we coasted along the highway. Another stroke of luck I was thankful for. The route never took us through town, and only a few cars passed. None were cops.
We rode in tense silence. I didn’t know about them, but I was afraid if I said anything, it would attract more of the Pescis, and I just needed a minute.
The paved road turned into a dirt road, and eventually just a path with two tire tracks. Still, it was well maintained.
We pulled up to a tall metal gate, and I slumped against Kim.
We made it.
The mechanical hum as Joaquin slowly rolled his window down was almost comical. But I was too shocked to laugh. Our engine quietly rumbled as Joaquin pressed the button. Static crackled before Books said, "It's opening."
As we drove up, a cute farmhouse came into view. The white siding and double porches spoke of comfort and serenity—words I'd never use to describe the man who saved me.
While a decent size, this place wasn't the mansion I expected based on the gate.
This also wasn't anything like I imagined Books would live in. Actually, I thought he might have some modern, darkly decorated apartment with pictures of men playing poker or racehorses.
Cliché and ignorant of me, I guess. I had to say, I wasn’t disappointed.
Books stepped out onto the front porch with his hands shoved in his jean pockets. His face was locked down as we climbed out.
Parker and his guys were getting out behind us, heads swiveling right and left, up and down. They probably noticed every single detail about the place. They just seemed like those kinds of men.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Parker slapped Books on the back when he made it to the porch.
I was afraid to look Books in the eye. For some reason, it felt like we'd disappointed him, like we'd done something wrong.
"Sure," Books said in a terse tone that raised the hairs on my arms. Spinning, he walked inside, leaving the door open for us to follow. "I don't have any rooms prepared, but they all have bedding. They’re clean, they just haven't been washed in a while. Take your pick."
"We need to catch you up." Lake shut the door, his hard gaze roaming the interior.
"No, we don't. I'm running into town to see what people are saying. I’ll be back after, and then we'll meet." Brackets of tension framed his mouth, and his eyes sparked in displeasure. I definitely wasn't imagining it. He was pissed.
With us.
"What's the problem? Why so worked up?" Parker studied Books, canting his head. He didn't know him, but he also seemed to sense that this wasn't his usual demeanor.
"The problem is, if you'd told me you were coming here, I could have saved you a fight.
Because that's what happened, right? Your car"—he gestured toward the front yard—"is scraped to hell and back, and yours," he wagged a finger between Parker and Grey, is doing its best imitation of Swiss cheese. "
Atlas pressed his lips together, drawing his shoulders back like he was about to say some shit, but Joaquin placed a hand on his chest, shaking his head. Lake didn't get such a warning.
"Excuse us for not bringing you in every step of the way. We thought—"
"You thought wrong!" Books bellowed, and I jumped. Kim hugged me to his front as if he could shield me from Books’ anger. "You are supposed to love and protect that girl!" He jabbed a finger my way. "You're not supposed to go off half-cocked and land in places without doing your research."
His anger was…for me.
At a closer look, how the skin pinched around his eyes and his chin trembled, he was scared.
For me.
A feeling so strong, like being wrapped up in a toasty warm blanket on the coldest nights, engulfed me. No one except for the boys had ever cared about me like that. I didn't even know the boys had cared until recently.
At the same time, I couldn't let him berate them. We'd made the best decisions we could based on the information we had.
"Books," I started.
"No, Cressida." He slashed a hand down. "I know you love these pretty idiots, but if they want to be with you, then they have to grow up.
" All the boys, even Kim, bristled at that.
"They have to realize when they need help and how to ask for it.
If you can't lean on the people you trust, you're all going to die.
I don't want to see that for them, but I will not see it for you. You can’t beat the Pescis alone.
" Books sagged. After saying his piece, he lost all the starch holding him up. Now he was just tired.
"That's not—" I still needed to defend them, but Lake shook his head, stopping me.
Lake was stretched so tight, one tap of the finger would shatter him. "He's right." The words seemed forced from his throat.
"Damn right, I'm right." Books picked himself up again. "Pick your rooms. My door is at the end, it's the only one locked. When I get back, I'll come get you, but I need to make sure no one knows where you went." He stormed off.
As soon as the door shut behind him, I had the terrible thought, who was going to protect him?