36. Steve
Chapter 36
F ucking Fuck, Dad’s here.
And he brought some of his goons.
Keith, or Kyle, or Kevin, or some fucking thing.
They’re all interchangeable assholes, anyway.
He only brings them out for the less legal work.
Stuff he can’t drag in front of a board meeting and throw a tantrum about to get his way.
I need to stand up, but my head keeps spinning. Something tickles along my cheek, but there’s not even enough strength to shoo whatever it is away. Then something cold and wet presses against me, a low whine followed by dog breath right in my face. Thanks Jake.
Shit, Jake. Is he ok?
Fuck!
Kelly, where’d she go?
A choked off cry draws my attention as I attempt to stand up. My head feels like it weighs a ton, and Jake keeps jabbing me with his snout. I can barely sit up enough to see Dad’s minions holding Kelly up. She hangs limply from the huge hand that’s wrapped around her throat. One of the assholes laughs while the other one smiles and says something, but the ringing in my ears keeps me from hearing anything.
The one holding her up shakes her, and she flops bonelessly. Jake whines and cries beside me, blood dripping off his face. I raise my hand to touch him and he leans into me before turning to face the assholes touching our beta. She’s not mine in the same sense that she is with Teddy or Sam, or even Garret’s blind obsession. But I think there’ll be times when she’s the only one I can stand around here. She already knows me better than anyone except my brother, and she’s certainly more fun than he is.
Now that he has my attention, Jake’s lip lifts. Blood coats his gums and teeth, and our boy here is gonna need a trip to the vet as soon as we get this shit sorted out. He lets out another low snarl and starts limping towards the three alphas who hurt Kelly. He picks up a bit of speed, loosing a loud, baying howl, seconds before he sinks his teeth into the leg of the fucker holding her.
The alpha’s mouth opens wide as he screams. I realize the ringing in my head has tapered off when I hear it. Kelly lands in a heap on the ground, and then Jake is standing over her, his stumbling body trying to shield her from the three alphas. I’m trying to stand too, but my balance is off. Everything spins as I stumble forward.
Fucking stupid dog. I can’t blame him, but he’s never met my father before. The man he bit pulls out a gun, and Jake’s head swivels in his direction. The big dog lunges, leaving Kelly unguarded, and clamps down on the asshole alpha’s wrist. He screams again, his voice coming in a long wail that just keeps going.
He flings his arm, trying to shake the clinging dog off as his partner slams his fist down over and over against Jake’s back. I hear him whimper, but the screaming noise is still going…or…is that a siren? Why the fuck does Sam have a siren at his house? Maybe it’s a fire alarm in the shop…why hasn’t it melted?
Jake finally releases the man he’s holding, his body uncoordinated as he turns towards my father, who’s been slowly moving closer to the girl still collapsed on the ground. The alpha he bit is cradling his injured arm to his chest. I guess he’s more used to hurting others than to dealing with his own pain.
Jake tries to jump, but his legs don’t seem to be moving right. Not that I can blame him. I’m weaving drunkenly over the gravel, staggering and barely able to stop my knees from unhinging. Dad yells as the snarling hound scrambles, tries to reach him. “Don’t just fucking stand there! Shoot the goddamned thing!”
He doesn’t wait for his men to follow his orders and pulls out a gun of his own—but he’s not used to being threatened by anything that can actually hurt him, and the firearm shakes in his hands as he tries to point it.
A loud rumble joins the siren now, and my scrambled brain thinks for a moment that Jake is growling really loud. My steps almost have me within reaching distance when I see the plume of dust on the road. It’s hard to see with just the light from Sam’s burning shop, but it’s there.
The hench-alpha that Jake hasn’t bitten finally gets with the program, his own gun coming out. It swings between Jake and Kelly, like he doesn’t realize the threat is a 140 pound snarling dog and not a 120 pound unconscious beta girl. My legs push forward, trying to get to our beta.
I collapse, catching myself before my full weight lands on Kelly. Sound and pain rip through me, a thunderous roar and white-hot pain tearing through my shoulder. A loud snarl, and my father screaming, “The goddamned dog, you idiot. What the fuck do I pay you for?”
Another loud bang, and a sharp cry from Jake, before his weight lands against my injured shoulder. I can barely hold myself up, but I don’t want to hurt the girl passed out under me. Screeching tires, and then a loud, unfamiliar voice. “Police, hands in the air!” I hear a couple of thumps as two of the alphas drop their weapons. One does not.
“Sir, drop the gun and put your hands in the air. Now!”
Time seems to slow as I look down at Kelly. Her eyes twitch and blink open, her hand reaching up to touch my face. “Steve? What…?” Her voice is a raspy whisper, her neck already bruising.
Someone’s still shouting to put hands in the air, but if I do that I’m gonna fall over. And I may be a little punch drunk, because I giggle when I look down at Kelly, the mental image of me face planting into her chest making me slightly hysterical. There’s another alpha snarl and I feel something cold and hard press against my back. “He’s my son. I can do whatever the hell I want with him.”
My father’s voice is like a bucket of cold water washing away any humor. I hear the whispered voices of my father’s goons. “This is gonna be so much worse if he kills the kid.”
“What the fuck you want me to do about it? That fucking dog damned near tore my goddamned hand off. We’re already so fucking fucked.”
The gun pressed to my back moves a fraction, as my father hears his henchmen too. “You want to think long and hard before you try to fucking betray me, Kyle.” I knew one of them started with a K. Apparently, my dad has a type when it comes to thugs.
The sound of guns cocking is loud even with the sirens surrounding us. I hear what sounds like someone gibbering hysterically. “Not again. I can’t…not again.”
Then another deeper voice trying to soothe it. The third voice sounds like it should be saying, ‘I am Groot.’ Instead I hear, “Get the fuck away from Kelly. She’s the only one who can get the motherfucking coffee right. ”
The beta under me snickers and then looks pained as her throat twitches. But the dominance behind that statement is real, and my father’s gun twitches a bit farther from my spine.
The second voice, the soothing one, comes back. It’s flat now, almost like it’s asking how the weather is. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. Here gimme that.” There’s a yell from the man who was telling everyone to put their hands up earlier, and Kelly’s eyes go wide.
The gun that’s been pressed close to me starts to swing away, the loud crack of it being discharged makes my ears burn. Pain rips down the back of my leg from calf to foot and my elbows buckle, crushing Kelly beneath me.
Another bang sounds, muffled through the ringing in my ears and Kelly’s scream.
Shouts sound from all around, and my father’s body falls to the side, his dead eyes staring into mine with a third right in the center of his forehead. The calm voice still sounds disinterested, but now it’s through several layers of ringing cotton. “There you go, problem solved. You can have this back. Now, we need to put out that fucking fire before anything else catches.”
Kelly
I t’s hard to breathe with Steve lying on me. Warmth pools on my side, and I can hear raised voices and arguing. The world swims out of focus. I can’t get enough air, but pushing on Steve doesn’t do much good. He may not be as big as any of the rest of my pack, but he’s still large and my muscles don’t want to work.
Suddenly, there are people all around us. Officer Paul is arguing with Xan. “You can’t just take someone’s fucking gun and shoot a suspect. There are fucking laws, asshole. Do you have any idea the amount of trouble we could all be in for this shit? Fuck, just the paperwork I’m going to have to file for discharging my firearm.”
Xan huffs in response. “There have been several documented instances where if an officer is incapacitated, a bystander is allowed to use their weapon if it allows them to prevent loss of life. Of course, it also depends on training, familiarity, and jurisdiction, but you were emotionally incapacitated, and he was about to shoot somebody.”
Officer Paul growls, “I know you and your fucking weird ass trivia…do you have that jurisdiction here, Xan? No, I didn’t think so. Fucking shit man.” The long litany of profanity fades as they move farther away, and I worry about how much trouble Xan just got into .
Leo appears over Steve’s shoulder, his eyes wide, and his voice loud. “We need a couple of medics over here. Two civilians, one suspect…and somebody please get in touch with my clinic’s emergency line. I think Stephanie’s on call tonight. Jake’s been shot.” There are several loud rumbles in the background before some of the weight lifts off me, and I see Leo carrying my fuzzy friend back towards the firetruck.
Then more faces surround us. People in firefighter or police uniforms. Someone rolls Steve off me and onto a stretcher, and I hear Gabe’s growling snarl as he takes in my pajama covered body coated in blood. I want to assure him that none of it’s mine, but I need to make sure Steve and Jake are ok first.
A gurney appears and I’m lifted onto it. My throat burns when I try to tell them I’m ok. Only a hoarse croak comes out, and Gabe lets out a long string of expletives, ending in, “Fuckin’ asshole.” He interrupts Xan and Paul’s argument with a loud yell. “Hey, what kinda trouble will I get into if I beat the shit out of a corpse? Like…is that a fine sorta situation or will I go to jail for that shit?”
Xan cackles before coming over and taking a look at me. His eyes run over my body, his face hardening when he gets to my neck. “Shoulda shot him somewhere painful first. You ok, Kelly Girl?” I nod because I can’t talk, and he looks nearly murderous. But that ship has already sailed. He nods once before turning and I watch him walk back towards the firetruck.
“Has anybody seen Jacks? It’s ok, Love. She’s fine. A little bruised, but she’ll be ok.” Jacks pops out from around the back of the truck, eyes red in the firelight and wraps himself around Xan. The smaller alpha rocks back and forth, rubbing his hands up and down his mate’s back, making quiet shushing noises. “It’s ok. Everything’ll be ok.”
I am totally gonna milk this for a batch of chocolate muffins. I giggle at the thought, but all that comes out is an unladylike wheeze that starts a painful coughing fit.
My eyes track the surrounding area. Several of the firefighters have pulled out hoses, but I don’t think there’s anything left of the shop to save. Hopefully, they can keep it from spreading to the woods or the house. I try to locate Steve, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Someone pushes my gurney over to an ambulance, and it’s bumpy as they load me in.
I want to protest; he needs to go to the hospital, I’m fine. My throat hurts, but I’ll be ok. Then I notice the other bed with Steve on it, and I reach towards him, my fingers brushing over his. He has bandages around his leg and shoulder, and a pad pressed to the side of his face. But his eyes open and he looks at me, the corner of his mouth pulling up as he twines our fingers together.
A man in grey scrubs starts checking my vital signs. Officer Paul’s voice raises outside. “Goddamnit Gabe, get him under control now!” I can’t imagine what Xan is doing at this moment, but since he hasn’t been shot or arrested yet, I’ll consider it a win .
There’s a loud banging on the side of the ambulance and Joseph steps up into the back. “Miss Kelly…and…I don’t know you,” he mutters at Steve.
My throat burns but I wave him closer, barely able to whisper, “’s Steve…’s pack.”
His eyes flare for a moment, then he nods briefly, looking between us and shaking his head. “The EMTs are gonna get you two to the hospital. Leo’ll meet Steph at the clinic with Jake, and I’ll give your parents a call once the fire’s out. I talked to Sam a bit ago, and he’s on his way home. Probably another four hours out, so I’ll send him your way when he gets back.” He nods to himself like he’s done his part and then jumps down, closing the doors behind him. There’s another loud thump on the side and then we’re moving.
Steve squeezes my fingers as the man in grey scrubs watches the monitors that are attached to my alpha. The low beeping and the rumble of the ambulance make my eyelids heavy, and I drift in and out of sleep all the way to the hospital—not coming fully awake until we pull up in front of the emergency room entrance. Steve still grips my fingers, but his hold is loose now and he looks paler than usual. A feat in and of itself, really.
I blink up at the bright ceiling as they roll us through the doors. Voices are all around, and Steve’s hand is pulled from mine as he’s taken through a set of swinging doors. My arm reaches out for him, but a nurse steps between us.
“Kelly? Kelly Carpenter, can you hear me?” I nod because my throat hurts and she nods back like she was expecting that. “Ok, honey, we have some questions we need your help with. Do you think you can manage that?” I nod again and she looks at my throat, making an upset tsking noise.
“Ok, Kelly, first let’s get you and your mate checked in, and then we can get you something for the pain. How’s that sound?” I want to rail against the mate comment, but since I can’t, I just nod again. She rolls me over to a counter and hands me a notepad with ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ written on it and begins asking questions, having me point out the answer.