Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Ramsey
I held back beside Dallas while the others all hugged and kissed Chelsea. Someone had to stay close enough to him to make sure he didn't fuck her right there in front of everyone. He would have, and we all knew it. Even while the plane stank of death.
Even on a cool day like today, the smell was going to get worse as the day wore on.
Without waiting to be asked, I called for a cleanup crew to take care of the bodies before anyone came along and started asking questions. This was a private airfield, but stranger things had happened. We didn't want to have to kill innocent members of the public because they saw too much.
Finally, Storm and Frost stepped back, giving me a chance to shoulder my way through to her.
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her so we were pressed hard against each other.
I nestled my face into her neck, feeling her pulse beat against my cheek.
I sent off a thought of gratitude to whatever higher power existed that she was still alive and seemingly unhurt.
"I didn't get a chance to ask how you guys survived the cottage exploding," she said softly. Trust her to be more worried about us than herself. She was always so giving and sweet.
"We weren't inside," I told her. "We were about to leave. A couple of minutes earlier and we wouldn’t be here."
I ran my hand down her hair, tangling my fingers in the silky length. Holding her while she let out a sob.
"I thought you were dead," she whispered. "I saw the flames, and I thought…"
I kissed her throat. "It’d take more than a little explosion to kill us. We're badasses. Just like you." We were, but on this occasion we'd been more lucky than badass.
If the explosion went off when we were inside the cottage, we would have been blown to pieces. Not even the most kick-ass person would have survived that.
"I don't feel like a badass," she said. "I killed people today. I feel… numb."
"I'd be worried if you weren’t numb," I said. "When that wears off, you'll need our support."
She might come apart for a while, but she'd be fine. We'd see to that. "If you felt nothing, or if you enjoyed it, I'd be worried."
"Frost enjoys it," she pointed out. "So does my brother."
"They're both fucked in the head," I said lightly. "But it's part of their charm. We wouldn't have them any other way, would we?"
She sniffed. "No, we wouldn't. I just thought…"
I drew my head back to look in her eyes. "What did you think?" I asked gently.
"I thought… I thought I might enjoy it too." Her eyes shone with unshed tears.
"You were worried you'd like killing?" I guessed. "You thought you might be fucked in the head too?"
She pressed her lips together and nodded. "I think that's what everyone expected of me. I'm supposed to be like my brother. But I'm not. I don't want to kill everyone in sight."
I smiled slightly. "That's good, because I'm in your direct line of sight."
She batted my shoulder. "I definitely don't want to kill you, or any of my guys. I meant… other people." She blinked and looked at me like she wasn't seeing me, she was lost in thought.
"Except Dominic King and Otis Skinner. They were in on this. All of this. So was Nyla." She briefly explained what the other woman's role was in everything that happened over the last few months.
"I'm not sure I shouldn't kill her," I said dryly.
"I think we can work with her," Chelsea said. "If we can't, then we'll have to deal with her." She spoke like a true mafia princess, like she'd finally stepped into that role.
What did I think about that? I wasn't sure. To me, she'd always be hot as hell, no matter who or what she was, but I didn't want her to lose her soul in the process.
"First, we need to get you out of here," I said. "Then we deal with King and Skinner."
"We're in," Hunter said. He and Parker stood at the bottom of the steps, on the runway. "Reuben will want us to take care of them anyway. We might as well be proactive and volunteer."
Parker sighed. "Maybe then he'll give us a break to spend with the girls."
"He better," Hunter said. "Otherwise, I quit."
"I vote you tell him that," Parker said. "I'm not going to."
"I'll make sure he gives you a break," Mina told them both. As the mother of a five-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl, she'd know what it was like to be a new parent. Daze too, although her daughter was closer to ten years old now.
"We're not dealing with anyone until everyone gets a good night's rest," Ice said firmly. He quickly recovered from the disappointment of missing out on torturing Jones, and was instead hovering near Chelsea, looking a combination of relieved and worried.
I'd never seen siblings, apart from the Brantley twins, as close as Chelsea and Ice.
When he suggested we actually stand in front of the plane I thought he'd lost his mind completely.
But he was serious and we'd all followed him.
Not one of us would have been able to live with ourselves if that plane took off, taking her with it.
It was the most intense game of chicken I'd ever played in my life, and I never wanted to do it again.
In a fight between an aircraft and humans, the chances were we would have lost.
Yet, none of us flinched. We'd just stood there, side by side, ready to see if that windscreen was bullet-proof or not. Or one of the side windows. There was never really a plan. In the end, we didn't need one. Chelsea saved herself.
"I could do with some sleep," Chelsea said. "After a long soak. And some chocolate. Maybe some pizza."
"Whatever you want." I kissed her mouth, savouring the feel of her lips on mine. So warm, plump and soft. "We'll organise it."
I took her hand and walked with her down the steps onto the runway. All the rest of her guys arrayed themselves around us. Nothing and no one was getting past us again. We'd deal with King and Skinner, and finally we'd be free to get on with our lives together.
In twenty-four hours, it would be over.
I hoped.
I managed to score a seat beside Chelsea in the back of one of the SUVs. Dallas and Frost tried to get around each other to sit on her other side, but it was Jay who got there first. Mumbling, they sat behind us, squashed in with Storm. Atlas sat beside Gianni, who volunteered to drive us home.
I clicked in my seatbelt and sat staring at her until she turned to me and blinked a couple of times.
"What?" she asked.
"I'm trying to get my head around the fact you're here," I said. I brushed hair off her face with the back of my knuckles.
"That might be the longest sentence I ever heard you say," she teased lightly.
"You have that effect on me." I cupped her cheek and ran my thumb over her smooth skin and down to her jaw line. "I might become a chatterbox."
She laughed softly. "I can't see that happening. But you can tell me how you all got to the airfield. Seeing you drive up like that, it was like something out of a movie. Except without a rocket launcher."
"I'll remember to bring one next time," I said. I told her everything that happened since she left the cottage, using as few words as I could.
"I've never seen your brother look so angry. Jones is lucky he's dead. He would have lived a long time down in Ice's workroom. A long, painful time." I stopped for a beat before asking, "How long does it take before he gets bored with someone?"
"I think we would have found out," she said.
I had no regrets about Carlos Jones' death, even if it denied her brother some fun. I was happy that part of all of this was over. Thanks to Nyla Fox. If it wasn't for her, things would have turned out differently.
I shifted in my seat, restless after so long with little activity. "Being chained up in one place would be my worst nightmare. Even if your brother didn't lay a hand on me."
"Is that why you work out so much?" she asked gently. "Because you can't keep still?"
I glanced around to see the guys all looking out the window, not listening to our whispered conversation. I swallowed and turned back to Chelsea.
"I work out a lot because I never liked what I saw in the mirror. I always felt like I was… bigger than I should be. When I was a kid, I was, and it stuck with me. No matter how much I worked out, it never felt like enough."
I looked down to my knees. "Then it got to be a habit and an obsession. Now, if I don't do it I might go crazy."
"You know your perception isn't accurate, right?" she asked. "Your body is incredible. I know I've told you tons of times not to overdo it. If you do, you could give yourself a permanent injury." She sounded every bit the doctor, but the concerned girlfriend at the same time.
"Is this where you tell me I need therapy?" I asked.
"Do you think you need it?" She placed a hand on my knee.
I didn't want to answer that, but I finally managed a nod. "I guess I do. Before it goes too far."
"We all need help sometimes," she said. "Even big, badass mafia dudes like you. Even badass rugby dudes. It's nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I could use some professional help myself, especially after last night. And today. Maybe we could go together?" She squeezed my knee.
"That's a good idea." I put my arm around her and pulled me to her, holding her close while we watched the landscape slide past. We'd be back in Dusk Bay in an hour or so, back to reality.
Right then, I just wanted to enjoy a quiet moment while it lasted.