70. Chapter Seventy
Chapter seventy
Adair
Later on that afternoon, we were all squished into the living room, watching Lianne and Lukas open their birthday presents.
I didn’t pay too close attention to the actual gifts, as I’d been having too much fun watching everyone else in the room.
I may also have been a little nervous about the big surprise.
“Before you open your last present, you might want to put these on first.” Ben handed Lianne a pair of tennis shoes.
She furrowed her brows in confusion, but didn’t verbally question it and she slid on the footwear.
Lukas tipped his head to the side. “No shoes for me?”
Ben chuckled. “We didn’t think you needed the advantage since you were born first.”
Quinn nodded. “You’re always going on about how you’re older and wiser, so we didn’t want to insult you by making any decisions for you.”
Lukas shook his head as his focus bounced between them. “What are you two up to?”
Lianne snickered. “Right? I want to know why I need shoes.”
From the curious looks on the faces of the non-otters, the twins weren’t the only ones wanting answers.
Lynette cleared her throat as she stood.
“Before your lovely spouses hand over the final present, let me explain a few things. All public spaces and rooms that have open doors are fair game. This includes the garage and anywhere outside. Safe rooms, the offices, the medical wing, the armory, Avery’s office, and the war room are off limits. ”
“What? Why?” Lukas leaned forward, but Lynette waved off his question.
“There is a crown hidden somewhere on the property. The first person to find it gets to be the king or queen of the house for an entire day. This does not include mafia business. If you are hit, you may reenter the game by finding me and pleading your case. If you are polite, I will give you a necklace that will show everyone that you’ve been granted another chance. ”
“Hit by what? And what do you mean granted another chance?” Lukas tried once more to get his mother’s attention.
Lianne, on the other hand, grabbed one of the awkwardly wrapped presents off the coffee table and frantically ripped the paper, cackling in delight.
“No way!” With one last tug, the last of the paper was removed, revealing a large, foam dart shooting plastic gun.
“I’m so winning!” Smirking, she aimed it at Lukas’s leg and pulled the trigger. “See you later, loser.”
“Mom!”
Lianne raced out of the room giggling, and Lynnette chuckled as she pulled a bead necklace from her pocket and handed it to her son. “You’d better grab your weapon and get going.”
Just as frantically as Lianne had, Lukas ripped the paper off his gun and took off running, heading a different direction than his sister.
“What about the rest of us?”
Ben chuckled at Ryan as he knelt down next to the couch and pulled out a plastic gun of his own. “There are enough of these scattered around the house… extra ammo, too.” With a wink, he turned and sauntered from the room and out the front door.
Lynette laughed and then looked at the rest of us. “Well, what are you waiting for?”
I glanced at Peter before taking off, running down the hall toward my room to retrieve the loaded toy gun I’d hidden in there. He was right behind me as I stood up from retrieving my plastic firearm from under the bed. “Hey, cutie. Come here often?”
Peter smirked and shook his head. “You have one for me?”
All I could do was grin. “Nope.”
He fake pouted for a moment, and I couldn’t stop myself from leaning forward and kissing him.
“There’s one hidden in the dining room on Lianne’s chair.
Good luck.” While he was still slightly stunned, I rushed past him, left the room, and headed out into the garage.
I wasn’t sure what I wanted more, the crown, or stopping Avery and Gage from getting it.
Regardless, I wanted to be one of the last ones standing.
I was looking around the garage, wondering if Lynette had hidden an actual crown to wear on your head or something smaller, when the door opened again. I crouched down, keeping my head below the windows of the SUV I was next to.
“Adair, it’s Avery. I have war paint.”
A grin spread across my face as I debated temporarily knocking her out of the game or not.
“Want to gang up against the boys? I want to knock Gage down a peg or two. That man is getting entirely too cocky again. Sunny said she’d help, but I--”
A foam dart suddenly flew past me, barely missing the side of Avery’s face.
“Benedict Mason Agosti, you’re going down, baker boy!”
I snickered at Avery’s roar and barely managed to hit him in the shoulder as I leaned around the corner and shot.
He looked shocked for a moment before letting out a resigned sigh. “Well, now to find Lynette. Nice shot.”
I curtsied and then felt a tiny sting in my butt. Whipping around, Jess smirked at me. "Sorry, hot shot, that crown is mine."
Avery popped past me and hit Jess. “Only after you plead your case with Lynette.”
Giggling, I headed toward the living room, not sure the Agosti matriarch would be there, but I had to start looking for her somewhere.
For the next half hour, after getting Lynette’s approval to rejoin the fray, we searched the house and yard for the crown.
I was hiding behind the partition in the dining room when Ellen and Talia came rushing past, covering for Lianne. All three of them had some dark eyeshadow smeared across the top of their cheeks like war paint.
I cleared my throat. “Ryan and Lukas headed toward the other hallway less than a minute ago.”
Ellen glanced at me and smirked. “Care to join an alliance?”
“Absolutely.”
I was on Lianne’s six as we crept toward the hall before she stopped us at the corner.
“Talia, Ellen, hit the bathroom. I haven’t checked there yet.
Tori, you and I are diving into that coat closet.
I don’t know why I didn’t check the unconventional places first. Ready?
” When we all nodded, she grinned. “Go!”
She had just opened the closet when Peter and Connor came in the front door. I only got one shot off, hitting Connor in the shoulder. His eyes went wide and then he shook his head right before I ducked behind the door. Almost immediately, a dart bounced off the other side of it, making me chuckle.
“Who is it?”
I glanced down, smirking at the fact she was kneeling on the ground, sifting through shoes. “Connor and Peter, but I got Connor.”
“Don’t move.” Lianne wrapped her arm around my leg and leaned out, firing off a shot.
“From the floor, Lianne?”
I smiled at Peter's complaint. “I thought you were the bodyguard here.” From my vantage point, I watched as Ellen hopped into the bathroom, with Talia standing inside, looking back at me.
Right as Lukas and Ryan came out from the far hallway, I sent a foam dart flying down the hall, taking out Lukas.
“Tori? Really?”
I shrugged at his not-so-playful outrage. “What can I say? I love crowns.”
Ryan ‘took out’ Talia the same time something hit my shoulder.
Spinning around, Gage smirked at me. “All’s fair in love and war.”
“You’ve got that right.” A dart bounced off the side of his head, and we were all stunned as Sunny raced over. “That’s for taking out the newbie, broody boy.” She dropped her toy gun, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him in for a kiss. “Don’t worry, I’ll take extra special care of you.”
I snickered as a cheer filled the hallway.
“I found it!”
We all looked to see Ellen holding a full-sized crown over her head, victoriously.
“Yes! That’s my girl. I knew you’d find it.” Lianne crawled off the floor and ran over, wrapping her in a tight hug.
“Did you know it was in there?” Ryan looked like a kid whose candy had been stolen.
Lianne shook her head. “No, but I had a feeling.”
“About the bathroom?” Lukas was staring at his sister like she was nuts.
She rolled her eyes. “What is another name for the toilet, oh wisdomous brother of mine?”
He opened his mouth and then closed it before letting out an exasperated sigh. “A throne.”
Lianne walked over and patted Lukas on the top of his head. “Very good. I knew you could do it.”
As he wrapped his arm around her head, several darts hit him, and he quickly released her before making a hasty retreat, with Ryan, Gage, Regina, and Talia chasing after him.
Ellen stood there, looking a bit stunned. “It’s over, though. I found the crown.”
Lianne was laughing as she fixed her ponytail.
“Yeah, now that the rules ended, it’s going to be absolute chaos until they can’t find ammo anymore.
” She looked around at those of us still scattered in the hallway.
“Who wants to head to the kitchen for something to eat? I have no idea how long that crew is going to be chasing each other around.”
“If Ryan gets himself hurt…”
“He won’t. Regina won’t let him.”
I glanced over at Ben, who had appeared during this conversation. “No?”
He shook his head. “I asked her to keep an eye on him. No one wants that man to backslide on his recovery. I wandered over here to let you know Blake and Dante headed out to pick up the pizza.”
Lianne nodded. “Have Mom send out a message to recall everyone. That should get them back from wherever they’ve run off to.”
It took a few minutes, but eventually everyone was in the kitchen, grabbing food and spreading out wherever to eat. Once we’d all had our share, Ben and Quinn brought the birthday cakes into the dining room, setting them on the table.
Lianne’s was champagne and lemon with a lemon custard filling.
Lukas’s was chocolate with a strawberry filling.
The singing of Happy Birthday was chaotic and loud and brought tears to my eyes. Not because it was awful, but because of all the love and genuine care that filled the room.
While the cake was being cut, Gage broke the relative silence. “So, when do we find out why Lynette had us prep the war room for everyone?”