31. Hartley
31
HARTLEY
The sound of Rory’s phone ringing echoed across the studio. He only had certain people set up to where the phone would ring, even if he had it silenced. One of them was Jordan. The others were Raiden, Reghan, Barry, Vail, and me. With me sitting in the same room as him, and Reghan nearby, worry instantly coursed through me at what was wrong. His phone never rang like this.
“Yes?” he answered.
I couldn’t hear what the other person said, but Rory’s eyes met mine and a grim frown formed on his lips.
“We’re on our way.” He hung up and pocketed his phone, then flipped the lock on the front door before killing the lights and coming over to me. “We have to go now.”
I closed my laptop and shoved it in my bag, along with my phone. We were the only ones in the studio today since it was the weekend. “What happened?”
“Vinny’s been shot, and Lane’s been taken.”
“What?” I whirled to face him. “Is Vinny going to make it?”
“I don’t have details. I was told to get back to the building as fast as possible. Forest is going to meet us out back where Reghan should be. Move, Hartley.”
Grabbing my bag, I slung it over my shoulder while trying to dig my keys out with shaking hands. Rory must have seen my struggle because he gently took them from me and put his hand on the small of my back to usher me out the door.
I didn’t need words to understand what the urgency was. With Lane kidnapped, I could be next. So could Vail or even… Ava. I remembered she was staying at a friend’s house and had a security detail on her. We still weren’t sure if the Everharts knew about her, but the guess was they did. We didn’t hide Ava, but we also didn’t parade around on the street with her telling everyone who she was to us.
Forest was exiting the entrance to the apartment at the same time we exited the building. Rory parked the SUV close to the door as it was. He told me it was in case we ever needed to use it as a shield. I thought he was crazy. Now, not so much.
My eyes went from side to side, waiting for someone to come out of nowhere to hurt us, but Reghan was making sure that didn’t happen. Rory set the alarm on the studio and locked up before ushering Forest and me into the back of the SUV while Reghan sat up front. Rory jumped into the driver’s seat, and we made the short drive to Jordan’s building without hitting the main road. Guards waited for us in the garage to form a wall from us to the elevator.
I didn’t let out the breath I was holding until the elevator doors slid shut with Forest, Rory, Reghan, and me inside. “Vail? Jordan?” I asked.
“Vail and Jordan are with Vinny,” Rory said. “I saw Alton’s car in the garage so he must be working on him.”
“I want to see them.”
“I figured. We’ll go to where they are. ”
The fear I had over Lane and his safety rode me hard, but my immediate concern was for the men I loved and Vincent, who was obviously hurt protecting Lane.
As soon as we were off the elevator, I rushed to the medical room, having seen it when I was given the tour after moving in. Certain rooms stuck out to me. This was one of them.
The room was concealed much like it was in the safe house. Luckily, I knew how to get into it and the code. I was adamant Jordan give it to Vail and me in case he ever ended up in there. I wouldn’t hesitate to tear through Jordan’s men to get to him. I might be smaller than them, but I’d make up for it in sheer will to get to my man.
I could hear them talking before I was fully through the door. The sound of metal on metal as Alton used what he needed to help Vincent. I didn’t know the names of everything. There was no reason for me to. The only thing I cared about was everyone being okay.
Jordan turned the moment I was in the room. His shirt was gone, and no blood was visible on him. He must have gotten rid of his clothes, so Vail and I wouldn’t see it.
Jordan walked to me and wrapped me in a tight embrace. “I’m so glad to see you.” He let out a long breath and held me closer.
“Vinny?”
“He’s going to be okay. Alton got one of the bullets out already and is working on the other one. We were lucky he was close by when he called.”
Leaning back, I asked, “When did Barry call Rory? After you were already here?”
Jordan nodded. “I knew you were safe with Rory and Reghan and Vail was here. I had to get Vinny help. ”
I peered around Jordan to look at Vail, where he stood holding Vincent’s hand, while Alton worked on the other side. Peeling myself away from Jordan’s warmth, I went to Vail and hugged him from behind while I studied Vincent’s face. It was tight with pain.
“Hey, Hartley,” he rasped when his eyes opened and he saw me standing there.
“Couldn’t go the day without getting shot, could you?”
“Gotta keep it interesting.”
“Second bullet is out,” Alton said, dropping it into a small metal bowl off to the side.
“Damage?” Jordan asked.
“Muscular. Nothing major was hit but he’s going to need rest and PT to fully heal.”
“Fuck that,” Vincent grumbled. “Just stitch me up so I can work.”
Turning, I peered at Jordan with sad eyes, silently begging him to make Vincent rest. I didn’t have to though because Jordan was already on his way to the table to put his hand on Vincent’s good shoulder. “You’ll go back to work when Alton clears you and not a moment sooner.”
“Need to find Lane.”
“We will.”
“County line…” Vincent cursed as Alton worked on him.
“County line?” Vail asked.
“I heard him say something about County Line Road. It was Noel that took him. Said he figured he’d be easier to grab than you or Hartley. He’s going to lure you there using Lane.”
“That motherfucker,” I bit out. Peering over my shoulder, I found Jordan with his eyes on me, hard and unyielding.
“I’ll find him.”
“He’s family now. We have to get him back safely. ”
Jordan pressed a quick kiss to Vail’s lips then mine. “I love you both. I’ll be back.” There was no point in telling him not to go. This was what Jordan did. Took out the men who came for him and the people he cared about. He might not give a solitary fuck about Lane, but he cared about me. Lane mattered to me, therefore, he mattered to Jordan.
County Line Road ran just north of Dremest where there were more farms and less traffic. I hadn’t been up that way often but recognized the name. There were plenty of places for them to hide if they knew what they were doing, which they obviously did. Jordan had been out that way searching and so had his guards, but they couldn’t exactly go from property to property asking to see their barns and other areas to check for the Everharts.
“You two don’t have to stay,” Vincent said. His eyes were closed, more relaxed now while Alton worked to close the wound.
“There’s nowhere else we need to be,” I told him. “Now sit there like a good boy and let Alton take care of you.”
Vincent opened one eye to half glare at me. “If I didn’t like you…”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re so scary.” I grinned, trying to lighten the mood. It wasn’t a great situation he was in, or Lane for that matter. Either I made jokes with them, or I worried myself sick.
I hadn’t gotten to know Lane well yet, although I had plans to. He grew up with a shitty family. No, that wasn’t a horrible enough word for what he’d been through, and we only were aware of the edge of that nightmare. At least he had his mother until she passed.
Now, he’d have all of us. We were loud, annoying, and way overbearing, but we had good intentions. When we got him back, I was going to smother him with attention. I was going to take annoying to another level.
And because I was thinking of ways to be annoying, I asked, “How was Raiden?”
Alton’s head lifted. “Why? He wasn’t hit.”
“No, but with Lane missing…” I even dropped my gaze and shrugged for effect. It was no secret there was something between Raiden and Alton, but there was also a definite interest in Lane where Raiden was concerned.
“Hartley, spit it out.” Alton didn’t say it in anger, more in frustration.
“It’s just that there was something between them the last time they were in a room together. I’m not sure what, but Raiden was concerned about Lane when I told Lane about the DNA results and accidentally elbowed him.”
Alton swallowed slowly, his throat working. “Raiden and Lane?”
“I don’t think there’s anything going on yet, if you’re wondering. It was a vibe I got from the way Raiden reacted to Lane’s distress.” It really wasn’t distress but that sounded better than me bruising Lane.
“Whatever’s between them is their business. I have too much on my plate to worry what they’re doing.”
Vincent scoffed.
“What?” Alton asked, back in doctor mode. “Are you in pain somewhere else?”
“No, but you should pull your head out of your ass, so you and Ray finally get together. God, you’re all fucking fools. There’s so much eye fucking around me lately, I get hard from just being in the vicinity.”
I choked out a laugh, not expecting him to say that. “Subtle. ”
“Who has time for subtlety? I could have been killed today. The only reason that asshole got the jump on me was because I was in the middle of a conversation with Lane and not paying attention like I should have been, something I’ll kick myself for until I’m no longer breathing. One of those bullets could have ended me though. Everyone needs to tell the ones they care about how they feel. This job we do isn’t easy. I don’t care if you’re the doctor, the chef, or the designer. You’re part of this world of crime and uncertainty. That means anything can happen at any time. There’s no point in wasting what we’re given because we’re too fucking afraid to admit what we feel.”
“Are you sure you’re doing okay, Vinny?” Vail asked. “That was a mouthful.”
“Yeah, V, I’m good. Just sick of watching these idiots act like teenagers, not sure how to tell their crush they like them. That’s you too, Doc. You and Ray are always eyeing each other up like you can’t stand to be so far apart in the room but at the same time, scared you’re going to get burned if you’re close.”
Alton shook his head as he bandaged Vincent. “I’m not talking about this. As for Raiden, there’s nothing between us. Nothing he wants anyway.”
“Maybe he does but being one of Jordan’s main guards doesn’t lend itself to living the kind of life he’d want to give someone. As far as Lane, when we get him back, if you really want Ray, you’re going to have to find a way to make it work. It won’t be easy, but it’ll be worth it.”