Chapter 74 #2
“You turned up here awfully quick even with a guy on the lawyer,” Quaid said. “And then you managed to get into the club with one of our codes. How did you get hold of a code? Who was the other guy with you?”
The guy just smiled. “Can’t reveal all of my secrets, now, can I?” The guy held out his hand and Quaid stepped forward, handing him the pen drive.
“Thank you. Good doing business with you,” he said as Quaid stepped in front of her again, pushing her back and nearly causing her to fall. Quaid was never rough with her, which mean he’d done that deliberately.
So that he could take the bullet.
No!
She attempted to throw herself at him, expecting to be shot at any moment. This was it. They were going to die.
At least Hope had Spencer and Rock. But, God, this was not the way she’d expected things to end.
All she wanted was to live peacefully with her men and baby girl.
She slammed into Quaid, who caught her with a grunt. Seconds passed as he held her, cradling her against him.
“It’s all right, baby girl,” Quaid said. “They’re gone. You’re safe. We’re all safe.”
Moving her head, she glanced around her. They were gone? They’d just left?
Slade moved his hand, revealing a gun that he must have had hidden behind the desk. She let out a whoosh of breath. She hated to think of what would have happened if he’d had to use it.
She felt like none of them would have gotten out of here alive.
“They were dumb fucks,” Slade growled. “They should have made me move away from the desk. As soon as they raised their guns, I would have shot them.” He grabbed his phone, talking to someone. But the words were garbled, like they were coming from a distance.
Her heart was racing and she felt light-headed. A wave of nausea hit her hard. “I think . . . I think I’m going to be ill!”
Quaid grabbed the rubbish bin, holding it to her mouth as Slade ended his call, racing over to help her sit. They crouched next to her, Slade rubbing her back as she threw up. Both of them spoke to her soothingly, using soft touches and reassuring words.
Finally, her stomach settled. She sat back up. She was trembling. What was going on? Why did it feel like her heart was going to race right out of her chest?
Quaid carried the bin into the attached bathroom and returned with a wet cloth while Slade wrapped a blanket around her and picked her up in his arms, sitting with her on his lap.
After wiping her face with the cloth, Quaid grabbed a bottle of water from a small fridge and helped her drink a few sips.
That felt better. The cool water combined with the warmth of the blanket and the safety of Slade’s arms helped calm her.
“You’re safe,” Quaid told her, crouching in front of them. “We have you. Nothing is going to happen to you.”
“You were going to take a bullet for me, weren’t you?” she asked him.
“Of course,” he replied matter-of-factly. “I will always try to protect you, at least until Slade shot them.”
“You . . . you shouldn’t do that.” She pulled the blanket away so she could reach out and cup his cheek. “I need you here. All of you.”
“But you come first,” Slade told her. “You and Hope.”
She really needed to get back to her baby.
“Should we call someone? Go somewhere?” There was a rising note of panic in her voice.
“Shh, it’s all right, Little one,” Slade said. “Daddy has you, you’re safe.” He slid his finger along her lips and she parted them, sucking on it .
That helped calm her even further. Then she realized that Quaid had stood and was on the phone.
“Yeah . . . yep. We don’t know, but I’ll find out. She’s all right? Good, don’t take your eyes off her.” He ended the call and glanced over at her with concern. He was really trying to engage his emotions. “Hope is fine. Rock and Spencer will be extra vigilant.”
God.
Would they go after Hope? She hadn’t even thought of that! Tension filled her. She had to get to her baby, now!
“They have no reason to go after her,” Slade reassured her quickly, as though he could sense what she was thinking. “We’re going to take you to her as soon as we’ve made sure it’s safe to leave. I promise. Spencer and Rock will not leave her side.”
Right. Right. Of course they wouldn’t.
Slade’s phone rang and Quaid picked it up, putting it on speaker.
“Speak,” Quaid barked.
“Well, hello to you, too,” Shepherd drawled.
“How the hell did those assholes get in here!” Slade barked. “Indie is with us! They had guns. She could have gotten hurt and they stole that pen drive from Billy before we could see what was on it.”
“You have Alaistair to thank for that,” Shepherd said.
“What?” Slade said in a deathly quiet voice.
She let out a small whimper.
“Shh, Boo. You’re fine,” Slade said in a softer voice. “What do you mean, Shepherd?”
“It was his code that was used to open the door. Stupid bastard probably doesn’t realize that I assigned everyone different codes for security reasons.”
Alaistair?
The guy that from the club? Their friend? He claimed to have met her before but she still couldn’t remember that.
Why would he help those guys?
“I will fucking kill him,” Quaid said .
“Want me to send someone around to his place to secure him?” Shepherd asked.
“Yes, do that,” Slade said grimly.
“I already have. Because I’m just that good,” Shepherd sang.
“I also have those other assholes under watch. I’m going to have one of my guys .
. . wait. Fuck. They’ve just been signaled by a cop to pull over.
And they’re trying to evade them. Fucking hell.
Stupid idiots. This has just turned into a police chase. Damn it!”
“The cops were trying to pull them over?” Slade asked. “Is that a weird coincidence?”
“Hmm, my guess is that they’re known to the cops,” Shepherd said.
“Oh shit! They just crashed into a truck that pulled out in front of them. Things do not look good for these guys. The police are all over them. The cops are gonna get that pen drive unless these idiots somehow get rid of it.” There was silence while they waited anxiously to hear what was happening next.
“And, yep, the cops just found drugs and guns in the boot of their car. Wow. I’ll see what I can find out about the pen drive, but this situation is fucking messy.
One of the thugs looks like he’s dead and another is in a bad way. Ambulances are just arriving.”
“Shit,” Quaid said. “What the fuck is on that pen drive? Why was Billy collecting information about those guys? Wasn’t he in partnership with Zodiac? If that’s who they worked for which is what they implied?”
“Sounds like Billy was mixed up in a lot of shit,” Shepherd said. “So, who knows?
Everything was happening so fast and it was making her head spin. She just wanted to retreat into Little headspace and not have to think. But that wasn’t possible right now.
She had to check on Hope in person. She wouldn’t feel right until her baby was in her arms.
“It’s all right, Boo,” Slade whispered. “As soon as it’s safe for you to be Little, you can.”
She had this. She could do it.
No worries.
What a lie. She had all the worries. She couldn’t stop worrying.