Chapter 15 Pete
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
PETE
“Better,” I say with a pleased grin as Wren’s knife hits the center of the tree trunk. I move to pull it out as she smiles proudly.
I’m amazed at how fast she bounced back from being kidnapped. I expected her to be unable to sleep and to jump at every sound, but the fact that she is able to fall asleep between two of us with no problem says a lot about her resilience and her trust in us to keep her safe.
I was actually pretty grateful for Dex’s leash, and when I slept with her, I made sure to attach her to my own ankle so I could actually sleep.
She used to untie it to go to the washroom in the middle of the night, but in the two nights since we rescued her from Ivan, she hadn’t gotten up without waking one of us first. Something we were all grateful for.
“Okay, try it again,” I tell her after retrieving the throwing knife and passing it back.
It was too long ago that I promised to teach her how to use a knife to protect herself, and I decided that as soon as she didn’t need the sling anymore, I was going to teach her. I wouldn’t leave her unarmed again.
Unfortunately, Elias had insisted on helping, since he had actual tactical training from the FBI.
He was very convincing in his demand when he explained how valuable it would be for her to have both professional training and street training, as he called my lessons.
I couldn’t argue; the more training and knowledge she had on how to protect herself, the better.
I’m not sure if having this knowledge would have helped her when she was taken before, but she had admitted she wished she had a knife in the trunk with her.
“Yes!” she cheers loudly when her knife hits the trunk again.
I grin at her as I move to yank it free. “Great job, angel. I think you’re ready for some more hands-on training,” I say with a waggle of my eyebrows.
Her eyes turn a little heated. “Oh? And just how hands-on are we talking?”
I can’t stop my gaze from traveling down her perfect body.
She’s wearing tight black leggings that show off every curve, a tight white crop top, and a short black leather jacket over top.
I wanted to be very hands-on with her. It’d been almost five days since I got to make her come on my tongue, and it was killing me not to throw her down and see how fast I could have her moaning my name.
Glancing up, I see Elias still standing nearby, arms crossed over his chest as he glares at me. Fucking cockblocker.
I can appreciate the value Elias brings to our team. Being at this safe house is way better than any hotel, plus he has insider knowledge of all our enemies, not to mention his FBI training has its advantages, too.
But it’s becoming blatantly clear he isn’t willing to just sit at the side and be a platonic part of this group, even if that’s exactly what he has been so far.
I know the looks he sends Wren’s way are in no way platonic.
The man dedicated his entire adult life to her; he was obviously smitten.
I just worry about what will happen when she clues into that.
She’s known him her whole life; would she let him sweep her off her feet and leave us all behind? I don’t think she would do that, but it’s hard not to worry. I refuse to lose her.
And that meant keeping him at arm's length from her.
Taking a deep breath, I tell my boner to behave as I move behind her, my chest pressed to her back as I place a different knife in her right hand, then close mine over hers. “I’m going to show you how to move.” I turn my head to Elias and beckon him closer.
When he’s standing in front of us, I use our hands to point the knife at him. “You can slice your enemy anywhere, and it’s going to hurt, but a few places have more impact than others. Can you guess where?”
“The neck?” she asks, pointing it at Elias’s neck.
“That’s right, what else?”
She takes a second before she answers this time. “The eyes and the groin?”
“The eyes are a definite yes. As we are talking about slashing and not stabbing, I wouldn’t suggest the groin; you won’t get a good angle to do much damage, and normally, there is more material protecting that area.
You want to aim for areas that will bleed a lot.
Up the arm.” I mimic the slash a few inches away from Elias’s arm.
“You could do the leg, too, but depending on what sort of pants they are wearing, it might be hard to cut through.”
She nods, and I continue. “But when it comes to stabbing, it gets a little more fun.”
“Fun?” Elias asks in disbelief.
I nod excitedly. “Yep, there’s nothing more fun than stabbing your enemy and watching his eyes widen in shock!” I tilt my nose to Wren as I add, “Well, I can think of a few things that are much more fun. But in terms of fighting, this is my favorite.”
“I can’t believe you have a favorite way of hurting people,” Elias says with a shake of his head, but it just makes my grin grow wider.
“Have you ever killed anyone?” Wren asks him as casually as if asking how he likes his coffee.
God, I fucking love this woman.
I wrap my free arm further around her waist and press a kiss to her neck in that spot she loves just below her ear, while we wait for Elias to reply.
He tries, and fails, not to watch where I touch her before he finally nods. “I killed one of Ivan’s men the other day.”
“That was your first kill?” I ask, lifting my head in surprise. He nods, a small pinch between his brows as he watches me, as if unsure about my reaction. “Dude, you should have told us! We should celebrate!”
“Celebrate?” he asks in disbelief.
“Of course! The first is always the hardest.” I unwrap myself from Wren and grab her hand, tugging her toward the back door of the safe house we finally made it to in Montana a few hours ago.
The three of us hadn’t even fully explored it yet, as we decided there was no time to waste on self-defense lessons.
I shove open the back door, finding the others scattered around the open kitchen and living room. “Boys, tonight we’re celebrating!”
“Why?” Sly asks, suspicious as always.
“Because I just found out our pal Elias here had his first kill the other day!” They all look at him in surprise, and he bristles, crossing his arms over his chest in defense.
“What? You know it’s not normal to kill people, right? And I don’t think you should be teaching Wren that it’s something to celebrate.”
“I’m not a child,” she argues back, making me grin as I wrap myself around her again, her back to my chest. I can’t stop touching her lately.
Not just because she was taken again, but because I’m constantly wanting to be close to her.
If it weren’t for Elias, I would make her come a dozen times every day, just to watch her writhe around in ecstasy.
“I know you’re not, but it doesn’t mean they should be acting like murder is normal,” Elias replies, shaking me out of my deliciously dirty thoughts.
“Those men were going to hurt you guys, or me, right?” He nods.
“And they probably hurt other people, too.” She turns in my arms to look up at me, her hands fisted in the front of my shirt as she asks, "Like the men you guys killed before prison, right? They had done bad things, so they deserved to die.”
I groan, my head dropping down beside hers as I whisper in her ear, “God, Wren. I love you so fucking much.” She gasps, and before she can respond, Elias annoyingly interrupts.
I don’t think he heard me, but he doesn’t seem done with this conversation either. “That’s why we have police, judges, and juries. It’s their job to catch the bad guys, convict them, and sentence them.”
Dex huffs out a laugh, asking, “You’re kidding, right?” Elias frowns at him, and he continues. “You should know better than most that the system is broken.”
Sly is quick to add on. "Rapists and murderers go free all the time because a piece of evidence gets mislabeled or acquired in a way that they can’t accept. You might be okay with letting them go free to hurt more people, but not all of us are.”
Elias’s frown deepens as his eyes bounce between us all. “What are you saying? Are you some sort of vigilante squad now?”
“Oh! We could have a name!” I say excitedly, liking the sound of that. “The Cape Crusaders!”
“I am not wearing a cape,” Jagger signs, and I see Dex deflate, clearly having liked my idea. Hmm, maybe the two of us could convince the others to wear costumes…
“What about… Wren’s Wicked Killers?”
“Be serious,” Sly says with a roll of his eyes. “You can’t use any of our names. We would need to be anonymous.”
“Right, right.” I bob my head as I try to think of another idea.
“You’re in on this, too?” Elias asks Sly with what sounds like exasperation.
“When this is over, we’ll need to make a living somehow.”
“And you think being what… contract killers, won’t be putting Wren in more danger?”
“She’ll always be safe with us,” Dex tells him with a shrug, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world.
Elias turns to Wren, who I’m still holding tightly to me as he asks, “And what about you? Is that what you want? To spend your life with them, tracking down bad guys and killing them? You could do anything, you know. Once we’re free of Robert and Ivan, you could do anything you want.
You could go to college or university, start your own business, whatever you want. I’ll help you, you just name it.”
“Well… considering I didn’t even know women could have jobs until a few weeks ago, I probably need to take some time to think about it.” She turns in my arms, mirroring our position from outside as she asks, “Would there be a spot on your team for me?”
“A spot? Wren, angel cake. There is no team without you. You’re our center.”
A large smile tilts her lips up, and she nods, biting her lip. “Your center. I like that.”
“Now that’s settled, I think there was mention of a party?” Dex asks, and I jump back from Wren and clap my hands excitedly.
“Yes! Dex, you find us drinks, order them if you have to.”
“Jagger, you’re on food.” The man nods and pulls out his phone.
“Sly, you’re on games,” I point at him, and he just gives an incredulous look that makes Wren and me laugh. “Just kidding, I’m on games, you’re on entertainment. Maybe a music playlist?”
He sighs like I gave him a terrible task, but quickly pulls out his phone and starts clicking away, making me smirk.
“What about me?” Elias asks hesitantly.
“You can relax, the party is for you.” He looks at me as if he doesn’t believe me, which just makes me give him my biggest smile. He looks at me like I’m crazy as he beckons for Wren to join him on the couch.
I watch them, making sure there’s at least a few inches between them. I might be planning to fill Elias with liquor to make him a little more tolerable, but it didn’t mean I wanted him touching my girl.
Maybe I’d get lucky, and he’d be an ugly drunk, spouting embarrassing things and puking on himself. That would be awesome.
“What are you planning?” Dex whispers.
“What makes you think I’m planning anything?” I ask innocently.
He rolls his eyes. “I’m not blind, you’ve been staring at him with that mischievous glint in your eye for the past five minutes.”
Five minutes? I thought they just sat down a few seconds ago. I must have really spaced out.
“I’m hoping that if we can get Elias drunk, he’ll show his true colors.”
“Good,” Sly says, making me twitch a little in surprise, not realizing that he and Jagger were right behind me. “I don’t trust him.”
“I think he’s on our side,” Dex says in defense. “He really cares about Wren.”
“That’s the part I don’t trust,” Sly says. Jagger and I nod in agreement.
“Maybe by the end of the night, she will see there is nothing there but friendship. Very platonic friendship,” I tell them as I try to convince myself that this is a good plan, that there is no chance of it blowing up in my face when he turns out to be a genuinely good guy.
But he could be the best guy in the world, it didn’t mean I wanted his hands anywhere near our girl.
A growl escapes me when he reaches out and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
All at once, Dex, Sly, and I yell out, “No touching!”