CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CLOVER
We made it home without issue. Since Cash had contacted Desmond immediately, it didn’t take long for the doctor to arrive. While he checked out Blaze and Daire in the living room, Cash and I stood in the kitchen watching.
I needed a drink. Even though Blaze shot me a pointed look as I poured hard alcohol into a glass, I did it anyway. This had been a hell of a night. The first drink went down easy. Too easy. I poured another, adding an extra splash.
Checking my phone, I found a few texts from Raina. I’d have to get back to her later and let her know how much worse the situation was at Paradise. I didn’t want to think about that right now.
The doctor determined that Daire may have a minor concussion, although he didn’t suspect anything too severe. Blaze’s nose had taken the worst of the hit. It would probably heal slightly crooked unless he chose to see a surgeon about fixing it. Since he was already missing a finger, he didn’t seem to care about a crooked nose. I would love him regardless.
After stitching the wound in Daire’s eyebrow, the doctor left them both with some painkillers and instructions on how to take them. Then he was gone.
Blaze slouched on the couch, holding out a hand. “Someone give me some weed. I feel nauseous.”
Daire popped a pill and slid down to rest his head on the arm of the couch. “Is the room spinning for anyone else? Just me? Fantastic.”
Producing an already rolled joint, Cash passed it to Blaze, helping him light it up. “Are you sure you should be smoking? You already inhaled a lot of smoke tonight.”
Blaze coughed out his first puff. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
“How did things go at Paradise?” Daire asked, his eyes closing, his expression pained.
Cash and I exchanged a look. “Not great,” I said. “We kind of ran into trouble. I also discovered something else that’s been going on there.”
As I recounted the events of the evening, both Daire and Blaze sat up straighter, listening attentively. At one point, Daire snatched the joint from Blaze, taking a huge pull. I hated having to share such bad news after the night they’d had.
“Let me get this straight.” Daire held up a hand while also clutching the couch arm. “Jet is blackmailing us with footage he took of you two fucking in the club? Does that idiot want to end up at the bottom of the river? I’m going to destroy that cocky bastard. He’s a fucking dead man.”
Daire continued to rant, coming up with all kinds of colorful descriptions for what he would do to Jet. We let him get it all out of his system. I shared his fury. Mostly, I was nervous. Knowing Jet had that kind of material made me ill. He could do anything with that. People would see it if he put it online. Maybe even people I knew.
“Trust me,” I said. “I’m not too thrilled about that. However, we have another problem. They’re harvesting organs in that place.”
Blaze nodded, stopping when it made his head hurt. He held his face and swore. “That doesn’t actually surprise me. Has anyone talked to the Sinners about this?”
“Clover called Riot and gave him some attitude.” Cash beamed proudly. “It was great.”
“He’s going to get us clearance for the back,” I added. “Which means we have to go in there and play the part. We have to participate in that shit without killing each other. How are we going to pull that off?”
There was a stretch of quiet as we all pondered our predicament. It was late. We should probably forget it for now and go to bed.
“We’ll have to do whatever it takes to get back there. Make it look like the real thing and then turn on those in the back. Kill the camera guys. Kill anyone else who gets in our way. We’ll never be able to do this without it getting bloody.” Daire dragged himself off the couch, stumbling as he almost lost his balance. “I need to go to bed. Want to come tuck me in, Angel?”
“Just kill people?” Blaze asked. He sounded as skeptical as I felt. “That will draw a lot of attention. It’s risky. It also means they might move their operation, making hidden cameras pointless.”
“Fine. We won’t kill them unless we have to. We’ll abduct them and torture information from them. Do you have any better ideas?” Waving a dismissive hand, Daire left the room, bouncing off the wall on his way out.
“Torturing someone for information might be our only option at this point,” Cash said, turning off the kitchen light. “Let’s worry about it another day. I’m beat.”
We went upstairs where Daire was falling into his bed. “Help me, Angel. I can’t get these pants off.”
Entering his room, I wrinkled my nose. “You smell a bit smoky, Daire. Maybe you should shower.”
“Want to give me a sponge bath?” He winked, mustering a playful grin.
Despite his attempt to flirt, his eyes rolled back in his head as his pill took full effect. No doubt he was exhausted. Deciding that he wouldn’t make it through a shower right now, I helped him take off his clothes.
“You need to sleep. We’ll deal with the shower in the morning. Do you need anything?” I finished pulling off his jeans, leaving him on his bed in his underwear.
His response was a soft snore. Pulling the blanket up over him, I left his room and went to check on Blaze.
He’d managed to drag himself into the shower. I popped in to see how he was doing, finding him slowly toweling off.
“Are you okay?” I grabbed the brush off the counter, dragging it through his hair. It was long enough to flop onto his forehead, something I found irresistible.
Blaze sat on the edge of the tub, closing his eyes as I brushed his hair. “I will be. I’ve survived worse.”
That was true. His body still bore the scars from his time with Brady. I couldn’t help but glance at the cuts and burns that marked him.
“You two will need to skip classes for a day or two. You need to rest before we have to go into Paradise as VIPs. No matter what happens that night, I’m never going back to that place. Fuck the Sinners.” I sighed, feeling the fatigue of the day.
“Are you sure you’re up for that?” Blaze wrapped his arms around me, pressing his face against my stomach. “You’ve done more than enough. I don’t want you to go through something like that.”
“Don’t worry about me.” I stroked a hand through his damp hair. “I just want this over. I want to be done with all of it.”
“Me too.” Blaze lightly touched his nose. “Fuck. My face hurts like hell. I think I need a painkiller now. I left them downstairs. Do you mind grabbing me one?”
While he got himself comfortable in bed, I went downstairs for his pills and a glass of water. At Blaze’s request, I stayed with him, cuddling up against him. He was restless for a while, struggling to settle until the pill kicked in. That’s when I was able to sleep too.
Fitful and stressful, my dreams were a mess of random images. From the men who’d chased me to the body they’d been transporting, and two of the men I loved bound while a fire threatened to consume them.
Only when Blaze rolled over and wrapped me in his arms did the horrible dreams cease. I clung to him, needing him to keep me grounded. When I finally awoke in the morning, I felt like I had barely rested. This was going to be a long day.