Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
brONX
It took us a while to level out the numbers, but we did.
We poured through more ammunition than I would have ever liked to for something like this.
At one point in time, I could have sworn I heard the girls moving about.
I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I knew I had to keep my eyes trained ahead of me.
Rose was capable. And so was Hayley. Between the two of them, I knew everyone would be safe.
Stone called out maneuvering positions, and we all fell into line as one.
Asher took the brunt at the front of the house, forcing some back into their cars to drive off.
We followed along the wrap-around porch, shooting assholes in the gut and pushing them off the edge.
The water came right up to the cliffside where we were stationed.
The bodies would be washed away with the night and left without a trace.
We scoured the lodge, making sure no one had snuck into any closets to lay low before they surprised us with yet another attack.
And when the Chinese were finally whittled down to small numbers, they retreated.
“This isn’t over!” Cheng exclaimed.
“Well, make sure you tell your boss you’re fucking around with the police too! I’m sure he’ll love that!” Stone exclaimed.
“Who do you think gave that order, asshole!?” Cheng roared.
I watched Stone’s face fall as we all held our guns out in front of us.
We watched as everyone drove off, but I could tell those words hit Stone much harder than they needed to. Hell, they hit me harder than they needed to. Yung knew his men were working for the police? He gave the fucking order for them to!?
What the hell was going on?
“Inside. Now,” Stone commanded.
“I really think we should—”
Asher tried to interrupt with his two cents, but Stone strode over to him. The two men faced off with one another, staring each other down. Stone’s nostrils flared, and I really thought he was going to put a bullet between the man’s eyes.
Then, he gnashed his teeth together.
“You have no turf here. I’m the one that gives the rules. Your crew might be legendary, but you aren’t. Learn that now,” Stone growled.
My eyes widened as he pushed past all of us.
I stole a glance at Asher as he stood outside, his body surrounded by nothing but blood and dust. We all retreated back inside, picking up shell casings as we went along.
Notch went about scouring the porch, making sure all of the immediate trace evidence we could pick up with our fingers was gone.
We had to move and quickly.
“Hayley!” Stone exclaimed.
“They aren’t in the back room,” Texas said as he came striding down the hallway.
“Rose?” Asher asked as he came back into the lodge.
“Where are the girls?” Stone asked.
“We’re back here!” Hayley called out.
I raced down the side hallway that skirted the side wall and the middle bedrooms. I lunged for the door, ripping it open to find everyone hunkered down in corners.
I heard a shotgun cock as my eyes fell to the bed and saw Freya laying there.
One of her eyes was closed and she had that gun held so tightly in her hands I saw the whites of her knuckles glaring at me.
Her ass stuck itself up in the air as she poised herself, ready to shoot.
I wasn’t even sure she recognized who I was.
“Freya. It’s me,” I said.
I saw her blink a few times before the gun shifted.
“Freya, it’s Bronx. Can you hear me?” I asked.
“She killed two men,” Rose said.
I looked over at her mother before terror washed over me.
Freya killed men back there? I slowly panned my eyes back over to her and watched her closely.
Her head cocked off to the side as if she was listening to the world around her for the first time, and when tears crested her eyes, I strode to her and slipped the shotgun from between her hands.
“It’s over. I’ve got you. Come here,” I said softly.
She lunged at me, clinging to me and wrapping her arms around me.
The women rushed by me, making their way for their own men as the reunions continued to take place.
I heard Stone kissing Hayley. I heard Texas lifting Keva into his arms. I heard Asher telling his wife how much he loved her as Notch groaned at the sight of all the kissing and hugging.
“Are you all right?” I murmured.
“I don’t know,” Freya whispered.
“What happened back here? How did you guys end up in this room?”
“We started taking fire in the other room,” Rose said.
I turned around with Freya in my arms, feeling her wrap her legs around me. I looked over at Asher and saw a disapproving stare waft across his face, but he didn’t do anything about it. He didn’t tell me to put her down or back away from her, so I didn’t bother with it.
We could resolve our differences another time.
“Hollow points,” Rose said breathlessly.
“So, you guys took the small hallway to this room,” I said.
Freya nodded against the crook of my neck.
“It’s okay. You just breathe, all right?” I asked.
“Okay,” she whispered.
“We got into the room and we thought that door behind you was a restroom. Keva pulled away from her mother because she needed to go, and then the door burst open and men started grabbing for her,” Rose said.
“For Keva,” I said.
“Mhm. And Freya just…”
I closed my eyes and mindlessly kissed the side of her head.
“You protected them. You were protecting them,” I said.
“Mhm,” Freya whimpered.
“Can I hold her?” Asher asked.
I wasn’t one to deny a father the right to comfort his daughter.
I walked over with Freya in my arms and passed her off.
Her father cradled her closely in his arms like a child sick with a fever.
He sat down on the edge of the bed, and I saw his shoulders moving.
Shaking. Like he was crying for the well-being of his child.
“Let’s give them some time. I’ll get you something to drink,” I said.
I led Rose out of the room and closed the door behind me.
My mind swirled with so many implications.
So many things I knew Freya felt in this moment.
I remembered my first kill. How it haunted me at night.
How it gave me nightmares for months. It didn’t matter that I was protecting Notch from a gang-related threat in the area.
What mattered was the way that man’s eyes looked before I put a bullet between them.
What mattered was the vibrating of the metal in my hands as the gun discharged and rebounded.
What mattered was the smell of blood I still remembered to this day and how unashamed I was of that kill.
How guiltless I felt because of who I was protecting.
“Is she okay?” Stone asked.
I looked over at Hayley, and she nodded.
“I told them what happened,” she said.
I sighed. “I don’t know. Her father’s with her right now. How bad is the damage to this place?”
“Bad enough to where we aren’t safe here any longer,” Notch said.
“Shit,” Texas murmured.
“We’ve got the bunker,” Stone said.
“But it’s not enough to fit all of us,” I said.
“There’s always our second safehouse. But if it’s compromised as well, we’re fresh out of places to go,” Notch said.
I sighed as I looked down the hallway, listening to Freya audibly sob. It broke my heart. I wanted to be the one to comfort her. To wipe away her tears.
But that was her father back there. The only man in her world that would ever trump another man in her life.
Hell, I wasn’t even sure if I was a man in her life. A man she wanted in her life.
“We don’t have another choice,” I said.
“I agree,” Stone said.
“What’s going on now?” Rose asked.
“We have another safehouse just outside of San Diego. It’s big enough to fit all of us, but we’ve never had to use it before. We had it built back when us and your husband’s crew still shared San Diego. Just in case we ever had any rough run-ins,” Stone said.
“It’s our only shot now, though. We have to stick together, and these girls can’t be alone anymore,” Notch said.
“I agree with that sentiment,” Rose said.
“The only issue is that if Freya goes back with you and your husband, you could be taking this danger right back to Yuma. Or before, if they attack you while traveling,” I said.
“She wants to see you,” Asher said.
I turned around and found the massive man looming in the hallway door frame. I looked back at Rose one last time and then made my way for the room. I needed to see Freya. I needed to make sure she was okay. But as I slipped past Asher, his hand came down around my arm.
“Watch it,” Stone growled.
“It’s fine. He’s okay,” I said.
I looked up into Freya’s father’s eyes and watched them finally soften.
“Thank you for looking after our daughter while she was here,” he said.
I nodded. “You’re welcome. But I wouldn’t thank us just yet. Her leaving is more dangerous than ever.”
“I know. We’ll talk about that once the two of you are done talking.”
I nodded and Asher dropped his grip from my arm.
I stormed through the hallway, my shoulders brushing either wall at my sides.
I walked through the door and closed it behind me and locked it, just in case someone tried to barge in on us.
Freya sat on the edge of the bed, her tears dried.
But the evidence of her crying was in her features.
Her back was straight, but her shoulders slumped a bit.
Her eyes were red and puffy. Her cheeks dried from having them wiped so much.
I walked over to her and crouched in front of her, taking her hands within mine.
“Freya, I’m right here,” I said.
Her eyes slowly connected with mine, and I saw the sadness weighing them down.
“I killed them, Bronx,” she whispered.
“Protecting a helpless little girl. You did good.”
“But I killed. I’ve never—I don’t—”
She started crying again, and I stood up.
I pulled her into my arms, wrapping myself around her as tightly as I could.
She clung to me, fisted my shirt, and pulled me into her as she sobbed into my chest. The sound broke my heart.
I wanted to take all of her pain away and shoulder it myself just to see her smile again.
“It’s okay. I’m right here. You’re safe, I swear it. And the girls are safe because of what you did. You have to keep that the focus in your mind,” I said.
I kissed the top of her head as she whispered something into my chest.
“What was that?” I asked.
She tilted her head up to look into my eyes before she sniffled.
“I didn’t just do it for them,” she murmured.
I furrowed my brow. “What do you mean?”
“Those men. Perching on the bed. I didn’t do it just for them. You know, to protect the girls.”
“Did something else happen?”
She nodded, and anger rose in my gut.
“What happened? Tell me,” I said.
“You did,” she said softly.
I paused. “I’m not following.”
She pulled me down with her to sit on the bed, and it groaned underneath our weight. But before I could get any more out of Freya, a knock came at the door.
“Bronx?” Stone asked.
“What’s up?” I called out.
“The bulk of us are transferring things to the safehouse on the outskirts of town. We’re all making a run and then Notch is going to stay with the girls while we keep running errands. Freya coming?”
“I’ll make sure she gets there. She’s not ready to be transferred yet.”
“Transferred?” she asked.
“All right. Asher and Rose are coming with us. So, just keep an ear out,” Stone said.
“Will do. Thanks,” I said.
“What’s going on?” Freya asked.
I cupped her cheeks and brought her forehead to my lips to kiss.
“We’re just going somewhere safer. We all are. I’ll fill you in on it later. Right now, I need to—”
“I love you, Bronx.”
I could have sworn I heard her wrong.
“What was that?” I asked.
She giggled, and it stopped my heart in my chest.
“I didn’t shoot those men just to protect the girls.
Or Keva. Or anyone else. I didn’t perch on this bed to kill anyone else for their sake.
I did it because I wanted to get back to you.
I wanted to see you again. Kiss you again.
Be with you again. I did it not just for them, but to get back to you. Because I love you, Bronx.”
I gazed into her eyes and watched them slowly change to a beautiful, deep sea blue. A sensuous blue. The kind of blue that slammed into my gut and exploded fireworks in my mind. As the revving of motorcycles sounded at the front of the lodge, I leaned in and pressed my lips to Freya’s.
She fisted my shirt and pulled me on top of her, our bodies completely covering the small bed in this damn back room.
“I love you so much,” she breathed, pressing kisses to my lips.
And as I slid my leather coat off, I let my lips fall to her neck.
“I love you too, Freya,” I murmured.
I loved this woman more than I could stand.