Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
L ucky was in a haze of lust and love. Held in Ezra’s arms, the world disappeared.
Even the words of a jealous bitch. Her panther was still peeved that the woman had the audacity to speak to Lucky, never mind insinuate that she would get rid of her just to have Ezra.
Clearly, no one had put the woman in her place before.
Her panther had lashed out at their mate, reacting to the threat Collette had issued.
Lucky shivered, remembering the way Ezra had put her in her place.
Collette got away easy tonight with a slap, but Lucky still had plans for the woman.
No one threatened Lucinda Bryant.
The last person who tried had been forced to jog next to Lucky’s Honda, her hair wrapped tightly in Lucky’s hand until she apologized. That bitch still walked with a limp to this day.
She tucked in closer to her mate and closed her eyes, pulling in his scent.
His words had her body heated, ready to say fuck this whole party and take him upstairs.
There was a small ceremony that they had to go through before they could go, so she begged her panther to calm her hot ass down.
Ezra paused their swaying, his tiger going still.
Lucky felt the animal’s alertness along their bond.
“What’s wrong?”
His eyes scanned the ballroom. “Something,” was his only answer.
She knew that he and his siblings had some kind of strategy in play.
Ezra wouldn’t give her any details, only drilling into her head the escape plan he’d made for her.
She looked around until she spotted Hakeem coming through the crowd toward them.
He wasn’t far, but that he was coming closer signaled that something was wrong.
“What do you need from me, love?” Lucky slid her hand into the slit of her gown and pulled out her small taser from the thigh holster.
“Stay close,” he murmured.
Ezra pulled a gun from his jacket pocket, swinging around and shooting a male in the forehead within the blink of an eye. The male hit the floor, a silver knife falling from his hand.
Lucky gasped, her body going rigid.
“Relax your body, princess. I need you limber until I figure out how to get you safely out of here.” Ezra wrapped one hand around her forearm, pulling her from the dance floor.
Chaos erupted around them, and Lucky assumed it was from the guy Ezra had killed.
“What about the plan?” She fought to quell her panic.
Ezra nodded toward the exit doors that were a part of their plan.
Smoke was sliding underneath, filling the room.
It crept in from all around them and the occupants of the ballroom rushed toward the outside exit.
The fire alarm for the hotel sounded and Lucky knew that pandemonium would soon follow.
“I’m a little busy, brother,” Ezra said.
She knew he and his siblings were talking in their earpieces. She should’ve asked for one because she felt lost. All she could do was clutch her mate with one hand and her taser in the other.
“Eve,” Ezra called, moving Lucky toward the door.
He skirted the edge of the crowd, and Lucky gasped as someone tried to grab her. Without pausing, she pressed the button on her taser. A male she didn’t recognize hit the ground, releasing his hold on her. Ezra shot him while he was on the floor and screams sounded around them.
“Answer, Evie,” Ezra begged.
Lucky’s chest tightened and her stomach pitched.
He couldn’t get a hold of Eve? Oh God, what was happening?
Smoke was filling her lungs and her panther panicked within her, begging to be released so that it could get them to safety.
She pushed down on the animal, trusting Ezra.
Cool, moist air finally hit her skin and Lucky took a huge inhale as they made it outside of the ballroom.
The relief was short-lived because the sound of gunfire cracked the evening air.
A bullet hit the column next to her and Ezra, shards of concrete slicing across her arm.
That started a chain reaction, gunfire erupting around them. Guild members were firing toward the parking lot.
“Evie!” Ezra called out again as he pulled Lucky into him behind the pillar. “Sister!”
Lucky’s heart was racing. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if Rah lost his sister.
Ezra peeked his head around the column and when no further gunfire sounded, he pulled Lucky behind him, toward the cars in the parking lot.
Lifting the hem of her gown, she kept up with his long stride, thankful for the cardio she did every day.
They were nearing an SUV when it exploded, lifting off the ground.
Ezra dragged her down, covering her body.
The scream she released couldn’t be helped. She was being suffocated by Ezra’s heavy body and panic had her breaths coming out in short gasps. Was any of this a part of the plan?
“Princess,” he whispered hoarsely.
“I’m fine,” she lied. She could already feel his desperate anguish and she didn’t want to add to it.
“Evie, baby,” Ezra said softly, his eyes blue, searching the night for his sister.
“Over here!” Eve’s voice rang out.
Rah lifted his head, his shoulders dropping in relief.
“Can you run?” His eyes met Lucky’s and she nodded.
She would have no problem hauling ass if it kept them safe. Helping her stand, Ezra held her hand and raced toward the sound of his sister’s voice. They found Eve on the ground, soot covering her features as she coughed to get her breath.
“I’m here, brother,” Eve choked out. “My earpiece fell out.”
“Are you hurt?” Rah cupped her cheek, his hands trembling.
Eve shook her head. “It was Kenneth.”
Kaine reared back, shock blanketing their connection. “What are you saying?”
“I was following his head of security out here when I saw him meet with the men setting the explosives.” His sister coughed again and Lucky rubbed her back, helpless. “Kenneth is behind this.”
“Are you sure?” This time, the hurt was stamped out, fury from his animal morphing his face into something Lucky had never seen.
Here was the Tiger she’d only caught small glimpses of.
Eve nodded. “I overheard them earlier in the ballroom. It’s why I followed his man outside. I wanted to see what he was going to do.”
“Can you move?” he asked his sister after a moment.
“I’m good. Just some scrapes and I’m winded from the blowback.”
Ezra nodded. “Easy, did you hear all that?” He paused. “Good. Find Ken and his family and meet us back in the ballroom.”
Lucky’s eyes widened. “We’re going back inside?”
“It’s the only way to get to the bottom of this,” he told her.
She gripped his hand, freezing as men in black tech gear raced toward them. Ezra didn’t flinch, and it was when the men got closer that Lucky saw the ace of spades patches on their sleeves. They were Rah’s men. She relaxed as they surrounded the trio.
“What do you need, boss?” One stepped forward.
“Weapons first. Then, find Griff, I lost sight of him in the fray.” Lucky shivered as Ezra grabbed her hand. “You ready, Evie?”
His sister nodded, grabbing one of the guns the security passed to her. Eve released the clip, checked for bullets, and slammed it back in place.
“This ends tonight.” Eve’s eyes were a pale blue, the hard, feral gaze of her animal filling the woman.
Lucky shivered.
“Get my baby to safety,” Kaine directed one of the men.
Lucky didn’t trust anyone else at the moment. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Ezra studied her a moment before reluctantly nodding. “Find Hakeem and Dave.”
“Dave’s down. Hakeem is getting him help,” one of the men reported, and her knees went weak.
“Send Hakeem to me as soon as he’s done. The moment Hakeem is here, you’re going home,” her mate ordered her, and she quickly agreed.
Going against him when he was in this state would be foolish.
He had more important things to handle. Kaine nodded toward the hotel and, with security surrounding them, they went back into danger.
The shooting had stopped, and now, guild members milled around the parking lot, tending to the wounded, trying to figure out what was going on.
Residual smoke still lingered in the air as they re-entered the ballroom.
Some guild members were still inside, held in place by Ezra’s men.
What made them different than the others that had been allowed to leave?
Easy was standing in the middle of the ballroom, two guns at his sides as he swayed to the music still coming from the DJ’s equipment.
His brother’s tuxedo was ripped in places, dirty in others, evidence that he’d gotten into a scuffle.
Lucky’s eyes took in everything, scared to miss another threat.
The man Ezra had called his godfather was sitting in a chair next to Easy, a scowl on his face.
She wasn’t even sure where to look, the old man or at her new brother-in-law.
Ezra released her hand and Eve pulled her to the side as he pulled out a chair and sat it in front of Kenneth. Eve walked Lucky around to the side so that she was in Ezra’s peripheral.
“If his tiger doesn’t see you, it’ll get a lot worse, trust me,” Eve told her.
Lucky stood next to the table, unsure of what to do.
Should she sit? Would it have been better for her to allow his security to take her home?
She shook her head. If his godfather could betray Ezra, no way was she trusting anyone other than the security with whom she already built a rapport.
In the months that Hakeem had been assigned to her, she’d come to trust him.
The fact that Rah still did reassured her.
Crossing her arms over her chest, hugging herself, Lucky watched her mate. Ezra leaned forward in his chair, Tiger fully in his eyes.
“Trying to kill me is already some bitch-made shit, but you went after the ones I love. You already know how I’m coming behind mine.”
Lucky shivered at the coldness of his tone.
“You don’t deserve to be Ace of Spades,” Kenneth spat.