Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
WREN
"I was actually getting used to the bullets in the glass," I remarked.
Tiger grunted. "We can have them put the old panes back if you like." He took a step towards the glazier before I grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Let's not," I said quickly. "They look much better without them."
It was a difficult process to bring the large panes up to the twelfth floor and remove the old ones before putting in the new.
We all stayed well back, out of their way, especially when the windows had no glass in them at all.
None of us felt like falling to our deaths.
Honestly, the glaziers were brave to do the job they did, even if they wore safety harnesses the entire time.
"Good, I think so too." He looked relieved.
"You would have actually told them to put them back if I asked you to, wouldn't you?" I asked him.
"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you." He drew me into his arms and grazed his lips over mine. "Even put up with bulletproof glass full of bullets. If you wanted the panes tinted pink, I'd even do that. You don't want that, right?"
I laughed softly. "No, I don't think so. Although, it would make the outside look like a beautiful sunset all day."
I rubbed my chin and pretended to seriously consider it. Finally, I smiled. "Okay, no pink tint. Not even a purple polkadot tint. Not even cocks and pussies in place of the polkadots."
"That would look interesting," Lex said. "Like stained glass in the shape of genitals." He put one arm around me and rested his cast-covered wrist on Tiger's shoulder.
"We could start a new trend." I leaned into both of them and smiled.
"Let's don't and pretend we did," Tiger said dryly. "I don't want to look at those kinds of dicks and pussies all day."
"Who's looking at dicks and pussies?" Bray asked as he stepped into the apartment. In his hand he held a large paper bag with the top rolled down.
"I don't want to know," Dad said. He followed close behind Bray, Jenny behind him. They both held similar paper bags.
I stepped away from the guys to give Dad and Jenny a hug. "It's good to see you both."
"It's good to see you all alive," Dad said. "I gather things got a bit hair-raising." He hugged me back and handed me the bag.
I opened the top and peeked inside. "Chocolate chip muffins!"
"Without drugs," Bray said. He placed his bag on the island beside Jenny's. "Apparently if you want yours made with weed, you have to order in advance."
"Good to know." I pulled out a muffin and bit into it. If anyone else delivered them, I'd hesitate. The last thing I needed was to hallucinate and walk straight out the window. I'd bear weed in mind for another day.
"What's good to know?" Sinclair stepped in through the open doorway, carrying a tray of takeaway coffee cups. Her three guys followed behind her.
Elenna and hers were on her heels. Some carrying coffee, others with more bags of muffins. All still looking tired and battered, but relieved to be alive.
"Looks like the whole team is here." Tiger took two cups from Sinclair's tray and handed me one before taking a sip from his.
"The ones still alive," Aidan said. "Brandon will make a full recovery. It'll take time." He already had an arm around Elenna, coffee in his other hand.
"Become a hockey player, they said." Coast smirked. "It'll be fun, they said. The pamphlet never mentioned any of this."
"Yes it did," Tiger said. "You just didn't read the fine print."
"I never read the fine print." Coast grinned.
"Obviously," Sinclair said teasingly. "It seems like most of us didn't. We wouldn't have signed up to be abducted, drugged, in a bus crash, hunted, shot at…" She frowned. "Am I forgetting anything? Oh, right." She snapped her fingers. "Held at gunpoint, kicked, had bones broken, threatened…"
"Being forced to sit directly on the ice." Phoenix shivered.
"Losing half the team," Finley said. That made the mood more sombre.
Coast broke it by saying, "Having to put up with Pennington."
Tiger flipped him off. "Having to tolerate Riggs."
"I know you secretly adore me." Coast made a kissy face at Tiger.
"We all do," Lex said. "You brought coffee." He toasted Coast with his cup.
Coast grinned, completely undeterred by the teasing. "I live to please." He draped an arm around Sinclair's shoulders.
"I don't want to get sentimental," Aidan said, his voice low, "but I'm glad to be here with all of you. We're all still standing at the end of the day because we all stood together. If we hadn't had each other's backs, we would have been fucked a long time ago."
"Not in the good way," Coast added.
Aidan nodded in his direction to acknowledge the centre’s words. "Definitely not in the good way. In all likelihood, we'd be dead right now. Most if not all of us. This is why I keep trying to impress upon you assholes that you need to be united. On the ice as well as off."
He wouldn't be Aidan without a dig at the guys, but this time it was said with affection, not animosity. The guys weren't just a team, they were family. When their careers were over and they were no longer playing hockey, they'd still be friends. Brothers.
Finley closed his eyes tight. "Why do I feel like there's a but in there?"
Aidan sighed. "Because we'll know better than to get complacent.
When one door closes, sometimes a window opens.
" He nodded to where the glaziers were sealing the last section of window.
"The Fiorellis are gone, but we don't know what and who might take their place.
Whatever it is could be a hundred times worse.
" He glanced down at the hardwood floor, then back up again.
"If there's something Reuben Brantley is good at, it's making enemies and his enemies are our enemies. Sooner or later, someone or something is going to come for us. We have to be ready."
"We will be," Elenna said. "No one messes with a Dusk Bay Demon without dealing with the rest of us."
"Amen," Orion said softly.
We all lifted our coffee cups in toast. With any luck, we'd have a year or two to rest before life went to hell again.