Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
SINCLAIR
The bus came to a stop about fifty metres from Sawyer's home.
We stepped off the bus into virtual silence. The snow stopped falling, but the air was freezing as hell. Someone had fished out an oversized coat for Wren and one for me.
I was still itching for a coffee, but that wasn't important in the scheme of things. Especially not after Coast tried to call Aidan, but got no response. He'd tried Phoenix and Javey as well, with the same result.
By the time we were halfway here, he wasn't smiling anymore. He was stressed as I'd ever seen him and clearly conflicted.
If he'd stayed to help the other guys, they might all have come to find Wren and me.
But if he hadn't, we might have wandered the streets of Dusk Bay, and fuck knows what might have happened.
I was conflicted for the same reason. If anything happened to them because he'd come to look for me… We would have found someone sooner or later. We could have been sitting in a warm room drinking coffee right now.
All of this regret was getting me nowhere. We were here. What we did now was the only thing we had any control over.
"Get back on the bus," Coast said to me. "It's warm in there and you'll be safe."
"I agree with the first part of that sentence, but not necessarily the second part," I said. "I'll be safe with you, and I can be helpful. You need someone else to have your back."
I already had a gun from the spares the guys secured before coming here the first time.
"Who knows what might happen if we're left alone in there." I jerked my head back toward the bus.
"Sinclair," he started. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "You know what, you're right. If I try to leave you in there, you're only going to follow me."
"Exactly," I said. "Wren should stay on the bus with Tiger and Bray."
"Fuck that," Tiger growled. "I'm going to kill the motherfucker who ordered that asshole to take Wren."
"Same," Bray said simply. "Unless Wren wants to hide out on the bus." He gave her a look like he knew exactly how to push her buttons and didn't mind doing it.
She flipped him off. "I've never hidden anywhere in my life. You must be confusing me for yourself."
He snorted derisively. "Typical Wren, you're still out of your fucking mind."
"Don't make me shoot you in the ass," she said darkly. "Let's get this done. If we wait too long, the reality might sink in and Bray will piss his pants."
"You fucking wish," he said. He stomped behind her as she started off towards the house.
Coast shook his head but trotted to catch up with them.
I followed along behind, with Tiger and the other guys sent to find us.
"Did they… Do anything to her?" he asked like he was ready to rip off arms and legs with his bare hands.
"They only deprived us of coffee," I said, as if that wasn't bad enough. "They didn't touch either of us." Except the slap. I suspected if they'd done anything worse, he would have begun tearing off arms and legs and gone from there.
"Good. I would have snapped them in half and made them suck their own cock," he said.
I managed to smile. "I actually would have liked to see that. Maybe that's something you can do when you catch up to them."
"Count on it," he said gruffly. "Assholes like that are nothing but cowards. If they want to come after a guy, they should. Leave our fucking women alone."
"You really care about her, don't you?" I asked, my voice low.
He glanced over at me. "Don't tell anyone. They wouldn't believe you anyway. Everyone knows Tiger Pennington doesn't have a heart. It's a family thing. We come from a long line of coldhearted motherfuckers."
"I'm sure you're not that bad," I said.
He grunted. "Yes, I am. Everyone acknowledges that my older brother is an asshole, and he's the golden child of the family. Beau fucking Pennington. King of the fucking keyboard. Musical genius. Arrogant prick extraordinaire. Compared to me, he's a sweetheart."
I knew about Penn, the keyboard player for the band Wolf Venom. From what I've heard, Tiger's description of him was relatively accurate. He was as obnoxious as he was talented.
I'd always thought it was better not to believe everything I heard though, even if it was coming from his younger brother.
"You're Tiger fucking Pennington," I told him. "First line winger for the Dusk Bay fucking Demons. You have your own talent. You're good at what you do. Better than good, you're incredible."
He murmured something that could have been agreement. Clearly this was a touchy subject for him.
I had the distinct impression his parents had doted on his older brother because of his musical talent and his brother had rebelled because he was stifled. After that, they might have undervalued, or downplayed, their younger son and his abilities. It wasn't fair, but it happened.
"Besides which, a little birdie told me she likes you as much as you like her." I glanced in Wren's direction.
She hadn't so much told me as indicated by the way she talked about him.
She'd clung to the idea that he would come and find her while we were in that motel room.
We'd both stuck to whatever kept us from losing our minds.
Giving up would have been the worst thing we could do. Both of us were too stubborn for that.
I'd never admit how close I came though. How slivers of despair crept into the corners of my mind, trying to trick me into surrendering to it. How, for a while there, I started to think we'd never walk out that door again. They'd find our bodies, another stain on the already grimy carpet.
I blinked the thoughts away. We were out of there now. Nothing and no one could make us go back there.
Tiger glanced over at me, his expression unreadable. "We should be quiet now."
The moment he finished speaking, shouting sounded from inside the house. That was followed by a gunshot, then another.
I winced and ducked down when the others did.
"No one panic," Coast said. "Chances are, that's our people dealing with the problem before we get there."
"Better leave a bitch alive for me," Tiger grumbled.
It was Bray who patted his shoulder. "I'm sure they'll bear you in mind and spare one."
"Otherwise, they can resurrect one for you to kill," Wren said.
Tiger nodded. "They fucking better."
When the house fell silent again, Coast gestured us forward. "Looks like they left the front door open for us."
In fact, there was no front door. Where it should have been was a gaping hole where it was blasted open.
What was it with this family and blowing up doors? First the arena, now here.
Coast led the way up the front steps and inside, still keeping low and ready.
There was something about seeing him like that made my pulse race. This might not be the best time or place to ruin my panties, but it was what it was.
A man who knew how to handle both a gun, and a situation like this, was irresistible to me and my pussy. That I was in love with him was an added bonus.
I was right beside him while we moved slowly through the house.
"This isn't the time, but I love you," I whispered.
He glanced back at me and grinned. "I love you too. When this is over, I'm going to wreck the hell out of your pussy."
I smiled back. "I'm going to let you."
He turned back as we stepped toward the kitchen and living area. Several bodies lay on the floor. A guy I didn't recognise lay in the doorway, a bullet hole in the back of his head.
A muffled shout and another gunshot came from a dark hallway off to the right.
Stepping slowly and carefully, we headed in that direction.
The hallway led to another living area, this one illuminated by a single lamp. It wasn't much, but enough that my eyes had to take a few moments to adjust.
Three cream coloured couches were arranged in a horseshoe shape. Beside each sat simple but elegant tables. Painting and framed photographs hung from the walls, but no television. This was the kind of room where people gathered to talk and not be distracted by a screen.
Apparently Sawyer was more civilised than I gave him credit for.
Coast raised a hand to stop us from stepping out of the darkness of the corridor. From here, we could see without being seen.
Several figures crouched behind a couch that was side-on to the doorway.
I let out a soft, silent breath.
Aidan. Javey, Phoenix and a few of the other guys were beside him.
Alive, thank all the fucks. And apparently completely unaware of our presence.
Sawyer and a handful of his minions were crouched behind another. Also blissfully unaware of us.
From here, I couldn't make out who was behind the third couch. The seat faced us, the back hiding all but the occasional movement. The top of a head, the muzzle of a gun.
"Well, shit," Tiger whisper-drawled.
I wasn't sure what he was specifically referring to, until I saw a young woman's body lying to the side of the room.
Celine Fiorelli. So much for not taking the direct approach. This wasn't just a trap for our guys. Apparently it was for Sawyer as well.
Nicholas and Celine must have thought they could get rid of all of us at once. Instead, they'd taken her out. I couldn't say I was sad about it.
Nicholas must have been in contact with Gus and the other assholes. When he knew the guys were here, he struck.
Was that who was behind the third couch? I had a feeling it wasn't. He sent Celine and others to do his dirty work for him.
We'd have to deal with him later.
"Hey, motherfucker." Without warning, Tiger stepped out into the open and shot Sawyer in the head. He took out a couple of Sawyer's minions before ducking down beside Aidan, out of sight of the other four.
"You're outnumbered," Aidan said. "Your boss is dead. Throw your guns down and get the fuck out of here. Last chance."
Apparently when Sawyer was gone, so was the loyalty. All four of them threw their guns over the top of the couch and onto the floor. They rose with their hands to either side of their faces.
They all braced themselves, ready to die, but Aidan jerked his head towards the doorway. "Out," he barked.
With only a tiny measure of hesitation, all four turned and ran.
"Your boss is still alive," Aidan told the last group hiding behind that last, third couch. "I don't think we can leave you alive. Unless—"
"Unless what?" A voice asked from behind the cream leather.
"Unless you take a message back to Nicholas that I'm going to kill his ass," Tiger said. "That's a threat, a promise and a guarantee."
Aidan nodded to him, apparently satisfied with the content of the message. "Throw your guns down first."
The longest pause fell before the guns were thrown over the couch to join the others on the floor.
"And the other two," Aidan said.
Another pause before the last two joined the rest. He must have counted the clatters and knew exactly how many people we were facing.
I barely registered Nicholas' minions leaving, I was caught up in an embrace with Javey, Phoenix and Coast.
"I knew you'd be all right," Phoenix said. "You're too much of a badass to let assholes like that kill you."
That was a stretch but I appreciated the sentiment. "Same with you three," I said.
I could hardly believe they were okay, alive and in one piece.
Of course they were, the Dusk Bay Demons weren't defeated that easily. Not anymore.
This might not be the time, but before we went any further, there was something I desperately needed to say.
"Phoenix.” I turned to him and took his hands in mine. "I haven't had a chance to tell you. I love you."
He looked a little awkward, unaccustomed to being sentimental and talking about emotions. He cleared his throat and squared his shoulders. He didn't have to say anything back, but I could tell he wanted to. This was as important to him as it was to me.
Yeah, we could have picked a more romantic time and location. Sometimes the words need to be said when they need to be said. That was better than never saying them at all.
"I love you too." He kissed my mouth before Coast shoved him aside to do the same. He in turn was shoved by Javey so he could kiss me too.
"Can we get out of here?" I said finally. I needed a hot shower and a hot coffee and to clean the smell of blood and dirt out of my nose and mind. And I needed sleep and a lot of orgasms. Not necessarily in that order.
"Of course we can." Coast took my hand.
We stepped toward the doorway but froze.
BJ, Tank and a woman I recognised as Kaya Mancini stood in the faint light from that single lamp.
Shit—
Kaya nodded at me, but her gaze slid to Aidan. "We don't want any trouble."
"Don't cause any," he said simply. "Stay out of our way, and we'll stay out of yours."
"Coach," BJ ventured warily.
Aidan sighed and tucked his gun away. "I expect you on the ice for the morning skate. Don't fuck up."
I registered relief on the faces of both players before my guys tugged me away.