30. Cashlynn
CHAPTER 30
CASHLYNN
“ D o we know how he got in with a gun?” I stood outside of the bedroom listening to Nazai talk on the phone. We had just gotten home from Lucas’s clinic and I went to check on Carson who was up gaming.
“Ted. Apparently he wasn’t over you cutting off his hand.” River laughed.
“And where is the fucker?”
“Both are at the barn locked up. Though the guy that shot you was in bad shape. I don’t know how much longer he’ll last.”
“I’ll be by in the morning to take care of them.”
“You know you’re gonna hear Lucas’s mouth.” Again, River tittered.
“He’ll be a’right. If I bust my stitches, he’ll just have to restitch me up. Those fuckers think it’s okay to come for me and my wife.” The low boiling rage in his voice made the hairs on the back of my neck rise and my stomach stir. My hand went to the center of my chest and I attempted to rub out the tightness that formed from his protectiveness. I was still in shock that Nazai had taken a bullet for me. I was so out of it from the E pill I took, mixed with the alcohol and orgasm, that my reaction time was slowed and my mind wasn’t as present as it normally would be. By the time I realized what was happening, I was on the ground and Nazai was shooting back.
I pressed my back against the wall and sank my teeth into my bottom lip. I’d never gotten caught slipping as bad as I had tonight. Nazai was proving to be a distraction I didn’t need, but the bad thing was I couldn’t find it in me to fight the feelings he gave me. The more I tried to fight it, the more I craved being near him.
My teeth scraped over my bottom lip as Nazai finished up his conversation. Knowing the two men that played part in the shooting were waiting for their fate lit a fire in my veins and caused my heart to pump wildly. My pulse pounded in my ears and my skin prickled.
He said he wanted me to stand down tonight, but that was one command I couldn’t follow.
____
I pulled down the dark gravel pathway surrounded by trees and only lit by my headlights. Thankfully the medicine Nazai was prescribed made him drowsy and by the time I got out of the shower, he was knocked out cold in bed.
I rode past the big white house the family met in when we came to the property back to the barn. A good thing about the area was that it was abandoned, in the middle of nowhere, and the Tavarez family owned a good amount of acres surrounding it.
Cutting my car off, I pulled my hair into a ponytail and grabbed my baseball cap, placing it on my head. I turned my phone off and placed it in the glove compartment before reaching into the back seat for my bookbag. I dug into my bookbag, grabbed my black leather gloves, and slipped them on my hands then climbed out the car.
The air was eerie and stiff. The wind caused the trees to ruffle. Crickets sounded around me. There were no lights near the barn.
Leaving my car, I headed for the barn. Because I paid attention, I was able to insert the code to unlock the door. After hearing the click, I pushed the double doors open. On the wall I hit the button for the lights. I thought I was gonna have to head to the back where they had the holding cells—each with steel doors and slidable, rectangle peep holes that could be opened to talk to and see whoever was on the other side—but instead I saw two people in the middle of the barn tied to chairs. Their heads leaned forward and their bodies sagged.
Bringing my bookbag forward, I reached in and grabbed my gun, making sure the safety was off. I tossed my bookbag on the ground near the doors and stepped forward.
Electric currents ran through me and amplified my heartbeat. I always felt high when I was preparing for a kill.
Ted’s head popped up, hearing me approach. The other guy barely looked like he was breathing.
“Wake up, bitches,” I announced, bouncing my eyes between them. They were facing each other. I dropped my eyes to Ted’s missing hand and smirked.
“You just couldn’t let it go, huh?” I taunted, shaking my head. Both had their mouths taped shut.
His eyes cut into slits. I swiveled my attention to the other guy. Stalking toward him, I tapped my gun against his head.
“Wake up.” I grabbed the curls on top of his head and yanked. His eyes fluttered and he groaned. His arm was wrapped and that must have been where Nazai hit him.
“You thought it was smart to come for me?”
He grunted.
I lifted my gun, slammed it against his head, and released him. Stepping in front of him, I eyed him and dragged my tongue across my top teeth.
“You shot my husband twice.” I pointed my gun and sent a shot through each knee cap. He cried out behind the tape. He wiggled and attempted to free himself. My vision turned red as I stared at him. Knowing he’d gotten that close to possibly taking me out caused my ears to pound. My breathing increased. The back of my neck grew hot. My heart was like a raging bull in my chest, wildly pounding into my ribcage.
Stalking toward him, I lifted my leg and sent my shoe into his chest, causing him to fly back. I stood above him and glared down. His eyes widened in fight. Fireworks of excitement exploded inside me. It brought me joy knowing I was the cause of that fear. “And then you truly fucked up by making me your original target. I hope your life was worth being Neil’s bitch.” He mumbled behind the tape, quickly shaking his head side to side. “Have fun in hell.” Pointing the gun at his head, I pressed the trigger. The shot was clean, a bullet between the eyes.
Inhaling a deep breath, I closed my eyes and rolled my shoulders back. Turning, I faced Ted. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His eyes locked on the man’s dead body now on the side of me.
“You’re the reason he got inside the club.” I went into my pocket and pulled my butterfly knife out, flicking it open.
I tucked my gun into the small of my back and slowly walked to Ted. His eyes ballooned in fear. His body shook and he shouted behind the tape.
“You should have just let it go after you lost your hand, but no.” I grinned, placing the blade against his face and dragging it down, slicing his cheek. It slit open as if I was cutting into butter, blood leaked and dripped down his face. He screamed and attempted to move out of my reach.
“I planned on coming and finishing this quickly, but I don’t like snakes.” I lifted the knife and studied it. The once silver blade now was stained with his blood. My grin broadened. A warm glow flowed through me. “Did you know the best way to kill a snake is to cut its head off?” I narrowed my eyes on him.
Quickly, Ted shook his head. “How long do you think it’ll take me to remove your head with my knife?” I placed the metal to his neck. I slid the blade slowly, making sure to drag it out.
“Stop!” a deep voice bellowed from behind me, causing me to freeze. I dropped my eyes to where the blood was seeping from Ted’s cheek and now his neck.
Inhaling a deep breath and pushing it out, I pulled up and spun around.
I bit the inside of my cheek seeing Nazai standing at the entrance of the barn. His eyes were an icy storm and his lips were tightly pinched together. He slid his attention to the dead man on the floor and his jaw ticked. When he turned to face me, I fought not to shuffle under his glare.
“I thought you were sleep,” I said.
Nazai didn’t respond. He slowly made his way toward me. Each step he took caused my heart to tick loudly.
Stopping in front of me, he gazed down at me. I was about to speak when his hand went to my neck. My eyes bucked as his grip tightened.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he growled.
“Let me go!” I used my free hand and reached for his wrist. I struggled against his hold.
“Didn’t I tell you to stand down?” He yanked me forward.
“He tried to kill me. He shot you!” I strained to get out. My throat burned. Air became hard to retain. My vision grew fuzzy.
Nazai’s nostrils flared. “And we were going to handle him but not like this. What did I tell you about following my lead?”
He loosened his hold slightly but didn’t release me. I blinked slowly as my breathing sped up. “You took a bullet for me. So I owed you.”
“You owed me?”
I jerked a nod. “He shot you and if you thought I was going to let him get away with that, you were mistaken.” Seeing Nazai in that hospital bed, knowing it was because he was protecting me, set something ablaze in me. It felt like my chest cracked open and released something that had been hidden away. For the first time I felt like someone other than my brother cared if I lived or died. It made my heart do a silly dance. It was hard to explain the wave of emotions that passed through me because I was used to being disposable, but with Nazai I was learning that wasn’t the case.
Nazai’s eyes flashed and darkened. “You did this for me?”
Slowly, I nodded. His eyes shifted to the side where Ted sat bleeding, then came back to me. Flaring his nostrils again, he leaned forward and captured my mouth with his. He kissed me roughly before sinking his teeth into my bottom lip. I grunted and moaned against his lips. A metallic taste filled my mouth when he pulled away.
“You need to fucking listen.”
“They had it coming.” I swiped my lips; blood coated my tongue. My eyes narrowed on him. “Should you be out of the house?”
Nazai ignored my question and finally released me, turning to Ted whose eyes bounced between us. “Carry on,” Nazai told me, stepping back. I was surprised by his words.
I knew this wasn’t over, Nazai didn’t like it when I went against his commands, but that was a problem I would worry about later.
____
Someone pounded on the door in a hurry as I stepped out of the kitchen with my apple juice in hand. Nazai unlocked and pulled the door open.
“Mom, Dad, I wasn’t expecting you two.” It was a good thing he had such high security in this place and could see who was always at the door since he never bothered to ask who was on the other side.
“Nazai!” Nora rushed her son with wide, wild eyes filled with concern. “Why are you out of bed?” She whipped around to face me. “He was shot, aren’t you taking care of him?”
My eyes narrowed. “I didn’t tell him to get out of bed.”
“Mom, I’m good. Lucas said I can move around, just have to take it easy.”
“No, you should be in bed.”
Dominic spoke up, stepping forward.
“Nora, leave the boy alone. You don’t need to baby him.”
“Pops is right, I’m good. I took my pain medicine and I only came down because I saw you two were coming up.” Nazai was stubborn, I learned that quickly, so if he was in any pain he wasn’t gonna admit it.
“We need to talk,” Dominic told Nazai, leveling a stare at him.
“We can talk in my office.” Nazai nodded. His eyes found me and he scanned me. He hadn’t mentioned last night since we got up so I’d been on edge waiting. After killing Ted, he called for cleanup then we headed home. He barely said a word to me which was worse than him “punishing me”.
Dominic and Nazai left the living room, heading for his office, leaving me alone with Nora. She stared at me for a second, observing the room. Her eyes paused on the newly replaced fish tank and she walked over to it.
“Were you there when my son was shot?” she asked after a while. Her back was still to me as she studied the exotic fish.
“I was.”
“Mhm.” Nora turned to face me with a look of disdain on her face. “And what did you do when he was shot?”
One of my brows rose. “If you have something to say, then say it.” I crossed my arms over my chest and rested my weight on one leg.
“My family hasn’t been shot at; then my son brings you in the picture and there’s been two shootings, one where my son was hit.”
I poked the inside of my cheek with my tongue. I had let the first threat Nora tossed my way slide, but she wouldn’t get a second. The warning in her eyes and tone was obvious. “Your son was shot because he took a bullet for me. Every action your son does is because he wants to. If you want to blame someone, then go dig up the man that shot him and yell at him.” Not bothering to stick around to continue the back and forth, I turned and headed for the elevator to go upstairs. My stomach still felt funny and a headache was forming. The last thing I was about to do was argue with my husband’s mother.