Chapter 37
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SEVEN
Rett
Turns out my rescue fantasy didn’t just mean wanting the man I loved to rescue me. It also meant me rescuing the man I loved.
I might not be as good at it as Hiro, but judging from the way he was clinging to me, I think I did all right.
“I can walk,” I told him for the hundredth time.
“Nope. Not putting you down.”
Kieran appeared with blood smeared on his cheek and reddened, raw knuckles. “Everything inside has been neutralized.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but it seemed like a good thing.
“You good?” Hiro asked.
Kieran nodded. His eyes dropped to me. “You guys?”
“He needs stitches.” Hiro’s voice was clipped. “And his fingers are broken.”
“I do?” I asked, reaching up to my face and wincing at my tender cheek. “I don’t think it’s that bad,” I said.
“The gash on your head is,” Hiro spat.
I reached higher, realizing my hair and forehead were covered in blood. The second I touched the swollen part, it exploded with pain. I bit back a whimper but saw Hiro staring like he wanted to murder Tommy all over again.
“It’s fine.” Must be where they knocked me out, I thought.
“I’ll call the doc from the car,” Kieran said.
“You got any explosives?” Hiro asked.
“I came prepared,” Kieran replied, completely unfazed.
Listen, I know I’d just killed a guy, but that was hopefully a one-time thing. I definitely wasn’t going to start carrying around explosives like they were a pack of gum.
“Let’s light it up. Then we’ll head out,” Hiro said, yanking open the back door to Kieran’s large black SUV.
“What does that mean?” I wondered.
Before anyone could clarify, another large SUV came around the building, the engine rumbling as it accelerated. Hiro moved fast, pulling out a gun and putting me behind him in one simultaneous action.
“Don’t shoot,” Kieran yelled. “It’s Hazard. Don’t fucking shoot!”
I leaned around Hiro to see Hazard leaning out the backseat window, waving his arms.
Hiro glanced at me. “You ever do something like that, and I will spank that ass.”
The SUV slowed, the back door flinging open before it was even completely stopped. Haz jumped out and came running around the front, and Kieran let out a long string of curses.
“Are you out of your goddamned mind?” he roared, grabbing Haz and pulling him close enough that he could use his body as a shield. “What the fuck are you even doing here?”
Enzo appeared from the same door Haz had just used, his face shuttered.
“I ought to kill you where you stand,” Kieran threatened. “You should never have brought him here.”
“I’d rather have him where I can see him,” Enzo said. “And as you can see, he’s unharmed.”
“He was hanging out the goddamned window like some kind of golden retriever,” Kieran spat.
“Pretty sure I saw his tongue,” Hiro quipped.
“I was afraid you would shoot the driver if you didn’t know it was us,” Haz explained. Then he slid a glance at Hiro. “That parking garage is still on fire.”
“Fuck around and find out,” was all Hiro said.
“What’s on fire?” I asked.
“The last of my patience,” Kieran barked. “We shouldn’t be standing out here in the open.”
“They’re all dead.” Enzo’s voice was cold. “And I have men patrolling to make sure we didn’t miss any.”
“Get in the car,” Kieran ordered Haz. “Get down on the floor.”
“That seems dramatic,” Haz countered even as he started toward the SUV.
“Says the man hanging out a window at an active crime scene!”
I turned to Enzo standing there with two men guarding his back while two more guarded his still-running SUV.
“Where’s Wyatt?” I asked.
“In the car,” Enzo replied. “I’m taking him to a doctor now.” He turned to Hiro. “Just wanted to let you know everything is taken care of.”
“I think Wyatt should come with us—” I started.
“No,” Enzo said, the word final. “He’s coming with me.”
“You’d better watch your tone,” Hiro warned.
“I will be sure he’s taken care of. And I’ll ask him to call you when he’s feeling better,” Enzo told me.
“You aren’t going to hurt him, are you?” I asked. I mean, I knew he said he was taking him to a doctor, but Enzo Salvatore was not known for his kindness.
“You have my word that I will not,” Enzo said sincerely.
I nodded because it was likely the best I was going to get.
Enzo glanced at Hiro again. “It appears I am in your debt.”
“It’s killing you, isn’t it?” Hiro mused.
Enzo’s chin lifted arrogantly. “Let me know what I can do to repay the favor.”
“You provided a distraction for me to get to Pip. Consider it even,” Hiro replied.
“Boss,” one of the men called from beside Enzo’s SUV.
Enzo turned immediately and lifted a hand. To us, he said, “Don’t worry about the cleanup. I’ll have it taken care of.” And then he was climbing into the back of his car, and it sped away.
I really hoped Wyatt was okay.
“How’s your head?” Hiro asked, scooping me into his arms again.
Throbbing. Funny how I hadn’t felt it until someone pointed out it was there. “Not terrible,” I replied. Honestly, my broken fingers hurt worse, but I figured saying that wouldn’t help the situation.
“Lying to your husband is a sin.”
I giggled. “The plug inside me is a good distraction from the pain,” I whispered.
Hiro made a low sound. “It was also a good way to keep track of you.”
My nose wrinkled. “What do you mean?”
“I put a tracker in it just in case we got separated.”
“That’s how you knew where I was?”
“Well, that and I lit someone on fire,” he added.
“You did what?”
“The whole place actually.” He seemed proud of himself.
“Is that why you smell like cigarettes?”
“Didn’t even enjoy the drag I had of it really,” he answered and leaned down. “You taste way better.”
“You really put a GPS in my ass?” I asked, clenching around the small plug and feeling only a zing of excitement.
“Damn right, I did.” At least he owned the devious behavior.
“You are such a stalker.”
“I told you location services are my love language,” he mused.
“Thank you for coming for me,” I said, a little emotional over how far he was willing to go to keep me safe. I mean, it was absolutely unhinged, but I liked it.
“It doesn’t matter where you go, Pip. I’ll always be right behind you, and I’ll be sure to bring snacks.”
“So when we get home, you’ll take it out?” I asked, secretly hoping he would replace it with something else.
“Of course. But I see that look in your eyes. Don’t be getting ideas. You need to see the doc before we do anything else.”
“I can’t help it. It’s so hot when you rescue me.”
A laugh rumbled through his chest. “I always will. But I’d prefer if you stay out of trouble,” He said, pulling open the door of the large SUV to gently place me in the back seat.
“Just give me another minute, okay?”
I nodded.
“I’ll keep him company,” Haz piped up from the floor behind the driver’s seat.
“We doing this or what?” Kieran grumped from the open trunk.
Leaning down, Hiro pressed a kiss to my nose and then shut me inside to jog around and meet Kieran.
“What are they doing?” I whispered to Haz.
“Probably something illegal,” he whispered back.
“I killed a man tonight,” I confessed, still trying to process it all. It would probably take a while.
Haz leaned forward. “Were you protecting yourself?”
“Hiro,” I whispered.
“I would have done the same,” Haz concluded.
Maybe it shouldn’t have, but it made me feel better.
A few moments later, the guys were sliding into the front and Kieran was speeding away. Just as we crossed the lot, the building exploded, and bright-orange flames burst from the windows.
“You blew the place up?” I exclaimed, staring out the back window.
“Just a few grenades,” Hiro replied as if he were talking about grocery shopping. Then, “Put your seatbelt on.”
“Can I get in the seat now?” Haz complained.
“Seat belt,” Kieran ordered.
“I’m calling Doc,” Hiro announced.
As Haz and I buckled ourselves in, we looked at each other.
“This is our life now,” Hazard told me.
“No, it’s not!” both Hiro and Kieran roared.
“Life rule number two: You will stay out of trouble,” Hiro declared. “Both of you.”
I slid some side eye to my bestie. “He’s a rule-giver-outer.”
“Not even Kieran gives out rules,” Haz whispered.
“Because, according to Kieran, the answer is always no,” Hiro put in.
Out of the corner of my mouth, I said, “He thinks his rules are generous.”
“The point is you two will stop putting yourselves in danger,” Kieran declared like he was some sort of lawmaker.
Hazard went quiet, so maybe he was.
“What’s life rule number one?” I asked.
Kieran and Ghost made a rude sound as if it were obvious. “Touch him and die,” they both deadpanned.
Haz and I exchanged a look.
“So you two can get in trouble, but we can’t?” Haz asked.
“My guy,” Hiro said, putting his hand on the back of Kieran’s seat to turn around and look at us. “You can’t be in trouble if you are the trouble.”
“Like I said, this is our life now,” Haz repeated.
“It’s better than anything I could have imagined,” I said, still staring at Hiro.
He winked.