Chapter 34
Maren
Iknow I’m smiling, and I don’t care. Happiness isn’t an emotion I’ve possessed much of over my life, and now that I have it, I’m finding it hard to keep the feeling under wraps.
Brooke gives me a knowing smile. “Feel better?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I sigh, because that’s not really true anymore. “I don’t know how to talk about it.” That’s a much more accurate statement.
Opening up is not something I’ve ever done.
There was no one to open up to. The years when most kids learned how to communicate their thoughts and feelings, I was busy trying to find food and a clean-ish place to sleep.
Even as an adult, the only person I’ve genuinely been close to is my sister.
And there’s no way in hell I would burden her with my baggage.
All that has left me woefully unprepared for adult relationships. Of all types.
“I understand.” Brooke keeps her voice quiet as we trail behind Ruth, who seems to be on a mission to get this lunch process started as quickly as possible. “You know you can talk to someone who might be able to help you figure that out.”
“I’m pretty sure Bert’s dance card is full.” I’ve never met Bert, but he’s inherited at least three of the Bradshaw boys as therapy patients, which means he’s likely filled with regret and questioning his career choice.
“I’m not talking about Bert.” Brooke loops one arm through mine. “He’s great and all, but not really what I was looking for.”
That has my brows lifting. “You’ve been going to therapy?”
My friend gives me a sad smile. “You’re not the only one who’s not great at sharing.” She sighs. “I started to realize I didn’t have the first clue how to move past my parents being what they are.” She tips her head. “Plus everything that happened with Matt.”
I should probably thank my lucky stars I never accidentally ended up entangled with someone like Brooke’s ex-fiancé.
Because I wouldn’t be looking for a therapist, I’d be looking for a defense attorney.
I’m not always great at knowing when it’s in my best interest to chill the fuck out, and I probably would have ended up on the hook for a murder.
With no murder van to move the body.
I think about what Brooke has said for a second, and realize she’s probably right. I could use a little therapizing. “You could send me your therapist’s name, if you wanted.”
“You got it.” My best friend doesn’t make it a big deal, which I appreciate. The thought of telling a stranger about my childhood makes me feel a little gaggy, and I’d really like to enjoy my lunch hour.
Even if I’m not spending it getting railed against the wall in Trevor’s office.
We reach the warehouse where Lindsey works to find her waiting on us. She looks a little pale, and a lot less perky than normal, as she gives us a halfhearted wave.
“Hey.” She almost manages a smile. “Are you guys ready?”
Ruth tips her head, looking our new friend over. “Do you feel okay?” Her eyes narrow. “Are you still hung over?”
“I’m fine.” Lindsey hugs her purse tight to her chest. “We can go if you guys are ready.”
Ruth studies her for a second longer, but then Lindsey walks to the door, and we don’t really have a choice but to follow behind. She’s weirdly silent as we make our way through the halls, heading for the lobby.
Something feels weird. I don’t know exactly what it is, but everything seems off about Lindsey today.
Or that could just be me. My whole life has changed dramatically in the past two weeks, and it’s taken some adjusting.
Not in a bad way, but different is still different.
Plus, this is Zara’s first day at school with Quinn at her side, and I’m a little nervous about it.
I’ve gotten to know the mercenary relatively well since he’s been here, so I know my sister is completely and totally safe.
But different is still different.
As we reach the vestibule leading to the lot, Brooke fishes her keys from the purse looped over one shoulder. “I promised Tobias we would take my car.” She gives Lindsey a smile. “It just has a lot of safety features on it, and he likes to know I’m as protected as possible.”
Everyone’s been a little on edge since we discovered my computer had been switched.
And while no one has explicitly said we can’t go anywhere on our own—that would go over like a fart in an elevator—the boys probably don’t love not having us in their sights.
For a group who grew up getting pretty much anything they wanted, the Bradshaw brothers are still really fucking territorial and protective of what’s theirs.
Ruth bumps me with her hip as we step out into the lot. “You’re smiling.”
I groan. “I really wish people would stop pointing shit like that out.”
“I get it.” There’s a hint of sadness on her features. “Sometimes it can feel wrong to be happy. Scary, even.”
That’s exactly it. I’m a little scared of being happy. Of course I’ve been happy with Zara in my life, but this is different. Being happy with Zara and loving her is a completely different sort of experience than being happy with Trevor and loving him.
Fuck a duck. I love Trevor.
I don’t know why that annoys me, but it does. Trevor annoys me in general. At least, I thought the nagging, gnawing sensation I get when I think of him was annoyance.
Is that actually what love feels like?
“Yeah. I’ve made that face before.” Ruth hooks an arm around my shoulders, tipping her head against mine as we continue walking. “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.”
Brooke uses the fob in her hand to unlock her SUV, the lights blinking back at us when she pushes the button. “Who wants shotgun?”
I glance over to find Lindsey is now even paler than before, and her steps are starting to slow.
That definitely isn’t just me. Something is for sure wrong.
I step away from Ruth and hook my arm into our new friend’s. “Ruth can have it. I’ll sit in the back with Lindsey.”
“Aweso—” Brooke yelps, doing a little bounce in her heels as one of the front headlights on her car breaks, the plastic cover shattering across the blacktop in front of us.
“What the fuck?” How the hell did that happen? I’ve never seen something spontaneously combust like that.
There’s a weird whistling sound behind me, and I turn, thinking maybe Trevor came out to tell me goodbye one last time and is trying to get my attention. But instead of seeing Trevor, I witness the side window explode on a sedan a few feet away.
“Holy shit.” My brain can’t make sense of what it’s seeing. Things don’t just blow up like that. Not for no reas—
“Get down.” Lindsey uses the arm still looped in mine to fling me toward the passenger side of Brooke’s SUV.
Somehow, I manage not to fall on my face as I stumble forward, a little offended at the way she just hurled me at the blacktop. I regain my footing just beside the passenger door and turn. “What the fuck, Linds—”
The pretty blonde has now grabbed Brooke and Ruth and is forcing them my way, a wild look in her blue eyes. She must be strong as hell, because she gets them moving so fast the three of us collide, all going down in a heap.
With me at the bottom.
“What in the hell is your problem?” I try to wriggle my way free of the pile. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Stay down.” Lindsey grabs the front of my sweater as I start to stand up. “You’re going to get shot.”
“Shot?” What the fuck does she mean, shot?”
There’s another whistling sound and suddenly there’s a hole in the corner of the hood on the truck next to us.
“Oh my God.” I go down to my hands and knees, crawling away from the impact. “Is someone shooting at us?”
“No.” Lindsey manages to get free of Ruth and Brooke’s tangled limbs and begins pushing them my way. “Someone’s shooting at me.”
“You?” Brooke scoots closer to the body of her SUV. “Why would they be shooting at you?”
“It’s a really long story.” Lindsey gives Ruth another shove, getting her between me and Brooke. “You guys stay here. They should leave you alone once I’m gone.” She peeks through the side window in the direction the shots are coming from, then gets into starting position.
Like she’s gonna make a run for it.
“No fucking way.” I grab for her, managing to get a grip on her purse. “You can’t go out there. They’ll kill you.”
“I’d rather they kill me than you.” Lindsey slides free of her purse and my hold on her. “This is my fault. I brought this here.”
She attempts to take off again, only to be tackled by Ruth, who wraps both arms around Lindsey’s legs, taking her down and sending us into a pileup again.
“Seriously.” Lindsey struggles to get free, a cut she must have sustained in the fall leaking blood toward one eye. “Just let me do this. You guys have stuff to live for.”
“And you don’t?” I latch onto one of her arms like a spider monkey, holding on as tight as I can.
Some of the fight seems to bleed out of her at my question. “No. I don’t.”
“Well, we’ll find you something.” Brooke grabs her other arm. “Stay here. My SUV has been through Toby’s shop. We’ll be safe for a little while at least. It’s got reinforced everything.”
“Not headlights,” I point out as a bullet pings against the other side of the vehicle.
“No. Obviously not headlights.” Brooke kicks off her shoes since the heels seem to be hindering her leverage, then plants her bare feet against the blacktop so she has the balance to push into a sitting position. “I’ll have to let him know about that.”
“I’m sure he’s gonna figure it out on his own.” I crane my neck to look toward the building. It won’t be long before the security team sees what’s happening and when they do—
“Oh shit.” My stomach drops.
Someone has noticed what’s happening, and it doesn’t seem to be the security team.
“Please go back inside.” I know Trevor can’t hear me, but I’m not sure he’d listen if he could. The man has a habit of racing right into situations I already have under control.
Mariah and I totally would have found a way out of the supply room that day. Just like the girls and I are doing perfectly fine managing this situa—
The side window on the truck shatters, raining safety glass down on us. I yelp a little as it hits me. Not because I’m hurt, just because it’s unexpected.
And that was the wrong thing to do.
Because Trevor must have heard it and has now decided the only reasonable action he can take is to fucking run through gunfire to get to me.
“Fucking idiot man.” I drop Lindsey’s arm. Honestly, if she wants to be stupid and run out there, that’s on her at this point. I’ve got more important things to worry about.
The most important thing to worry about.
“I’m gonna kill him.” Ruth drops Lindsey’s legs, her eyes locked on the same spot mine are. “If he gets hurt, I swear to Go—”
Tucker is hauling ass toward us, every bit of his focus on Ruth as he sprints across the lot. He’s so intent on getting to her, he doesn’t notice when Trevor stumbles.
But I do.
“Maren.” Ruth grabs at me, thinking she can stop me like she did Lindsey.
She can’t. Because I definitely have something to live for.
And he’s sure as hell gonna keep living for me.
I reach Trevor just as he goes down, hitting the ground with a solid grunt. I don’t have time to assess the situation or see what’s wrong. We’ve got to get back to the safety of Brooke’s SUV, and since I can’t pick him up the way he did when he saved me, I’m gonna have to drag his big ass.
Hopefully I can prove myself just as capable of moving a body as I like to think I am.
“Get the fuck back there.” Trevor tries to send me away. “You’re going to get hurt.”
“You’re going to get hurt, because I’m gonna kick your ass for running out here like this.” Hooking my arms under his, I lock on and start to move. “Holy fuck, how much do you weigh?”
“I’m serious, Maren.” Trevor gives me his best boss voice. “Go.”
“Don’t fucking take that tone with me, asshole.
” I jump a little when one of the whistling sounds is a little closer than I’d like.
“It’s your fault I’m out here.” I catch a glimpse of the blood trail we’re leaving behind and fight the urge to puke.
Not because I’m grossed out, but because the thought of losing him makes me physically ill.
“If your dumb ass didn’t make me go and fall in love with you, I could have just let you get yourself killed. ”
Trevor’s suddenly wrenched from my grip and then his body is hefted into the air. I stumble a little in surprise as Tucker picks him up—bridal style—and uses their combined bodies to block mine as he shoves me back toward the SUV.
“Go. Run,” Tucker snaps at me.
Together, we race the last few feet between us and safety, dropping down just as the shots take on a different volume. They get louder. More frequent.
Then they stop completely.
“We got him.” A man calls out. “Stay where you are while we secure the area.”
Tucker sets Trevor down, tipping his head at Ruth. “Call an ambulance.”
“Already on it.” She’s got her phone to her ear, giving dispatch information as Tucker loosens Trevor’s tie. “In the leg, it looks like. Just once.”
Tucker gets the strip of fabric loose and goes to work tying it around Trevor’s thigh as I scoot in to cradle his head in my lap, smoothing my fingers over his clammy brow.
“It’s gonna be okay.”
Trevor winces as Tucker pulls the knot tight. “It better fucking be.” He reaches up, one shaky hand cradling my cheek. “I didn’t bust my ass to make you love me just to die.”