“Anyone else on the take?”
A frantic shake of his head.
“Anyone other than those two pissant high school students know Alyssa’s name?”
I almost slumped over in relief when he shook his head again and whispered, “No, if we’d told anyone about her, we would’ve ended up dead, too.”
Garrison looked over his shoulder at me. When his gaze scanned down my body, a little of the tension drained from his shoulders. I wasn’t sure if it was because he visually confirmed I was in one piece or that I was dressed. “Grab my cell and send a 911 text to the group chat at the top of my messages.”
After he rattled off the passcode, I darted back into the room to do as he’d directed. I had planned to wait until someone replied to make sure help was on the way, but then I heard the low murmur of Mick’s voice. It sounded like he was in the living room.
Sliding the phone into my pocket, I raced back to Garrison’s side as he hissed, “Tell him you found us in the master bedroom, both of us sound asleep.”
Jack’s voice shook as he echoed Garrison’s words, but Mick must not have noticed because he replied, “Thank fuck. Headed up to you.”
“Get the fuck back in the bedroom where you’ll be safe, baby,” he grunted at me.
“No way.” I aimed my Glock at where his was pointed. “There are two of them and two of us. Even odds. While you’re handling Mick, I’ll shoot Jack’s penis off.”
“You’re hot as hell when you’re being a vicious little thing, but if anyone’s gonna be doing any killing here tonight, it’s me. Not you.”
I shrugged, totally okay with not having someone’s death on my conscience, even someone who deserved a long, slow death. “I’ll just maim him a little.”
“You’re not gonna be able to walk for a week after your next punishment, but I’ll still make it good for you,” he murmured before pressing his index finger against his lips in a gesture for me to be quiet.
Things moved fast after that, but I felt as though it was all in slow motion. Since Mick thought the coast was clear because we were asleep, he wasn’t cautious as he climbed the stairs. Garrison took advantage of Mick’s cockiness by surprising him with a left hook to the jaw and sending him tumbling down the stairs. Jack decided it was the perfect time to try to make a run for it, but he only got one step in before Garrison swiveled and shot him point-blank between the eyes.
“Holy crap,” I breathed, my eyes going wide.
“Stay put,” Garrison barked, turning swiftly to aim down the steps and do the same to Mick.
I hadn’t realized any of the guys had stuck close to the house while we’d been here, but less than a minute after the last bullet was fired, the front door slammed open, and I heard Patch call out, “Body count?”
“Two intruders, two dead bodies,” Garrison replied, pulling me close and burying my face against his chest. He’d seemed so calm, but I could hear how fast his heart was racing as he stroked his palm up and down my spine.
“Well, damn. You killed everyone already. Again.” Patch shook his head as he holstered his gun.
“Only because he wouldn’t let me,” I muttered.
“Bloodthirsty much?” Patch echoed the question he’d asked the day I’d met him.
“I didn’t kill everyone. Those little douchebags from Alyssa’s school still need to be handled.”
I tilted my head up and asked, “What’s going to happen to them?”
Garrison limited his answer to, “You won’t have to worry about seeing them ever again.”
The blood and gore didn’t gross me out, and I couldn’t care less that my evil classmates were going to die, but for some reason, my stomach turned over. Clapping my hand over my mouth, I muttered, “I’ll let you two figure out how to deal with all this.”
Garrison swatted my butt as I pulled out of his hold to head into the bathroom and splash cold water on my face. I managed not to puke…that time.
10
Bear
At the beginning of our stay in the vacant house, I’d called Paxton and asked him to keep an eye out for a similar house within my budget. I didn’t expect to receive a voicemail from him a day later. And I was even more surprised when he informed me that the house was being short sold and the price was well below the max number I’d given him. I told him to put in an offer and request that it remained furnished. I figured Alyssa could keep what she wanted and replace the rest.
The bank was in a rush, so the day after we took care of the bastards hunting Alyssa, I’d closed on the house, and Paxton had sent a trusted locksmith to change all the locks and leave me with the keys.
I glanced at the envelope containing the sale papers and keys and smiled, excited to tell Alyssa. It had been hard to keep it a secret, especially every time I found her mooning adorably over this or that in the house.
But I’d managed to wait until the deal was done.
Since the Silver Saints had handled the dirty cops, the police department thought they’d “gone missing.” Mac had implied to the sheriff that they’d taken care of things, and he’d never asked about it again. He did demand the location of his daughter, but since we still hadn’t caught the high school idiots, Mac managed to put the sheriff off another couple of days.
I’d been planning to give Alyssa her surprise before now, but she’d been extra tired and nauseous. I’d probably worn her the fuck out and then with the stress of the incident piled on, she needed rest. Plus, she’d been sick a few times but had assured me it was just the flu. Since she didn’t have a fever, she managed to convince me to hold off on calling the doctor, insisting it would clear up in a few days.
She’d appeared to be better last night, but she’d still been restless. I was relieved she seemed to be sleeping deeply when I woke up. She didn’t stir when I climbed out of bed, or when I opened a drawer and grabbed a pair of sweatpants to pull on. She’d need food to help her body recover, so I decided to make her breakfast while she slept in.
“Good morning, sexy.”
I was mixing pancake batter at the kitchen counter when I heard Alyssa’s sleepy voice and sultry greeting. My head turned in her direction, and I licked my lips at the sight of her standing there with her mussed hair, flushed skin, and wearing one of my T-shirts that had shrunk enough to fit her like a nightgown, rather than a tent. “Morning, baby.” I set down the whisk and sauntered over to take her in my arms.
I gave her a long, lingering kiss and smiled at the dazed expression on her face when I pulled away. However, it melted away as I took in the sight of the purple hue under her eyes and the slightly glassy sheen to her eyes. “How did you sleep?” I asked as I brushed her hair away from her face. “You look tired.” She screwed her face up, and I laughed before adding, “Gorgeous, but tired.”
Alyssa sighed and leaned into me. “Yeah, I just can’t seem to get a good night’s sleep. Hopefully, now that everything is over, it will return to normal.”
“If you’re not sleeping better in a couple of days, you’re going to the doctor,” I informed her. She didn’t say anything, but she nodded, so I accepted that for now. “Hungry?”