“You’re sure you want to go?” Thad raised his eyebrows at me and gestured around the beach house. “Because you’re giving up a day at the beach for a day spent answering questions about me and suffering through fruit cake and oatmeal cream pies.”
I grinned and nodded. “I want to go.”
He sighed. “I love her so much, but she’s a little wild.”
I laughed. “Thad, she’s your grandma. How wild can she be?”
Another sigh. “I had to bail her out of jail last year. And I was on an assignment when she was arrested, so I didn’t find out for two weeks. By the time I got her out, she had braids in her hair and had infiltrated a prison gang.”
My mouth hung open. “You’re kidding.”
He stared at me for a few seconds and then grinned, the skin around his eyes crinkling. “Yeah. About the prison gang. The braids part is true.”
I shoved his arm, laughing. “Liar.”
He lifted Biscuit and opened the door. “She’s going to think you’re my girlfriend.”
My traitorous cheeks turned red and I made a big fuss over locking the door behind us. “Well, we’ll tell her differently.”
“Maybe I won’t. She’s been on my case so much about getting married. This could be my chance to get her to lighten up.” He eyed me playfully. “I think I could manage to pretend to be attracted to you.”
The joke fell flat with me, my scar making me sensitive. I bit my lip and hurried ahead of him to Mack’s door. Before I could get my arm lifted to knock, he was there, though, lightly gripping my arm.
“Hey, that was a joke, Rain.” He shifted Biscuit and turned me to face him with his free hand. “I thought you would know I was kidding.”
I forced a grin and nodded. “I did.”
He tilted his head to the side and stared at me like he was reading me as easily as he’d read a kid’s book. “I could show you how attracted I am to you.”
My eyes flew to his crotch. “Show me?”
A bark of laugher exploded from his mouth, shocking me. He had to put Biscuit down he was laughing so hard. Shaking his head, he wiped tears from his eyes and grinned down at me. “I meant in other ways, Rain.”
My face burned and I spun away from him to knock on Mack’s door.
Thad crowded in behind me and rested his hands on my shoulders while dropping his mouth down to my ear. His breath brushed over my skin as he spoke. “Although, if you’re interested…”
I glanced over my shoulder at him and bit my lip. That had bad idea written all over it.
Thad shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
I’d actually spoken the words out loud. Sighing, I shook my head to clear it and knocked on the door. When Mack opened it a few seconds later, I was thrilled at the prospect of having someone else with us. It sparked an idea. “How do you feel about a trip today?”
Thad laughed from behind me. “Chicken.”
Mack stared at us and then down at Biscuit. “Is my other option watching Biscuit?”
I nodded.
“Let me get my wallet. There’s this new place off the island that my buddies keep talking about. It’s a strip club, but they have an amazing buffet, apparently. Best meatballs you’ll ever find, they say.”
I couldn’t get the image of Mack and all of his old friends eating meatballs while watching naked women strip out of my head. It wasn’t pleasant. “Not a chance in hell, Mack. We’re going to get Thad’s dog from his grandma. We can stop for food, but not naked boobs.”
“What are you? Twelve? Who says boobs like that?”
“Like what? I didn’t say it weird.”
Thad grinned at me. “You said it weird.”
“Well, then, how did I say it?”
Mack rolled his eyes. “Like you’d never said it before and were afraid you were going to get in trouble for saying it.”
I put my hands on my hips. “I’ve said a lot worse than that, in a lot better company. You two are ridiculous.”
Mack laughed and disappeared inside. “I’m hurt that I’m not better company. I get it about the man and the dog out there, but really? Me?”
Thad put his hand on my waist and gave me a sharp push into the house, his voice suddenly barking in my ear. “Inside! Now! Get down!”
I stumbled into the house, slamming to my knees, disoriented from the sharp change. I looked up at Mack just as a window exploded beside his head and a cabinet splintered apart behind him. I screamed, my heart lodging in my throat. “Get down!”
I spun around to see Thad rolling through the yard, his massive body as fluid as a panther as he yanked Biscuit to his chest and then crawled back towards the front door. I looked behind him to see a huge black Escalade with black tinted windows barreling our way. The window was rolled down and the blunt end of an assault rifle was sticking out. Pointed at Thad.
My chest squeezed as everything went still around me. I knew I was about to watch Thad die. My mouth opened in a silent scream, praying there was something I could do to stop it from happening, but I was an unarmed civilian.
“Rain!” Mack’s war-torn voice shocked me into glancing back at him just in time to catch the pistol he threw my way before it hit me.
Training kicked in, fear moved out, and without another thought, I raised the gun and fired into the SUV. Moving target or not, I hit where I aimed and the vehicle swerved before crashing into my car. The gun was wavering, but it was still pointed in Thad’s direction, and even though he was still crawling away from it, I didn’t want to take the chance.
Rolling into a crouch, I kept the gun aimed while calling out. “Put your gun down.”
An explosion sounded and I watched as a chunk of dirt beside Thad flew into the air. Knowing that they weren’t finished fueled me. I fired into the vehicle again, aiming where I thought the shooter would be. After two more shots, there was a scream and then silence.
Thad had made it to the house and yanked me back inside before kicking the door shut and pushing me towards the ground. “Thank you, but get down. I’m going to see if they’re dead.”
By that point, the adrenaline was flushing away to shock. We’d just been attacked. I sat against the island in Mack’s kitchen, my hands suddenly so shaky that I dropped the gun. I sucked in a sharp breath and felt my lungs squeeze as my chest felt like it was pressing heavily against them.
Mack’s voice came from beside me. “You did good, kid.”
I dropped my head between my knees and focused on breathing. In. Out. In. Out.
Mack’s arm went around me and he held me while we waited for Thad to clear the yard. His warm scent of cigars and aged books comforted me enough for my breathing to return to normal.
“Look who graduated from eating underwear to almost getting Thad shot in the back.”
I looked up to find Biscuit shaking with his ears back. He was timidly walking towards me, his eyes wide with fear. I scooped him into my arms and hugged him to my chest, the rest of the heaviness on my chest easing away. Everything was okay. Thad saved Biscuit and I saved Thad.
“It’s clear. There were three men and they’re dead.” Thad walked back in, holstering a gun to his side. He knelt in front of me and gently smiled. “You saved my ass.”
I looked from his blue eye to the green one, feeling my own eyes flood with unshed tears. Not again. I groaned and pressed the heels of my hands into my eye sockets. “What the fuck was that?”
Thad pulled me up and then helped Mack to his feet. “Hired guns. They weren’t ready for Annie Oakley here, though. Do you think Sallisaw is ready to end the game?”
I pulled in my emotions and tried to think with a clear head. “Not like that. It doesn’t make any sense. He would want to do it himself. He’s a monster. He wants to get his hands dirty. There was one time, while I was trapped with him, that one of his guys came in while he wasn’t there and slapped me around. Sallisaw killed him for touching me. He wants to be the one to inflict the pain.”
Thad ground his teeth and nodded. “I’m going to call my contact with the Feds. They can handle this without us. We’re moving. Sorry, Mack, but you’re coming too. This little island is only so safe. I have a house near Dallas where we’ll stay. We’ll drop Biscuit off with my grandma first. I love the little guy, but I can’t chance him getting away like that again.”
I hugged Biscuit tighter and nodded. He was right. About it all. “Okay.”
“I’ll pack a bag.” Mack hurried to his room. “I’ll call Mrs. Miller, too, and tell her what happened. She can have the repairs done while we’re gone.”
“Come on, Rain. You need a bag, too.” Thad gently took my arm and pulled me towards the door. “I’ll keep an eye out for trouble, Mack.”
I hurried past the wrecked SUV, not ready to see the damage I’d done. It was something I’d never gotten used to. Killing someone, no matter how awful they were, still got to me.
I hurried into my house and threw all my stuff into my suitcase. I was done in no time and then we were in Thad’s truck, racing away from the island. I sat in the middle of the bench seat, pressed against Thad’s side. I didn’t need to be that close, but he’d tugged me into him and it felt good to be there, so I stayed.
Biscuit was asleep in my lap, the whole ordeal seemingly already forgotten. I stroked his head absently, just happy that we were all okay. I was feeling a lot of guilt at the idea that I could’ve caused the men around me and the dog in my lap to die that easily. It made me want to run away from them all. No one was safe around me. Not even Thad, a trained former SEAL.
Instead of running, though, I was snuggling into his side while he draped his arm over my shoulders. It felt selfish to take from him when I’d already almost caused his death, but I couldn’t make myself move away. I had never been the type to seek comfort from another person, and after Sallisaw, I’d made sure to never appear like I needed comfort, but something about Thad made me feel safer without the fear of being seen as a weak little woman who couldn’t protect herself. I didn’t feel weak for taking his comfort. Selfish, yes, but not weak. I’d saved him. I’d proven that I wasn’t weak.
We were all quiet on the drive, each of us reflecting on our own thoughts. While mine veered towards self-doubt and self-hate, it appeared Thad’s were all angry. His arm kept tightening around me, while his hand on the steering wheel was turning white at the knuckles from his grip. His face was pinched, like whatever he was thinking was making him want to rip something, or someone, apart.
Mack seemed calm, which was crazy, but whatever was going on in his head seemed to not bother him.
“My grandma’s place is in between Faint Island and Dallas. It won’t take us too long to reach her.”
Mack and I nodded, accepting that we got a few minutes of peace in the truck. I sank farther into Thad’s side and blew out a breath. Just a few minutes of peace would be nice.