The sound of tires crunching along the driveway alerts me to Michael’s arrival just before two am. Going outside to meet him on the front deck, I notice Will already sitting on the swing bench on the far end.
“You been out here all night?” I ask as we wait for Michael to join us.
Will nods. “Yeah, couldn’t sleep.”
I get that. It’s a strange house filled with people he’s never met before. I’d have trouble sleeping if I were him too.
Michael joins us a minute later, a duffle bag hoisted over his shoulder.
“What’s in the bag?” I ask.
He lowers it to the deck and opens the zipper. Will and I both peer inside.
“Holy shit. You had that shit in your room?” Will asks, his eyes wide.
Michael shrugs. “Yeah, I did a lot of shit for the old man. It required a lot of…” He pauses, “…toys.”
They ain’t toys, they’re guns, lots of guns. You name it and he’s probably got it in this duffle. I have a small arsenal of my own, but his blows mine out of the water. “Think you got enough in there?” I ask, sarcasm thick in my voice.
His serious eyes raise to mine, no humour in them at all. “When you see what he brings tomorrow, you’ll wish I’d brought more.”
Jesus Christ, what the hell is Bradshaw expecting? World War fucking Three?
Noticing my expression, Michael clarifies, “It’s not the artillery he’ll have, it’s the numbers. There’s, what?” He pauses, ticking off fingers as he counts in his head, “Six of us against at least three dozen of them. He’s going to come prepared to end this, not to dick around and lose his best chance at taking her out.”
My heart thumps harder inside my chest. He’s coming to end this, to take her out. My teeth grind together, my body alert and ready to fight at the mere thought of anyone trying to hurt her, let alone this fucker coming with the sole purpose of killing her.
“Save it for tomorrow,” Michael murmurs, dropping a hand on my stiff shoulder. “Dan’s taking the info to him first thing. They’re four hours from here, give or take. That gives us time to figure out everyone’s positioning and exactly how we want this to play out.”
The front door swings open and out comes the pixie from hell. She looks frazzled. Black bags hug her bloodshot eyes. “I thought I heard a car,” she says, and for once her glare is directed at someone other than me. Cautiously, she steps over Michael’s duffle until she comes abdomen to nose with him. “Are we going to have a problem, you and I?” she asks, her neck kicked back on a 90-degree angle to look him in the face.
Michael’s eyes bounce from her to me. “What’s happening? Who’s the midg—”
“I wouldn’t, man, it’s not worth it. Trust me. The devil’s spawn can climb like a rabid koala, and she will climb you.”
He rears back, his eyes shooting back down to the devious little redhead. “As long as you stay the fuck out of my way so I don’t trip over you, we’ll be just fine.”
Her eyes shoot daggers at him, but she doesn’t strike. I wait, the anticipation killing me. I shouldn’t have stopped him from calling her a midget. I want to see her in action when someone other than me is her victim.
I’m actually glad she came along. Having her around keeps us from getting too high-strung. She keeps the mood light, somehow.
Like right now. Seconds ago I was ready to make heads roll; now, I’m waiting to see if she kicks Michael’s arse. But then Will moves in closer, completely ignoring the she-devil. “You didn’t count me in. You said there six of us, but with me, there’s seven. Why didn’t you count me? I’m ready, Micky. You know I can handle myself. You taught me everything you know. Now let me use it,” he demands.
I take a step back at the same time as little Red, catching her before she lands on her arse when she trips backwards over the duffle bag. It appears she also knows better than to interfere in arguments between siblings.
“I’ll leave you two to it,” I say, speaking up before Michael starts in on his younger brother. They both glare at me. “Will can show you where you’re sleeping,” I mutter, dragging Red back inside the house with me, then head to bed.
“This is all going to be over soon, right?” Red asks, ascending the stairs by my side.
Nodding, I tell her the truth. “It’s going down in the morning. If you want to get out of here, now’s the time, Red.”
She scoffs, “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. I’m not leaving her when she needs me the most. Besides, who’s going to be guarding her when you guys are off fighting the bad guys? Hmmm? Me, that’s who.”
I stop in my tracks, turning to face her. “Excuse me? You’re going to guard her? And how exactly do you plan on stopping someone from barging down the door and taking her?”
Red rolls her eyes. “With this, silly,” she says, pulling a gold Beretta PX4 from the back of her waistband.
“Do you even know how to use that thing?” I scoff, wondering who in the hell gave this woman a gun.
“Of course I do,” she snarls. “As if I would be carrying a loaded weapon without knowing how to handle it.”
She shakes her head, pushes past me, and continues up the stairs. This night just got a whole lot weirder. Michael and his duffle, then Red with a Beretta. Jesus.
The morning comes too soon, my alarm waking me at six am. Rolling over, I slap the nightstand until my palm lands on my phone. Snatching it up, I hit the screen until the noise stops.
I laid in bed staring at Lissa for an hour before falling asleep last night. In hindsight, that wasn’t the wisest use of time, seeing as now I’m struggling to get moving after only three hours of shut-eye.
Lissa grumbles in her sleep, something about smashing something? I can’t quite hear all the muffled words, but smash was definitely one of them. Letting her snooze, I slide from the bed as quietly as possible, grab my clothes, and head for the guest bathroom down the hall.
Alec is on his way out as I approach. Steam trails behind him. “Morning, brother. Ready for today?” he asks when I’m a couple of feet away.
“As I’ll ever be,” I tell him. “Hey, dipshit, you better not have used all the hot water.”
Ignoring the threat in my tone, he bounces his brows. “You’re about to find out.”
He laughs. Prick.
The water is stone cold. I’m going to kill him. But on an up note, I’m wide awake now.
Entering the kitchen, I realise I’m not the only one to get up early. All the guys are drinking coffee, sitting around Axel’s big dining table. Ash is in the kitchen cooking up a storm.
“Let me do that. You shouldn’t be up and about,” I tell her, taking the spatula from her hand.
“I’m flipping eggs, Abe. Nothing too strenuous. Do you think Axel would let me do it if the doctor hadn’t approved it?” she says.
I frown. “The doctor approved it?”
She nods. “Axel made a list and asked the doctor to revise it, ticking the activities that are safe for me to do on my own. Cooking eggs is one of them,” she tells me as she snatches the spatula away from me, then shoos me out of the kitchen with it.
Filling a mug with coffee, I join the others at the table.
“So nice you could join us,” Axel jeers. I shoot him the finger.
“Yeah,” Alec chimes in. “Seeing as we’re all here to help you keep your woman safe,” he says, a shit-eating grin covering his stupid mouth.
Michael and Will remain silent throughout this exchange, but Gabe and Kai don’t miss a beat.
“We’re doing you a solid, man, and you don’t roll out of bed until six?” Gabe throws in, followed by Kai’s, “I could have spent more time at home in my warm bed with my wife and my baby girl.”
“Fuck you all. It’s six-fifteen! I didn’t know you lot would be up before the damn sun or I would have been too.” I cross my arms on the table top, and glance out the window. The sunlight is just starting to trickle through the brush overhead.
A phone pings, and each of us looks to the other to see whose it is until Michael pulls a phone from his pocket. He reads the text silently before sharing the information. “They’re leaving the estate in an hour. We have exactly five hours to get ready,” he announces.
When we’ve finished eating, Ashlynn leaves, going to stay with Gabe’s family until this is over. Not that anyone will be coming near the house, but Axel doesn’t like to leave her alone while she’s so far into her high-risk pregnancy.