Almost.
I was curled up in an armchair, wrapped in a blanket and cradling a cup of hot cocoa. Goblin at my feet, thumping his tail against the floor like some low, steady heartbeat even though his eyes were closed. Bones, Voodoo, and Legend were sprawled across the living room in various degrees of exhaustion. AB was in the corner, laptop open, monitoring communications that might not even exist yet.
The window blinds were all closed and heavy curtains blocked out any light that might try to sneak in. I wasn’t even certain whether it was four in the afternoon or four in the morning. Time had lost all meaning while we took care of the fallout from the pier.
The kids and women we’d rescued were already being shepherded to safe houses by teams that moved faster and quieter than I could have imagined. The guys insisted they werein good hands, people who would take care of them and see them either into new safer locations or get them home. It was a lot like what the guys had done with the people I’d been rescued with by the Vandals.
Well, what they’dtriedto do with me before everything went sideways. It seemed a million years before and just yesterday in the same breath. I really couldn’t imagine my life without all of them in it. Yet, if AB and Legend hadn’t waited once they dropped me at my place, I might have ended right back where I’d been, and I’d have never seen them again.
The latter disturbed me far more than the former. I’d survived the former, I didn’t want to learn how I would handle the latter.
Ever.
Once we got to the safe house, we’d all taken turns to strip, shower, and put on clean clothes. I’d half-expected one of the guys to join me, but rather than climb in the shower, Bones and Legend waited as I showered while Voodoo was in the second bathroom, then AB followed him. Legend actually brought me my first round of hot cocoa so I could sip it once I was clean.
Awareness of them watching me actually provided a lot of comfort. I stuck around for Bones’ shower too and offered when it was Legend’s turn. He’d winked and sent me out to get dressed. I was wearing one of Bones’ sweatshirts and a pair of Alphabet’s boxers. Voodoo was going to get me more clothes the next day.
Right now, I really didn’t care. At least this place boasted three king-sized beds and one room with a queen. It was a lot more comfortable than the standard safe houses we’d used, but I was only guessing. It wasn’t like the other places were just bare bones.
Still, Legend had taken the time waiting for his shower, getting food going. That included two entire pans of enchiladasand beans. Hot, filling, and tasty, I’d devoured mine without an ounce of complaint for the carbs.
“Feds got Sarmiento and two of his lieutenants,” AB said, voice calm as he scanned his screen. His hair was still damp and drying in little waves. “Bad timing on their part showing up right in the midst of the pier raid. Clean sweep.”
Bones let out a long breath, finally allowing some of the tension in his shoulders to go. “Good,” he said. The bruises on his face were growing more distinct. The reddened mark on his jaw would be a dark shadow. “One less headache.”
I took another long sip of the hot cocoa. It was dark chocolate, sweet, and thick. It was perfect. I didn’t know if he made it like I had or just his own way and honestly, I didn’t care. It was like a chocolate hug and kiss rolled into one. The edges of exhaustion were gradually expanding to fill my whole being. My muscles ached in ways I hadn’t noticed while on high alert, and my heart still thumped like a drum in my chest.
Voodoo cracked one eye open, murmuring, “Quiet for once. I almost don’t know what to do with it.”
Legend, leaning back in a chair, muttered, “Enjoy it while it lasts. We all know it won’t.”
Bones’ gaze found mine, and it wasn’t anything I could call soft, exactly, but it was steady. “We need a plan,” he said.
“We do,” I agreed. “But…”
At the caveat, I had all of their attention from Voodoo’s seemingly sleepy-eyed gaze to Bones’ sharp and assessing one. Legend shifted, stretching his legs out and interlacing his fingers together as he fixed a studious look on me.
“But?” AB prompted, setting his laptop aside to rise and stretch. There was a distinct hitch in his stride and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Goblin lifted his head, ears swiveling to focus on AB as he began a slow, easy walk around the room. He’dspent a lot of long hours hunched over his computer. I didn’t doubt he was stiff.
“All of you need to sleep, we need to recuperate and recover before we dig in again.” We hadn’t truly stopped moving in over a week. We’d had more than one fight and we hadn’t even taken a break after dealing with McClean.
I didn’t think about either man. They were dead and gone. We would still look for Mrs. Sinclair and we’d left Hannah Torres with our information. AB promised he’d get me updates on the women we freed and the kids. Little Nico hadn’t wanted to go, but as much as I was sorry to see him off—I wasn’t mom material.
Our life right now was not conducive to having kids around. It just wouldn’t be safe for them. That kept trying to trigger off another series of thoughts, but I was too damn tired to think about it either. I’d never pictured myself as a mother, and I didn’t expect that to change anytime soon.
“What will you be doing while we’re sleeping, Firecracker?” The soft, almost wry amusement in Voodoo’s voice nearly made me laugh.
“Well, I won’t be darning socks.” Did people evendarnsocks anymore? The idea seemed ludicrous and the dry comment made all of them smile.
Voodoo’s smile sharpened. “Good. Because my socks are perfect, thank you very much.”
“You buy yours in bulk at Costco,” Legend said without looking up from his plate. “There is no ‘perfect.’ There’s just ‘cheap and identical.’”
“Identical is efficient,” Voodoo shot back.
“Identical is boring,” Legend countered.
“Identical is reliable,” AB chimed in, deadpan.
