“How the hell did they even find us?” West huffs. “Didn’t Declanjustsay we were in the clear?”
“Fuckin’ assholes ruinin’ my beach trip.” Jo mutters to herself, pulling on some leggings and a t-shirt.
“We’ll have to figure that out later.” Sam hands me a handgun. “Remember what I showed you?” I nod once, remembering how he walked me through all the aspects of gun safety. I haven’t been able to practice shooting at anything yet, but at least I kind of know what I’m getting into. “Right.” He turns his attention back to everyone. “I’m going to position myself at the choke point of the living room. If they break down the door and try to come in through there, I can pick them off one by one. That, and the sliding glass door are our two points of entry. West and Kole, you two keep your sights on the back door, and if they break through, light ‘em up. We’ll keep one alive and try to figure out how they found us.”
“Where’s the roof access point in this house?” Jo asks, disappearing into the closet. She starts knocking on the walls, and I exchange a confused look with West.
“Through the ceiling of that closet. Why?”
There’s a thump and a grunt, and then Jo is coming out of the closet, holding what looks to be a sniper rifle that’s almost as big as she is and a small bag slung on her shoulder. Fuck, why does the sight of her holding a gun make me hard?
“I say we shoot first.” She grins. “Glad I know where Dec keeps all the goodies in the safe houses.”
Sam is skeptical. “You know how to use that?”
She scoffs. “Sammy, please. You think that Declan, the feared and respected head of the Gallagher family would send his baby sister out into the world without makin’ sure she knew exactly how to use every single weapon they manufacture? I just happen to prefer blades to guns, but I can handle myself just fine, I assure you.”
The sight of the sniper rifle reminds me of the guy who had our backs from a tree at Thornfield. One of Declan’s packmates. “Did…Aidan? That’s his name, right? Did Aidan teach you?”
“Yep. Rory taught me how to torture and use a knife, Dec taught me how to fight, Nolan showed me how to shoot regular guns, and Aidan taught me how to snipe.”
“I shouldnotbe hard right now,” Kole mutters, cracking his neck. Yeah, join the club, Big Guy.
Sam nods once. “You take the roof, take out as many assholes as you can. Don’t wait for them to come to us—startle them and throw them off their game. That thing has a silencer on it, so you might be able to drop one or two before they notice. Hayden, watch her back. We’ll stick to our original positioning. Please, for the love of all that is goodin the world—stay on the roof.”
My heart pounds rapidly in my chest. Nothing is going to stop me from keeping her safe.
Logically, I know she doesn’t need me to. I know that she can handle herself just fine without me there holding a gun I barely know how to use.
But all I can think about is how I need to keep my eyes on her so if something goes wrong, I’ll know for sure. Our bond won’t ever go dark again.
She meets my eyes, no doubt sensing my panic, and sends me a wave of reassurance through the bond. She’s confident in her abilities, so I will be too.
“We need to get into position,” Sam grunts before pressing a harsh kiss to Jo’s lips.
West follows, his touch more gentle, and then finally Kole, who owns her mouth with enough force that she moans, then just as quickly he backs away, and they share a meaningful look.
All three men leave the bedroom, shutting the door behind them, leaving Jo and I by ourselves.
My voice catches in my throat. “Fireball, I—”
“It’ll be okay, Darlin’,” she smiles gently at me, “I promise, okay? None of us are goin’ anywhere.”
Swallowing roughly, I nod once, then follow Jo into the walk-in closet, where she has me pull down the latch on the ceiling that leads to the attic. A ladder unfolds, and once we’re up there, there’s another hatch that leads to the roof. I hoist Jo up by her waist, then hand her the rifle.
Once I’m with her, she holds her finger against her lips, and I nod, showing that I understand. It’s then that I realize the entire top of the house is actually flat, and the sloped sides we saw when we arrived are just a facade to give the illusion of a regular house. We're still on anopen rooftop—the ocean is at our backs, the waves crashing against the side of the cliff, but the front of the roof is shielded from view.
When Jo sets up the rifle, propping it up on its bi-pod before sliding the muzzle through a hole in the wall near the floor, I realize that this is exactly why it’s designed this way.
My Fireball takes off the bag she found in the closet, pulling ammo out of it as she lays flat on her stomach. She loads a round into the rifle, lining her eye up with the scope as she peeks out.
“Twenty-two men…” she mutters. She takes a second, adjusting the rifle slightly. My hands are on the pistol Sam gave me, pointed towards the ground, my finger running along the frame.
She stiffens for a moment, bracing herself, and then visibly, her body relaxes as she lets out a long, slow breath before she pulls the trigger.
thirty-one
Jo
