“None of that lip.”
Ms. Z. opened the side door, and Jamie practically bounced out of the SUV, suddenly filled with a new reservoir of energy.
“God, youth is wasted on the young,” Blayne said.
“Oh yes, because you are so ancient,” Madeline said, rolling her eyes in the vehicle’s interior light. Madeline scooched over to the door. Ms. Z. reached out a hand and helped the woman out. “Thank you,” Madeline said.
Blayne was up next. With his tall body, he practically bent in half to get out of the back seat to the door. Ethan didn’t mind because it gave him a nice shot of Blayne’s gorgeous ass. He reached out and swatted it with the back of his hand.
“Watch it,” Blayne said. “Children can see.”
Ethan followed suit, and their group stood outside in the crisp autumn air. They said their goodbyes and gave each other quick hugs.
“Should I perform a security sweep?” Ms. Z. said through an almost imperceptible yawn.
“Nah,” Blayne replied. “We have the new security system, so I’m not worried.” Blayne pulled up the app on his phone and showed Ms. Z. that it still indicated the alarm was set and the place was secure.
Ms. Z. nodded once before getting back into the SUV.
Next up was Kira.
“You’re being awfully quiet,” Blayne said as the taillights faded into the distance.
“I got a text from Sarah. They recovered several bodies.”
“Really?” Blayne said.
“So, this wasn’t an accident,” Ethan added.
“Definitely not,” Kira replied. “And it’s weird. Three of the bodies, including the one who took mosh diving to a new level, were members of a domestic terrorist group, while the other four belong to a far-right German paramilitary group.”
Ethan let out a low whistle. “Seven bodies? Fuck.”
“Sarah doesn’t think there’s a connection to what happened last month. The working hypothesis is that these two groups used the cover of the concert to meet, something went wrong and the groups killed each other.”
“You got all that from a text?” Blayne asked.
“I’m extrapolating a bit,” Kira admitted. She handed Blayne her phone. Ethan leaned next to him to read the message as well.
Looks like our domestic terrorists had issues with German dicks bent on bringing fascism back. The groups wiped each other out. Doesn’t seem like last month at all.
“Well, that’s at least somewhat reassuring,” Ethan admitted. “At least we’re dealing with different blood-thirsty crazies this time. God knows, we were growing bored with the last set.”
“Tell me about it,” Kira agreed. “On the plus side, it seems like this had nothing to do with you. You can sleep well tonight, knowing no one is after you again.”
“That’s both reassuring and not reassuring,” Blayne said. “I’m way too tired to deal with this shit. I’m going to bed.”
“Me too.” Kira hugged Blayne before giving Ethan a pat on the shoulder. “I’ll call you two tomorrow afternoon to check in on you and see how you’re holding up.”
Kira walked over to her vehicle before he and Blayne turned and headed toward the apartment’s front door. Blayne pulled out his key and inserted it into the lock. He opened the door, walked inside and punched in the security code. “Door has been disabled,” a robotic voice chimed in.
Ethan flipped the switch and headed into the living room.
A woman sat on the sofa with a gun leveled at him.
* * * *
Blayne
