"Clock's ticking," Piston adds, with a crooked half-smile.
I can't see Kozlov's expression when he holds me like this. Just the guys and their guns aimed not right at me, but awfully close. He’s holding me so tight that I can feel his shiver of fear. Then he pulls me along towards the balcony.
"I'll let her go, but not until I've got a little distance. Just to the door." There's a nervous quaver in his voice. He's scared for real. Finally, realizing that there is no other way out. I worry that itmakes him unpredictable. Even if they've convinced him to let me go, if he freaks out or twitches, it could end just as horribly. I move with him the best I can so we don't trip.
Zero, Piston and Beast follow, keeping their distance constant and making sure Kozlov isn't pulling some kind of last minute trick. There are way too many freaking guns pointing my way right now and my throat hurts. I'm only breathing in little gasps.
"You can't drag this out forever, Kozlov," Piston says. "Soon the rest will be up here, and I guarantee you that Eagle-eye won't be as forgiving as us. His first loyalty is to the club, and you've become a thorn in his side."
We stop.
I can feel Kozlov's heart thundering against my back, even if he keeps his voice deceptively calm.
"Fine. I let her go. The Screaming Eagles are known for keeping their word." I don't know if he's trying to convince himself, remind the boys about the deal, or just playing for time, but his grip on my throat loosens.
I draw a deep, raspy breath, finally able to breathe properly again. The gun barrel is pulled away from the side of my head. I take a cautious step forwards, convinced I'm about to get shot.
"Taking a step back. See? Your girl is safe. I haven't hurt her."
"Good," Zero says, and fires.
39
SANDRA
When we returnto the club, Natalie is waiting for us. I borrowed Piston's phone to call her before we left, but she insisted on meeting me here. She bowls me over the moment I get off Beast's bike, throwing herself at me, wrapping me up in her arms and sob-laughing into my neck as she hugs me like she's trying to make my brain pop out through my ears.
"You're safe."
"I'm safe," I repeat and squeeze her back. An hour or so ago, I was sure I'd never see her again. Now I've got her in my arms and I don't want to let go. That we were arguing just a few days ago just feels like the dumbest thing ever. Maybe I just need to get kidnapped every once in a while so that we manage to get things back in perspective. I'd rather not, though.
Something bumps against my leg. Looking down, I find Junkyard, her tail wagging all over the place and obviously eager for attention. I press a kiss into Nat's hair, then disengage so I can crouch down and give Junkyard a hug too. I get a faceful of tongue for my effort. Nat laughs at me. "I suppose everyone deserves their turn at showing they've missed you."
Between my first time around, and then this week, I've seen enough death to last me a lifetime. I'm not going to mourn Kozlov's death, obviously, but I hope that's the last killing I'm going to have to witness… well, ever. I just know that life around here can get kind of crazy, so there's never a guarantee. The important thing is grabbing opportunity when it comes. Or let opportunity grab me so I come. Or something. I glance over at the guys who are waiting for me, surprisingly patient, with how I suggested that I might need another distraction when we get back.
What can I say, my men being fiercely protective and aggressively heroic is growing on me.
Nat looks at me, looks at the guys, then back at me. Then she sighs. "I was going to invite you over for cake and other goodies, but I've seen that look on my guys before, and assuming yours are roughly the same breed, I think I know exactly what it means.
"What? We're just?—"
"Stop!" She holds a hand out with her fingers up and her palm facing me, like a school crossing guard. "I love you more than anything, but there are things about my little sister I do not ever want to see, hear about, even consider the possibility of, and I've already heard enough on the grapevine to know that it might be best we don't attend club parties together from now on. Just in case."
Oh. Oh no. Based on the heat radiating from my face right now, I could probably be used as one of the beacons on top of the Blackworth skyscrapers to warn planes off at night. How did I never… "Right. Sounds uh… good."
"Exactly. Call me when you're up for coming over. I have no plans tonight." She glances over at the guys again. "No plans for the next couple of days." She gives me another tight hug that says more than a few moments of awkwardness ever will. "Love you, Sandra."
"Love you too."
Based on Zero's count, which I suspect is very accurate, it takes roughly forty-nine seconds before we're back in Beast's room. He does have the biggest bed, after all, though if this is going to last, maybe it's time we find somewhere where we can live together.
Just maybe in a different neighborhood than Nat's.
The door slams shut behind us, kind of frantically. "Bedroom?" I ask, adrenaline spiking at the thought of getting… distracted.
"Nope." Beast pulls me into a bear hug that has me pressed up against his broad chest, smelling that by now familiar body wash he keeps in the shower. He squeezes me like he's going to break me. "Fuck, baby, we coulda lost you." He presses a hard kiss onto the top of my head and runs his big hands up and down my back like he has to make sure that I'm still alive, still in one piece. "Fuck," he whispers.
When he finally lets me take a step back up, I find him with my eyes, craning my neck to look up at him, losing myself in his mossy green gaze as he leans in to kiss me. The kind of kiss that makes me tingle all the way out to my toes and has my belly roiling like a volcano preparing to erupt. His soft lips are pressed so hard against me, I think I might bruise.
