Kris suggested that as soon as I finished, they would clear the courtroom, it was part of the reason we left me taking the stand so late on the day too.
“You did good, kid. I’ll meet with the other side and email a brief. Our next court date is six weeks out, but that one is back online. Looks like you don’t need to come into Darlington at least for a few months unless you want to take me out to lunch.”
“You’re paying?” I ask, mocking him because there’s no way I won’t be paying. He’ll add it to my bill if he has to pay for lunch.
“Of course.” He laughs, packing up his briefcase. “And don’t ask me how long until we get a decision, or a response. It’s like asking how long a piece of string is. And I suspect despite how beautifully you spoke, the asswipes sitting on the other side of the walkway will come up with a conjecture or something else for us to spend months arguing over.”
“Yeah, I was more thinking I’d like them to take their time. I think I want to go on holiday. Lie in the sun with my alphas on a private island.”
“Again?”
“Yeah, life is hard, isn’t it?”
Kris stands when his phone rings, and I leave him with a quick side hug in thanks before I walk, with a little more decorum than Lincoln did, straight into Noah’s arms. And then Gabe is wrapping his arms around me too. I can feel Valak waiting behind me, watching over us like always.
Once we untangle, it’s Gabe and Noah who take turns watching over us as Valak nabs one of my hands and tugs me into him. His eyes are a little haunted, but I get it. Talking about what happened always hurts him deeply.
“You fucking shined up there. You took my breath away, Lennon.” He drops his forehead to mine as he holds me gently. Or maybe I’m doing the holding, he’s locked up tight. I hold him until some of his tension leaves. With a small kiss, I release him and snuggle into Lincoln’s arms again. He undoes my hair as he talks. “Well, that was entirely unexpected, wasn’t it? You can punish me later for my slip, Pet.”
“Lincoln! Let me through!” Bailey wiggles her way through the smallest of spaces between the seats, and we fall into each other. I all but inhale her unique scent and lay my head on her chest. “Every time you open your mouth, you blow me away. Every day you save me, build me up, and give me the courage to be me.”
“Jesus, babe.”
“I’m a sap. Give me a break. My heat’s coming up. Come pee with me,” she says, grabbing my hand.
“Toilet break,” I offer over my shoulder as she drags me out. Valak jumps over the chairs and into the row behind so we can follow him out.
The crowd of reporters rush us, but my pack, and Bailey’s, are there, pushing against them, giving the both of us room. I can’t wait to be away from all this. The crowd is oppressive, it feels like the walls are closing in.
“Bailey!” someone calls out.
But there are people calling out everywhere, calling my name, and hers. Guards trying to rush us out, reporters yelling questions, paparazzi chanting my name. Lincoln’s too. It’s complete bedlam, but it’s like my ears are zeroing in on who’s calling Bailey.
The voice calls out from somewhere in the crowd again, and it stirs a recent memory. Looking over my shoulder I search for the reason alarm bells are going off in my head. I hear that same person call out for Bailey again, and I rush past her, trying to grab Valak’s attention. But he’s already looking in that direction.
One second we’re searching for the reason we’re both on edge, the next my ears are ringing from a gun being fired off in rapid succession.
The gunshots echo, they replay in my head over and over, drowning out everything else around me. It’s hard to focus on the panic, but it’s been drilled into me. One conscious thought, and instinctively I drop into the headspace you have to go to protect the people you love. Jack Black’s in my ear again, coaching me;eliminate the threat, triple check the threat is eliminated, focus on getting to safety, assess for injury, call for help.
The threat is eliminated; Miller is dead at my feet. I pump another bullet into him. Just in case.
The more I hone my thinking, the more the fragments of what happened correlate into a sensible series of events. Literally, it takes me a second to remember Miller pushing his way through a gap of people, calling Bailey’s name again. The first bullet was aimed directly at her, but Valak and I were already moving, and he stepped right into the path of Miller’s aim; protecting us both. My eyes jump to where he still lies.
“Up, Valak,” I tell him, dropping down and crawling to him. But then I’m up in the air, moving backwards, screaming as I struggle, trying to get back to Valak, who’s still lying on the floor.
“Lenny, Lenny, he’s okay. Open your eyes darling, he’s coming. He’s okay. You’ve been shot, baby.” It’s Noah’s cloud of pepper scent that brings me out of my headspace.
His hand pushes against my stomach while Lincoln races away with me in his arms. I shake my head, trying to right everything; I can feel my body, but my thoughts are getting mixed up with what needs to happen and what actually did happen.
“Where’s Val, Gabe?”
“It’s me, Lennon, it’s me. You’re in shock, darling, we’re all here. Stay with us.”
“No. I’ve got my bullet proof vest on, I’m okay. I’m okay!”
But I guess it’s the look of worry I see in Noah’s grey eyes that has me questioning if I am okay. On my shirt where Noah’s hand is, it looks like someone spilt a pot of red nail polish on me.
“Stay with us, Len,” Gabe says. He takes one of my hands, putting it on his face, on his glasses before he does the same on his brother’s face, on the other side of me.
