He squeaked again when I patted his butt. “Where to, babe?”
“D-downstairs. Where I left my gear last night in the foyer. The tenants will man the battlements while I cover the turret and… what the hell?” I set him down, holding onto his arm while he got his bearings. In the short time he’d taken to answer, I’d run us there as soon as I’d heard the location.
Shaking his head, Darcy pointed a finger in my face. “One, awesome. And two? We’re definitely going to discuss it later. But for now, let’s get armed because I don’t have everything I need up there.”
He pulled on the jacket he’d been wearing when I first saw him and double-checked the pockets. After looking in each one, he mumbled the word ‘check,’ then moved to another cabinet and pulled boxes of ammo out. He shoved a pair in his shirt pockets before passing a couple to me.
“You’ve got two pockets on that shirt. Take these. They’re silver bullets. If we can get a heart shot, it’ll kill them instantly.” Next, he grabbed the rifle propped against the cabinet and pulled a wooden bullet out of his pocket. He quickly loaded a clip with silver bullets, then topped it with two more of the wooden bullets on top.
“Dare I ask why the mixed bullets?”
Darcy slung the rifle’s strap over his shoulder and came back. “Get me to the turret while I explain. Please?” He said the last as an afterthought, as if afraid he’d sounded rude.
I wanted to tell him he was anything but. If nothing else, seeing the sweet man turn so commanding when necessary was hot as hell. I might have been a vampire, but I was not a fighter and would’ve had to turn myself over to the murderous bastards outside if it’d been up to me to protect us. When I didn’t move fast enough, I wanted to laugh at the impatient frown crossing Darcy’s face.
Lifting him over my shoulder, I took off at a run. “Sorry, babe. You just looked so cute while planning to kill my enemies. You were going to explain?”
His irritated huff made me smile as I zipped up the stairs and through the halls. “The wooden bullets are coated with dead man’s blood. It’ll stun and hold them in place so we have time to kill all of them at once, rather than risk one getting away. I don’t have to be exact where the wooden bullet hits them, but I do with the kill shots. The rest of the family are trained on different weapons, and we’ll all be fighting, but having them stuck will help.”
A moment later, I set him down on the stone floor of the turret, waiting again while he got his bearings. A glance at my watch showed no more than five minutes had passed since the threat.
“We made excellent time, Darcy. Tell me what to do next.”
He snorted, pulling more rifles and guns from a cabinet I hadn’t noticed last night. “Excellent time? Sheesh, brag much? Only kidding. You really were fast. Now tell me, have you ever fired a gun?”
I lifted a hand to rub the back of my neck. “Erm, yes. But hit something? Not so much. Muriel’s a crack shot, but she’d be the first to tell you I can’t hit a fish in a barrel, let alone a moving target.”
Unsurprisingly, Darcy merely shrugged and put a couple guns back in the cabinet. “I’m guessing bow and arrows are out too, then?”
“Um… probably? I’ve never tried, but I could give it a shot. Or a pull? What do you call it when you fire an arrow?” I made a mental note to research this shit at the first possible opportunity.
Shaking his head, Darcy grinned and handed me two rifles. “Hold these. I won’t want to take time to change clips, so when I’m out of bullets, I’ll set my gun down, and you’ll hand me a replacement. Sound good?”
“Definitely. You’re the boss, babe. You lead. I’ll follow.”
“Excellent attitude. Let’s end this before anyone else gets hurt.”
Moving to one of the windows, he grabbed a small mirror and tilted it, sending a discreet flash of light off to the right, toward the roof a floor below our position.
There really was a battlement, a solid stone wall with openings where the residents could peer—and shoot—from without being seen below. The walls rose and lowered in height every six feet, so Muriel was parked in front of a window at the perfect height for her with the barrel of her gun pointed at the street below.
Each resident manned a window while Prudence paced behind them, giving orders. Darcy saw me staring and grinned. “Mama can’t shoot for shit either, so she takes lead when we’re under attack like this. Just watch. We’re a motley but well-trained group. I run practices twice a week to keep everyone in form and surprise alarm drills three times a month to time everyone’s arrival to the battlement. Okay, enough talking… there’s the signal. They’re ready.”
The mirror in Prudence’s hand nearly blinded me as she gave said signal. Lesson learned. Next time I’d know not to look. The battle started—and ended—so fast, I almost missed it altogether.
Darcy put the gun to his shoulder and sighted down the scope. After a quick pull of the lever action came the expected metal-on-metal sound followed by a bang. He did it three times, firing so quickly I barely had time to count the shots. The trio of dickheads fell to their knees outside the wards.
Flashes in my peripheral vision drew my attention. The residents were doing their part now. Muriel fired, her grin telling me she’d gotten her target, while the fae sisters threw colorful balls of light that sparkled before bursting into flames when they hit the ground around the vamps. Iris used a crossbow, nimbly firing arrows while the men beside her attacked with their own weapons.
So many different types of bullets, arrows, and flaming color balls flew. I wasn’t surprised as each of my enemies died and disappeared into a pile of ash. It was impossible to know who’d gotten the kill shots, but it didn’t really seem to matter. The point was they were gone now.
Rowdy cheers and ear-piercing whistles came up from the battlements, while Darcy dropped his gun and flung himself into my arms. He grabbed my face with both hands and kissed me like he was dying of thirst and I was the only thing left to drink.
Fuck, but if I didn’t love his enthusiasm.
When we finally broke apart, Darcy was breathless and completely gorgeous, grinning victoriously. “That’ll teach them to come after a member of our family, let alone someone I care about. Now let’s go. I need to call the coven about their witch, and the troop will want to celebrate. Mom’s probably got a cake and a few bottles of champagne on standby.”
If my heart still beat, it would’ve pounded out of my chest. I hugged him tightly, needing a moment longer before we joined the rest of the… family.
“Darcy. Did you call me a member of your family? And… you care for me?” I was too stunned. Surely I’d heard him wrong?
Smiling, he leaned back to meet my eyes. “After my best first date ever? Of course I care about you. And as for being family, as soon as I granted you sanctuary, you became one of us. We take care of each other here. You’ll figure it out after you’ve been here longer. Like any other household, we have our annoying ones, our nutty ones, and the ones we prefer—but a family we are. You and Muriel are now part of it, for as long as you want. Even if things don’t work out between us, you’ll still be welcome. Only maybe no more sleepovers in my room.”