Now is not the time to praise our little bird for her pencil stabbing skills, I reason.
Blood spatters cover her body, some dry and others still wet—fresh, and her whole body trembles, but still, she’s silent.
I step closer to her, and she flinches. The action is enough to pierce another piece of my soul.
If I would’ve protected her better, she wouldn’t even be in this situation to begin with. I’m to blame.
Well, and whoever the fuck that motherfucker is behind me, but that’s for another time.
“C’mere, little bird. You’re safe now. It’s me.” I hold out one hand toward her.
Alaina tilts her head to the left, fresh tears trailing down her cheeks. “Declan?”
Relief swamps me, and my shoulders sag. “I’m here, birdie.”
A sob wracks her body, and she drops the gun to the floor without a thought. I have half a second to brace myself before she takes two steps and launches herself into my arms. “Oh my god, Rush!” Her arms wrap around my neck and squeeze. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
I wrap my arms around her and pull her closer to me. “Of course, I’m here.” I pull back and tuck some of her unruly hair off her face, so I can look into those soulful eyes of her. “I’ll always find you.” She blinks and another tear trails down her cheek.
“Do you promise?” Her voice is quiet, but her eyes are loud. They’re bright and shining with something more than tears. Relief, maybe. Or gratitude.
“Aye. I promise. I’ll go to the ends of the earth for you, Alaina.”
She pushes up on her toes and presses her soft lips to mine. It takes every ounce of control I have not to push her against the wall and take what she unknowingly offers me. I lick the corner of her mouth, the taste of her blood somehow ramps up my desire.
I pull back when I hear the faint sound of footsteps. And while I recognize Wolf’s gait, I don’t take any chances when it comes to her. I pull my gun out, tuck Alaina behind me, and aim at the doorway. The idea of being a sitting duck in the middle of this room doesn’t sit well with me, but I’m out of time and options.
Wolf glances into the room from the hallway, and I release a breath.
“We’re in here, brother.”
Wolf slides in the room at the same time Alaina steps out from behind me.
I reason with myself that it’s a good thing that the lines on Wolf’s face smooth out a little when sees her. That a weight visibly lifts off of his shoulders. It gives me hope that he’s not lost—that Conor is still lurking beneath the rage and violence.
It’s a delicate balance that we all learned to master too early in this life. There was never a question of if we’d join ranks—the Brotherhood is woven into my DNA going back generations. And Sully and Wolf are my true brothers in every sense of the word. There is no one walking this Earth that I trust more to have my back.
One day, that number will increase by one. One day soon.
I watch the way the object of my affection throws herself into my brother’s arms. Something tugs painfully inside my chest when she sobs against him. Wolf folds her against his body, practically wrapping himself around her and tucks his head into that wild mass of waves at her neck.
I hear him murmur something too low for me to hear against her neck, but she tightens her hold on him. After a moment, she pulls back from him and looks over her shoulder at me.
I meet her gaze, and even though I know she’s not ready for everything I have to give her, I can’t mask my obsession. Not when I’m struggling for control. The thought of what could’ve happened in this shitbox is enough to send me into an early grave.
“How many in your cabin?” I ask my brother in an effort to turn my thoughts in another direction.
He looks at me over her shoulder, but doesn’t step back or remove his arms. “Two. How many here?”
“Just this one,” I say with a nod to the guy behind him.
Wolf glances at the body and whistles. “What happened?”
I nod my head toward Alaina, and Wolf’s eyebrows hit his hairline. “We can figure that out later. Let’s find Sully and the others.”
“Aye. Let’s get Red home.”
Chapter Seven
Alaina
With his hand firmly clasped in mine, Wolf leads me out of the room and through the small cabin. I look over my shoulder no less than three times at Sean’s prone form. On my fourth attempt, Rush steps in closely behind me and blocks my view.
“No more, Birdie.” His voice is low as he speaks the words softly.
I feel the heat of him hit my back a second later, and something inside me settles. I glance at Rush’s eyes as I place my trust in Wolf to guide me out of the cabin safely. As soon as we cross the threshold and into the summer air, another explosion lights up the sky and shakes the dirt beneath our feet. A flock of birds takes flight from a nearby tree, squeaking their displeasure.
“Rush,” Wolf grits out through clenched teeth.
“Stay with her. I’ll find him.” Rush brushes his hand along the small of my back as he steps around us and heads toward the nearest cabin on our left.
I wrap my free hand around Wolf’s arm and press my body close to his. A fifth explosion comes from the right, this one the loudest of them all. I flinch but don’t say a word. I’m not sure that I’m capable of speech right now. I don’t even know what I would say if I was.
“God-fucking-damnit,” Wolf curses as he digs his phone out of his pocket. He punches in a few numbers and mumbles, “Pick up, pick up.” Someone must pick up because a moment later, he exhales. “Oh, thank fuck. Where are you? By my count, that’s five explosions—and there are only ten cabins. Our odds are not good.” He pauses. “We got what we came for.” Wolf squeezes my hand. “If you didn’t find anyone by now, then just get the fuck outta there. We’ll talk at our next rendezvous.”
Without a goodbye, Wolf ends the call and pockets his phone. He taps his leg with his fingers, a fast, frantic beat. He glances at me, a quick scan across my face, and whatever he sees there has a curse slipping past his lips.
I absentmindedly wonder if his lips will feel different against mine. His hand clasped in mine feels the same—but more. It’s a curious thing, really. His hand feels warm and comforting wrapped around my smaller hand, which sounds good in theory. I mean, it is good. But I don’t feel good. I don’t feel warm and comforted.
I feel cold and raw, as if everything I thought I knew about the world has been ripped away like tissue paper, leaving the real world in all its violent, burning glory on display. The layers of humanity I naively placed on every person I met have been peeled back to reveal the beasts we all are on the inside.
It’s both enlightening and disheartening to realize that at the core of our beings, we’re no better than animals fighting for survival.
I’m no exception. The events of this evening have taught me as much.
And now, as I stand here with the curtain peeled back, everything seems sharper and louder. A minute later, and everything feels like it’s underwater. I’m struggling to connect who I was before this day to who I am now.