by Evelyn Glass
“Question is, why,” Nicole said. “Does she want us making like sitting ducks?”
“I—”
“Do you want to see us all bloodied and burnt before the night is out?”
Cade groaned, and she felt him on the verge of breaking so many old promises. Not now. Not when she finally had him so close. But she had to be careful, she…
“Let him tell you,” Dawn murmured.
It felt strange to yield the floor when she knew the truth. She wanted to stay because of Cade, and it would only work now if she made like his old lady and played the part.
“You…you laid low,” Cade started to tell Nicole. “And they still got the jump on us. Time to go on the offensive.”
“And fuck the casualties,” George muttered.
“Fuck you,” Cade said. “Run-and-hide move got us here in the first place.”
“That meant for me, Veep?”
For the first time, Reese appeared to shift into his own, and he quickly moved for his own gun, and Nicole’s stare softened.
“Don’t be like Daddy,” she said. “Don’t take any more time. Got none to spare, baby brother.”
Reese’s body started to droop, and Nicole kept her gun poised as she touched her fingers to his tense arm.
“We all hid,” she started. “Like tried to bide our time. And where are we at now?”
“Still alive,” George said. “And kind of kicking.”
“You wouldn’t be singing that tune if you were in Lenny’ shoes.”
A pall came over the room, and Dawn found herself silently hoping that the little guy would come out the other side when Nicole looked back to Dawn.
“So you said one thing,” she started. “But then you wanted to take him away. And why was that?”
“I---”
“Clarify!” she demanded.
Feeling as if she was trapped under a sudden spotlight, Dawn swallowed hard and felt nothing but the draft pouring through the broken windows. It would be nothing for the Panthers to move now and take every other Alpha out. However, she leaned into the sharp breeze and felt the eyes all around her like daggers pressing into her skin. If she had chance, she would spirit Nicole away, just try to talk to her as one woman to another. But one false move might mean another bullet, and Dawn squared her shoulders and raised her voice.
“Same reason you want Lenny to live.”
It was a veiled confession at best, and Dawn started to hang her head when Cade’s strong arm bolstered her up. Their eyes just locked, and when she stared into his bright blue pools, Dawn clung to the hope that he understood, that he would keep the story rolling along.
Because it was so much more than that.
“So you would stick it out for a man, career girl?” Nicole asked.
“I…I would do it for him,” she said. “And now…now that I think about it, all of you boys are making the wrong move if you don’t come out with guns blazing.”
“Fair enough.”
Dawn barely had the chance to soak in Cade’s suddenly loving stare as Brian took aim, and Cade moved to block her body from the threat of any kind of blow.
“Step aside, Cade,” Brian said. “She’s trouble. All of these girls are.”
“Why?” Nicole asked. “Because we can care? Or because we know the score?”
Brian backed off under the force of Reese’s hand, and his fingers quivered as he concealed his gun and took a slow step back.
“Better,” Nicole said. “So tell us why you were so quick to fold in and act like that was the way out?”
Brian laughed again, but Nicole stood toe to with the lanky man and flexed her own muscles.
“I think an answer is in order,” she said.
“Fucking second that,” Cade said, as he kept Dawn as close to his side as possible. Relishing his hold, Dawn tried to find his eyes, but Cade’s gaze stayed fixed on the men before him, and he barely noticed Nicole all but breaking ranks as she pulled her brother to Cade’s side, her blinking eyes furious as the room waited for Brian to offer something in the way of a valid answer.
“Boss, these bitches are only getting in the way,” Brian said. “And good old Veep here is right in league with them. Hell, he brought them the dance.”
Only George laughed at what as a kind of truth, but even he fell silent as the room started to roll over Brian. The man started to lift his hands into the air as he shook his head.
“I…come on guys,” Brian said. “You all know me. I’m not the enemy here.”
“Aren’t you?”
Dawn was stunned by the sound of her own voice leaving her lips, and her eyes started to apologize for stepping over the line that he had drawn in the sand. But Cade kept her close, and he flashed her a quick wink that eased her mind.
“Well, Brian?” Reese asked. The other Alpha started to back away. Dawn tensed at the sight of the next part of the story brewing in her midst, and when Brian started to run, she broke her promise to Cade and started after him.
“Dawn! Hold up!”
But she tuned out the sound of his voice as she pursued Brian into the night. She heard the click of too many guns firing, and she had to duck and curl as she dodged a stray bullet that whipped just past the side of her face. It did not make contact, and her flesh stayed unblemished.
“Dawn!”
Moving past near death, she felt Cade pulling her closer, and his eyes were full of fury as he gripped her arms.
“Cade, there’s something more than—”
“What happened to you staying in line?” he cried.
Dawn started to touch his face when he pushed her back.
“Thought we were on the same side now!” he said. “And you…you’re just going to run off like a fool?”
The insult hurt, and she slapped his face hard, suddenly taking no pleasure in his pain. At that moment, Gloria called out from a cracked window, and she waved her arms frantically in the air.
“Cade!” she screamed. “Get back inside! Like right now!”
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
“What’s up?” Cade called back. Dawn had no thoughts of running, as she waited to hear what the healer had to say.
“Your boy Lenny’s asking for you,” she said.
“My boy?” Cade asked. “Where’s Nicole?”
“In here,” she said. “Where else would she be?”
Glancing carefully over her shoulder, there was no sign of the departed Brian. Had to be something more to his story, but whatever lurked inside the clubhouse demanded more of her attention. She was taken by surprise when Cade whirled around so quickly that he nearly knocked her over where she stood.
“So now you’re staying?” he asked, his lips curling into a slight snarl.
“I can,” she said. “If you want me to.”
“And what do you want, Dawn?”
“Right now, what you’re not telling me about your relationship with Lenny.” Trying for a smirk and hoping that it would land in just the right place, Dawn barely breathed as his eyes narrowed, and when Cade finally grinned, she relaxed.
“Just stay where I can see you,” he demanded, grabbing her arm with firm tenderness as he led her back to the house. Not only Nicole, but the supposed man in charge, was nowhere to be found. Lenny was holding some kind of court, and now Cade was about to be the man of the hour.
“Ask and I’m here,” Cade said as he stepped with Dawn into a darkened room. Dawn barely stifled a gasp when she saw the heaps of bloody rags resting at the foot of the bed. Not knowing how any man, even an Alpha, could survive that, she looked to the healer, and Dawn saw Gloria wiping the excess crimson from her bare arms as Reese paced before her.
“And it looks alright now?” Reese asked.
“Don’t let all the blood fool you,” Gloria responded. “Sometimes a paper cut does more damage than a knife.”
“Not talking knives here,” Reese said. “Man nearly got taken down by a bullet. How the hell did he even—?”
“D
on’t have your guys just do the blood drives just for charity’s sake,” Gloria said. “Stock pile comes in handy. It’s a good thing I was here to patch him up, isn’t it?”
Before Reese had a chance to answer her question, a moan from behind their backs filled the room. The pair pushed apart. If Gloria wasn’t as good as her word, she was pretty damn close. Lenny lay on the bed, stripped above the waist with a series of bandages swathed around his sides. Little to no color in his face, but Nicole’s fiery hair more than made up for it as it swirled around his middle. He touched her neck with unsteady hands, but he still managed a smile when he saw Cade stepping closer.
“What’s the good word, Veep?” he lightly croaked. Cade swung a metal chair to the side of the bed, and he sat heavily as he reached for Lenny’s free hand.
“Seen you looking better,” Cade said. “Panthers nearly smoked you.”
“I’m good,” Lenny said. “Got myself a good luck charm.”
He massaged Nicole’s hair, and Dawn saw the girl’s face go soft as she looked up and into his eyes.
“Just don’t go getting yourself killed,” Nicole said. “Kind of tired of being on my own.”
Part of that was for her brother, and Reese bristled as Gloria held the boy back and spoke harshly.
“Still my patient,” she said. “Take it easy.”
“I got rights here,” Reese insisted.
“Never heard the guy ask for you.”
Gloria’s words fell into the room like a stone sinking into a rippling pond, and Dawn feared the rush of the current when Cade held up his hand against Reese’s glaring eyes and Nicole’s rising head.
“Let’s just say we all let the man speak,” Cade said. “Think he’s earned that much.”
Only Nicole seemed to breathe as Lenny shifted up against the pillows, and he clutched Cade’s shoulder as he moved his mouth close to his ear.
“Don’t got the right,” Lenny said. “I…I knew that he wasn’t on our side.”
Cade’s smile faded, and Reese clutched a fist to his side.
“What?” Reese asked. “You…did you set this up? Did you---?”
He started to lunge, threatening to break the bandages when Gloria held him back. Whether she was thinking of her patient or her handiwork seemed the million dollar question, but there were no answers as Cade rose to his feet.
“Just let’s listen to him!” Cade cried, his eyes on Dawn as he appeared to tremble.
“I fucking owe him nothing if he brought the boom down on us!” Reese screamed.
The men appeared ready to fight, and Nicole started to lunge for her brother when Dawn took the chance and stepped between the Alphas. As soon as her back was at Cade’s chest, she felt his breath swirling down her neck, and he seemed ready to call her out again when Dawn swung her head around, keeping her voice soft and her eyes gentle as she spoke.
“I just want you to have a chance to stand your ground,” she said. “Want to stay for that, too.”
Dawn took note of the wonder in his eyes as he smiled and just touched her hair.
“Better,” he whispered. “And easier when I don’t have to chase after you.”
Dawn took him by the arm, and she silently challenged Reese to say another word when the spiky-haired boy backed off under the force of their shared stare.
“Fine,” Reese said. “Let him talk. Let him lie. But no fucking guarantees of safety after that.”
Nicole boiled as she took Lenny’s shattered form into her arms. He winced under her hold, but he managed to make his way to the edge of the bed.
“I…”
Lenny looked smaller than usual, and Nicole cooed into his hair as she smoothed her hands down his back.
“Here’s the thing,” Lenny said. “When… when they were first at Pub 22. When I told you they were just passing through.”
“Got that there was more to that,” Cade said. “But you’re just telling me now?”
Lenny groaned as he tried to move to his feet, and Nicole bolstered his body up.
“Like you would have believed me,” he said. “Little Lenny trying to make a name for himself.”
“You don’t have to try so hard,” Nicole said. “How many times do I have to tell you?”
“What the hell did you tell him?” Reese demanded. “Don’t say that you’re really thinking of making it with this guy for good and all?”
Nicole’s eyes told the tale, and Dawn had to wonder if that was the most amazing story in all of this. The little guy in love and loving the auburn-haired goddess against all odds. Nicole never wavered as she kept her arm around his shoulder, and Lenny hung his head.
“I… I saw him making it with the enemy,” Lenny said. “Tried to tell myself that it was nothing. That he was just trying to play all sides.”
“Sounds like Brian,” Cade said. “But, pal?”
Cade pulled Lenny away from Nicole’s hold like a flimsy piece of gauze, and even as he kept his fingers light against the man’s neck, Dawn felt sure that he could push down with less than a moment’s notice and snap him like a twig.
“Cade!” Nicole cried. “Anything he did was for me!”
“Was it?” Cade asked.
Lenny was able to nod in his hold, and Cade relinquished some of his grip without stepping back. Knowing that she had to tread lightly if she ever had any hope of moving forward, Dawn just touched her hand to his hair and let her sigh fall into his neck.
“Find out the whole story first,” she suggested. “Go down with all the facts.”
Cade’s glare flashed into her eyes, and Dawn steeled her body for another dressing down when the lines of his lips softened.
“Nice job,” he said. “And you might even be onto something.”
Pleased at how she had played the moment, Dawn dared to shift Cade’s stare back to Lenny.
“Always remember that.”
The Alpha snapped his fingers as he folded his arms behind his back.
“So out with the rest of it,” Cade said. “But make it quick.”
Reese broke free of Gloria’s hold, but he stopped short of throttling his brother.
“Like in double time.”
Lenny winced, and Nicole worked to ease him deeper into the bed.
“You should lie down,” she said. “You should----”
“Don’t go soft on me now,” Lenny said. “Only love that about you in small doses.”
Both brothers, one of blood and one of circumstance, challenged Lenny with their shared eyes. But Nicole still had her gun, and she pulled the piece out from under the mattress as she cocked the trigger.
“And I could take you both down right here if you don’t let him finish it.”
Reese seemed scared, but Cade laughed as he fell back into the chair and kicked his legs out from under him.
“Then finish it,” Cade said. “Don’t’ keep us all in suspense.”
Dawn stood silent with them, but her desire to keep close to Cade slightly melted away as she waited for Lenny’s lips to form the next words. The little guy looked from Nicole to Cade and back again, and he sucked in a deep breath as he tried to sit stronger under his injury.
“I saw Brian with them,” Lenny said. “Didn’t make out all the words.”
“This is some fucking help,” Reese said.
“But what I did catch was all about getting the territory back,” Lenny insisted. “Brian did that.”
Cade stayed cool in his chair as he revealed his knife and let the blade flash between his and Lenny’s eyes.
“Finish it fast, Lenny,” Cade said. “I want to cut for you. Not into you.”
Nicole still wore a look to kill, but Lenny waved his good arm and peered into Cade’s eyes.
“Brian said that I was seeing things,” he started. “Hearing things. And he said… he knew about Nicole.”
“How?” Cade asked as he stretched forward in his chair. “I was so fucking careful to---”
“Not enough I guess,” Lenny
said. “So I let it go. Thought… I hoped that maybe it was just white noise. But after tonight…”
Lenny turned to Nicole, and he tried to take her into his hold when she finally lowered her gun and stroked his cheek.
“Like you really wanted to get shot for your trouble,” she said.
