Blackout: A Romance Anthology

by Stephanie St. Klaire

  “That was so close,” Skye whispered, following Eddie’s stare as he watched Davenport exit the store. She kissed Eddie’s neck, relieved that part was over. “Cane should have been able to get her out — that took longer than any of us thought.”

  “Go,” Eddie said. “Run.”

  “What?” Skye was frazzled, trying to see what he did.

  “Go now.” Eddie pushed her in the direction of the rear door so they could get through the employee corridor and back to the passageway. “He stopped. He knows something — pieced it together maybe. We need to get out of here.”

  “Oh my god.” Skye ran. By now, she’d been through that store just enough to know the route and make it to the rear exit unscathed.

  Eddie didn’t take the time to let the door close gingerly. He didn’t give two shits about anything other than getting Skye to the other end of that passage and letting Cane take over.

  “Shit,” Eddie cried. “The door.”

  “I heard it shut,” Skye said over her shoulder.

  “No. The false wall — the secret door. I didn’t hear it close,” he said, worried he’d just left them exposed. “Don’t stop, run clear through. Past Cane. Get to the other side.”

  “Oh my God, Eddie,” she cried. “No.”

  “Go. I’m not kidding — don’t stop. Get to Charlie and run. I’ll hold him off until Cane—”

  A voice interrupted him, “What happened?”

  Eddie didn’t think he’d ever be this happy to hear the sound of Cane’s voice. He slowed to fill him in. “I’m right behind you, Skye,” he said. “Keep going.”

  Eddie paused. “He figured it out. I know he did. I saw it on his face. He was coming back, and we ran. I didn’t hear it click. If he looks hard enough, even in the dark, he’ll find the fucking door and head up this tunnel.”

  “I’ve got it.” Cane slapped Eddie on the arm. “I’m up. You get them the fuck out of here. Five minutes, Eddie. Five minutes and you’re gone.”

  “Five?”

  “Change of plans — if he knows, we only have five. Go.”

  A quick nod exchanged between them like a silent gesture of support between the two unlikely comrades. “See you out there, O’Reilly.” And he was gone.

  CHAPTER 17

  “Let’s go,” Eddie said as he entered the other side of the open corridor, meeting up with Skye and Charlie as planned.

  “Cane?” Charlie asked. “He said it had been too long. He went back…”

  “He’s fine. He’s doing his part. He’ll meet us in the car in five minutes.”

  “Eddie, he said ten,” Charlie corrected.

  Eddie shrugged. “Change of plans — he said five and he’d see us at the rendezvous either way.”

  She nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.” Charlie looked back to see if Cane was there, headed their direction, but he still hadn’t returned, so she followed the plan. Something she’d been accustomed to. She left with Eddie and Skye.

  As they burst through the door at the other end of the short tunnel, they landed right where Cane said they would — in front of the hotel. Valet to be specific. With his body between the women and the glass front, Eddie peered inside as they passed, watching for their friend and their enemy. Eddie was beyond the point of caring what he looked like, gun in hand. It was dark, there was an asshole trying to kill everyone, and if it scared anyone to see a gun wielding guy in valet…he didn’t care.

  “What are we looking for, Charlie?” Eddie called out. “What does he drive? Never mind, I see it. Black truck.”

  “That’s not it,” she said.

  Eddie stopped at the truck, sure she was confused. This oversized truck had O’Reilly written all over it; it had to be his. “He said black…”

  “Next one,” Charlie said, several paces ahead of Eddie.

  “What the fuck? A Prius?” Eddie looked between the truck and small car in disbelief as he watched Skye and Charlie climb in the back of the last car he’d ever peg as Cane’s.

  He ran around to the driver side, and found the key right where Cane said it would be. “A Prius? Really?”

  “Yes, Eddie, a Prius,” Charlie confirmed. “How much longer? I don’t see him.”

  “He’ll be here,” Eddie reassured. “It’s only been a minute thirty.” After another pause, he looked around in disbelief. “I can’t believe he drives a Prius.”

  ***

  Cane took several paces in the direction Davenport would be coming from, should he find the door, had it been left open. The guy was smart. If Eddie said he saw the guy piecing it together, he was. It was only a matter of time before he’d find his way to the secret tunnel.

  As if on cue, a glow appeared, subtle at first, until the door was opened wide and Davenport stepped in. He didn’t see Cane in the distance, not yet anyway. He was still hidden under the veil of darkness, despite the brightly colored windbreaker and cap Skye had outfitted him with.

  He watched as Davenport took one step after another, meticulously inspecting every inch of each wall, the floor, even the ceiling. He moved slowly, looking for clues, Cane assumed. And he found one. The clothes Eddie and Skye had changed out of — the uniforms they’d stolen and ditched just moments ago.

  “The fucking maid and security guard from the stairs,” Davenport said to himself. “I fucking knew it.”

  He kicked them briefly to see if there was anything else worth seeing before he continued on, only to find the pile left by Charlie. Bingo, Cane thought. If Davenport recognized the clothes as hers, it was game on. When he stumbled upon them, mid hall, not even kicked off to the side like the others, Davenport bent down to inspect his findings.

  Cane wanted to take him out the minute Davenport held her clothes to his face and breathed in her scent. Cane didn’t need to see his expression to know he was getting off on it — he could hear it in his relaxed sigh. Like finding her clothes was finding a piece of her, and her scent was what he’d been craving. Sick fuck.

  “Anson Deveraux,” Cane said from down the tunnel as he shone a light right in the bastard’s eyes. His arm went up to shield his eyes until Cane decided to throw the guy a bone and shine his own flashlight in his face to reveal who he was.

  “Cane fucking O’Reilly.”

  If that wasn’t the clue Cane needed to know this guy was Anson Deveraux, he didn’t know what was. It had to be him. Sure, Henry Davenport could know who he was if he’d done his homework, but the seething in his voice when he said Cane’s name all but confirmed who he really was.

  Cane turned and ran. He was down to about two and a half minutes and needed to get this guy lost in the crowd. He could hear Deveraux behind him. He had a decent lead, though. He didn’t want to lose him yet, so he slowed as he burst through the door and entered the general population. Cane doubled back, running the opposite direction of the exit, allowing Eddie plenty of time to get the girls to the car.

  When he looked to see Anson burst through the door after him, he took the guy for a little wild goose chase. It seemed fitting, given that was what this asshole had been doing to Cane’s team for months. He weaved in and out of the crowd, letting his ridiculous hat act as a waving flag, showing Deveraux where he was. It was still quite dark in this part of the hotel as it was the middle of the night, well after midnight even, but that glass skylight ceiling cast enough moonlight to help the cause.

  As he turned a corner, just out of sight, Cane plopped his hat on a man passing by and pulled off his jacket. “Here ya go, man. Wicked cool, right? Blackout’s bitchin’.” The guy laughed and tossed Cane a thumbs up, assuming he was as drunk as the rest of the people in the space.

  Cane ran for the exit. Looking over his shoulder. Just as he approached the glass doors, he saw Anson round the corner and pause, looking for the hat, most likely, just as Cane had hoped. It worked. He chased after the man in the crowd, reaching him only to realize he’d been fooled.

  “O’Reilly!” Anson screamed over the crowd just as Cane exited the gla
ss door and jumped in the Prius as it was pulling away.

  “Go!” Cane yelled, pounding the dash. “He’s coming. Get out of here.”

  Eddie was cautious as he left, unsure where he was going or what he was even doing.

  “Damn it, Eddie. You have a gun, badass clothes, and just went toe to toe with America’s most wanted serial killer — floor it and get us the fuck out of here,” Skye said, giving Eddie the confidence he needed in that moment.

  Eddie floored it, but not before he turned to Cane, and asked, “A Prius? Really?”

  ***

  It wasn’t until they cleared Las Vegas Boulevard — the Las Vegas strip — they realized the extent of the blackout. The entire drive to Cane’s home, the rendezvous point, was like a scene from The Purge. There was looting, people acting erratic, what appeared to be parties throughout neighborhoods — it was pure pandemonium on every corner. Cane’s neighborhood wasn’t much different.

  “This shit makes a damn horror film look like a Disney movie,” Eddie said, breaking the long silence.

  “You’re telling me,” Cane said. “And we don’t know how far it extends. It’s so dark, I don’t even see anything off in the distance. This could be bad. My team may not be able to make it in — we just don’t know what’s out there.”

  “Is he…” Charlie’s voice as small. She was exhausted. “Is he coming?”

  “We have to assume he is, darlin’.” Cane didn’t want to add any more stress to the situation, but he’d promised he’d never lie to her. “We’ll be able to see him coming — we’re better suited to take him down here at home than in a crowded public place. Too many potential victims.”

  “Yeah, I couldn’t live with that,” Charlie said.

  “Right here,” Cane said. “You guys get inside, I’ll be right behind you. I’m taking the car around the corner so it’s nearby if we need to get out of here.”

  They piled out of the car. Charlie stopped and raised on her toes to give Cane a kiss. It was a moment of intimacy so out of character for her, it was more concerning than it was a relief to Cane.

  “Hurry back,” she said.

  He pulled her closer, his hands sliding to her ass as their bodies pressed together, something she typically wouldn’t allow. Any other day, it would have caused her to pull away, panic even.

  Cane leaned down to kiss her again, and she allowed it. “I will, I promised you. I’ll never leave you alone to fight this. He’s done hurting you.”

  A tear slid down her cheek, and she gave him a sweet smile as he swept it away.

  “Now, get in there. I see headlights,” Cane warned her. “I’ll be coming in the back, okay?”

  “Cane?” Charlie said over her shoulder, gaining his attention. “Come back to me…”

  “Always.”

  CHAPTER 18

  Cane had a generator running so there were lights in the house, but it didn’t matter. Internet, cell service, and just about everything else they needed was out. Cane lit up the outside perimeter of the house so they could see all around them, but kept the inside lights off to leave Anson Deveraux at a disadvantage. He’d have to show his face long before he’d know where any of them were.

  It was only a matter of time before he caught up with them. If Deveraux knew to find them at the hotel, he knew where they lived too. He was coming. Cane could feel it. Even Eddie and Skye could feel it. Charlie could feel it. They would wait him out. As long as it took.

  The guy wasn’t going to just pull in the driveway and ring the doorbell. He was likely already there, watching, playing his game, waiting for the right time to pounce. In the movies, you knew when danger had arrived because the lights went out or the phone line was cut, but Anson already had those benefits stacked in his deck. The sun was due to rise soon, and that would make it an entirely different game all together. Not knowing Deveraux’s hand, Cane wasn’t sure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing. Their warning of his arrival would literally be when he was standing right in front of them.

  Cane already vowed to open the fucking door and invite him in. He was ready to finish this, finish him, once and for all. Everyone was exhausted, but didn’t dare go to sleep. Cane was making his rounds, watching the perimeter as the sky started to show signs of morning while Charlie went to the kitchen to make a pot of instant coffee. She hated the stuff, Cane loved it, and today, she was thankful he loved it because without power, it was all they had.

  “Hello, Charlie.”

  Charlie managed a scream before the hand of Anson Deveraux covered her mouth and began to drag her out the back door. Her first thought was something had happened to Cane if Anson made it all the way inside and her fate literally rested in the hands of Eddie and Skye. She feared for them as much as herself.

  Eddie ran out the back door only moments after. “Let her fucking go,” he said, weapon aimed on Deveraux. “I just learned to handle this thing, so it’s going to be messy. I’m probably not going to hit your leg.”

  “You fucking idiot,” Anson insulted. “This is how it ends? Her life in the hands of an imbecile like you? It’s tragic, really. And boring. We both know if you fire that weapon, you’re more likely to hit her and not me.”

  “Do I look like I care? Fuck!” Eddie yelled, wielding the gun as he talked. “I wake up yesterday morning with a plan to make some extra cash and end up with a serial killer on my ass and babysitting some girl I don’t even know because some Neanderthal, that oddly says more than me have muscles, grrrr, telling me what to do. I’ve had enough, Deveraux, or Davenport…I really don’t care who dies as long as it isn’t me. So, this is really your call.”

  “You can’t hurt me, you filthy weasel. You disgust me with your lack of manners, always all over that maid,” Anson seethed through gritted teeth.

  “Nope,” Eddie shrugged, “but he fucking will. Good luck.” Eddie nodded to his right, directing Anson’s attention just in time to see Cane come at him full throttle.

  A thunderous hit to the back of the head knocked Deveraux senseless enough to lose his grip on Charlie. Eddie was quick to retrieve her and pull her to safety behind him, his gun firmly pointed at Anson.

  A fight to beat all fights ensued. Cane didn’t give him a chance to catch his thoughts, much less balance as he landed flesh on flesh, the sound of bones cracking under Cane’s fists mixed with the sound of Cane’s fists cracking on impact. It was fast, it was furious, and it was primal. Survival of the fittest.

  When Anson began to fight back, Eddie backed the women into the house with instructions to lock the door behind them. He knew there was a bunker of sorts and Charlie would see to it she and Skye were locked in it should this go another direction, but for now, they stood in an embrace, watching through the window as all their lives unraveled — each of them destined to never be the same no matter the outcome.

  “Move, Cane,” Eddie said. “I don’t want to hit you.”

  Cane didn’t listen. With every hit he took from Anson, he fought back harder. He wanted it to end this way. Cane would take a hundred hits if it meant saving Charlie. Each hit justified what he was about to do in the name of self-defense — he was going to kill Anson Deveraux with his bare hands. But not until he left him feeling the pain of blow after blow, each one marking the damage he’d done to so many — the damage he’d done to Charlie.

  “Cane, stop,” Eddie said as Anson fell to his knees. “He’s going down.” When Cane didn’t listen, he said, “She’s watching. Cane, she’s watching you.”

  Cane paused and looked at the window to see Charlie’s face lined with fear as she watched him. She feared enough in her life, she didn’t need to add him to the list. When he saw her eyes grow wide and heard her yell his name, he turned in time to see Anson pull a small gun from his ankle.

  That’s when everything went still, playing in slow motion. Eighty different things happened at once, like a highlight reel at the end of a well-orchestrated movie.

  “Gun!” was all Cane heard from
Eddie before the ringing in his ears filtered out all the noise. The sound of a gun discharging filled the air and he felt the whiz of a bullet fly by his face and strike Anson Deveraux, taking him to the ground.

  Instinctively, Cane retrieved the weapon Anson dropped upon being shot, then looked up at Eddie, whose smoking gun was still trained on Anson. The bullet he felt, mere inches from his face, had come from behind, though. Perched on the cement retaining wall behind him was the sniper that took out the elusive serial killer. His team had arrived, just in time, led by his cousin Dace.

  “Hey, cousin,” Dace said. “You good?”

  “I’m good,” Cane said, heading for Charlie, Dace on his heels while the rest of the team filtered in over fences and went to work to secure Deveraux, who was, surprisingly, still alive.

  Cane passed Eddie standing with his gun and stare still on his target. Cane reached out and patted his shoulder as some odd form of thanks, not saying a word as he passed him.

  “Alright, blondie,” Dace said as he approached Eddie and slowly removed the gun from his hand. “This your first fire?”

  “Did I kill him?” Eddie asked in a daze.

  “Ahhh, shit. This is definitely your first.” Dace sat Eddie down and hollered after Cane. “Why are you wearing matching outfits? This your mini-me? That’s real cute, bro.”

  “Fuck off, Dace,” Cane said as he continued toward the house.

  “I killed a guy, Cane!” Eddie yelled over his shoulder, still watching the team work on Anson and prepare him for transport.

  “No, you didn’t, Ed. You just shot at him and had my back, bud.”

  Eddie turned to Dace and tossed a thumb over his shoulder at Cane. “We’re friends now. I had his back. That’s what bros do. I almost killed a guy today.”

  Dace laughed at Eddie. He really wasn’t cut out for this or taking it well at all. “Technically, you shot the cactus way over there. I shot the asshole. But if that cute blonde heading this way with stars in her eyes is your girl, we’ll let her think you caught the bad guy.”