Vodka On The Rocks (The Uncertain Saints Book 3)

by Lani Lynn Vale

  “What do you need, honey girl?” he asked as soon as I made it up to him.

  I gasped for air.

  I wasn’t sure if it was because my heart was utterly breaking to pieces in my chest, or if I was out of air and in need of some oxygen. Either way, he looked at me with even more concern when I couldn’t get the words out.

  Which turned out not to matter when I heard my name being called.

  “T!”

  I turned to find Wolf waving me over with his hand.

  I patted Steve on the arm, then slipped down the hall to Wolf.

  He was like a dark ink stain on the hallway, dressed head to toe in black leather. Black leather pants. Leather boots. Leather vest.

  The all black, leather get-up paired with his dark, brooding good looks, made him resemble an avenging angel, hovering, waiting for his charge’s fate.

  “Is he okay?” I barreled toward him, turning my face to study his.

  His eyes were blank.

  “He’s okay,” Wolf soothed, smoothing his hand down my hair in a calming gesture.

  I swallowed, choking back the tears that were threatening.

  “What happened?” I swallowed, a tear breaking through my wall and tearing apart my composure.

  “He was shot,” he said slowly. “Twice in the leg.”

  I took a shaky breath.

  “What else is wrong? If there’s nothing else wrong with him, I should be able to see him,” I demanded.

  My years of nursing experience told me that something more was going on here

  “One of the shots he took to the thigh clipped his femoral artery,” Wolf explained, but quickly held up his hands when I cried out. “It was just a small nick, barely noticeable now that it’s clotted, and they’re thinking that they won’t even have to do anything for it. Just pressure and time.”

  I nodded for him to continue.

  “He was also shot in the back of the calf,” he explained.

  I nodded.

  “But he’s got some burns to his neck from where a falling ember got him on the way out of the house,” Wolf pointed out a couple of spots on his own neck, so I would know where in correlation they were on his body.

  “So, what are they thinking?” I asked, eyes moving to the side when Core and Mig finally showed.

  They didn’t know where they were going, and I’d left Core when he stopped at the lady at the front desk to ask her where to go.

  I could also see that he wasn’t very happy with me, although I could care less at this point in time.

  “They’re thinking he needs to stay overnight. Nothing’s broken in the legs, the bullets were through and through so it should heal up right as rain,” Wolf murmured. “The real concern right now are the burns on the scar tissue he already has there.”

  My stomach knotted again.

  Burns were terrible.

  In fact, I would know, wouldn’t I?

  “How did he get burns?” I asked, voice ravaged.

  “The house where he was searching for the fugitive he was apprehending was unintentionally set on fire by the homeowner when he discovered his truck being impounded,” Wolf turned back to me. “He’s been asking for you, but I just wanted to give you a head’s up before you saw him. He’s more hurt than he’s letting on.”

  I nodded.

  “What room?” I asked.

  “Fourth one on the right. Code 1102 for the door to get in,” he gave me as I started to leave.

  “You’re not coming?” I asked.

  He shook his head.

  “One person at a time, according to the nurse. Once the nurse goes over it with you, ask him if he wants anything to eat or drink. We’ll be here,” he winked.

  I smiled, although it didn’t hit my eyes.

  Once I squared my shoulders, I punched the numbers in on the keypad outside the ER’s doors, and pushed through the heavy doors.

  I skipped going to the nurse’s station, even though I knew nearly everyone there.

  I couldn’t let them see me like this.

  Hell, I couldn’t let Casten see me like this. He’d freak out.

  The moment I walked into his room, saw him on the bed, eyes to the door obviously waiting for me, my worry about appearing calm for his sake vanished.

  “I’m okay,” he lied.

  I smiled a trembling smile.

  “Okay,” I sniffled. “You scared me.”

  He smiled sadly.

  “Scared myself,” he agreed. “You’re not wearing any pants.”

  I looked down at my outfit.

  I was wearing pants…or leggings, anyway. Casten was one of those people who thought they shouldn’t be worn outside of the house.

  I’d actually complied with his request that I not wear anything that outrageous out of the house seeing as they were in varying shades of neon colors, except for this one time.

  I hadn’t thought about anything beyond getting to him when I’d gotten the news that he was hurt. What I was wearing never entered my mind—I could’ve run out the house naked and not noticed.

  The shirt I was wearing was one of his, a dark brown t-shirt that said ‘Welcome to the Gun Show.’

  My heart skipped a beat as I dropped down onto the corner of his bed, making it bounce.

  He closed his eyes on a grunt.

  “Oh, God. I’m sorry,” I whispered, standing up.

  He shook his head and pulled me down to his bed once again, and this time I was careful not to jostle his leg,

  “Tasha,” he started.

  My stomach dropped at the sound of his voice. He sounded sick, and I knew I wasn’t going to like what he had to say next.

  “I think you and I need some time apart. I need time to recover…then find whoever is doing this to you,” he said.

  His voice sounded like he’d inhaled a lot of smoke, making it sound dark and scratchy instead of the smooth richness I was used to.

  I was shaking my head in disagreement before he’d even finished.

  “I’m not leaving you. You’re not going to be some hero that goes after the bad guy in a hail of glory,” I insisted.

  He didn’t smile at me.

  “I don’t think you understand. I’m not giving you a choice,” he argued.

  I blinked. “What do you mean, exactly, then?”

  “I can’t do this,” he said. “I can’t live my life like this. You were fun. I’ll always care for you, but I can’t have this shit in my life. If you aren’t going to listen to reason, then maybe you shouldn’t be with me at all. It’s obvious that what I have to say isn’t important enough to you.”

  My mouth dropped open.

  “Casten, that’s not what I meant,” I said hurriedly.

  He held up his hands.

  “I just finally got my life back on track. I was happy where I was. I was safe. The bullets flying…that’s going to do some damage to me…and your shit was already pulled back to my house. Koda’s a good example of it,” he stared directly into my eyes.

  I gasped as pain ripped through my chest.

  He was right.

  So very right that it wasn’t funny.

  Oh, God.

  “Okay,” I choked. “Okay. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I’ll go wherever you want me to go.”

  He shook his head.

  “Wolf’s gonna let you stay at his cabin, about a five-minute drive from your school. He’s got some security on it that is near impenetrable. You’ll be okay there. Plus, I’ll have the boys check on you periodically,” he rumbled.

  My eyes closed and I stood, turning to leave.

  When I got to the door, Casten’s voice had a trace of something in it I couldn’t quite place.

  “Be careful. Watch your six.”

  And once again, for the second time in my life, I walked away from a man I loved in his hospital room. Hurt. Burnt. Sad. And insisting that I was the reason for him being where
he was.

  It wasn’t a good feeling.

  Not at all.

  ***

  “He can’t do this to her!” I heard my sister insist to Mig. “He can’t send her way out here. Do you know how hard she fought to get back to where she is right now? I spent nearly a year with a zombie. And that was over a childhood love. The love Tasha has for Casten isn’t a childhood crush. It’s fucking real. It’s what you and I have. You have to talk to him.”

  I rounded the corner with Vitaly in my arms and stared at the couple.

  Annie was in Mig’s face, waving her arms at him in the way every woman in our lineage did when they got upset.

  Mig was standing there, his hands on his head, and his gaze down on the ground as he let her get rid of the venom.

  It wasn’t Mig’s fault. It wasn’t Casten’s fault. It was my fault.

  “Stop,” I cleared my throat softly.

  Both sets of eyes turned to me, and my sister opened her mouth to protest.

  I shook my head. “Seriously, just stop. I’m not going to break, I promise. At least if he stays alive, I won’t. You need to quit this. It’s not Mig’s fault that Casten made the choice he did. I don’t blame him for choosing his safe life over an unsafe life with me. Hell, almost anyone would do it.”

  Mig’s mouth tightened as if he didn’t agree with me.

  “And he got me someplace to stay, so you can stop asking him if I can move in. I won’t do it. I won’t put this little boy of yours in danger just because I’d prefer to not be alone. Okay?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  Mig’s frame released some of its tension.

  “But I want you here,” Annie groaned with a pout.

  I smiled at her, although it didn’t reach my eyes. Nor did it reach much of anything other than a small lift of my lips.

  “I won’t be far away, and Wolf said I could have my phone. He said there was some sort of jammer there that kept it from being traced, whatever that means,” I mumbled.

  Annie pursed her lips.

  I turned to Mig and walked forward, offering him Vitaly.

  He took his son from me with a small smile on his face.

  Even after all these months of him being here, he never ceased to amaze me with the way he doted on his small family.

  Badass and all.

  “I’m gonna go now. Wolf said he’d give me a ride and pick me back up for work in the morning,” I informed them both.

  When they both reluctantly nodded, I turned and started to walk back to the living room where I’d left Wolf sitting.

  “Tash?” my sister’s voice stopped me.

  I turned.

  “Yeah?” I asked.

  “I’ll keep you updated on how he’s doing. Don’t give up just yet, okay?” She half smiled.

  I nodded at her, hopefully in reassurance.

  Sadly, that was the last thing I was feeling.

  ***

  I looked at the knife in my hands with a critical eye.

  How deep would I have to cut to make myself bleed out?

  Would it hurt?

  Then I realized just what I was thinking and tossed the knife across the room with a pounding heart.

  “What am I thinking?” I asked in alarm.

  Nobody answered me.

  Because I was alone.

  All alone.

  ***

  Casten

  I breathed out a sigh of relief as I saw her throw the knife across the room.

  It hit the floor with a soft thud as the point of the knife embedded itself in the wood floor like she’d done it on purpose.

  “Can I get you anything else, sir?” the nurse asked.

  I shook my head.

  “No. Not tonight.”

  Apparently, I would have to keep a close eye on her, because I really didn’t like the way she was looking at that knife as it swung back and forth before finally coming to a stop, leaning slightly to the left.

  “Don’t give up on me,” I whispered to her.

  Her head lifted as if she’d heard me, staring straight into the camera as a lone tear streaked down her face.

  “Fuck.”

  “That wasn’t very nice of you to do,” my sister said, turning from the window to glare at me.

  My lips thinned.

  “Wasn’t much I could do about that. She needed to think that this was over so I could catch this fucker. If my not being there de-escalates things, then that works in my favor, not against it,” I informed her with a frown.

  “And what happens, when this is all done, if she doesn’t give you the time of day anymore?” CeeCee asked.

  I closed my eyes and let the pain take me.

  It was better if I thought about my pain, rather than the pain on Tasha’s face as she left the room.

  “I’ll get her back. She’ll understand,” I told her softly.

  “You better hope so. Otherwise, you needlessly gave up one of the best things that ever happened to you,” CeeCee added as she too, left.

  I let the morphine button drop from my fingertips, hearing it hit the ground beside the bed with a soft clack.

  She was right.

  This may not go as I thought it would…but I was determined.

  She would be mine. No matter what. I’d do anything.

  Chapter 18

  Trust me, you can dance.

  -Vodka

  Casten

  “What do you have for me?” I asked as I walked into my office.

  My sister sat forward and grabbed a file folder off the corner of her desk before handing it to me.

  “I got a name this time,” she handed the folder over to me.

  “Fuck yes,” I crowed. “You’re the fucking bomb.”

  “Don’t get too excited,” she said as she sat back in her chair. “I got some help from a couple out of Kilgore. Names are Jack and Winter. They’re freakin’ geniuses and agreed to help me for a price.”

  I frowned.

  “A price?” I asked worriedly. “What kind of price would that be?”

  Rhea smiled.

  “Just for help in the future. Seems y’all have some mutual acquaintances. I can’t believe I met them online and they’ve lived so close all this time. They even offered to help me learn,” Rhea replied excitedly.

  I was scowling now.

  “How do you know what they’re saying to you is true? Isn’t that what the Internet is all about, the anonymity?” I asked, concerned now. “You think you’re talking to a sixteen-year old Chinese girl, and then you meet up in real life and they’re a sixty-five-year-old white male with a porn ‘stache.”

  She giggled.

  “Trust me, they’re real. I did my own research. I’m not a total and complete novice, you know,” she informed me haughtily, pulling me towards her computer and pointing out what she was showing me. “What do you think?”

  I leaned down in horror.

  “You hacked into their fuckin’ camera feed?” I asked in alarm.

  She nodded.

  I just shook my head.

  “Get out of it. And stay out of it. I’ve heard of these guys from Free. They’re not to be trifled with, and I don’t think they’d like it much if they found you sticking your nose into their business, even if it was for a good cause,” I touched the tip of her nose with one finger.

  She smiled before backing out of a screen and hitting a few buttons.

  “Okay,” she sighed. “Done. Now go take care of all that, okay?”

  I grinned.

  “Already on it, sister. Just gotta get a few men together, and we’ll go pay Mister…” I looked down at the name at the top of the “Jones, a visit.”

  I pulled my phone out and started calling the boys even as I walked out to my truck.

  It’d been three weeks since I’d been shot.

  Three long weeks of not having Tasha to warm my bed.

  Three long weeks of w
atching her cry herself to sleep each and every night.

  And I was so over it, it wasn’t even funny.

  I wanted her back.

  No, want was too tame a word.

  Needed.

  Craved.

  She was essential to my life, and I couldn’t go one more day without talking to her.

  “Yo?” Wolf answered.

  “I need you to meet me,” I gave him the address. “I found the stalker.”

  “You’re shitting me. That fast? I couldn’t find a damn thing on him. Who found it?” Wolf sounded alert.

  He sounded as if he were outside, and I was grateful that he was dropping everything to help.

  “Rhea,” was all I said.

  “Shit, that girl’s good,” he said. “I’ll gather the boys and meet you there. Don’t go in until we get there.”

  I wouldn’t. I didn’t want to fuck this up.

  Not with how my heart was hurting right then.

  Nothing had happened yet, but I wasn’t willing to wait for it to happen.

  The drive to the address was short.

  It immediately set me on edge with how close it was to Tasha’s place, or at least what used to be her place.

  I pulled to the side of the building, the furthest spot away from the apartment that our man was in, and shut the engine off.

  Luckily, it was under a large Magnolia tree, meaning nearly all of me was concealed by the drooping branches that hung all the way to the ground.

  Pulling my binoculars out, I surveyed the parking lot first before moving them to focus on apartment 6B.

  George Lucas Jones was a twenty-six-year-old man who lived on disability and had been since he was in his late teens.

  He’d moved back to Uncertain a year ago after living near Dallas for seven years.

  Idly, I wondered what brought him back here and what made him leave in the first place, but that thought flew out the proverbial window when the sound of tailpipes started to filter through the quiet streets.

  Slowly, one by one, every single one of the members of The Uncertain Saints came to a stop directly behind me.

  “Got anything?” Peek asked.

  Peek wasn’t an active member of the armed forces, but he had a shit load of experience having served in Desert Storm.

  He was active Army for over thirty-years before he retired to open his shop, and I would trust him with my life.