Perfect Chaos
Page 22
I noticed the muscles in Deck’s arms twitch and yet he remained completely stone-still, eyes on his target, waiting for the moment he could take a shot.
Kai chuckled and it sounded odd in the tense situation. “And you think they’ll let you live? You’ve kidnapped one of our own to what … bring her to them? If they wanted her ‘in’ they would’ve done it years ago. They don’t, Tanner. They won’t kill her. And if you do, they’ll make you beg for death.” Tanner’s hand shook and the knife scratched my neck. I tried to lean back into him as far as I could to avoid the blade, but he wasn’t paying attention to me; he was looking at Kai and I knew he was scared.
“Let her go and we can stop this,” Kai said taking another step toward us.
I inhaled sharply as he yanked me closer. “No. He can’t have her.” Tanner looked at Deck. “I’ve been the one looking after her.”
“No connections, Tanner. You know that. They’ll never allow it.”
“You should talk. I heard about that London girl. Heard she hasn’t begged yet. I wonder how much longer it will take them to break her.”
Deck stepped forward and grabbed Kai’s arm.
Tanner laughed. “Yeah, I guess that’s why they don’t like us forming relationships, because you react foolishly.”
I glanced over at Tyler and Vic who stood on either side of the window. I knew they weren’t blocking it because Josh was a sniper and most likely outside, waiting for the right moment when he could one-shot Tanner. I just hoped if he did, Tanner’s knife didn’t slice into my neck as he fell.
“Lower the guns,” Tanner ordered. Deck nodded to his men and they put them on the floor. There was no chance they’d barge in here without a plan. They were operatives. “Kick them over here.” I heard the scrape of metal gliding to Tanner. He was careful to keep me directly in front of him. “Knife, Kai. It’s just as deadly as their bullets.”
“More so,” Kai said. There was the cockiness he always had and in a way, it made me feel better. He wasn’t worried—not that Kai was ever worried. Kai bent down then slid his knife across the floor.
I looked at Deck, begging him with my eyes to look at me, to tell me this was going to be all right. But he wouldn’t. His gaze was pinned to the figure behind me and I knew why. Deck was the killer right now. The hunter. The assassin.
Kai straightened. “What are you going to do? Wait here for hours until they make contact?”
“Keys,” Tanner ordered.
I noticed a change in position as Deck now stood ahead of Kai and then he finally looked at me.
He didn’t have to say anything. He barely had to move. I read him like his men did. His eyes shifted to the right and then his fingers started curling into his palm one by one.
Five.
Four.
Kai reached in his pocket and pulled out his keys. “Here.”
Three.
Two. Kai threw the car keys to Tanner.
One.
It happened so quickly. At the same time as Tanner reached for the keys, I shifted my head to the right as far as I could which threw us off-balance. The sound of a knife whooshed through the air and embedded right in his chest, missing my arm by an inch. Tanner dropped and I went with him.
Within seconds, I was dragged off him and the rag was ripped from my mouth. Deck’s arms came around me as he cradled me to his chest. I could feel someone’s hands on my wrists, undoing the belt, and the instant I was free, I wrapped them around Deck’s neck and sobbed into his shirt.
I sobbed for what I’d done. For the lies. For the purging. For bringing Deck and his men into this. I cried for us; for the years we’d lost. But most of all, I cried for my brother because I was finally realizing how bad this was and the hope I had when Deck told me he was alive was now drowning in the fear of what he was involved with.
Vault … they owned me. They owned Connor and Kai, and now London.
“I can’t get out. Can I?”
Deck stiffened as his hand stroking the back of my neck stilled. “No.” And that was Deck. He wouldn’t give me false hope. He knew what I was involved with was too big for him. “But I won’t let them have you. If we need to disappear, I’ll make it happen.”
Yeah, and that was Deck, too. He’d do whatever it took. Tanner was dead. He was the only one who knew that Kai told Deck about them. That I knew the truth. Until the message Tanner sent was read. “Tanner sent a message.”
“Kai said he would. Come on, baby. Let’s get you out of here.”
The men moved around us and I smelled gasoline then Deck lifted me in his arms and walked out of the school’s shed.
Halfway down the parking lot, I heard a loud explosion and then Kai, Vic, Tyler and Josh were beside us.
Grey clouds billowed in the air. Fire crackled. I breathed in the smell of smoke. It was the burning of all the lies. It was the purging I’d been seeking all along. I finally felt free from Robbie. From the parts of me I hated that were weak and still lost to the pain of what I’d kept alive.
The ashes of that part of me were swirling around us and then were lost to the breeze. I looked up at Deck and stroked the side of his face. “I’m only a rainbow because you make me that way.” His eyes were still dark and haunted by what just happened, but there was a hint of the sweet I’d found in Deck and I smiled. “Love you, baby.”
DECK KEPT ME locked bedside him in the backseat, while Tyler drove and Josh sat in the front. Vic went with Kai.
I winced when the cut on my back rubbed on Deck’s arm and he immediately loosened his grip and looked down at me, brows low over his eyes as concern etched his face. I reached up and touched his chin like it was the most delicate, expensive diamond. “Did I ever say thank you for saving my ass, sweetpea?”
I think he was too worried about me to take to my sass because he just looked at me. I sighed and rested my cheek against his shoulder.
“Boss?” Josh looked over his shoulder at us. I noticed him give me a once-over as if he was checking to make certain I wasn’t bleeding to death. Like Deck would let that happen; I gave a half-smile when his eyes reached my face. He grunted. Josh was a weird guy. Quiet and no sense of humor and yet I saw something lingering in him as if he was fighting the need to laugh or smile. “You want our guy to look at her?”
That got my attention. I was the only her.
Deck nodded.
“Hey, wait a sec. Who is our guy, Deck? And why is he looking at me?” Josh turned back around.
“Rick,” Deck said. “A doctor. And you’re being looked at because I said so.”
“You know, sometimes it would be nice if you weren’t so damn … direct. Couldn’t you ask me how I feel about it? Maybe threw in a ‘babe, I love you but … ’”
Deck huffed, obviously not in the mood for even a slight grin. “Josh, get him over to my place ASAP.”
“I’m fine, Deck. It’s a couple scratches and bruises.”
“You see your face?”
“Well, no. It’s not like I’ve been too concerned about what I look like at the moment.”
“You need a doctor.”
I leaned forward and looked in the rear view mirror. I met Tyler’s eyes who pursed his lips together and shook his head. I knew what it meant—I wasn’t winning this one. I had a minor scratch on my neck and a pretty bad bruise on my forehead.
Deck watched me, eyes narrowed. I knew he was waiting patiently for my argument.
I crossed my arms and stared out the window. “Fine, but you owe me copious amounts of orgasms.”
Tyler burst out laughing. Josh grunted. Deck was silent.
He put his arm around me then pushed my head down on his shoulder. I reached over and linked my fingers in his. He squeezed and it was all I needed to feel his comfort seeping into me.
Within a half hour, Kai’s car pulled over on the side of the road and he and Vic got out looking really unhappy. And Vic looking unhappy was pretty damn scary.
Of course, everyone got out. Deck
told me to stay put, which I didn’t. He scowled at me but didn’t interrupt Kai who was giving the bad news that he was unable to intercept Tanner’s message through the internet.
“Shit,” Tyler said and kicked the tire at the same time as he hit the roof of the car. Seeing Tyler react like that somehow didn’t suit him.
“Alternatives?” Vic asked.
“Manually go in and delete it from the main computer before it’s reviewed then sent to France.”
“France?” Deck asked.
“Where Vault is based.”
I knew Kai giving us the location was huge.
“What is it that Vault does, Kai?” Deck asked. “Besides, kidnap and torture people.”
“Everything,” Kai sighed. “Vault is like a religion. It runs off beliefs that were set up by a group of nine people many years ago. Power. Money. Drugs. Corruption. We go after some of the worst criminals. We also protect some of the worst. It’s all about control and information.”
“Fuck,” Tyler said.
Kai nodded. “And they will send someone after all of us if I don’t intercept that message.”
“And I’m betting none of us can get close to the main computer. At least not fast enough,” Josh said.
Kai didn’t need to say anything because we all knew the answer. The question was did any of them really trust Kai? Was it even possible to trust a guy like that? He’d been involved with a secret organization which kidnapped men, women and children to use for their own purpose.
Kai spoke directly to Deck, eyes unwavering. “They get that message—I’m eliminated or worse, taken ‘in’ and so is Georgie. It’s in both our best interests to make certain that doesn’t happen.” Kai nodded to me. I met Kai’s eyes and they held steady on me. I knew exactly what he was going to say. “I just received a message from Vault; they want her to go out on an assignment tonight.”
“No,” Deck immediately replied.
I put my hand on Deck’s arm. “It makes sense. I have to.”
“No,” Deck reiterated.
It was Vic who objected, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “She disappears, it’s a red flag. She’s right. You know it, too, Boss.”
He stood stiffly beside me and I watched his jaw clench then unclench before he finally nodded.
But when Kai told him who I had to make contact with … that was another fight. Kai did have Deck’s men on his side now, though. I needed to go to the bar, drink and do the usual. Kai would go into Vault’s residence here, and delete the message from their secure computer before it was approved and distributed to the organization’s leaders in France. And it had to be tonight as every morning someone went in and went through the correspondences to see what was important to be sent to France.
“Percentage of success?” Deck asked.
Kai shrugged as he walked to his car and opened the door. “Depends if my mother’s there.” I gasped and the men’s eyes widened. “Goes down exponentially if she’s in town. Bitch hates me.”
I hadn’t realized I had my hand over my mouth until Deck took it in his and lowered it. I thought of the scars on Kai and couldn’t imagine a mother ever allowing that to happen to her own son. Kai was more fucked than I realized and that scared me, because if a mother could watch her son go through something like that, then what had they done to Connor?
MY TARGET—TRISTAN. I was to meet up with him at Avalanche.
When I called him, he didn’t sound surprised to hear my voice and agreed to meet me for drinks, which was perfect for me, since I was to appear tipsy to get him to loosen up and Tristan needed loosening up. Eventually, Vault would ask me to get something from Tristan, whether files from his computer or to tap his phone, but they were obviously in no rush with Tristan.
I did this plenty of times. But somehow … now I didn’t want to do it. I wasn’t scared—I was pretty confident in my ability to play my part. It was the fact I had to flirt with another guy. But I didn’t have a choice and Kai was risking his ass to erase Tanner’s message. I could meet some guy for a few drinks to help keep Deck and everyone else safe.
Of course, Deck was not happy. “The doctor said you should rest.”
Deck’s doctor had been waiting for us at the loft. He checked me over, said I could have a concussion then treated and cleaned the cut on my back. There were no questions asked as to who I was or how I was hurt. I suspected the doctor got paid a lot to not ask questions.
“You agreed to this.”
“That was before the doctor saw you.”
“I’m perfectly fine. I’ve done it before. Not a big deal. Besides, we don’t have a choice. No red flags, remember.”
“I don’t fuckin’ like it.”
He was worried and I liked that he was worried about me, but there was no choice. “You know I have to do this, Deck. You of all people understand what this is about.”
He looked me up and down, his lips tightening. He knew I was right. This argument had gone down in the car with the boys earlier. “You’re not wearing that. Change.”
Here we go. The top was like a second skin, blue sequins with a V-neck and spaghetti straps. I wore tight black leggings with it and blue flashy high-heels. “He likes blue.”
“Then wear that blue pajama top.” He strode out of the bedroom as if it was the end of the conversation.
He remembered my blue puppy dog pajama top? It gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling, like whenever I saw the brown bunny rabbit Connor had given me and still sat on my bed to this day. It was just … nice he paid attention considering it was years since I’d worn it.
I went after him, my heels clicking on the hardwood floors. He was in the kitchen—looking completely at home as he grabbed the dishcloth and began wiping down the counter. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and his jeans hung low on his hips revealing that trail of scattered hairs leading down to his cock.
I swallowed. He ignored me standing a few feet away, his muscles flexing as he moved, tatts glistening over them. Jesus, I wanted him to strip me down and fuck me on the kitchen counter.
“When you’re done staring, go change.”
Shit, did he have eyes in the back of his head? Yep, he was Deck. He had eyes everywhere.
“If I don’t look sexy, he won’t like me.”
“Good.”
I sighed. Yeah, this assignment shit was going to be an ongoing issue. I came up behind him as he tossed the cloth in the sink. “Baby.” I felt the tension in him, caressing his arms and then down his back. “I know what I’m doing. You have to trust me.”
“I trust you, Georgie. I don’t trust him.” Suddenly, he snagged me around the waist, picked me up and went and sat on the barstool. I put my legs on either side of him and his arm kept me from falling back. “You’re changing.”
“Shit.” I gave up because getting my way with Deck when he was like this wasn’t happening. “I’m smashing the piggy bank and buying myself something with your coffee money. Maybe some handcuffs to keep you in line.”
He didn’t chuckle as I expected him to; instead, he ran his finger over my collarbone, expression serious. “Thinking about you doing this … babe, I’ve tried to protect you for years. Now, I have to willingly let you go into a situation, which could get you hurt. It’s going against everything I am.” He tilted my chin up and his thumb caressed it. “I love you, Georgie. I won’t lose you.”
Jesus, and then he had to say shit like that and I knew exactly what he was saying because I felt the same way. “You have protected me, Deck. And you’ll never lose me. I’m yours. Always have been.” Then I kissed him until I felt the tension ease from him.
When he pulled back he tucked a blue strand of hair behind my ear. “The pink elephant under the counter?”
I smiled. “Yep. I’ve emptied it five times already. The money is tucked away for our wedding day.”
He laughed and it shocked me. The seriousness was replaced with a smoldering burning. “Our wedding?”
I shrugged.
I rested my head on his shoulder. “Deck?” He didn’t say anything, merely tightened his hold on me. “Thank you for always being there for my brother.” I felt his breath hesitate then exhale. “And for me.”
Then he kissed me hard and we were pulling at each other’s clothes. He was careful not to hurt my back. But he wasn’t careful about fucking me. It was hot and quick and probably had a purpose because Deck ripped the sequined top right off me.
DECK CONCEDED WITH me wearing a black top, which was less revealing, less tight and less sexy. Of course, I’d gone through five other tops before he finally agreed to one, and that was because I was a half hour late to meet Tristan.
Tyler and Vic were already at Avalanche and had texted saying Tristan was there at the bar. Deck wasn’t allowed inside because we all knew he’d fuck it up. Instead, he was waiting outside in his car.
Kai texted me on our way over to make certain I was meeting up with Tristan. Then he said he was on his way to delete the message which made me nervous for him. For Deck. For all of us. Kai was fearless and yet I sensed in him something before he left us earlier. It wasn’t fear exactly, but it was as if his composure was off.
“One drink then you leave,” Deck ordered.
I nodded. “An hour—tops.”
Deck grabbed my hand before I got out of the car. “I’m proud of you, Georgie. You are the person I always knew you were and couldn’t find.” He sighed. “I won’t ever give up. I’ll find a way to keep you safe.”
Goose bumps rose and I felt my eyes fill with tears. Jesus, how could I love this man more than I already did? But another piece of me was glued back together at his words. I kissed him and it was slow and heated with a promise of never letting go. Then I went into Avalanche and did what I had to do.