by Rebel Hart
I made myself comfortable between Deon’s legs and leaned back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled his head against mine. “That whole ‘you in control of me blindfolded’ thing,” he started. “The whole thing just works for me.”
I giggled. “I’m glad. I was a little scared you wouldn’t like it. Thank you for trusting me enough to do it.”
“Of course. I’d trust you with my life, Cherri.” He kissed the top of my head. “That was the best by far.”
“I think so too. It’s exhilarating asking for what I want,” I said.
“You should always do that,” Deon said. “Ask for what you want from me. In or out of the bedroom, if I can give it to you, I will.”
I snuggled back against him. “I love you.”
“Hey, can I ask you for a favor?” he said.
“Of course.”
“Tomorrow, when we go in search of Connor. Can you stay back?” he asked.
I turned my head so I could look up at him. “Stay back? Why?”
He curled his arms tighter around me. “I don’t want to lose you. If he hurts you, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“No,” I said. “Deon, I’m coming with you wherever you go. I’m a ride or die.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want you to die,” Deon replied.
“I won’t,” I said. “I can take care of myself, and besides, you’re not going to let anything happen to me and neither are our friends. The only one who should be scared as shit is Connor.”
Deon didn’t seem to like that answer very much, but nodded. “I’d sooner die than let anything happen to you.”
“Well, no dying for you either.” I repositioned myself and leaned back against Deon’s chest and closed my eyes. “We’re going to do this how we should have been doing it all along. Together.”
29
Deon
“Woo hoo!” Colette said, starting a round of applause as we walked into the pool area where the entire Royal Court was hanging out. “There they are!”
“Hey, how was the honeymoon, you two?” Kyle asked, snickering.
Brayden, who was floating in the pool between Kyle’s legs, smacked his knee. “Hey, that’s not okay.” He looked over at Cherri and I. “No wedding without the flower girl.”
Cherri and Nikita immediately broke out into laughter, along with Brayden, while everyone else just stared in confusion. “I don’t get it,” I said.
“None of us do,” Sicily said. “This is an inside joke the three of them have that they refuse to let us in on.”
“I’m sorry,” Cherri said. “I know we probably would have gotten started sooner, but we were… preoccupied.”
“Even this morning?” Alistair asked.
I shrugged. “Checkout wasn’t until 11.”
“Yeah!” Avery said. “Get it, Cherri!”
“Well,” Nathan said. “As much as the sexual exploits of my brother and ex-girlfriend interest me, I would love nothing more than to shift the topic as far away from that as possible.”
Nikita tapped Nathan’s leg, chuckling. “That’s fair.”
“Let’s shut this pool party down then, and head inside to make a plan. We have a crazy man to shut down,” Alistair said.
Those few people who were in the pool started to climb out, and everyone else stood up from the lounge chairs and barstools scattered around the pool. We all made our way back inside. Even though my back and legs were sore in the best way, I did my best to look unaffected by my long, lovely night with Cherri and kept her close to me as we walked in.
Those who were wet went up the stairs to get changed, while the rest of us sat down in the living room. Cherri and the other members of The Royal Court bounced casual conversations off one another for a while, and I still felt a little out of place. I’d judged The Royal Court so harshly back before I went to prison. Though to be fair, so did Cherri. As shitty as Connor was, he’d presented us all with an opportunity to grow as people and become more honest with one another, and as I watched people like Cherri and Sicily chat happily with people like Brayden and Colette, I knew that the universe was hard at work trying to give us back what Connor Loche had stolen from all of us.
Once everyone was in the living room, Nathan stood up and leaned against the fireplace at the front of the room. “Okay. This is it, guys. This is everything that we’ve been working towards. We got Deon back and now it’s time to take Connor Loche down.”
“Nathan?” a voice called out.
“In the living room!” A few seconds later, a shorter, fit-looking woman and a taller, buff man rounded the corner into the living room. “Hey!”
“Who are they?” I whispered to Cherri.
“The woman is Anisa and the man is Cobalt. They used to work for Connor, but quit when they could no longer take how he was treating Nathan. Now they love him like they’re his parents. It reminds me of you with Felicity and Garrett.”
As Cherri was explaining it, Nathan walked over and gave them both big hugs, and Anisa held Nathan’s face just like a mother would. Nathan had been pretty muted since I returned, but when Anisa and Cobalt entered the room, he lit right up. It made me happy to know that there were some people loving Nathan like the parents he never had. He deserved that.
“I invited Anisa and Cobalt because I figured it was time for us to stop storming into dangerous situations alone.”
“You just decided that right now?” Colette said.
“Anisa and Cobalt are retired as far as the muscle aspect is concerned, not just because Anisa only has use of one eye now, but because my father convinced them to take up a pacifistic lifestyle. But I asked them if they would be willing to make an exception for us.”
“And of course,” Anisa said. “We’d do anything for you.”
“You’re still mostly going to be stealth,” Nathan said. “T.C. said that the place he set Connor up with is bugged, so we need your help to get us in. Although, I’ll admit, once we’re in, I’m not sure what we do. If Connor knows we’re there together, he’s most likely to just run. I think that most of The Royal Court, Anisa, and Cobalt, could be watching any visible exits, but knowing Connor, he’s got a hidden way out. That was probably just as big a part of the deal as all the security.”
“For sure,” Brayden said. “The place he brought me to always had tons of ways in and tons of ways out.”
“Right,” Nathan said.
“Actually, though, I think I might have a plan,” Brayden said. “I could be bait.”
Nathan raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Do you guys still have those two guys?” Brayden asked Anisa and Cobalt.
“Yeah,” Anisa said.
“I say we have those two guys blindfold me and tie my wrists and bring me to Connor like they used to do. They can say they escaped and captured me or something. If Deon and Nathan can sneak in behind them, then as soon as Connor’s out, you make the jump.”
“I don’t like that plan at all,” Kyle said.
“I don’t either,” Brayden said, “but it would work. Connor thinks he can manipulate me, probably still. If I appear in front of him, with those two that worked for him saying they captured me, it’ll be enough to coax him out. He’ll think that, through me, he can get to you. Either by force or by thinking he could control me again.”
“Brayden,” Nathan said. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t,” he replied. “I want to do this. For once, I want to be the one turning the tables on Connor.”
“If you do,” I said. “We’ll owe you our lives.” I looked past Brayden to Kyle when I said, “I’d protect him with my life.”
It was clear Kyle and the rest of the Court were uncomfortable with the plan, but no one could deny that it was probably the best course of action. If Brayden was dangled in front of Connor as a way to find Nathan and me, he’d absolutely take the bait.
“I’m not weak,” Brayden said. “I appreciate you saying that, but I know
how to protect myself, and it’s time for me to play my part in all of this. I want to play an active role in ending Connor for good.”
“Okay,” Nathan said. “If you’re sure.”
Brayden nodded. “I’m sure.”
“We can get you close, no problem,” Anisa said. “We’ll drive ahead and scope the place out and call you with the points to take. We’ll grab those two morons on the way as well, and fill them in on the plan.”
“Out of curiosity,” Jaxon said. “What’s keeping them from blowing everything up in our faces? They could flip out of pure spite.”
“They won’t,” Cobalt said, cracking his knuckles. “You can trust me on that.”
Jaxon looked at Cobalt as if he didn’t trust that he could muscle his way through it, but he didn’t say anything. His gaze traveled further to me and we locked eyes. He nodded at me as if to say, ‘Make good on your promise to protect him,’ and I could see that, in spite of how little Jaxon spoke, he cared about The Royal Court as much as the next person over.
“We’re going to get ready. I’ll send you the address we got from T.C.,” Nathan said. “Everyone take a few minutes to breathe. This is the calm before the storm, and we want to be ready for whatever is waiting for us. This is it. It’s time to end Connor Loche’s reign of torment.”
30
Deon
The address T.C. had given us led us to a business park in South Postings, not far from the high school. It gave everyone more than a few willies to know that Connor was holed up so close, but because he was, it meant we could walk to the location instead of drive. Anisa had called Nathan to let him know the best way to enter the park without being seen, and we found ourselves sneaking in from a small forest behind the park, closest to the door to the building Connor was supposedly hiding in.
Everyone was together apart from Brayden, who met up with Anisa and Cobalt to be handed over to Connor's thugs and carry out his plan. My heart was pounding as we watched Brayden approach the front door, and next to me, Kyle was up on his tiptoes, ready to pounce if need be.
“Okay,” Nathan whispered. “Once they’re through that first door, we can sneak along the building and follow them in. Deon and I will slip in and call if we need help.”
“You're not going in there without us,” Nikita said. “Cherri and I will be right behind you.”
Both Cherri and Nikita had a burning look of determination on their faces, and I knew it would be fruitless to argue. Nathan must have seen it too, because he simply watched Nikita for a moment and then let out a sigh of defeat.
“Fine. The four of us are going in with Brayden. The rest of you should man any possible exit you can see. If you spy Connor making a run for it, call for Anisa and Cobalt.”
Everyone nodded and not a moment later, a buzzer pierced the night silence. The men dragged Brayden in faux restraints through the door, sticking a pipe in the door jamb as they entered. Nathan, Nikita, Cherri and I left the treeline of the forest behind, slipped up to the side of the building, and slid along the popcorn walls until we were at the door. Nathan held it open and we slipped inside, leaving the pipe in the door jamb, just in case.
“Well, well, look what we have here,” an evil voice that sent a chill down my spine began. “If it isn’t Brayden? You disappeared after you failed me.”
We snuck to the corner and peered around, and there he was—the devil himself. Connor looked worse for wear, no longer a silver fox, now a sickly thin man with greasy, wispy gray hair and sunken eyes. He still looked as smug as I remembered, but it looked out of place on him now, like a little boy wearing a hat that was too big.
“I did what you told me to,” Brayden said. “It’s these idiots that fumbled.”
“Well, all three of you have been missing in action, so I’ll ask plainly, where have you been?”
Then it went silent. Call it intuition or having dealt with my fair share of shady people lately, but I knew something was off. We couldn't hear anything, but Connor was intently staring at his men as though they were giving a soliloquy.
That was when it hit me.
At the road show I went to with Felicity, those people seemed to have the ability to communicate silently as well. Exactly as Jaxon had feared, the men were turning on us.
“Go around,” I whispered to Nathan, then I charged around the corner and out into the clear view of Connor.
“Oh. You figured you’d turn on me, Brayden, is that it? You think Deon alone can stop me?” Connor asked.
“He's not alone,” one of the goons said. “This whole thing is a setup.”
I took a few steps forward, but Connor pulled out a gun and pointed it at Brayden. “Ah, ah, ah. Why don't you stop right there? Unless you want me to—”
A gunshot cracked into the room, piercing the leg of one of thugs, sending him clattering to the ground. I looked over my shoulder, but no one was there, and that was when I realized the shot had actually come from Brayden. His restraints were applied in such a way that he still had total mobility, and he was able to pull his gun out and shoot. He quickly turned on the other guy, but he'd already let go and was ducking for cover.
Connor fired, but Brayden managed to duck out of the way. Exactly as we expected he might, Connor turned and started to run towards a door near the back, but the second he opened it, he came face to face with the barrel of Nathan’s gun. Nathan backed Connor back into the room with Nikita behind him, who then blocked the door.
Brayden passed me, saying, “I'll guard the front,” and crossed paths with Cherri walking in, her gun drawn as well.
“It’s the end of the line, Connor,” Cherri said.
“Isn't this cute?” Connor said. “A double date? You were just going to storm in here and the power of love was going to help you defeat me?”
Resounding clicks pierced the sky, as several men appeared as if from nowhere, all with guns cocked and aimed at us. Behind me, Cherri yelped as one of them got hold of her, and one appeared behind Nikita, capturing her as well.
Connor walked over and sat down behind his desk at the head of the room. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. I honestly expected a little more from you boys, but I suppose you’re just children at the end of the day. Only children are stupid enough to think the bad guy just sits around in his office unarmed, waiting to be jumped. This isn’t a hero story. That's not how it works. Deon, I half-expected this from you, but Nathan. I taught you better than this.”
“You did,” Nathan replied. “You taught me well. I’ll admit, finding you was a pain in the ass, making sure you were cornered was something else I wasn’t sure about, but going tit for tat with you—I'm a master at that.”
“A master?” Connor scoffed. “Look around you. You’ve got no cards left to play. I’m going to kill that pretty girlfriend of yours in front of you, then your brother. I’ll hunt all your friends and end them too, keeping only that one.” He smiled at Cherri. “I knew ever since I first laid eyes on her that I had to have her, one way or another. How will it feel, knowing she suffers everyday because of you?”
Rage filled my body, not just because Connor was disregarding me, but because he was threatening Cherri in the process. Something in me snapped and I whirled around and punched the guy holding Cherri in the face. He went down in a single hit, as did the two guys standing closest. I pushed Cherri behind me and put myself in front of her. If anyone else touched her, I’d see to it that they stopped breathing.
“I’m sick of this. Why don’t we get the ball rolling?” Connor stood up and held a gun out towards me. “Goodbye, son.”
A gunshot popped out from Connor’s gun and I braced myself for impact, but felt nothing. A fear bubbled in my stomach and I looked behind me, but Cherri was still standing there. I turned around and looked forward and halfway between me and Connor, was Nathan. He was still on his feet, but there was blood dripping from him.
“Nathan!” Nikita and Cherri both screeched.
My brother had put himself between me and a bu
llet. I glared past Nathan to Connor, and saw for the first time, that flash of regret on his face before he went cold again.
“You will regret that,” I growled. “Just like you will regret all the shots you took at me and missed.”
31
Cherri
Deon reached his hand behind himself and shoved me off to the side. He ducked down and snatched a gun out of one of the gunmen’s hands, and in the distraction, I retrieved my gun from the man who had taken it. Immediately, I lifted it to shoot and hit the guy holding Nikita straight in the shoulder. He released her and she finished the job, throwing her head back and headbutting him unconscious. The remaining guards broke out, firing their guns in our direction. I slipped behind some filing cabinets and fired back, giving Deon enough of an opening to grab Nathan and drag him back.
Nikita backed into the hallway for protection, and eventually she disappeared. I figured she must be running back around, but it only took a handful of seconds for them to get around the first time, and in that same amount of time, she didn’t appear.
Either way, I trusted Nikita to take care of herself, and Deon dragged Nathan back behind where I was. I knelt down next to him and was glad to see the bullet only grazed his stomach.
“Deon,” Nathan said. “You know what you have to do. Just get their attention.”
Deon was firing into the fray, keeping himself mostly blocked by the cabinets. “Yeah, they’re all fucking firing at me and Connor is making a break for it.”
Suddenly, the shooting stopped and I watched as the remaining three shooters crowded around Connor and filed him towards the door Nikita had gone through.
“Shit,” Deon hissed, then he stepped out again. “Who here has a daughter named Cynthia? A wife, Angelique?”
The men stopped. Two of their gazes shifted towards one man, who was seething. “Keep their names out of your mouth.”
