I didn’t have my phone, and I didn’t have a gun. I didn’t have anything to protect Ava.
Carefully and as silently as I could, I lifted the comforter and slid out of the tub like a baby elephant learning to do ballet. I needed to get the kittens and Prince, though, and make sure they were okay and not hit if the door smashed open.
Once I had the box in my arms, I passed it to Ava and got back into my position on the opposite end of the tub.
Then the crashing and yelling started, and we reached for each other, ending up with Doyle snuggled between two women who didn’t give one shit about how anyone’s breath smelled anymore.
But just to say, adding the smell of the kittens did give it an even more unpleasant edge.
At least I could say I did the best I could, though.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Logan
“You sure you’re okay?” DB asked again as he checked me over.
“Yeah, he got me in the fucking vest. Jesus, couldn’t they make these things better, so we don’t feel anything?”
DB, Carter, and Alex were staring at the bullet hole in my vest, all of them looking almost intrigued by it. If it was that interesting, I had no issues promising to shoot them in the same place so they could experience it for themselves.
Not looking away from it, Carter rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Probably feels better than it would if you weren’t wearing one.”
“Wanna try it so you can confirm that?” I snapped, wanting to take it off to check my stomach, but we couldn’t right now.
“Not really. I wonder what it looks like underneath?”
There was scuffling at the door, and then Garrett and Raoul brought out King Kirkwood and led him over to their vehicle.
“Do you think he’s telling the truth?” I asked DB, watching him closely.
When we’d gotten to the property, King had been on his own, counting money. Apparently, word of his Dad’s arrest and situation hadn’t hit him yet, so he hadn’t been expecting us.
We’d found piles of meth, cocaine, and all of the other things they were mixing into it, just lying out in the open. You could smell it in the air as you went in, so we’d masked up to protect ourselves from it.
The initial drugs we found hadn’t been prepared for distribution yet, but at the back, he had hundreds of full baggies carefully laid out for collection. It was unbelievable to see the amount just sitting there and knowing how far it could travel to do damage to someone.
Being around the drugs in an enclosed space had also messed with King, so initially, he’d smiled at us and waved a happy hello. Unfortunately, he’d also been waving his gun around as he did it, and his finger had hit the trigger, shooting a bullet into my vest as we all tried to move away from where he was pointing with it.
In my job, I hadn’t had the opportunity to come across a lawyer who was happy to see us, especially not one who was high, so it would definitely be a story I’d tell my kids when they were older. I might miss out on the piles of drugs scattered around him, though, at least until they were much, much older.
“I think he’s tripping out of his mind right now,” DB replied, turning back to us. “But we need to find Lord and—” His phone suddenly ringing cut him off. Pulling it out, he frowned at the screen and lifted it to his ear. “Naomi, we’re— What? When?” The way his eyes shifted to stare at me had me moving toward where our cruisers were at the end of the road. “Okay, we’ll be there as fast as we can.”
“Tell me,” I shouted over my shoulder, breaking into a jog with the others beside me.
“Shots fired at Hell On Wheels and loud banging. Hyacinth called it into Naomi and hung up after telling her she was getting her shotgun ready.”
“Didn’t Naomi tell her to stay on the line?” Carter snapped.
“She tried, but Hyacinth wouldn’t listen. She’s tried calling back, but there wasn’t any answer, so she tried calling Bexley and got the same there.”
Fuck. Fucking fuck!
Cutting across the group to get to the cruiser I had the keys to, I jumped in behind the wheel and started the engine. The passenger door opened, and Carter got in, slamming it hard enough to rock the whole thing.
“Go. Alex is going with DB, but he said you had the lead.”
As I drove, I thought about the last couple of weeks. Bexley was still grieving over her pops, and I’d never get the image of her on her knees beside his grave as they lowered his coffin into it.
She’d opened the doors to me that I never expected to have opened, and now I had her beauty back in my life. I’d gotten more than that, I had all of her. Finally, after years of wanting her badly, she was mine.
What she’d been through today had been a nightmare, and it was still going on. Was she scared? Was she crying? Was she hiding in a closet? It hurt to even think like that, so I had to focus on how strong she was.
I had zero doubts in my mind that she’d be protecting Ava, the cats, and Doyle. She was a born protector.
I also had zero doubts that she was terrified—no one hears gunshots unexpectedly and isn’t.
I hated that she was going through even more on top of losing someone she loved.
But I had to be as rational as possible.
I was missing something, what was it?
Lifting my ass cheek, I concentrated on not pushing the pedal down to the floor with how I was balanced. “Hey, Carter, reach into my pocket and pull my phone out.”
“Which pocket’s it in?”
“Back right. Once you’ve got it, type in—”
He’d been reaching out but snatched his hand back again. “I’m
