“You idiot! Why would you even do that?”
I open my eyes wider, realizing that the pain I thought would come…didn’t.
I feel nothing.
Not the pain. Not even fucking fear.
Not anything.
I’m too tired to say anything more.
Too tired to move.
Too tired to think.
Too tired to even make a joke…though, I try.
“You're my family,” I tell Nancy as I lay slumped over the hardwood floor. “I'd die for you.”
“You're not dying for me,” Nancy says. “I won't let that happen.” She points to Paisley Banneker beside me, laying there. “And neither will she.”
I look at Paisley. Her eyes are wide, and her hands are trembling.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” she says. She looks at Nancy. “I promise.” She looks at me.
And when I glance again at Nancy, I realize why.
Of course, Paisley wasn’t. She can’t…
Nancy now has her gun.
Somewhere far away, I hear Lachlan's voice.
“What's going on? And why are you guys on the floor? I mean…unless you were playing some sort of kinky sex…”
I try to answer him, but I can't. Everything is just sound to me.
Lachlan and Sabrina kneel beside me. I can't even open my eyes. All I can do is move my head.
Sabrina gets me to sit up. Then she hoists me onto my feet.
The world spins.
“Andrew?” I hear Sabrina's voice, concern coloring the nuanced way she says my name. “You all right?”
I nod. “I think so… I think so,” I say. I stumble over to Nancy, who lowers the gun. I take her hand away from it, and she lets me. I look at the gun for a long moment.
Then I point it towards the wall and pull the trigger.
Click.
Nothing happens.
I try again.
Click.
Goddammit.
“Andrew…” Nancy says. Her voice is small. “I don't think she was ever going to hurt us,” she declares. “I'm pretty sure she didn't even have bullets. She just wanted to scare us.”
I snort, steadying my stance, my steps slow. “Well, she succeeded. I thought I was dead.”
Nancy glances up at me, blinking. “Me, too. And I've never been more scared in my life.”
I'm pretty sure my arms are broken, and probably my back, but somehow I manage to stand upright. Sabrina, Lachlan, and Nancy watch me, wide-eyed.
Sabrina's eyes are watery.
“You okay?” I ask.
She nods, and I feel a headache coming on. But somehow, I manage to take a few deep breaths.
I wince, looking at Lachlan. “Did you guys find Eric at all? I know Nancy sent over his picture.”
Sabrina grimaces. “Yeah, we found him… Tell me something: Do all-life sized Ken dolls come with stuffed sphincters? Or is that just him?”
Lachlan shrugs. “The guy seemed pretty freaked out. He didn't know what was going on. In fact, the more we talked to him, the more freaked out he got. Says he got your address from some guy named Kev at the bar. And he was rambling on about the revolving door and how you,” he motions to Nancy, “don't let anyone walk through.”
I look at Lachlan. “Wait, you are just talking about doors, right?”
“I don't think so.”
I frown down at Nancy, eyes wide. “I'm guessing you never let Eric in your revolving door then?”
She shakes her head. “Not even once.”
I hold her closer. “Well,” I say, rubbing my temple, “since that stupid prick Eric doesn’t seem to know the finer points of how to talk about the woman I love with respect, do you mind if I have a little chat with him? Teach him the finer points of Krav Maga…and how to kill a man with my bare hands?”
“Andrew,” Nancy says, “you and I both need to lie down.”
“You need to lie down, for sure,” I correct. “Me? I think I might need to crack Eric's skull for being an ass, and possibly find myself a complete replacement skull while I'm at it. The one I have right now is pounding. And, uh, while we’re speaking of ‘needs,’ I might need to finish what we started earlier against the pool table.” I squeeze her hip. “But I'll wait for that…until later.”
I smile a crooked smile, before looking over. “As for you two? Before my brains leak out of my ears: Sabrina, Lachlan, make sure you don't leave this house until the police get here. Lachlan,” I hand my good friend the gun, “you dial the authorities.” I point to Paisley. “And keep an eye on her. Sabrina, make sure the alarm is set. Nancy, get something to drink. You look like you're going to faint.”
Nancy glances at me, her eyes wide, the dark green irises expanding as Lachlan and Bri get right to it, scrambling into action—separating.
I realize she has the same look in her eyes as she did the night I asked her to be my fiancée.
The night I asked her to be mine… And I didn't even know it.
My Hell-beast.
My golden red-haired pixie.
My sweet Anne.
All versions of her are here right now beside me—the shy one and the sweet one, the sassy one and the uptight one, the one that told me Go to Hell more times than I can count…and the one who's been through hell right alongside me.
And every version of her is absolutely perfect.
I kiss her forehead as her fingers grip me, her small arms circling carefully around my waist. She gazes up.
“Since when do you order people around? I thought that was my job.”
“Oh?” I smirk. “Well, then. There's a new boss in town, Miss Anne Cassidy Anderson. And I'm going to show you as soon as we get to a bed.”
“Oh, really?” she raises an eyebrow. “And how do you plan to do that, Mr. Lincoln Andrew Fletcher?”
“You'll see,” I tell her. “I've got some ideas. Tell you what: I'll show you once we get there. It's going to be a fun night. You'll like it.”
“Oh, I'm sure I will,” she says. Her fingers playing with the collar of my shirt. “My mouth hasn't been good for much but giving orders for the past two years.
