Chapter 48
Waiting for Zoe to receive the phone call to tell us that the boys were okay, seemed to take a lifetime.
“Would you stop shaking your leg?” Zoe hissed, glaring in my direction. Lee sighed, shaking his head.
“Lay off, Zoe, she’s worried,” Lee muttered, slinging his arm around my shoulder and pulling him to me. I went limply, taking in his scent and his warmth. Quiet settled around us and the only sounds were the occasional cluttering from the kitchen where Chase and Kyle were trying to keep themselves busy.
“We all know the plan, right?” Zoe asked for probably about the tenth time. I knew the plan; she’d practically drilled it into my skull and then made me repeat it just to be on the safe side.
We were all going to be in the club, Kyle behind the bar, me dancing with Zoe and Alfie and Lee would just be the spectators. I was feeling slightly conspicuous about dancing around in my underwear. At least if I was brought into the E.R, I’d get to give the doctors a good show before officially snuffing it. I was thinking far too much.
My rather disturbing thoughts were interrupted by my phone vibrating on the counter. Zoe shot me a look as I picked it up and walked into the other room.
“Hello?” I asked into the receiver, leaning against the cold wall of the dining room.
“Andy?” Kenzi’s voice was rough and she sounded as though she had been crying. If Seb had done something to her, Hunter’s gun was going to be the last of his worries.
“What’s wrong?” I asked immediately, straightening up and holding the phone tighter to my ear.
“I’m scared.”
“Why?” I pushed; frowning and feeling my heart rate speed up. If they had gotten to Kenzi, there was a strong chance that we wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. We already had too much on our plates.
“I came back to get some clean underwear and talk to Seb. He was on the sofa,” she paused, letting out a strangled sob. “There was blood everywhere, Andy,” she wailed.
“Kenzi, sweetie, slow down, what happened?”
“He was stabbed. I’m in the hospital waiting room, he’s in surgery right now but they don’t know if he’s going to make it,” she whispered. Crap. What timing.
“Just calm down. Is Marco there with you?” I asked her.
“No.”
“Call him,” I instructed, looking over my shoulder at Alfie who was gesturing towards the living room. I shook my head, putting one finger up to let him know that I wouldn’t be long.
“Can’t you get down here?” she asked, her voice sounding a lot less sure of herself. I winced at her tone.
“I honestly can’t, I’m tied up. I will get down there as soon as I can, okay?” she sighed at my words.
“I’ll call Marco,” she said before hanging up the phone without saying so much as a goodbye. I’m pretty sure that my only talent is accidently pissing people off.
“Is everything okay?” Alfie’s words make me jump as I looked up and sighed, running my hand through my hair.
“Seb’s in hospital, stab wound,” I muttered, preparing to walk past him. His arms shot out and wound me into his body, crushing me in a tight bear hug.
“I’m sorry that you’re involved in all of this,” he mumbled into my hair and I coughed.
“I won’t be in a minute if you don’t stop strangling me!” I choked out. Alfie laughed, ruffling my hair before leading us both back into the front room.
Zoe was on the phone and she didn’t look happy in the slightest. My heart was in my mouth and I’d always thought that the saying ‘your stomach has gone to your feet’ was a load of crap until that moment.
“Right, we’ll be there and ready within half an hour, stall to give us more time,” Zoe rambled, giving Lee a small thumbs up with a smile. My shoulders sagged, filling my body with huge relief when Zoe hung up the phone and told us that Hunter was okay because Reed told Cole that Hunter knew the location of the necklace.
“Get in the car, quick,” Zoe snapped, grabbing her back and making her way outside. I rolled my eyes and Lee smirked, taking hold of his car keys and swinging them around on his finger. Chase gestured for me to walk in front of him out to his car.
The way that the car was jerking on the road was just making my stomach churn, at one point I was going to ask Lee to stop just so that I could empty my stomach along the roadside. That would’ve been attractive.
“Right, boys, get over there. Andy and I are going to change, look inconspicuous,” Zoe hollered, grabbing my arm and quite literally dragging me into the back room.
“Put this on,” she instructed, holding out some barely there lingerie. I shook my head, shooting her a look.
“Are you kidding?” she scowled, thrusting the outfit against my chest.
“Do I look like I’m kidding?” Rolling my eyes, I took the outfit and started to walk towards the dressing room cubicles.
Once on, the outfit didn’t look too bad. It was a light blue colour, complete with bra and underwear. It had straps that joined criss cross along my stomach, making me look like a walking target. Zoe, on the other hand, was wearing even less. She had put her hair up on top of her head and was wearing quite literally just a red bra with underwear and high heels.
“If you’re interested in me, you shouldn’t be with Hunter,” Zoe remarked when she caught me looking. I smirked, looking away from her.
“I wasn’t checking you out, I was just about to tell you that there’s no cure for cellulite,” I replied calmly, gesturing towards her leg. Every girl has cellulite, hell, even I do, but the comment did as I hoped. She fumed towards me, jabbing her finger against my bare chest.
“Don’t even start messing around with me; your precious little boyfriend isn’t here to protect you this time. I can and will hurt you,” she threatened.
“I don’t need protection from my boyfriend because you don’t scare me. I’ve come face to face with both Cole and Shack, you’re like a kitten,” I remarked, pushing her hand away from my chest. She sneered, her face contorting into an ugly shape.
“My ex boyfriend,” she reminded before going back into ‘I’m going to kill you’ mode. “I’m far from a kitten, sweetheart, I know how to use a gun and I’ve killed in cold blood before. Watch your back.” I sighed, taking a step back from her glaring eyes.
“Well, you know what they say. Everybody needs an upgrade at some point. I don’t care, I just want out of here and at the moment, you’re the least of my worries. Now if you don’t mind, I need to get out there and help save my boyfriend’s ass, okay, love?” Zoe just looked at me as I shoved past her and back out onto the stage.
Lee gave me an appreciative look.
“It’s a good job you’re a dancer,” he muttered, looking me up and down.
“Cha cha slide?” I asked with a grin, doing the Macarena.
“That’s the Macarena, loser,” he said with a laugh and Alfie joined his side, grinning at me.
“Suits you,” he remarked, sitting down. I smirked, feeling incredibly out in the open on the empty space. And that wasn’t just because I was feeling the air hit my stomach and legs.
“Where’s Zoe?” Alfie asked, looking over my shoulder.
“In there cooling off, I’d expect,” I muttered, following Alfie’s gaze.
The ice queen did come out eventually but she still didn’t look too chuffed.
“Do you know how to strip dance?” she asked, looking at the pole. I shrugged.
“Not really but I’m sure that I can improvise.” Without another word, Zoe showed me a gun and tucked it under one of the chairs that was on the back right hand side of the stage. There was one for me and one for Zoe, in case things went a bit wrong.
Something going wrong was expected, apparently. I just hoped that it didn’t go wrong around Hunter.
After about twenty minutes of looking around and trying to figure out the surroundings, the doors swung open. Hunter was walking in beside Reed and I had never seen him look so badass.
I nearly stopped dancing in order to swoon. His leather jacket was clinging to his broad shoulders as he walked with his gentle swagger. His hair looked tousled, like someone had been running their hands through it. The only thing that made him look darker was that his gun was on clear show. Hanging in a hoister thing on the inside of his jacket, was his dad’s gun. Through the corner of my eye, I noticed that he had a gun tucked inside his waistband at the back as well.
Cole was following closely behind Hunter, his eyes darting around the club. I managed to keep my dancing going and lowered myself near the bottom of the stage. Lee made eye contact with me, giving me a small nod. Although I knew that it was silent, it felt as though everyone could hear how loudly my heart was hammering against my chest. The blood racing through my veins, trying to get away from the people that had just walked in the door.
“Stay calm,” Lee whispered as I rose back up onto my feet, watching the scene unfold from the corner of my eye. Zoe was dancing closely next to me, hiding her curious eyes.
Hunter had stopped with two men behind him, Cole and Shack. There was only one other man with them that I could see but in our briefing, Zoe mentioned that someone could also be outside.
Reed seemed to be fairly in control as he leaned against the bar, talking to Cole. Cole’s mouth was set into a thin line as he grunted, turning with a drink in his hand to look at the girls dancing. That also meant that I had to keep my eyes off them and start grinding against the pole. I’d never felt cheaper in my life. Well, that was a lie, I used to nick a mars bar a day when I was younger and on my paper round. I felt quite cheap then because I couldn’t afford them but dancing and showing off my body for men was kind of a new low for me.
Quicker than I could even register what was happening, a gunshot sounded, making all of us jump. Being the typical girl that I am, I ducked, making a slight squealing noise. Luckily, my logical side had made me duck by the chair, leaving my gun in the open for me to quickly and easily grab.
“I’ve had enough messing around, I am here for my gun and my necklace,” Cole announced, looking at each of us in turn.
Kyle, who was standing behind the bar, looked a little bit shell shocked whilst Hunter had his eyes trained on me. I gave a small, subtle nod to let him know that I was OK before he turned back to his father with a sour look on his face.
“You’ll get the gun and you’ll get the necklace when we can be assured of our safety. Hunter has signed a contract and is no longer a member of your gang. If you hurt him or anybody else in this room then you are starting a war,” Reed stated, folding his arms over his chest. The leather rubbing together made a sound that echoed through the quiet room.
“You have taken a member of my gang without my permission. Surely that is a war initiator in itself?” Cole asked, turning to face Reed. He didn’t look too intimidated but I could see that every muscle in Zoe’s body was taut. This could make or break everything that her gang had worked for. With the amount of men that we had inside, we stood a chance. But if Cole decided to bring along a few friends and tell them to wait in the car, we were totally and utterly screwed. Hunter cleared his throat.
“I chose to leave; it doesn’t have to be negotiated with you as I left you before I joined Reed. Just sign the bloody truce, Dad,” Hunter ground out through gritted teeth.
Another gunshot sounded, echoing through the room, followed by the sound of a limp body hitting the floor.
“What’s your name?” Cole asked suddenly. I didn’t know who he was talking to as my eyes were trained on the body. I didn’t recognise the man but by Zoe’s grunt, I could tell that he was probably one of her members. I couldn’t suppress the gasp but I managed to swallow the bile that was working its way up my throat.
“Answer me when I’m talking to you!” Cole roared, gathering my attention. I snapped my head back, only to find that he was looking directly at me.
“Sophie,” I stuttered, remembering the name of the girl that I used to sit next to when I was in primary. Don’t ask, when in life threatening situations, I tend to think of random crap to calm myself down. Not that I normally get myself into life threatening situations, this was a new one for me.
“Chase, bring young Sophie to me,” Cole instructed. I looked down at Chase in pure shock. Alfie, Lee and Zoe’s expressions mirrored mine as he raised his gun, aiming it at my chest. If there was ever a time to panic, that was it.
The sweet Chase who helped me from Shack and in the kitchen. Granted, he was an absolute devil on COD but I didn’t have him down as a traitor.
“Um, Chase,” I stuttered, taking a step back to try and grab the gun. Of course, he knew where it was and shooed me away from it by shooting the chair, making me squeak in surprise.
“Shut up, Andy, get down from the stage,” he hissed, moving the gun in a gesture to get me to jump down. Fat chance of that.
“Move back, Chase,” Zoe warned, taking her gun out and aiming it at his chest. Chase did the same and both were locked in a stale mate. I didn’t see why Zoe didn’t just shoot him.
“Enough, Andy. I want my necklace and you’re wearing it. You either come to me now or I kill everyone in this room and then take it from your cold, dead body. Your choice, sweetheart,” Cole cooed. The endearment just made my stomach churn. Alfie looked at me, shaking his head but I ignored him, jumping down from the stage and shooting Chase a glare.
“Andy, stay put,” Hunter warned but when I looked at him, I could see the fear behind his normally calm and collected eyes.
There was officially no way out of it. I didn’t understand why Reed or Hunter didn’t just pull a gun on the guy and kill him there. Problem solved.
Taking a hesitant step towards him was when I heard the rippling gun shot from behind me. Chase was on the floor and Zoe had lowered her gun. She looked at him with a solemn expression before glancing at me with her emotionless eyes. Kyle shot forwards, preparing to leap over the bar when Cole put his arm out.
“I’ve had enough of this, get here, now.” Cole’s voice was so demanding and angry that I took another step, not really prepared for what was going to happen when I got there. My breathing was coming rapidly in pants and my blood was firing through my veins, from my toes to my head. As my stomach throbbed, the only thing that I could hope for was that I wouldn’t puke on him when I got there.
The safety trigger of a gun clicked from behind me and I heard another shot. This time I ducked, hearing a groan of pain. Not daring to turn around, I looked over at Cole, who had also ducked.
“You’re going to regret that, slut,” he hissed, glaring in Zoe’s direction.
The doors slammed open and about twenty men ran through, all holding guns and wearing sinister expressions. Before we left, we’d all felt pretty confident about how everything was going to go down. I just didn’t expect it to take a turn like this.
The room was soon filled with people, guns firing everywhere and shouts of pain, warning and success filled all of the air. I wasn’t standing in the strip club anymore, I was standing on a battle ground.
Someone shouted my name and when I turned around, I noticed that Hunter had his gun out and he was shooting. He grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me down behind him. I yelped, grabbing his shoulders and whimpering into his back.
Hunter moved us towards the stage, keeping me behind him at all times. When I looked around, red was stained everywhere. Nobody that I knew was in sight but Kyle was still behind the bar, using it as a cover when he shot out into the open.
Once we were in cover, Hunter turned and pressed his lips to my forehead.
“Grab a gun, Princess, you’ll need it,” he whispered, taking his spare gun out of his waistband. I rolled my eyes.
“This is ridiculous,” I muttered, pushing the ammo in the same way that Hunter had taught me before. Hunter smirked, looking back out over the stage.
“Can we save this rant till later? Kind of a bad time,” he mocked of his shoulder before taking aim and shooting over the top of the stage. Not bothering to answer him, I rolled my eyes and peered over the top of the stage next to him.
The original shock of everything that was happening was still with me, teetering around my stomach and my head, making me feel queasy and dizzy. On the plus side, if I fainted and was shot whilst I was out cold, it wouldn’t hurt. That was my positive thought of the day that was cut short when a shout sounded and all of the shooting stopped.
I frowned, pausing to look over the top. The shout sounded from behind me and I couldn’t see anyone through the thick smoke of what seemed to be gun powder. I didn’t know why Guy Fawkes went through the trouble of barrels, if I lit the match, the entire place probably would’ve gone up in flames.
I heard a groan from beside me and I froze. The groan came from my boyfriend and he was no longer upright. I turned so quickly that my neck felt like it was going to snap. Hunter was slouched between the floor and the stage, looking down at his chest. His breathing came out wheezy and his eyes were closing.
“Don’t you dare do this to me, asshole,” I whispered, running my hand down his face. A thin layer of sweat was across his forehead, shining in the light and I choked on my sob. He couldn’t die. He wouldn’t die on me. Where was a necromancer when you needed one?
“Hunter,” I hissed, shaking his shoulders gently. Hunter hissed through his teeth, opening his eyes slowly.
“Andy, turn...” he wheezed. I couldn’t fully decipher the meaning on his words until I felt a yank of my hair, pulling me back against a solid chest with the cold barrel of a gun by the side of my head.
I took a sharp intake of breath when hot air blew onto my ear.
“Get on your knees where you belong,” Cole hissed, pushing down on my hair. It felt like a thousand little needles stabbing into my scalp and I yelped, dropping to the floor. For a split second, I was counting on my hands flying back and hitting him where it would hurt but Cole laughed.
“Don’t even think about it. A bullet is going into your head anyway so you might as well spend your final seconds comfortable,” he warned. Well, if I was going to die, I might as well have hit him and got it over with.
Hunter’s body was strewn, his breathing coming deeper and slower. I bit my lip to prevent the cry coming from my mouth; instead I accepted salty tears, allowing them to fall silently down my face. Wake up, I begged.
“You have been nothing but interference to me since you set foot in my son’s apartment,” Cole hissed, leaning down and flicking the safety off on his gun. My eyes clamped shut, not wanting to see Hunter looking like that before I joined him.
“That necklace will be mine and so will Hunter’s gun so prepare to die, Andy,” Cole finished. His voice followed by the sound of a gunshot.
A/N: Sorry it took ages! Fans will know from my status that I did (stupidly) drop my laptop and the screen broke, I had to get it fixed. However, I'm back! ;) with a longer chapter and a cliffy ;) don't hate me, please! All will be revealed in the next chapter ;) Dedication for the cover on the side, thank you! I love them!:D
Question: The outcome you expected?