Page 56 of Trick
I dropped the knife onto the mattress and dashed for the door, fumbling to unlock it. I’d barely managed to open the door when Trick pulled me into his arms, running his hands over me as if checking to make sure I was still in one piece.
“It’s OK, there’s no one here now,” he murmured, repeating it over and over while I clung to him, my body still trembling as I came down from the adrenaline rush.
He led me down the hall and sat me down on the couch, crouching down to look me in the eye as he explained that King and the others were on the way.
Chapter 17
Trick/Jase
I called King to let him know that Rossi had called and needed to postpone the upcoming fight. “His fighter got stabbed – he didn’t offer any details, so I didn’t ask – and he needs to make a substitution. He’ll announce the change in fighters, then said he needs to give the bettors time to cancel their original bets if they want to, or place new ones. He’ll let me know the new date once he figures out who’s going to replace Gino.”
King’s reply was drowned out by the alarm blaring, followed by Lauren’s scream.
“Fuck, we’ve got trouble. Send help.” I shouted into the phone as I grabbed my gun from the nightstand. I didn’t even take time to end the call; I just shoved the phone in my back pocket as I sprinted down the hall.
Lauren was standing in the middle of the living room, unharmed, but scared shitless judging by the wide-eyed look of panic on her face. I scanned the room, not seeing anyone else, then grabbed her and covered her body as best I could while urging her into the guest room.
After making sure she had a weapon, I cautiously made my way down the hall, keeping my finger on the trigger as I searched for the sonofabitch who had the balls to try to break in. I searched every inch of the house. The back door stood open about two inches, but the intruder was long gone. I slammedthe door shut with more force than necessary, then locked it. I jabbed at the keypad on the wall next to it, punching in the code to turn the damned alarm off.
My ears were ringing, and I took a deep breath and rolled my neck to rid myself of the tension holding my muscles rigid. I fished my phone out of my pocket, finding that the call was still connected.
“Prez?”
“Fuckin’ hell,” he barked into the phone. “Are you two all right?”
“Yeah,” I muttered, quickly explaining what happened as I sped through the house again, making sure all the windows were locked.
“I’m already on the way there. Lucky, Joker, Viking, Bull, and Bodhi are with me, and Brick’s on his way.”
I was still tense when I collected Lauren from the guest room. Her normally fair complexion was even paler, and she was shaking from head to toe.
It took a few minutes to get her calmed down enough to walk into the living room. I settled her on the couch and told her that the others would be here soon.
Before I could say anything else, Jagger called to check in. He and Rome had taken their wives to a concert, but they’d received the group text King had sent out.
“We’re up in Noblesville, but Rome and I can be there in about forty-five minutes,” He said, speaking loudly to be heard over the sound of music playing in the background.
“No, just stay there and enjoy your date night. We’re OK, and the rest of the cavalry should be here any minute. We can handle things.”
I tossed my phone down on the coffee table, then took hold of Lauren’s hands. They were cold, and she still looked ghostly pale.
King and the others showed up a few minutes later, and I quickly got up to disarm the alarm and unlock the front door for them.
Viking was the first one through the door, closely followed by King. Lauren stood and stumbled into her uncle’s arms, clinging to him as he whispered gruffly in her ear. One by one the rest of them walked in, until Lauren’s living room was filled with six of my club brothers, all of whom looked pissed as hell.
“Tell me again exactly what the fuck happened,” King ordered. I gave them a run-down on the situation, finishing by explaining that I’d found the back door standing open a couple of inches.
“Elvis!” She gasped, interrupting me, then whirled around and ran down the hall, frantically calling his name.
Shit! I’d forgotten about the damned cat.
I glanced around, not seeing any sign of him.
Viking sighed heavily, then pointed to the others. “Fan out, brothers. She’s gonna lose her shit if we can’t find the demon’s spawn she calls a cat.”
I stayed inside, trying to keep Lauren calm while we searched under beds, in closets, and behind the couch. Bodhi, Joker, and Lucky wandered around the yard, using the flashlights on their phones to peer under bushes and look up in the trees, all the while calling for the cat.
“We’ll find him, girlie,” Viking assured her as he leaned over to look behind a chair in the living room.
