Page 45 of Then and Now (The Edge of Retaliation 3)
Her voice trails off and her face pinches. I stop what I’m doing and give her a look that tells her I understand, I really do. I couldn’t imagine anything worse. That feeling would be all-consuming, and I know she’s dealt with enough in her life. She deserves happiness, but it seems wherever she goes, she can’t seem to find it.
“It’ll be over soon,” I say gently.
“What if he’s making love to her in that bed? Some nights I lay there, when the house is silent, and I think about it. I listen, to see if I can hear it, and then I feel so stupid for letting myself be so pathetic. It’s just so hard. Knowing they’re in there together. It hurts.”
“You’re more than welcome to come and get into my bed anytime,” I tell her. “If it becomes too much. I mean, you have to put up with Tatum and Ethan, but that’s not as bad as Tanner and Madeline.”
Callie exhales. “Yeah, Ethan. I want to talk to him but every time we’re in the same room, he just leaves or avoids me. He’s hurt, probably the most, considering everything we’ve been through. I don’t know how to talk to him, or how to get him to listen.”
“Tie him up, I think that’s your best option,” I say, and I hear her chuckle.
“It’s not a bad idea.”
“Seriously, though, just demand to talk to him. He’ll hear you out. Remind him that he fucked up once, and you heard him out. He owes you the same.”
She grins. “You’re brutal, but I love it.”
I shrug. “I’m tired of not saying it how it is. It’s time we all got it out in the open, even if it’s the last time we’re all together.”
The idea of that hurts, I won’t lie. It cuts me, right to my core. Even though there is so much tension around, being around all of them again, having us all together, it feels good. So fucking good. I’ve missed it more than I realized. The idea of them leaving once this is done and us never seeing them again really bothers me.
I just don’t know what to do about it at this point.
“Yeah,” Callie murmurs, no doubt having the same thought as me. “You know what, I think we need a break. Come over to my place tomorrow night, after work, and we’ll have a few drinks. Just me and you. We’ll lock the rest of the world out.”
I nod, grinning. “Sounds good to me.”
“Okay, well, I’ll get Tanner in here. I’ll see you later?”
“See you, honey.”
When she’s gone, I busy myself preparing my station and then doing a few small client tattoos that come in, like butterflies and flowers. When I’ve finished up the last one for a few hours, I clean up and look over to Alarick, who came in not long after Callie left. He’s been doing a huge back piece and hasn’t stopped. He must be exhausted.
“I’m going to grab a coffee and some lunch,” I say to him. “You want?”
“Yeah,” he murmurs, his arm flexing as he keeps shading.
“Okay.”
I walk out and to the café which is only next door. It’s super convenient, especially on busy days. We can grab our coffees and lunch, or even breakfast. Occasionally dinner if there is a big job in. It’s handy, and it’s right there, so I figure it’s safe enough to walk just next door. I can still see the shop window standing out front of the café.
I’m wrong. Of course.
The moment I reach the café, a hand curls around my arm and I’m jerked to the side of the building so quickly I can’t even scream. My body is slammed against the wall and a hand clamps over my mouth. A man I’ve never seen before is standing in front of me, wearing a dark hoodie and sunglasses so I can’t see his face. A gun is pressed to my belly, and his other hand is covering my mouth.
“Don’t fuckin’ move.”
Oh god.
Are they watching this closely that they jumped on the chance for me to take one step out and they’re on me?
I’m scared. I can’t fight, because if I do, he’s just as likely to shoot me and walk away, leaving me here in the hustle and bustle to be found, dead on the street. He’s got me at a disadvantage, and he knows it.
My heart starts to race, and my palms sweat as I realize that I’m screwed. He’s going to walk out of here with me and nobody will know. Well, Alarick will know a few minutes after I’m gone, but it’ll be too late by then.
God dammit.
Why is this happening?
“Fuckin’ step away from her, or I’ll blow your fuckin’ brains all over this pathway.”
Alarick’s voice has us both whipping our heads around to see him standing at the end of the building, gun pointed right at the other guy’s head, eyes fierce and angry. The guy hesitates, for a brief second, and then lets me go and runs, just like he did when he got busted with Callie. Whoever it is that has the crappy job of getting hold of us apparently isn’t that good at it.
