Page 91 of The Devil's Reward
SHADOW
It’s time to switch from defence to offence.
I walk downstairs and ignore everyone to go and stand with Sniper, who is looking down at his phone. “Any news on when they’ll be here?” I ask him quietly.
“Hulk texted ten minutes ago and said they’re on the way, and Medic is with them to make sure there are no problems. Izzy and Kaleb are doing alright, Sage is in some pain but doing okay. Rose and Bullet are mostly quiet, so I don’t know if that’s a good sign or a bad one. I’m still not sure it’s a good idea for them to be here, especially with our mole still running around, but Bullet’s right that being at the hospital makes them even easier targets.”
“At least Medic has the med room,” I remind him. “It’s not ideal, but he’s prepared for pretty much everything.”
Sniper nods. “We need to make sure we only have those we can trust watching the women while we’re in Church. I don’t want to leave anything up to chance.”
I agree wholeheartedly. Especially since one of those women is mine, and the little girl I plan to claim as my own is with her. “Fuck, this is a fucking mess,” I sigh, leaning on the bar. With the three stooges gone, we’re down to only Kaleb, Carson, and Crypt. Considering that Carson is on the gate, that means there’s no one else around until Crypt gets back. And he’s probably tired as hell.
“You think Crypt will be up to watching the women while we’re in Church?” Sniper asks.
“He’ll do it even if he’s not. One good thing about him, brother, is that he and I know what it’s like to be exhausted but still needing to be at your post and ready for anything.”
“He’s going to make a damn good brother if he sticks around,” Sniper predicts. “But I don’t want to wear him out either. Until we have some more prospects, and Kaleb is up and running again, he and Carson are all we got.”
“You think we need to bring in some more people? Some allies?” I ask curiously.
Sniper’s lips thin at my suggestion. “The more people involved, the more chance that our mole will slip away. I’d like to say we can trust all our allies, but we have no idea if Dmitri has leaned on them too. I’d rather deal with this in-house, but it’s going to be up to Bullet. He’s awake and thinking clearly so he’s going to want to be in the driver’s seat, especially with Hammer being gone.”
The mention of Hammer makes my gut sour. “These bastards need to pay, Sniper.”
He nods. “And they will. I don’t know why they picked him to make an example of, but it doesn’t matter. They signed their death warrant.”
On that, we can agree. I know that when Bullet gets here, he’s going to be loaded for bear, and ready to get things moving. He and Hammer were friends, close as blood brothers could be without an actual blood tie, and this is gonna hit him hard when he’s done being pissed. Rose, too.
A noise outside has me moving to look out the window. “They’re here,” I say to Sniper as I watch an SUV and Crypt’s truck pull in, followed by everyone else on their bikes. I immediately head out the door. Medic climbs out of the SUV and goes to help Bullet out of the back seat. Sage stiffly climbs out of the front passenger seat, but King is right there to scoop her up and carry her inside. Torque gathers Izzy out of Crypt’s truck, and Kaleb slowly walks on his own, though I see Hulk not far behind him, ready to grab him if he stumbles.
“I don’t need help,” Bullet grunts irritably at Medic, pulling my attention back.
Medic ignores him as he assists him out, careful not to jar him while Stone comes up on his other side to take some of his weight. Bullet is far too pale for my liking, but Medic doesn’t look panicked so I have to assume that he’s not too worried. Or he’s just good at hiding it.
I move to the other side of the SUV and open the back passenger door to see Rose already taking off her seat belt. Her face is pinched in pain and I scowl at her. “Don’t even think about it, woman,” I tell her gruffly as I gently reach in and scoop her up in my arms.
“If I’d have known I would get this kind of treatment, I’d have run myself off the road a long time ago,” she jokes, her lips pulling up in a small, teasing smile, but from the pain in her eyes, I know it’s costing her.
I kick the door shut with my foot and follow the others in, careful not to jostle her too much. “Your man is going to kick my ass as soon as he’s up to it,” I tell her with a smirk. “And we both know that you only have to say so and you’d have every man in here rushing to help you.”
She chuckles and lays her head tiredly on my shoulder. “He won’t kick your ass if I ask him not to,” she protests tiredly.
“Don’t count on it, woman,” Bullet says just ahead of us, not even bothering to turn his head as Stone and Medic help him towards the room we’re using as an infirmary. “I don’t need a bed,” he snaps at Medic when he realizes where we’re heading. “I need to call Church.”
“Church can wait for tonight, or Sniper can run it,” Medic says easily. “You’ve just been discharged from the hospital, against medical advice, I might add, and I promised the doctors there I would take care of you. Part of that is you need to rest and let your body heal. I’ve even had the guys bring down a bigger bed so you and Rose can sleep in it together.”
When we walk in I realize that Medic is right, and that a queen-sized bed has been put against the far left wall. On the far right wall is another bed, though it’s a twin, not a queen. I move to the queen bed and lay Rose down gently on the left side, pulling the blankets around her carefully. Bullet grumbles, groans, and curses until he’s laying in the bed beside Rose, who’s already starting to fall asleep. He glances over at her, and the fight goes out of his face. “Church in the morning,” he says curtly before he wraps his arms around her and closes his eyes.
I can see the pain on their faces, but I don’t think any of us, even Medic, would dare suggest moving them apart. Instead, I turn and see King is laying on the twin bed with Sage, arms around her, both of them already starting to fall asleep. The dark circles under both their eyes are enough for me to know that they are exhausted.
“I’ll be in here watching them tonight,” Medic says quietly. “Sniper, can you stay here while I check on Izzy and Kaleb?”
Sniper nods and moves to stand by the wall between the beds. The rest of us follow Medic out, and he heads upstairs towards Torque and Izzy’s room. I look at Crypt, who is standing by the door, stone-faced, though I can see the tiredness around his eyes. “Go shower and get some sleep,” I order him.
He looks at me. “I’ll stand guard,” he says simply.
“Crypt,” I say firmly, needing him to understand that this isn’t a request, as much as I appreciate his efforts. “You are no good to us exhausted. That’s an order.”
