It was not the best idea on my own, but I only planned to basically wait here. Now, I have an injured crazy woman with a wrench…and a hammer that she proudly shows me as she opens my door for me and gestures for me to get out.
“I would leave you here because you’re a healer of death, not a giver of it, but if one of the bad guys escapes and finds you, then I’ll feel like shit and we need you. You’re like the good, calm, reasonable…ish, and fun to be around kinda person that cancels out the crazy. So, grab that gun that I know is in your glovebox and stay behind me like a fuckin’ shadow. That’s not a request, by the way.”
There’s something sweet and vulnerable in what she’s saying, and as much as I know I’m doing the dumb bitch thing Mac talked about earlier, I grab my gun and get out of the car.
“If I die, I’m going to haunt you. Here, lean on me until we get there.” Her hopping on her good leg may be to expert levels, but we have no idea what we’re heading into. If I can help at all, this is basically the extent of it.
“I would expect nothing less.” She hooks her arm through mine, one fist gripping the hammer, the other firmly on a wrench. “If I die, make sure Grinder saves my nipples. They’re my best feature.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Parker
Out of all my bad ideas, this is definitely up there among the worst. Mainly because I actually like Spencer, and I know that Grinder is obsessed with him. But my need to make sure these gangster, kidnappy fuckers are dead is slightly higher than my need for self-preservation.
I mean, watching Grinder in action also has everything to do with it. So, here we are, approaching what appears to be a weird town hall building thing with several surrounding cabins. Are they like a cult? I wonder if they’re the sexy kind.
The van from this morning is parked haphazardly in front of the largest building, and several bodies are scattered all around the place, their blood soaking into the dirt beneath them.
“Close your eyes, Spenny. Put your hand on my shoulder and we’ll playfollow the leader.”
“Paramedic, remember? I’ve been called to crime scenes worse than this and my best friend spent a few months torturing her brother in my basement. So I think I’m good.” He chuckles behind me, and he just made himself a hell of a lot more interesting, too.
“I’m gonna need details on that torturing thing because you either mean Mac or Kincaid, and both of those women are badasses. The who the when the what the why…ooh, that can be our drive home chat. And I can tell you about the time I chopped a man’s fingers off and shoved them up his arse because he thought it was okay to grope me.”
“It was Mac. And sure. I have some pretty cool paramedic stories, too.” He chuckles.
“What’s the weirdest accident you’ve ever been called out for?” We continue walking, slowly, around the edges of the property toward the large town hall building. I’m assuming that’s what it is because it looks way more official than the rest. It could well just be a large house, but either way, it’s where the screams are coming from.
“There were six dogs, a rattle snake, and a table full of desserts.” He keeps his voice low as we get closer to the building.
“Now that sounds like fun.”
“It really wasn’t.” Pausing, he holds me back as we reach the front door and looks me in the eyes. “Don’t die.” The sincerity in his gaze makes me smile.
“Like a shadow, yeah?” I grip his arm, reiterating my earlier demand, and he nods once.
If my knee wasn’t fucked up, I’d attempt to kick the door down just to look cool, but alas, I’d just end up hurting myself more. Instead, I try the handle and it opens with ease.
The screams are more like cries of terror and far louder than before, now that we’re inside. I lead Spence through the hallway and pause again at the entrance to the kitchen.
“Ready?”
“No.” It’s clear to see why Grinder has a hard-on for this man. Even in the face of danger with zero murderous skills, he’s not shying away.
The kitchen door is a swinging one, which makes me giddy as I finally separate myself from Spence to stand in front of him. Obviously, there’s a height difference, so I’m not exactly the protection he needs, but the bad guys won’t get within an inch of him. I’ll gut them all for even trying.
I whack my elbow into the door, making it swing open, and what we find is nothing short of a massacre. It’s fucking beautiful.
The woman crying hysterically in the corner is staring at the bloody mess on the no-longer-white tiled floor. I recognize her from that night at the club.
“S’up, boys?” I wave the wrench at them, holding back my giggle at the shocked look on their faces.
Shade apparently bathed in blood because he’s covered as he looms over the bloody mess on the floor, his breaths heavy. Hoops is sitting on the edge of the large kitchen table with my brother, Sledge, beside him, both of them with their arms folded across their chests.
“Is someone gonna kill that noisy cunt in the corner?” I glance around, spotting another dead man slumped in one of the chairs. “And where the fuck is our man?” Nobody here seems worried at all, so I’m forcing the panic rising in my chest to go the hell away.
Hoops doesn’t move but he does give me a half-smile, which is better than nothing because that man’s picture is next to the word stoic in the dictionary.