Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen Declan

My eyes stay lockedon my dark-haired pretty girl, where she sits in her seat curled around her tablet. It doesn’t matter if we have all the information we could get our hands on already, or that we already agreed to finish the plan once we get to the city where Noah and Charles tracked Romano to. While everyone else’s rush of excitement has dwindled down over the first couple hours of the flight, Scarlett’s tension hasn’t eased from her shoulders or the tight knit of her brow. She’s as wound up as when we first heard the news.

We finally found him.

Black Hallows, a small town on the east coast known for the stark dichotomy between the North and South sides. One side built on corruption, secrets, and blood, not unlike the towns where Scarlett and I grew up in. But neither of our towns had such a close proximity to the other half, the ones who bled for the elite to thrive. The ones who fought every day just to survive.

It isn’t the first time the town has come up on our radar. If they were stained in blood before, they’ve been soaked in it now. War has a way of doing that.

As if conjured by the thought, I hear the Facetime ringtone coming from Scarlett’s tablet, and Tyler’s face is quick to fill her screen. I get up from my seat to sit beside her to hear his update.

“Have you heard back from any of your contacts? Max isn’t in town this week.” Scarlett’s brows dip even further in her concentration. She was hoping to have him there, but even as he offered to make the trip she told him not to worry about it. Tyler spent time here on a job Scarlett agreed to for Max. To help and act as backup in the war that could have ripped this town apart but has acted as a cleansing instead.

Not so very different from what we’ve been doing in our own town.

We have enough of our own backup and information without not only having to inconvenience Max, but also wait for him.

“I just got here,” Tyler says in his low, gravelly voice. “But I’ve already secured backup and it turns out, it’s somewhere I’ve been before. Should be an easy in-and-out mission.” Tyler is the most serious out of the crew that runs the fights. He’s not one to mince words or give empty platitudes. If he says it should be simple to get in, I believe him, even if everything that happens afterward will be anything but.

A smirk of amusement lights up Scarlett’s face and I can’t help but to mirror it. There hasn’t been any of her usual savage excitement at the prospect of her next kill. No, it’s been all fierce determination.

“I thought I recognized the name,” she hums.

Tyler responds with his own sly smirk and nod. “Rolland Atkins. One of the many corrupted scumbags that were cleared out while I was visiting Black Hallows.” A new, intrigued light enters Scarlett’s eyes.

“I’m almost excited to meet the crew you worked with.”

He huffs half a chuckle. “One of them will be with me to pick you up from the airport. I’m almost worried about how much you’re going to like them.”

Scarlett promises to see him soon after reminding him to collect any and all useful intel he can over the next couple hours before we land. He readily agrees before hanging up without saying goodbye. I smile in amusement at his gruff personality when I’ve seen the other side of him that Ian and Holden are masters at drawing out.

“Pretty girl,” I purr as I wrap my arm around her and pull her into my chest. “Get some rest while you can.” Everyone else has already drifted to sleep around us. “It’ll be morning by the time we get there and we both know you won’t want to stop and take a nap.”

For a moment, I think she’s going to argue. Her fingers clutch even tighter around the tablet and her eyes harden while her smirk drops. But before I can really push her again, she sighs and nods, grabbing my hand. “Only if you stay with me.” The soft-spoken words painfully pull at my heart, not because of the words themselves, but because of the fear and anxiety she lets me see with them.

Of course. How could I have missed it? She’s scared to sleep. Who wouldn’t be when the worst moments of your life play like a neverending reel behind closed eyes? Every time she drifts off into sleep, it’s not dreams that find her. It’s hell.

I stand and scoop her into my arms, carrying her to the back room where there’s a bed that no one bothered to use. Everyone wanted to stay together, stay close. But she needs solid sleep for everything we have planned. “I’ll hold you tight and won’t let go,” I promise and climb into bed before tucking her against me.

Her hands are freezing as she slips them under my shirt and presses them against my skin. I hiss in response and she smirks as she snuggles in closer to me.

“You could have told me you were cold, pretty girl.”

She lifts her shoulders in a shrug and slides her hands down lower into the waistband of my pants. “I can think of a few ways to warm up.” Her playful smirk lights me up and I don’t even care if this is her way of trying to avoid sleep. Maybe exhausting her will help her fall into a deeper sleep where no nightmares will follow her. It seems to have worked before.

My hands slide down her back and cup her ass, pulling her up against my rapidly hardening erection. “Oh, can you?”

She nods, humming under her breath. “Can you be quiet?” I challenge her and her nods become frantic. It’s not just us on this plane, and while I don’t mind sharing her as much anymore, I’m not willing for Holden to hear her cries of pleasure. Don’t even want to imagine the trauma of Joe hearing them.

“We’re not alone, so you have to be a good girl for me.”

Her hands move lower until she brushes past my aching cock and squeezes my balls in her hands. “I’m always a good girl,” she snarks and I snort in response, even as my hips thrust against her hand holding me. “The real question is, can you be a good boy?” I sink my teeth into my lower lip to suppress a moan as she rolls my balls in her hands.

“Two can play that game, pretty girl,” I taunt and move my hand away from her ass to pinch her clit between my fingers. Her mouth drops open but only a muffled sound escapes as she catches herself. I chuckle and slide my fingers down her already slick slit and push two fingers inside her warm cunt. Her lips stay parted but no sound escapes as I thrust two fingers in and out of her. Using my free hand, I grab the waistband of her yoga pants and push them down over her ass and off her legs, exposing her cunt to me.

Scarlett follows suit and releases her hold on me to push my pants down my legs and takes my hard length in her hand. Pure pleasure pulses through me as she wraps her hand tightly around me and begins to stroke me at the same pace as I thrust my fingers into her. Slowing down, I scissor my fingers inside her and curl my fingers to try and hit that special spot inside of her she likes so much.

I smirk as her breath stutters and her grip tightens as her hips begin to move against my hand. “You ready for me to sink inside you?”

“Please,” she begs and it’s more than enough to convince me. I take my fingers out of her cunt and tap her lips, smearing her desire over them until she opens for me and sucks both fingers into her mouth, cleaning them thoroughly.

“God, you’re so fucking pretty.” I line up my cock to her cunt and thrust forward until my pelvis rests against hers and I can feel heat wrap around me like a glove. Fuck. She feels good.

A small moan escapes her lips when I begin to piston my hips into her at an angle. Catching her lips with mine, I silence her as we both rock together. A quick stolen moment amidst all the other chaos where it’s me and my pretty girl and nothing else matters. Nothing could be more special than sharing these small moments together. Feeling her under me. Tasting her desire shared between us.

Her back arches off the bed and I pick up the pace as I drive into her. Tearing my mouth away from hers, I wrap my hands around her hips and flip her over so she’s on top of me. Scarlett adjusts her legs and straddles me, grinning down as she does. “Knew you could be my good boy,” she teases and my dick twitches inside of her. “You liked that.”

I grin up at her. “I like anything that makes you smile.” But I won’t lie, I did enjoy her praise for me too. “But you can keep praising me if you like.”I punctuate my words by thrusting up inside her. She gasps and braces her hands over my abs and begins to lift herself off my length before lowering back down to take me all the way into her.

“Fuck, you’re so big,” she whispers and I get impossibly harder inside her. She grins and clenches around me and I have to cover my mouth with my hand to keep from groaning. “You feel so good inside me, D. Fuck, I love you.”

“Oh, pretty girl,” I whisper hoarsely. “I fucking love you too. The way you take all of me. How sexy you look riding me like this.” I sit myself up so I can push her shirt over head and expose her perfect tits to me. I pull her down with me as I lay back down, but she stays seated over me, taking me in and out of her like a pro. Wrapping her hair around one of my hands, I pull her head back and kiss down her neck and collarbone.

Soft pants whisper over my skin and I pull her back further by her hair until I can wrap my lips around her nipples. Scarlett moans above me and undulates her hips, grinding down on me and taking me further into her.

She grows even wetter as she rocks her hips back and forth and I can feel her dripping down my length and over my balls. Biting down on her breast keeps me from moaning, but I chuckle instead as she has to stifle a moan of her own. I nuzzle my face against her chest and she sighs. “You look so good under me,” Scarlett murmurs and I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips.

Bucking my hips up into her, I ask, “And how do I feel?”

“Perfect,” she gasps. I hold on to her hips tightly as I feel her pussy begin to clench around me. “Strong,” she continues and her praise washes over me blissfully. “Safe,” she pants. And fuck if that isn’t the highest compliment I’ve ever been given. I continue to thrust up into her and the way she begins to tighten as she gets closer to her climax is enough to push me close to my own.

“Mine,” she breathes and my pleasure is taken to new heights at the simple possession in her voice. A muffled grunt escapes my lips as I rock all the way up into her and my cock swells as my orgasm crashes through me. Her breathing stutters as I flood her cunt and the telltale signs of her orgasm starts, prolonging mine as she clenches around my sensitive dick. “Mine,” she repeats, before collapsing on top of me.

We both lay there panting for several moments before soft laughter spills from both of us. Whatever we find once this plane lands is probably going to change our lives. Change her. I don’t think I’ll ever be looking at the same Scarlett in this moment after we start the confrontation of her past.

“I love you,” I whisper, brushing a piece of hair sticking to her forehead and putting it behind her ear. “No matter what comes, we face it together.”

She curls up against my chest and I wrap my arms around her and hold her close to me. She stays so quiet and her breathing deepens until I’m sure she’s passed out, but just as I close my eyes to let myself drift off I hear her.

“Together,” she promises, so quietly I almost miss it. I kiss the top of her head and hold her closer until we both fall asleep.

It’s not a surprise to anyone when we wake as the plane descends to have a much fuller bed than when we fell asleep. I groan as I throw an elbow back. “Get your dick away from my ass, Ryder.”

“It’s not your ass he wants,” he mumbles back sleepily, only cuddling further into my back. “And it’s not his fault it smells like sex in here.”

Scarlett smiles as she tries not to laugh, but the light back in her eyes after so long of it being dimmed is worth being poked by a dick. “I only put up with this for you, pretty girl,” I whisper conspiratorially.

“Don’t lie, dude. You love me,” Ryder argues as he sits up and smacks a slobbery kiss against my neck. I wipe it off with disgust.

“Right now, I really really don’t.”

Scarlett stretches her body out in front of me, effectively distracting both Ryder and I from continuing our odd but not rare banter. Noah’s arms wrap tighter around her waist as he mumbles in her ear, “Let’s just stay in bed a little longer.”

Her fingers trace patterns on the back of his hands and I laugh as Kade’s huge hand reaches over Noah to fall on her hip as well. “Yeah, what Noah said.”

I shake my head, but Scarlett’s amused smile is everything we all needed. “Don’t you three make the cutest set of spoons.”

“Big words from someone who was being spooned by Ryder,” Kade retorts.

“Touché,” I concede. “But we are about to land.”

Kade and Noah groan, but this rest has lit a spark for Scarlett. I can see it in the way she eases out of their holds and jumps to start getting ready. Luca comes in and throws clothes at all of us, stopping only to kiss the shit out of Scarlett. When he finally releases her, he presses a chaste kiss to her forehead. “Rachel and Holden are already getting dressed. Joe is ready and on the phone with Tyler. Him and some other guy are already waiting for us on the private landing strip.”

A new buzz runs through the room and Scarlett practically bounces in place, her signature savage grin spreading across her features in a promise of the retribution to come.

“There’s my pretty girl,” I praise.

“More like our pretty psycho,” Ryder quips, stealing a kiss from her too.

“Definitely that too,” I agree.

More banter is passed easily back and forth between us all. Scarlett actually joins in, teasing Kade about his own signature grin. It eases the tension that has been wrapped around my heart for weeks now. It took far too long to find Romano, and after the bomb that is Charles exploded on all of us, she hasn’t been the same. But she isn’t gone, even if she was lost for a little while. She never left us.

I watch her as she pulls her phone out to send everyone back home an update. No one was happy to stay behind, but our family has grown too large to have everyone go on every mission. They have the more important job anyway of keeping the kids safe and distracted while we’re gone. Though I don’t anticipate us being here long enough for them to even notice we’re gone.

A thrill runs down my spine at what is waiting for us back home. Scarlett arches a brow as she catches it. I pull her into the seat next to mine and buckle her in as the plane begins to descend. “Just thinking about finally moving Roe in with us,” I whisper in her ear. That’s always been the plan.

Kill Romano, bring Roe home.

She gives the soft smile she saves only for our sweet girl. “It will really feel like home once she’s there with us.” The corners of her lips tilt up further. “I hope you’re ready for a different type of midnight cuddles.”

I laugh with her. “Guess we’re gonna have to start putting clothes back on before we fall asleep.”

My fingers itch at the picture that paints in my head. I’ve never wanted Romano dead and buried more than this moment so I can make this dream a reality.

Landing on a private airstrip is vastly different from going to an airport. As soon as the plane stops moving, we’re given the all clear from the flight attendant to start deboarding. I grab mine and Scarlett’s stuff, making her roll her eyes as she leads us off the plane. I catch Rachel’s huff of amusement as Ryder does the same with her. We might be psychos, but we’re still gentlemen.

As we descend the steps, my eyes land on Tyler and the young kid standing next to him. Is that really his contact? He can’t be older than nineteen, maybe twenty years old. We get closer and something about him pulls on a distant memory and he looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t place him. He’s tall, just an inch or two shy of Tyler’s height, but where Ty is as broad as he is tall, this guy is lean. Similar to Noah’s build without any of Noah’s softness.

There’s an edge to the kid. Something hard in the glint of his blue eyes and written in the long lines of his body and tense posture. He’s no regular teen, that’s for sure. From the car he leans against, to his clothes, to his attitude, I know one thing for sure. The kid comes from money. Old money. He must feel my eyes on him, but all he does is give me a sardonic look, before turning his attention to Scarlett.

He stands up straight as we stop in front of them. I nod to Tyler as Scarlett just gives him a grin. Luca stands at her other side, Noah directly behind her. Kade and Ryder flank his sides, two steps back with Rachel between them and Joe and Holden flank the rear. Kade’s and my positions are usually flipped, but he fell back easily when he noticed me checking the kid out. I know it’s just a matter of time before I place him.

“Boss.” Tyler nods to Scarlett, only somewhat teasing with the way he addresses her, before gesturing to each of us as he introduces us. “Ash, this is Scar Everhart, Luca Cole, Declan James, Noah Frazier, Kade Meyers, Rachel Caruso, Ryder Keating, and in the back are Holden Ingram and Joe Lambert.”

His blue eyes trails over all of us. I didn’t miss the recognition in his eyes at some of our names, mine especially, or the surprise he didn’t bother to hide at Rachel’s. “You’re a big crew,” he says with no inflection.

Kade snorts. “You should see who was left back home.”

Tyler ignores Kade, though he does have a point. For once. “Crew, this is Asher Donovan.”

Donovan.

I arch a brow and tension lines the kid’s shoulders. “Everyone knows you can’t trust a Donovan.” It comes out almost as a reflex. It’s something that was drilled into me. At least now I know why I recognized him. My tone may not have been accusatory, but that doesn’t stop Luca from yanking Scarlett behind him at my words.

Weren’t the Donovans the very reason Tyler was sent here in the first place?

The kid watches, but barely reacts. “At least I know you’re not stupid.”

Yeah, there’s obviously no love lost there. Can’t say I blame him. Appears we’ve found another like us. I can’t help but smile at the cheeky little shit. I know exactly what that attitude is born from. A shitty fucking life. Apparently Luca doesn’t feel the same.

“Watch your mouth,” he growls. “We don’t stand for disrespect. I’ve killed for less.”

Aww, he does love me. I trade knowing looks with Scarlett and she grins behind his back.

Asher barely even blinks at the threat, making my grin grow wider. I can already tell I’m going to like this kid. Especially when he just shrugs. “I remember when my father tried to kill me.” Scarlett’s brows raise in intrigue. “Didn’t work out so well for him,” he finishes.

I have to hold back my laugh at how casually he throws it out there, but fail when Scarlett peeks her head around Luca’s broad back and exclaims, “Twins!” I’m not the only one who chuckles at the absurdity of her excitement.

Luca tilts his head in confusion as he watches the kid, no doubt having thought he would have been easy to intimidate because of his age.

Tyler shakes his head and bumps his shoulder against Asher’s. “We’re never going to stop hearing about you surviving a bullet to the chest. Are we?”

As soon as the words are out of his mouth I already know what’s going to happen next. Sure enough, Scarlett steps around Luca, putting herself between the two of us again. I put my face in my hands and shake my head at her as she says, “We really are twins.” Pure delight coating every word. “Let’s see yours then.”

I sigh, knowing there’s no stopping this odd exchange. Luca tenses on the side of our girl, and Asher regards her carefully before smirking and lifting his shirt to show off the scar that runs down most of his abdomen. A scar that looks all too familiar.

Scarlett steps up to him and runs her fingers over the mottled flesh, not that Asher seems to care. Tyler watches him, surprise flickering across his features and I get the feeling the kid isn’t one to allow many people to touch him.

My pretty girl rolls her eyes as she steps away. “Pussy shit,” she teases and I catch a brief glint of amusement in his eyes.

“Don’t even think about it, Letty,” Luca curses, but it’s too late and she’s already pulling up her shirt to show off her scars as she completely ignores him. I hear Kade also cursing behind me while Noah and Ry just chuckle. She has to remove the blade that always sits snugly between her tits, and pulls off the holster that holds several more blades and one of her guns and hands it to me.

Her fingers dance over the scar that starts on her sternum. “My momma gave me this one,” she tells Asher and his eyes dance with curiosity. “But this one,” she says, tracing the scar that covers her stomach. “This one is from my Daddy.” She infuses her voice with a soft southern charm and it makes me want to gag. It’s all too reminiscent of our pasts.

Asher’s fingers reach out to feel her scars the way she did his and I start to laugh. Oh, this is going to be good.

Kade’s arms wrap around her as he pulls her away. “Touch her and I will sever that hand from your body,” he threatens. It amazes me that he ever once was able to hold back from murdering every dude that Scarlett hooked up with before they were official.

She slaps his hands away and moves to stand on her own two feet again, throwing him a dirty look. “He’s a child, Kade,” she snaps, grabbing the weapons she tossed at me to restrap them on.

His eyes narrow at her choice of words, but must decide not to snark to her, instead changing the subject. “As soon as Tyler called, I knew we had your guy.”

Scarlett’s entire posture changes and we all follow suit, snapping to attention as we focus on the shift in conversation.

“We had a body show up this week. Turns out he disrespected the Italians and they were quick to make a mess. Problem was, no one knew where the guy had turned up from. We don’t like unknowns in this town, so we were already looking into it. There are more than a couple houses left empty after the,” he hesitates, trying to find the right word to use. “Cleansing my friend gave the town,” he finishes with a smirk, pride and affection clear in his tone.

Scarlett nods along with his words, no doubt knowing more about this town than the rest of us do. She wouldn’t have sent one of our own without knowing every last detail. “Atkins was a part of that.”

He nods. “We hadn’t realized the estate had sold. It was all very quiet and quite frankly, we hadn’t given a damn about what happened to it.”

“It was never listed. Just bought silently from a shell corporation and left to sit empty until now,” Scarlett explains. Noah and Charles had been able to find it from going through the financial records of CGK. It had been an educated guess that it would lead us to Romano, but it wasn’t until we got confirmation from Tyler that we knew for sure. Everything else in that company’s files had to do with Scarlett, so it only made sense this purchase did as well.

“The good news is, we’ve been there before and we still have the plans and blueprints. Getting you in and out will be a piece of cake.” He scoffs slightly, “Of all the places to buy in Black Hallows, they really went for the one that had already been compromised.” His face falls as the words slip out and his features harden in contemplation.

Scarlett’s brows lift, reading his thoughts perfectly. “You can come with us and while we have our fun, you can scope out anything that may have made the place special.”

He nods his thanks, checking his watch. “Some of the others are going to meet us at my place. I have everything there we’ll need to finalize a plan and gear up.”

Luca steps away to instruct the staff unloading the plane while the rest of us split up and pile into the two cars. Scarlett leads us straight to Asher’s car, climbing into the front seat. We exchange looks and sigh. She looks over at us and sticks out her tongue as we slide open the door. She can be such a brat. Noah and Ryder take the back row, while I take the middle row and leave the first row for Kade and Luca. It’s a huge car, but still a tight fit for the guys sitting next to each other.

Rachel, Holden, and Joe will have a much more comfortable ride with Tyler, but it wasn’t like any of us were willing to leave Scarlett’s side.

Asher climbs into the driver’s seat and stares at all of us in the back before turning to glance at Scarlett, happy as a clam in the front seat. “Now I know why Tyler insisted I drive the Sprinter,” he mumbles.

Luca comes around and walks to the front seat before spotting Scarlett. “Dammit, Letty,” he growls before giving up and climbing in next to Kade and slamming the door behind him.

As soon as Asher starts to drive, Scarlett turns to him. “Tell me more about the last time you went to the Atkins’ estate.”

His fingers tap against the steering wheel as he begins to answer her. “It’s a large piece of property, but surprisingly not all that difficult to get in. Arrogance can be a person’s downfall, after all. There’s an iron-wrought front gate, only opened by the guard tower. No pin code. Cameras line the street and driveway so going that way will give them warning to our arrival. But there should be no cameras at the back of the property. There wasn’t last time.”

She turns back to meet Noah’s eyes. “There’s been no money spent on the house other than to purchase and for a deep clean shown in the accounts,” he answers her silent question.

Asher hums his acknowledgement. “Any real work on the house wouldn’t have gone unnoticed. They’ve been keeping real quiet since they got here.” He turns off the highway and into a residential area. “There’s a wall that encloses the back part of his property line. That’s how Elle, my friend,” he stops to explain but Scarlett waves him on. “I’m familiar with who Elle King is.”

His brows furrow as he turns to look at her. “That’s how she and the others got in last time. Climbed over the wall and walked right through the back patio. The doors weren’t even closed the last time.”

Kade leans up and sticks his head between the two front seats, assessing Asher. “And how did you get in?”

Asher pulls the van into an underground parking lot of an impressive building and pulls into a designated space next to an elevator.

“I went through the front door,” he answers with a cocky grin as he shuts off the van and jumps out of the seat.

As we all climb out, Kade gives him an appraising look. “You’re not so bad for a kid.”

I roll my lips as I watch Asher’s eyes narrow yet again at the word choice. This time though, he doesn’t hold back. “Call me a kid again and I’ll choke you with your intestines.”

The threat only makes the dopey grin on Kade’s face grow wider.

Scarlett beams at him. “Aww, you’re adorable,” she praises. And though it should sound condescending, it somehow doesn’t feel that way. Asher drops his glare as a blush rises on his cheeks, making Scarlett smile again.

Ryder nudges Noah, scoffing. “They really are twins. I’ve seen her do that.”

She turns to flip him off. “I didn’t choke him with his intestines,” she defends, looking to Asher. “Play with a guy’s intestines one time and all of a sudden you’re a psychopath.” The corner of his lips twitch as he leads us into the private elevator that takes us to the top floor.

“It’s definitely happened more than one time,” Kade whispers as the doors open to lead us straight into the penthouse.

She rolls her eyes and follows Asher to where we can get serious and actually plan this mission out. He checks his watch again and looks straight to Scarlett and says, “Elle and her friend, Linc, will be here any minute now. She’ll want to know what the plan is. Having to clean up after the Italians has made her even less trusting of others in her town.”

Scarlett rolls her lips and I know she’s holding back from calling him adorable again. “Don’t worry about the cleanup. We’ve got that covered.” The elevator door opens again and Tyler leads in Rachel, Joe, and Holden. Rachel detaches from the guys and moves to Scarlett’s side, her earlier jitters clearly returning.

Asher observes her. “How do you feel about explosives? I might know a guy who could take care of it.”

Of course he does. They’ve got their whole own little crew down here.

Scarlett shrugs. “Why not? Less work for us.”

“I keep liking him more and more,” Kade faux whispers to Ryder.

As the two begin to insult each other back and forth, Rachel creeps closer to Scarlett’s side. The adrenaline of what’s to come is getting to her, but based on the grief in her eyes, I think she’s missing Alec more than ever.

The air is knocked from my lungs as I picture what her last moments with Alec must have looked like. They were all together, no doubt razzing each other just like we all are now. I’m not the only one who notices as Scarlett reaches out and grips her hand in hers and squeezes. Asher clocks the action, but doesn’t comment on it. Thank fuck. I’m not sure how Rachel would react if he did.

Before anything gets out of hand, Asher pulls out the blueprints of the mansion we’ll be visiting shortly. Scarlett and he start to scour over it, noting down the height of the wall, number of doors and windows.

Scarlett looks down at Rachel’s feet and smirks. “Gonna have to ditch the heels for once.”

Rachel hesitates for only a second before pushing the sadness away and scoffs. “You really think I couldn’t scale that wall in my Louboutins?”

“I mean, do you want to?” She raises her brow in question and I have to agree with her on this one.

“Probably not,” Rachel concedes. “But I definitely could.”

“I like her,” a new voice says as a girl with blonde hair walks into the room. She must be about the same age as Asher and I assume this must be the Elle King they mentioned in the car. Behind her is another kid. Does everyone in this town have light features? His hair isn’t as blonde as Asher’s or Elle’s, but it’s not brown either. Sharp green eyes are partially hidden behind his glasses, but I can see the intellect in them as his heavy gaze weighs on each one of us. Never thought we would find such an interesting group of kids here.

Both women turn towards the newcomer and appraise her silently, sharing an intrigued look. Scarlett drops her gaze to the knife openly strapped on Elle’s thigh. She nods, a small smile playing on her lips. “I like your knife,” she says in greeting.

Elle takes a moment, studying Scarlett back, before she responds slowly, “You can’t go anywhere in this town unarmed.” It’s less of an explanation and more of a warning as she looks for Scarlett’s weapons and comes up empty.

Scarlett clicks her tongue. “You can’t go anywhere unarmed,” she corrects, lifting the sleeve of her jacket to show the blade strapped to her bicep.

Asher looks back and forth between the two of them. “Don’t worry, Hells Bells, she’s got more weapons hidden on her than even you do.” His tone makes it clear how much he appreciates that fact. It’s hard not to roll my eyes at the mini psychos. Who would have guessed we’d find a matching set to our crazy here?

The other boy who followed Elle in adjusts his glasses as he stares at Asher dumbfounded. “How would you know?”

Asher’s features morph into a bland expression as he gives his attention to him. “How else? I saw them when she took her shirt off.”

His mouth drops open in shock and I struggle to stifle a snort. Asher has no idea how his friend just took that comment, and based on the tension radiating off of him, I don’t feel the need to correct his assumptions either. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this entertained.

My girl, on the other hand, is completely oblivious as her, Rachel, and Elle have huddled in the corner to show off their weapons to each other.

Noah chuckles as he gestures to them. “It’s like there are two Scars.”

“I know, isn’t it great?” Ryder grins.

Luca runs his hand over his face in exasperation. “Just what the world needs. God help us.”

Joe walks up behind Luca and pats him on the shoulder. “You already know Jade is well on her way to being a mini Scar. And do not get me wrong, I love the little girl something fierce, but if Roe’s made of sugar, they doubled the amount of spice. She’s gonna be more like her momma than you think. We need more than the lord’s help.”

Elle’s ears perk up as she turns to him. “There are more of you?”

Tyler snorts. “This is only like half of us.”

She narrows her gaze at him. “You’ve been holding out on us, Ty.”

He shrugs her off. “You never asked about back home. Just how I knew Max.”

She huffs but turns her attention back to Joe. “So this Jade,” she starts, and Scarlett and Rachel both immediately tense. Still very protective over her. “She has a kid? A daughter?”

Both women relax and I’m not the only one who laughs. “Jade is in training,” Scarlett explains. “Roe is my daughter.”

Elle beams at her, even brighter than when they were talking about their weapons. “How old is she?”

Asher watches with a soft smile. It throws even me for a loop as I study him. I could tell Scarlett was drawing unusual reactions from him, but his expression doesn’t fit with the image I have of him.

“She’s five,” Scarlett shares, her features softening in the way only Roe can make them. I blink as I stare between the three of them.

Elle and Asher trade looks and he gives her a slight nod. I already know what’s coming even before she opens her mouth and I shoot a warning look to the other guys. Especially Kade and Ryder who aren’t exactly known for their filters.

“Ash and I have a baby girl the same age,” Elle says excitedly. “When this is all over, we should get them together.”

Holden chuckles. “Only if you’re willing for her three sidekicks to tag along.”

She shrugs. “Cassie likes friends. She could use more.”

Asher shakes his head at her. “We need to finish this first,” he reminds her, bringing us back to the topic at hand.

He hands over the blueprints to an old mansion to Scarlett and she immediately begins pouring over them. “This is the wall you mentioned?” she asks, dragging her finger over a line in the back of the property.

“It wasn’t a hard climb,” Elle adds, pointedly looking at Rachel’s heels with a smirk. “Though it would be easier without those.”

Rachel waves her off, taking in the mansion in front of her. “This almost seems too easy,” she notes.

“Except it took us weeks to locate him,” I remind her. “They have no way of knowing we have contacts here. Ty has been flying under their radar. It was part of the reason he was the one sent here. Without the help, we would have needed at least another week to survey, get our hands on this, and finalize plans.” After everything we’ve been through, it finally feels like luck is on our side.

“We don’t think it’s a trap?” Luca asks. “It was Charles who led us here after all.”

I can feel a headache beginning to creep up again, already knowing how she’s going to react. She flips him off. “Already been over this.”

Him and Kade both grumble but sulk in the corner.

Elle watches them carefully before speaking directly to Scarlett. “We’ve had our eyes on the place since that body turned up. There’s been nothing to indicate this being an ambush.”

Scarlett weighs her words before shrugging. “An ambush might make it more fun.” I’m not the only one who groans at her words.

On the other end of the spectrum, Elle seems absolutely delighted by them. “Need any backup?”

Scarlett looks around the room, obviously thinking about taking her up on her offer. It’s enough to tell me just how much she’s taken to this girl. She may be young, but she’s obviously fierce.

“Nah, this little psycho is more than enough backup,” she decides, pointing to Asher, who once again blushes at her words.

The quiet one, Linc I think I might have heard someone call him, drops his mouth open again in shock as he tracks the heat rising on Asher’s face. He near silently whispers, “What the fuck?” before pulling out his phone and snaps a somewhat discreet picture before rapidly tapping away on it.

We definitely have to come back to this town. Maybe with popcorn next time.

Elle nods, wearing a smug smile as she grabs Linc’s arm and begins to pull him out of the room. “Call us if you need us. Happy hunting.” She winks at Scarlett.

“Send Jace for his favorite type of clean up,” Asher calls out before she leaves.

She arches a brow. “You’re blowing it up?”

“Why not?” he answers with a shrug.

I chuckle wryly. These kids are a hoot. We definitely need to come back to this town.