21. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Vincent

T his morning, I woke up on the couch. I don’t remember falling asleep; I try not to often, but every once in a while, my body has no choice, and I shut down. It’s a dangerous habit that is going to get me fucking killed one day.

When I woke up to the empty room and Skyla wasn’t there, I panicked. I began searching each room until I found her tangled in bed, fast asleep with Liam and Asher. My heart rate steadied a bit, but I had to get out of there because I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing my woman with other men, even if it’s them. I tolerate it for her, but I’ll never like it.

I spent the remaining hours of the early morning catching up on work. I have two tasks that are urgent. I’ll need to head out as soon as we are back in Salem. It was difficult enough coming up with a reason that these targets wouldn’t be taken care of immediately; having my appendix taken out seemed to do the trick, though. I scroll through my private email server, pulling up the forged hospital records and notes before sending my approval. They’ll be uploaded into the Mass Gen hospital records, and as far as anyone who is willing to dig will know, I’ve been there this whole time.

As soon as I hear movement in the house, I’m on my feet in hopes of finding my siren. When I walk across the walkway, I look down to see Skyla in the kitchen stirring something in a bowl. A smile almost touches my face as I look at her before two thick arms wrap around her waist and haul her into a chest.

Ronan.

Makes sense, he’s basically our resident cook, same with Wesley on occasion. Ronan also has no problem staking his claim with Skyla at any moment, anywhere. I don’t doubt he scooped her right out of bed from Asher and Liam and carried her down here before she was even fully awake. She is only wearing an oversized dress shirt that hits her mid-thigh. Probably his as well.

I’m not sure why he assumes he has some superior claim over her. Is it because he technically had her first? Sure, maybe he did, but I saw her first. I was the first person besides her father and his men to see her, first person to watch her set foot on this campus. If anyone has a claim, it’s me, and rightfully so.

When I step into the kitchen, her eyes come to mine, practically sparkling in the early morning sun.

“Good morning,” she cheers happily.

The ghost of a smile touches my lips as I nod my head, closing the distance between us as I press a kiss to her temple.

“Good morning, siren,” I murmur against her skin.

She leans into my touch, forcing my inky black heart to beat a little harder than usual. Swear to God, without her, I know it would stop beating right on the spot. I honestly don’t know how it worked all these years without her.

“We’re making pancakes, eggs and bacon,” she says. “Are you hungry?”

I shrug my shoulders as I take the kitchen island seat closest to her, reaching my hand out to hold her hip so that I can maintain some point of contact at all times. The heat of her body grounds me, the feel of her soft curves in my hand calms me. It’s a peace I’ll never tire of, never stop treasuring.

One by one, the rest of the guys start filing in. Sleepy, Happy, and Grumpy. I’m not sure what that makes Ronan and me. Skyla could definitely be Snow White but with golden hair. There were seven dwarfs in that fairytale, and let me tell you, five is more than enough.

Sleepy takes a step towards Skyla, wrapping his arms around her waist as he buries his head into the crook of her neck.

“Come back to bed,” Liam whines.

She smiles and shakes her head.

“It’s ten in the morning.”

“And we went to bed at three. Come back to bed,” he tries to reason.

She gives him a smile as Grumpy leans in, placing a quick kiss to both of their lips before he goes and takes a seat on the couch. He’s gotten more affectionate with Liam, at least in front of the rest of us lately. Based on the position I found them last night, something tells me they are a lot more affectionate behind closed doors. Good. Maybe now Liam will stop bitching and whining about Asher topping him.

To round out the crew, Happy strides up to Skyla, all smiles with a freshly showered look and a new set of clothes for the day.

“Good morning, little one,” he says as he steals a kiss as well.

I force my eyes away, my fist clenching on my thigh so I don’t do something like hit the son of a bitch. Ronan and Liam, I had to tolerate. She was already dating them before she even considered me. Then Asher was her fiancé turned husband, hard to kick him out of the picture, though don’t think I didn’t try. This motherfucker though…I don’t like him. I know I don’t have any good reason to, but something just feels…off. I can’t explain it, but you bet your ass I’ve been spending any amount of free time I have to dig into him. If he’s hiding something, I’ll find out what it is, and soon.

“Good morning.” She smiles like the blissful angel she is. “What does everyone want to do today?”

I shrug, as does Asher and Ronan.

“Whatever you want,” Wesley says. “This is your trip.”

She frowns at that. “No, it isn’t, it’s all of ours, right? It’s our Christmas, our vacation.”

“He’s got a point, babygirl. If this was my vacation, we’d all be in Cancun at a nude beach sipping mai tais under the sun,” Liam answers.

I scoff at that and shake my head while Skyla laughs.

“Okay, that is a vivid picture you just painted.”

“Yeah?” Liam smirks. “All of your men naked around you, gorgeously tan in a tropical location?”

She wrinkles her nose up. “I was thinking more like the whole nude beach part. Hundreds of people way past their prime who don’t give a shit what anyone thinks anymore, naked with sand everywhere.”

Liam’s face screws up at that as he crosses his arms.

“Well, when you put it like that, it doesn’t sound nearly as hot.”

“That’s because it isn’t,” Asher drawls out lazily while scrolling on his phone.

Liam leans into him, whispering something in his ear that forces him to put the phone down and give him a heated gaze. I turn back to Skyla to see her watching them carefully as Wesley speaks again.

“What about snowboarding? Or skiing? Have you ever done either?”

She looks to him, shaking her head.

“But I’ve always wanted to learn.”

Wesley nods. “Skiing it is.”

“None of us brought any snow clothes that heavy duty, though,” Liam interjects.

Ronan lifts an eyebrow to him.

“You all knew we were going to a snowy cabin in New Hampshire in the dead of winter, and no one thought to bring snow gear?”

Everyone except Wesley shakes their head as Ronan sighs.

“I did,” Wesley shrugs.

“Okay, Mr. Boy Scout. We know you did. It’s no wonder you had three bags for yourself alone. Always prepared.”

Wesley nods his agreement. “Always. I’m sure the place will have some things for sale, and Skyla has that new fancy black card.”

“Fuck you,” Asher snaps. “That’s for her to use, not you fuckers.”

“Aw, what about me?” Liam teases. “I’ll be such a good boy for youuuu.”

Asher’s eyes narrow as he smacks Liam’s ass, hard. Liam winces, causing Asher to smirk.

“Sure, if you’re a good boy, but no one else.”

“If I suck your cock, can I get free shit too?” Wesley smirks, causing Ronan to sigh, Skyla to giggle, and Asher to roll his eyes and flip him off.

Great group dynamic we’ve got going on here.

“Alright, shitheads. Eat up and get ready. We’ll take off in two hours,” Ronan says as he turns off the burners on the stove, makes two plates, and drags Skyla into his lap at the dining room table.

He stabs a piece of pancake drowned in syrup, her favorite, before holding it up to her. She takes a bite of it before happily chewing, trading kisses in between bites for each of them. I roll my eyes as I dish up my own plate, scarfing down the food before deciding to go take a shower.

Once I got out of the shower, everyone else was just finishing their food. Wesley was doing the dishes while Liam, Asher, and Skyla took a shower. Hopefully, separately, or there is no way in fuck we will be getting out of here in two hours.

I pack my essentials, zipping up a small backpack as Wesley drops his bag onto the counter, filling it with protein bars, chips, bread, and God knows what else.

I lift a brow at him as he looks at me.

“What?”

“We’re going snowboarding, not backpacking through Europe for a week. Why do you need so much food?”

Wesley shrugs as he zips up the bag.

“When you’ve gone six days without a scrap of food in the middle of the ocean, tell me you won’t always be prepared in the future. A hunger like that…makes a man do some crazy fucking things.”

Why the fuck would he be in the middle of the ocean with no food? He’s a Navy Seal. Shouldn’t he have a team, be on a ship or some shit? Shaking my head, I leave him to his over-the-top prepping as Liam, Asher, and Skyla come downstairs. Skyla is wearing a pair of black ripped leggings, a sweatshirt, and a pair of snow boots. I frown as I look at her.

“Where is your snow coat, siren?”

She shrugs. “I guess I didn’t pack it. No big deal, I can get one from the ski lodge, right?”

Shaking my head, I shrug off my coat, slipping it through her arms before zipping it up to her neck. It’s four sizes too big for her, and you can hardly even see her hands out the bottom of the cuffs, but she looks fucking adorable, and most importantly, she’s warm.

“What about you?” she asks.

“What about me?”

“You need it,” Skyla counters.

“Not as much as you do. Wear it until we get to the lodge, I’m fine.”

She opens her mouth to argue before nodding her head, lifting up onto her toes, and pressing a kiss to my lips that I take the opportunity to deepen.

“Aw, no fair. You can have my coat if you kiss me like that,” I hear Liam complain. followed by a thud and an ‘Ow.’

We leave a few minutes later, and the drive takes less than thirty minutes to get to the ski resort. It’s absolutely packed, and my eyes scan our surroundings a thousand times over, always watching, always waiting. I notice Wesley doing the same, along with Ronan. All of us on high alert while the two stooges and my siren laugh and push their way inside the lodge.

We are all able to get snow gear and rent boards. Skyla looked hesitant and honestly, I wish she would have gone with the skis; they are safer, especially when learning, but she insisted on getting a board. She also insisted on giving me my coat back, which I was less than thrilled about. Then again, it smells like her now, her scent practically encapsulating me, so I suppose I can live with it.

By the time we are all checked out, it’s well into the late afternoon. We’ll probably only be able to hit a few runs before the sun goes down, but it’s what Skyla wants to do, so here we are. We grab our boards and find a more secluded area that we can give Skyla lessons. That turns to shit real quick when Ronan, Wesley, and Asher are all trying to teach her different things at once. She looks overwhelmed and frazzled as hell. I wait for her to need me, to ask for my help. When Ronan and Asher start arguing, Wesley playing peacekeeper, she looks over to me.

Request received.

“That’s enough,” I boom. “She’s got the hang of it. We’ll keep her safe, let’s go.”

I push past them, wrapping my arm around her as I lead her towards the ski lift. When we come up to the bench, she scoots to the very left, I take the middle, and Liam attempts to take the right. I say attempt because as soon as he takes a seat beside me, I shove him off. He face plants into the snow as the chair begins moving up the hill.

“Ow! Hey! Griggs! What the fuck!” he shouts from behind us.

A short chuckle shakes my chest, and Skyla smacks my arm.

“Why did you do that?”

I turn to face her, only her pouty mouth visible behind her new snow goggles.

“Because I don’t get nearly enough siren time, so I’m making it.”

Her pinched expression softens as her arm pushes into mine.

“You’re so needy, God,” she drawls sarcastically, a smirk spreading across her face.

Leaning forward, I press my lips to hers, our tongues tangling together as we are carried up the mountain. We don’t stop until we hear the chair attendant shout at us. Tearing myself from her mouth is literally painful, but somehow, I manage, getting off the chair first as I help her.

We move to the top of the mountain and wait for the rest of them. Asher, Ronan and Wesley are on the chair right behind us, and three chairs behind them is Liam by himself. Before he can even get to us, I can hear him cuss me out, and it’s actually quite amusing.

“Motherfucker! Why didn’t you let me ride with you guys,” Liam snaps.

“Because I don’t like you,” I say flatly before I turn to Skyla.

“Alright, are you good? Remember everything we taught you?”

She looks a little hesitant as she stares down at the hill, but she nods, nonetheless.

“I think so. How do I stop again?”

We all share concerned looks before she shakes her head.

“Never mind, it’s fine. Let’s just go.”

“No, we won’t go until you’re—”

I don’t get to finish my sentence before she pushes off, down the mountain she goes.

Shit.

I follow after her, bobbing and weaving through people in an attempt to catch up to her. She almost loses her balance, crouching down a little to correct herself, which saves the balance but picks up her speed. She’s catching up to a person in front of her, and instead of trying to slow down, she swerves right. Hard right.

I do my best to mimic her path, but before I can reach her, she shoots off into the trees. I hear one of the guys shout from behind us, but I don’t have the time or care to focus on who. Doing my best to keep my eyes on her, I fly off into the tree line, leaning in and out of the path, doing my best to avoid any trees or uprooted branches.

She’s screaming, flailing her arms wildly as she attempts to stop.

“Hold on!” I shout to her as I change course, coming up to a small ledge that I use as a ramp.

It gets me the coverage that I need to get closer, but it’s not quite enough, and the snow has started picking up. It’s amazing how far you can travel on a board, and though it’s only been minutes. I’d say we are already on another side of the mountain. Unfortunately, this side seems to be getting pounded with a lot more snow a lot faster than the resort side.

White blurs my vision, Skyla’s hot pink jacket being the only thing I can focus on. I find another jump and take it, flying through the air so far, I jump in front of her. In the next second, I turn, slowing myself down as she crashes into me. I wrap my arms around her and hold on tight as we begin tumbling down the steep embankment.

Her screams echo through the valley, panic filling me as I do my best to keep my hold on her and slow us down. My eyes scan the area for possibilities, but I come up empty, especially when I see a cliff quickly approaching. A body suddenly comes flying from my left, cutting in front of us before grabbing my jacket and yanking hard. It’s enough of a change in direction to slow down our momentum, but our bodies are still sliding towards the cliff.

“Vincent!” Skyla shrieks as I feel the ground give way beneath us, nothing but air now.

Before the freefall sensation begins, a hard jerk catches us. I hold onto Skyla with everything I have as I look up to see Liam holding onto my jacket, his body straining to keep us dangling off this cliffside while wedging himself behind a rock for an anchor.

“Still don’t like me?” he strains.

I feel his hands start to shake as he attempts to hold on, but the weight is too much. What’s worse is he’s holding me, not her. My mind races with possibilities to get out of this when another figure comes flying beside Liam, stopping on a dime before crawling to the edge and reaching for Skyla. My body flexes and strains, attempting to lift her as close to him as possible.

Finally, Wesley is able to slip his arms beneath hers and haul her up and off the cliff edge. They collapse in a heap, my adrenaline thrumming in my veins when I think about how close I was to losing her.

Without Skyla’s added weight, Liam is able to pull me up the rest of the way. As soon as I’m not dangling, I crawl to safety, perching myself behind the rock beside him as I throw my back against the snow and breathe.

Our chests are heaving, faces tilted to the snowy sky as we pant.

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” he wheezes.

“Vincent!” Skyla shouts over the howling winds.

“I’m here,” I say. “I’m okay. Are you?”

“I’m fine! I’m so sorry. I lost control and—”

“You’re fine, little one. We need to get off this fucking cliff, though,” Wesley shouts.

We all nod our agreement and carefully undo our boards, lifting them up and over our shoulders as we begin trekking up the hill. Seconds later, Ronan and Asher come in hot, stopping short when they see us.

“Thank God!” Ronan says as he unclips his board and rushes over to us.

“We gotta keep moving! Into the trees!” Wesley says.

Asher undoes his board, and together, we all move making sure to keep Skyla in the center in case she slips, or the ground gives way. Once we are in the tree line, visibility is a little better, but not much.

“Where the fuck did this storm come from?” Asher shouts.

“We’re on the south side of the mountain now. We have to find shelter until it calms down. None of us are equipped to board through unmarked trails in this.”

Our heads begin to swivel as we search for a place to wait out the storm until Liam shouts and points up the hill.

“There! Up there! Is that a chimney?”

I squint in an attempt to see through the snowflakes before I nod. I’ll be damned, Walcott is on a roll today.

“Let’s go!” Ronan says.

Slowly, we all begin making our way up the mountain, taking care with each step we take. The cold is biting despite our gear, and I notice it starts affecting Skyla especially. Her legs begin to shake, and her arms are tucked in tight to her chest. Wesley lifts her up, tucking her into his chest as he carries her. Ronan steps in front of them, attempting to block out the wind, and I do the same on their right while Asher stands to their left. Liam is behind them, staying close just in case.

The closer we get to the chimney, the clearer it becomes. It’s a shack, like a small hunting cabin. Shelter is shelter, though. I don’t think any of us will be picky. Ronan is at the door first, and of course, it’s locked. He puts his shoulder into it several times before he assesses where the weakest point is. Then he lifts his boot up and kicks the bastard in. The door flies open, and we all file in, quickly closing the door and scooting a desk to the side in front of it to keep it in place.

The place is bare bones, and the musty smell in the air tells me no one has been up here in a while. There is a three-cushioned couch in the middle of the room in front of a bear skin rug, a small wood-burning fireplace, and a kitchen the size of a postage stamp. I peek my head into the single bedroom to find a mattress no bigger than a full, and a toilet and shower combo bathroom.

Wordlessly, Ronan begins loading the fireplace up with some of the pre-cut kindling, digging into his backpack but coming up empty.

“Top pocket of my bag,” Wesley says through chattering teeth.

Ronan moves behind him, unzipping his backpack to pull out several lighters. He gets the kindling lit before he slowly begins building the fire. Asher and Liam are sifting through the kitchen, and I’m doing the same in the bathroom and bedroom. All I was able to find was two blankets, two pillows, an old pair of wool socks, and a tube of toothpaste. Of course, there is no power. Wouldn’t expect there to be for a hunting cabin or whatever this place is used for. They probably only have it turned on when they plan to be here, and based on the dust collection, it’s been a year at least.

“Find anything?” Wesley calls out from the living room, where he’s now sitting with Skyla in his arms.

“A can of black beans that expired two years ago, a pot, and a single set of silverware. Oh, and two mugs,” Liam says.

“Better than nothing,” Ronan says as he gets the fire roaring and closes the door.

I bring one of the blankets out, wrapping it around Skyla and Wesley. She smiles up at me weakly as she watches the fire with a distant stare. Squatting down in front of her, I run my fingers through her hair.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, her voice tight.

“Why?” I ask as my fingers begin massaging her scalp.

“I lost control…I tried to slow down and stop…I almost got us killed, and now we’re stuck in this run-down cabin in the middle of a blizzard.”

I tug on her hair a little, grabbing her attention as I shake my head.

“I don’t care about any of that. All I care about is that you’re safe. That’s all any of us care about, right?”

The guys all agree, and she nods.

“I guess f-frozen water isn’t exactly where I excel,” she chatters with a weak smile.

I smirk and nod.

“Let’s keep you in the liquid stuff moving forward.”

A shivering huff leaves her as she nods.

“Liam, grab the packets of apple cider out of my bag and the water. We need to warm her up.”

“You brought water?” Asher asks.

“And apple cider?” Skyla adds.

“Of course, you never know.”

“What else do you have in there, brother?” Ronan asks as he takes the bag from Wesley.

“Enough supplies for the six of us to last at least four days,” he says as he holds Skyla tighter.

Ronan begins sifting through the bag before his eyebrows reach his hairline.

“Fuck me, that’s the last time I give you shit for being prepared.”

Wesley nods with a laugh as he presses a kiss to Skyla’s head. Asher and Liam make quick work of heating up the water over the wood stove.

When the water is warmed up, Liam pours it into a cup and brings it to Skyla. She greedily takes a sip before letting out a relieved sigh. She tries to hand the cup to Wesley, but he shakes his head, then me, and I do the same. Skyla offers the warm drink to all of us before Asher speaks.

“We don’t want it. You need to warm up first.”

“That’s not fair. We either all drink it, or none of us,” she argues.

We all share uneasy looks before Wesley nods and takes the cup from her, taking a small sip before handing it to me. I do the same and pass it to Ronan, and so on, until the cup makes its way back to her. Liam is already heating up more water, and Skyla sighs happily as she rests against Wesley’s chest.

“Feeling better, little one?” he asks.

“A little,” she nods.

“You know, there is a sure-fire way for all of us to get warm quick,” Liam says.

“Liam.” Ronan groans.

“What?” he asks with his hands raised. “You all were thinking it; I just said it.”

“No, I think you were the only one thinking about sex at a time like this,” Asher scoffs.

“Well, I was,” Skyla admits.

We all look at her in surprise, and she shrugs.

“It’s survival 101. You get wet or cold, you get naked with others, right?”

Liam laughs and points to Skyla.

“See! My girl gets it, thank you, babygirl.”

Wesley’s hand rests on her knee, slowly sliding up her thigh as he speaks.

“That what you want? You want all of us to get naked, keep you warm?”

She shrugs almost bashfully before meeting all of our eyes. She settles on me last, probably because I’m definitely the least enthused about group activities, but if she’s involved, I’m in.

Guess we’re having an orgy in the middle of a blizzard.