Chapter 20

JUNE 4 – SUNDAY 12:30 PM

N ash

The devil had taken up shop in my brain with a marching band and a chalkboard that he was gleefully scraping his nails down. I was also pretty sure he decided to shit in my mouth. Everything hurt, and wherever I was lying was cold and hard. Forcing my eyes open a crack, I tried to make sense of what I was staring at. This should have been easy, but my brain wasn't having anything to do with thinking.

Smacking my lips together, I could taste remnants of the different alcohols I'd consumed, and my stomach rolled. I stopped moving or even breathing as I waited to see if I was going to throw up. It felt like I was a small animal hiding in the grass, praying that if I didn't move, the predator would move along.

"You're alive, that's a good start."

I winced at the sound of Liam's voice. "Shh," I said, and then regretted it as it echoed in my head. That was all my stomach needed for it to decide that playing dead wasn't in the cards. I sat up straight and went to get up to run for the bathroom, only to realize that I was already there. Grabbing the toilet, I threw up, my stomach trying to turn itself inside out.

"Fucking hell," I grumbled and slumped over, not even caring that my cheek was on the seat as long as the room stopped swimming and my stomach chilled the fuck out. I closed my eyes, wanting Liam to shoot me.

"Okay, so I may have spoken too soon. You're only partially alive," Liam snorted, an arrogance in his voice that I was going to pummel out of him the moment I could move.

"Here you go." The tink of a glass hitting the tub made me cringe like a giant crushing a building beside my head.

"No more alcohol," I mumbled, knowing that I sounded pathetic. Forcing my face off the porcelain god, I was thankful when Liam flushed the toilet. He leaned against the sink, staring down at me. I had to hold my arm up to block out the lights of a thousand knives to look at him. "And can you turn off the lights?"

"First, that's not alcohol. It's a special hangover concoction, and before you say you don't want it, I will force it down your throat, so don't test me. Second, that bright light is called sunshine." I groaned and looked at the greyish-green drink. "You're the one always saying you want to be healthy."

"Fuck you. There is an edict to throwing someone's words back in their face, and you're crossing a line," I grumbled but picked up the glass and sniffed it. I covered my mouth and swallowed to keep from puking again. "What the hell is that? It smells like dirty socks and rotten broccoli."

"That's because it is. I thought it would be entertaining to squeeze out the sweat from my gym socks and throw it in a blender with all the rotten food in the house. I mean, what better way to feel better?"

I glared up at his sarcastic ass but plugged my nose and chugged the liquid down. If Liam wanted to kill me, there were far easier ways.

My stomach gurgled as I set the glass aside and waited like I was Alice in Wonderland, wondering if I was going to shrink or grow. I would be happy with just not feeling like death warmed over.

"What time is it," I asked when I was certain the home remedy was going to stay put.

Liam looked at his phone. "Twelve forty-five. You've been passed out for six hours. You started to puke around four, and I've been doctoring your sorry ass for the rest of that time, so you owe me big time."

"Fuck…I…I don't remember how I got here. Did I drive?"

"Yeah."

I rubbed my face. "Shit." Laying my head back on the wall, I tried to remember anything past going home, raiding my father's bar, and taking a bottle up to my room to drink. After that, it was spotty. "Did I tell you anything?"

"Oh yeah, I got the full rundown. Multiple times, and you forced me to stare at that image of your father, so you're lucky I didn't drown you in the toilet rather than help you."

My head lolled to the side. "Thanks, man. You're a good friend."

"Yeah, yeah. Look, while you were taking your inebriated nap, Theo called…Ren's house was attacked. Completely shot up, they barely made it out alive."

That woke my muddy brain. "Who did it?"

He shook his head. "No clue, but Theo says he needs to speak to you as soon as they get back. They aren't flying, so they won't get in until sometime tomorrow."

"Fuck me. I shouldn't have let them go. I should've ordered them all to stay here." I braced my hand on the tub to help me stand. Liam stepped forward, but I waved him off.

"Please, like you'd be able to keep Ren here if she decided to go. She doesn't seem to like orders very much," Liam said, and I snorted as I staggered to the sink.

"You noticed that, too?" Turning on the taps, I washed my face with the cold water and grabbed the tube of toothpaste. I was over at Liam's so much that I had my own toothbrush here, which would seem odd to anyone outside of our circle, but we crashed at each other's houses so much they were like second homes.

"Hard not to notice. Just like how I notice the way you look at her."

I glared at him as I brushed my teeth. "Don't fucking start in on that shit with me when I'm hungover. I'm not liable for shooting you."

"I already took your gun, so good luck." He smirked at me, and I glared at him. Then, I brushed my teeth again just because. I really needed to shower, but wobbling on a slippery surface seemed like a bad idea.

"Do they need any help?"

"I'm assuming you mean the guys?"

"Who else would I be talking about?" I finished washing up as best as I could in the sink before shuffling into Liam's bedroom and flopping down on his bed, my arm going over my eyes.

"I like to make sure, but no, they are all good. Ethan made sure they didn't run into any issues with the border, and I sent them money, but other than Theo taking a flesh wound to the arm, no one is injured."

"Of course, the one time I get black-out drunk is when someone needs me. Fucking figures." My eyes felt heavy again, and I let them flutter closed. "I'm just going to lay here and pray for death a little longer."

"I'll wake you in a few hours," Liam said, the door closing behind him as he left me alone.

I needed to figure out how we survived whoever was attacking Ren. Why I was taking up championing her cause was beyond me. I needed another fucking mission like I needed a bullet to the head. Actually, I might have welcomed that at the moment.

One thing was certain. It wasn't going to be easy keeping Ren safe, and the fact that they attempted a public murder like that meant they didn't care about much, which made them very dangerous. I needed to find them first and stop them before they tried the same bullshit here, but first, I needed more sleep so the little men in my head would stop pounding on my skull.

JUNE 5 – MONDAY 4:48 AM

Blake

If I ever wanted to understand what it meant to hang out with the middle class, this trip had given me a wide-eyed share, that was for sure. The plane ride had been bad enough, but a coach bus was next level. What the fuck? I'd been stuck on this bus for twenty-two hours as it snail-paced its way from Calgary to Portland. " Take the bus ," Myles said. " It will be a fun adventure ," he said. There was nothing fun about this painful seat with a group of people that collectively smelled like sweat and fast food.

The guy across the row from me snored with his mouth open like a Venus fly trap the entire trip while the couple in front of me argued constantly. The little old woman beside me was nice enough as she prattled on, but there was something creepy about how she never stopped knitting. She smiled, and I pictured her taking one of the long plastic sticks and stabbing me in the eye. At one point, I was tempted to ask her to do it just to put me out of my misery. One bathroom for an entire busload of people was another new and terrible experience. Why the hell was someone still trying to take a piss while standing up? Aim was suggestive with some people at the best of times, let alone on a moving vehicle. To add insult to injury, we hit construction partway here, which put us an hour behind our original arrival time.

I needed food, a shower, my bed, and to hold Ren cause my fucking nerves were shot. How I let Myles talk me into being the one to take the bus was beyond me. My knee bounced faster as each mile passed, and we grew closer to my final destination.

The bus turned into the bus terminal, and I stood before anyone else, not giving a shit what the driver did. Getting the hell off the sweatbox on wheels was all that was on my mind. As soon as he pulled into a spot and stopped, I marched for the front and leaped down the stairs.

I sucked in a deep breath of the cool morning air and spotted Myles casually leaning up against the Lambo, looking fresh as a daisy.

"Are you fucking showered," I asked as I got closer.

Grabbing his shirt, I sniffed him. "Get off of me, man. Did ya lose yer mind on the bus or what?"

"Why are you clean?"

Myles grabbed my wrists and forced me to step back. "Yer acting crazy. I got back here hours ago. I dropped Ivy off at home, showered, ate, and took a nap before coming to grab you."

"Such luxuries. I sat awake for an entire day while someone behind me farted like it was their job, and I wondered if the woman beside me was a serial killer." He smirked. "Don't you dare smirk at me." He bit his lip but burst out laughing. "I'm gonna kill you."

"Would it help if I told you I brought food?"

"You owe me more than food, sticking me on that thing. You're at least used to it with the lacrosse team."

He smiled wide. "Exactly why I took the car." He clamped a hand on my shoulder. "But look on the bright side yer still in one piece and ya now have a new life experience." He opened the driver's side door. "I'm sure ya can work that into a song. The best ones are always about tragic experiences and heartbreak."

"I'm going to smother you in the night," I said as he closed the door laughing.

Stomping around the car, I tossed my backpack on the floor and got in. Myles pointed to the bag of food and a large coffee.

"All for you, my friend."

"Don't try to suck up." I snatched the bag like I was Gollum and peered inside, my stomach growling at the sight of the breakfast burritos. Pulling one out, I took a bite and moaned as the spicy sausage, egg, cheese, and salsa hit my tongue. Okay, I hated him a little less. "Any word from Theo and Ren?"

"Aye, Ren texted to say she was okay and that she'd messaged Lizzy to let her know that she was alright. Apparently, what happened is all over the news. They are saying it was gang violence." Myles shrugged. "The reports never said anything about finding a body, so that's weird. Why would they take Nadia's body with them? And how did they get it cleaned up that fast?" Yeah, that was fucking creepy. "Theo said they're across the border fine, but they had to make another stop to rest and get clean clothes. Apparently, Ren's ass is killing her."

I stopped chewing and looked at Myles. "Do you think he means from the motorcycle or him?"

Myles screwed up his face as we pulled out of the bus terminal and onto the main street. "The ride man"

"Yeah, but riding the bike or him?"

"This is Theo and Ren. They are more enemies than friends," Myles said, and then he started tapping his finger on the steering wheel. "Well fuck, now I don't know. Asshole, why did ya go and put that thought in my head?"

"Cause it was in mine."

Myles growled and shook his head before chugging some of his coffee. "Anyway, they should be at the cabin around noon. Nash and Liam are gonna meet us there."

"Did you grab me some clothes?"

"Of course I did."

"Fine, you're mildly forgiven," I said and closed my eyes.