Chapter 11

Eleven

Stella

T he smell of copper hits my nose. My stomach churns. My heart forgets how to work.

"William," I choke out, holding up my hands as if they are bullet proof or something. Acid swirls and boils in my stomach. Adrian and Emilio move to cover me. Stefan turns into an octopus, wrapping me into his chest and holding me there. A wall of muscle cuts off my view and massive men fill my vision.

I'm too stuck on the fact that William has found me again and the bastard actually shot me this time to be anything more than a zombie for several heartbeats.

Don't show you're scared.

Never show him you're scared.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I push at the arms holding me down and the chest that comes over me like a shield.

My arm is on fire! I grit my teeth through the burn. Why can nothing ever be easy?

"William Brigh. You're early."

Adrian's voice is muffled.

"Hawthorne thought it would be nice for me to arrive early. Make a good impression on our new clients and all. I agreed since I was already here."

"I see."

"No, you don't. I saw you leave Club Sin with my property. I want her back."

"Is that so?"

Why the fuck does Adrian sound like they are having a pleasant conversation here? Why isn't he shooting him back?

Stefan pulls my hand away from my arm. "Let me see. Let me see." He rips my shirt open, peeling back the sleeve. The relief in his expression tells me I'm not about to die, but it sure as hell feels like I could knock off with how much it hurts.

"Stefan?" Adrian puts himself between us and the lunatic walking off the elevator.

"Aww, did someone get hurt? Serves her right for giving away what belongs to me."

One thought jumps to another when pain ricochets from my shoulder, to my spine and then back again. I've never felt like I am having my shoulder sawed off before and I highly do not recommend the experience.

I can't seem to catch my breath for a second.

"In through your nose. Out through your mouth," Stefan coaxes.

"Willam, you rat fucking bastard," I seethe when I can finally think and breathe. White-hot flames consume my flesh. It hurts like a motherfucker.

"There you are, Stella Moone. Sorry I missed the back of your head. It would have made all this easier. You shouldn't have let these fuckers dirty what belongs to me."

Bile rises in the back of my throat. He's psychotic to think I'm his.

"Yours?" My voice squeaks out. I fight against the massive weight holding me down. "Get off me, Stefan!" I refuse to hide like some coward. "I will never belong to you again! Never!" I bellow across the living room.

"Hold up, Stella. Damn. Stop fighting me."

I glare up at my protector. "Stefan, damn you. If you don't let me up…"

I push at his chest, but he only raises enough for me to see blood smearing over the front of his shirt. My blood.

I shove at him again.

He loosens his hold on me enough to give me room to squeeze my body out from under his. This is my fight and I'm not about to let them shove me aside and treat me like a weakling.

"Fucking hell! No, Stella!" Stefan roars, grabbing for me.

"She's no longer your concern, you piece of shit. You can leave now on your own accord or you can leave in a body bag."

I appreciate Emilio standing up for me.

"Me? Laughable." William's voice cracks. "You're lucky I didn't shoot all four of you in the back when I saw you leave the club. I rather see your faces as I take back my property. She owes me a lot of money and I will collect one way or another."

I push at Adrian and Emilio who turn into unmoving statues. "I don't owe you anything!"

"You're right, little bitch. Your father did. Since he's dead, I'll take you back now. I've come up with a new way I want to see you suffer."

The man sounds like he's stepped off the deep end of sanity and landed squarely in psycho territory.

I shove at Stefan. One gun, one bullet between his eyes and this horror show can end.

I push by Adrian to see William's snarly face twisted with one hundred percent disgust. Hatred radiates from his narrowed gaze, but what really has my attention is the loaded gun he has leveled in our direction. It's pretty surreal to know my life could end with the slightest sneeze from the lunatic.

Emilio clenches his fists. "Hold her, damn it!"

Emilio and Adrian both shove me into Stefan's arms and he pins me to his chest with iron-grade strength. His eyes narrow on me. His breathing is ragged. At first I'm focused more on all the shit William is saying to the other two, but when Stefan puts his hands on my face and makes me look at him, my world zeros down to the man wearing my blood.

And then in all the chaos he kisses me softly.

"If you get hurt, you've signed all of our death certificates. You don't understand. Your life is precious. You die. We all go down."

Epically wrong time for a confession like that, but at the same time my heart fills with love.

Love.

That one word flips my world upside down.

My heart hammers a thousand times a minute.

William mouths off again and then everyone turns into a blur of motion.

A barrage of bullets zing in our direction. Stefan pushes me to the floor, covering me again with his weight and we are right back where we started——me immobilized.

"Stay down. You are not getting yourself killed." His hands are vices on my hip and my good shoulder. I clench my jaw, but nod. Getting killed is not the goal here.

Adrenaline pushes through my veins. Couch cushions go everywhere and I literally watch what was a normal living room mere seconds ago literally turn into an armory.

Guns go into hands. Both men check their clips and put one in the chamber unworried by the fact that William is emptying his gun in our direction.

"She's coming with me. I own her life. Hand her over and all this stops."

William is in denial if he thinks he is leaving here unharmed.

All three of my men move in unison. It is like watching a well timed synchronized dance. All evidence points to this not being their first gun fight.

I would marvel more at how the sides of the couches and the low coffee table open to reveal multiple weapons, but glass shatters near my head. Glittering bombs rain down on me, leaving tiny cuts in their path.

"Son of a bitch!" I grit my teeth and throw a hand over a deep one that tears at my cheek.

A fury so profound I can't even get words to form grips my senses. We were so damn wrapped up in each other none of us heard the bell or the whoosh of the elevator doors opening. I thought for sure the security team at Club Sin would have kicked his ass out of the building. Which they most likely did. But they can't keep him out of the building. They can't control him from coming to the Centennial for a meeting with his clients.

My gaze lands on a hole two inches from where Stefan's head rested while I was on his lap.

Cold seeps into my veins and the meaning.

I don't get to focus on the fact he nearly died for long.

"How bad is she hurt?" Adrian shouts over all the noise.

"Flesh wound. It's only a flesh wound," Stefan repeats, holding me tighter.

One second Stefan is rocking me like a baby and in the next we are off the floor and on our feet. He shuffles me behind a nearby partition and palms the weapon Adrian tosses his way.

"How the fuck did this piece of shit get in here?" Stefan gets a spray of bullets in our direction for his question.

"I gave him a temporary code. Didn't think our new lawyer wanted us dead before we paid him for the work."

Adrian sounds almost amused.

"You gave him the code to our elevator?"

Emilio appears calm, but there's an incredulous layer of disbelief, too.

"It was a temporary code."

Adrian's tone is flat.

"Thinking out loud here, but maybe we don't give those out anymore."

"Stefan is right," I add, questioning everyone's sanity.

"I think you're right, little flower."

I dare a quick look around the wall Stefan has stuffed us behind. William has done the same closer to the elevator. Only the glint of light off the side of his gun now and again reveals his hiding spot.

"Come on, Astor. Give me what's mine and I'll be on my way."

Adrian winks at me, and then the tension crumbles around us. There's a blur of motion. Bullets fly. Glass shatters. Shards turn into tiny projectiles aiming to slice us to pieces. Stefan wraps himself around me while my two other men put themselves in danger for me.

"No!" I scream. I can not let them get hurt because of me.

Blackness overtakes me and all I can do is wait for Stefan to release his hold on me.

The bullets stop. Drywall dust dances in the morning sunlight.

"I never thought you three would stoop to fucking my left overs. I knew you were at the bottom working your way up after the shit your father pulled, but a Moone? Damn, I need to pick my clients better."

Silence. Stefan takes the fresh clip Adrian hands him and reloads. Emilio does the same with his back against a tattered partition. He winks at me like this is all fun and games for him. The scars on his knuckles and the rest of all their bodies makes sense now.

If we make it out of this we are all going to have a longer talk.

"You're not leaving here, William Brigh. Not on your own volition, anyway." Adrian speaks as if he is stating a fact. Ice clings to his tone and if I were William my knees would give out right about now. Adrian wants blood. All my men do.

There's another whoosh. I peek around Stefan to see two more men step off the elevator, guns ready.

"Move!" Stefan grabs me and I go from being on my feet to having my back on the floor.

A wave of bullets slam into the kitchen island, the walls and anything else around us. The glass beyond the kitchen makes thudding sounds, but doesn't break. Who the hell puts bullet-proof windows in?

"I told you those were an excellent investment."

That is Emilio again. His smile is almost contagious if we were not in a shootout in the middle of their apartment. Even so, his lightheartedness makes me feel like we might not die.

And then the elevator bell goes off again. The doors slide open. My heart can't take much more of this. I peek around the edge of the kitchen island as Emilio pops off a few rounds.

I throw myself at him and force him to drop his gun.

"It's my sister! Not her. Not her!"

"Dive, Luna!" I roar.

My sister dives off the elevator as a fresh wave of bullets pepper across metal and drywall. Power and sparks mix. Someone with a stark patch of red hair on the top of his head dives in behind her and chaos ensues with William caught in the middle.

Someone falls over me and I have no choice but to hold on for dear life. Through a tiny space, I see tufts of cotton join the fray of debris. Someone bellows and then there's silence.

Chills erupt over my skin. There's a roar. Metal clatters to the once pristine floor. Bullets stop pelting the walls.

My world slows. Is everyone dead?

I gulp air. Or am I?

Emilio moves and he pulls us to our feet just in time to see the man with red hair bury his fist in someone's face. One of William's flunkies. Off to the side, William is crab walking his way to the elevator when Stefan sinks two bullets in his knees.

"I told you, you're not leaving here."

I cringe at the gut-wrenching scream William releases. Nausea churns in my belly at the stench of blood. I'm a lot of bravado in a small package, but I can't handle blood.

A heavy hand comes down on my shoulder. It takes everything in me not to scream and strike out. Only a familiar set of eyes keeps my heart in my chest and my knuckles out of Emilio's teeth.

"Come here."

His arms are the only place I want to be when he picks me up and holds me to him.

"Fuck, I don't think my heart will beat normal for a while." His words are muffled against my neck.

To my side, Adrian tucks his gun into the back of his pants and grabs the men William brought with him by the throat. "You should be careful who you follow into war. Picking the wrong side will get you killed."

Adrian turns and looks at me. He pulls his gun out and aims the barrel at the man's head. "I will not apologize for protecting you." Emilio tucks me into him but I hear the chamber unleash its wrath.

It happens again before I have the balls to turn around and face my lover.

He crosses the room, holding my gaze. "Do you hate me?"

My heart pounds hard against my ribcage. Worry deepens the creases at the edges of his eyes. Blood stains his hands and shirt. Behind him I see William close to passing out. The big red-haired man is standing beside him like a guard. One move and William won't have to worry about the bullets in his knees.

I turn my unwavering gaze on Adrian and tell him God's honest truth. "No." I throw myself into Adrian's arms only feeling gratitude. "Thank you, is all I can say."

William struggles frantically but he might as well accept his fate. His gurgling makes my stomach clench, but I accept the fact some people don't deserve to be treated nicely. William is one of those people.

Memories of my father's last deal have stayed with me in the years that he's been gone. He always spoke of having a lawyer willing to get his hands dirty when the need arose. But my father never gave names. He always kept his work far away from the family. So we never knew who he really worked with. The cloud I've lived in since my assault is finally dissipating and I have to wonder. What if…

I hold a hand up when the guard goes to haul William over his shoulder.

"Where should I dump the trash?"

"Take him for a complimentary stay at Club G. Tell Harlon we will be by later on and settle the bill," Adrian answers.

I have no idea what Club G is, but William does and the terror in his face says it's not a nice place to go.

I hold a hand up. "Wait."

"Stella?"

Luna, who has stayed quiet watching me with my men, grabs my hand.

"I'm okay. Your friend has him right?" I look at the man I suddenly want to get to know real well. If he's my sister's friend, he can be mine, too. Having a dude his size on your side is pure common sense.

"You can trust Big Red," Luna confirms.

"He won't lay another hand on you, Miss Moone. Never again."

I come face to face with my assailant and ask a question I am not sure I want to know the answer to. But I have to know. Luna would want to know too.

"Did you kill our father, William?"

I keep my hands at my sides and hold the fucker's gaze, unwavering. I refuse to give another ounce of fear to this man.

"I didn't get that satisfaction. You were a payment for a job your father couldn't complete. I had a buyer lined up to pay mega bucks for the legendary Moone princess' virginity, too."

When Big Red's fist connects with William's midriff, I don't take joy in his pain. But I don't feel bad about it either. Big Red hauls a wheezing William over his shoulder.

Luna pulls me in for a hug and I gladly leave my ex for someone else to deal with. "My God, I told you to have some fun, find a little adventure and to get out of your writing cave. Not to take on all your demons at once. Damn, Stella."

"What are you doing here?"

"Belladonna business."

"Ahh."

I can't feel a single part of my body from the amount of adrenaline pumping through my veins. But I can hear the worry in her voice and I know when I come down from the rush, I'll be shaking as much as she is right now.

But right this second I don't care about the bullet graze, broken glass under my feet or the fact that I am wearing literally nothing but a button down that is half ripped.

I tuck the flabby part under my arm to make sure I am not flashing any of the guards picking up the rest of William flunkies from where they lay.

"I would like to introduce you to my new friends."

"Friends?"

Stefan's gruff voice sounds mortally wounded, but his smile is teasing when I turn and let him pull me into his arms.

"Luna, this is?—"

"—old work friends of mine." My sister takes Stefan's hand in hers, gives it a quick shake and then we are all blown away by what she does next. I've never ever known my sister to be anything but practical and very matter-a-fact. But right this second her tears match mine as she gives each of my lovers hugs.

"Thank you for protecting her when I couldn't."

Luna moves back to me and slips her fingers through mine. "She's all I have left in this world outside of my husbands. I can't have anything happen to her. The job you needed me to do is done. As for the extra fee, let's call ourselves even."

"You never have to thank us for protecting the woman we love."

Surprise hits me in the heart like an arrow doing one hundred miles an hour.