Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Nevaeh

T he last few days have been busy. Havoc has been with the new prospect, making plans, and I was tying up loose ends with the book I sent off to my editor less than an hour ago.

Now I’m sitting out back, letting the peace and quiet soothe my soul. Of course, as soon as I think that, the silence is broken by a series of loud bangs and shattering glass. I let out a shriek and drop to the floor, hiding underneath the table, unable to see where the noise is coming from. I’m not an idiot. I know what gunfire sounds like. What I don’t know is who the target is.

Tears run down my face unchecked as I pray everyone else is safe, too. It isn’t until I hear Havoc roar my name that I realize the bullets have stopped. I hear running footsteps as I peek out from under my hiding spot. Havoc looks around frantically for me as the guys try to yank him back.

“For fuck sake, Havoc, it’s not safe. The shooter might still be out there.”

“Nevaeh,” he yells again, ignoring them.

“I’m here,” I call out, climbing to my feet, not wanting anyone else out there to get hurt because of me.

He runs to me and scoops me up before carrying me back inside. Despite what happened, it’s less chaotic inside than I thought it would be. It’s busy, almost a full house, but nobody is running around like a headless chicken. But then I suppose they’ve faced stuff like this before. That should make me feel more afraid, but I’m comforted by the knowledge that they know what to do in a crisis.

“Nevaeh!”

I turn my head at the sound of Amity’s voice just as she barges into us, smacking my arm with her cast. Havoc moves back a step, but instead of complaining, he wraps an arm around Amity and draws her closer as she breathes me in.

“I’m okay. When I heard the first shot, I took cover under the table. Do we know if anyone was hurt?”

“Everyone’s fine. The spot they targeted was empty,” G answers as Amity pulls back and Havoc lowers me to my feet. He doesn’t let me go, though, his large arm wrapping around me and pulling me close to his chest.

“What happened?” Havoc snaps as I sense others drawing nearer.

“You want to do this in church?”

Havoc looks around at everyone. The only people here who aren’t brothers are me and Amity.

“Here’s fine. Tell me what you know.”

“The clinic’s alarm went off when a bullet tripped the sensor. I got the notification and checked the cameras. Though I couldn’t see the shooter, they were likely just outside the back gates.”

“So the property wasn’t breached?”

“Not that I could see, but I’d rather get visual confirmation.”

“You’re thinking it was a sniper.”

“Damn right I am.”

“Mac, Toot, go check out the back gate. Hannibal, check out the clinic. Take Midas with you to watch your back.”

They all nod and disappear without fanfare.

“You said the sensors were tripped. Was the clinic the target?”

G looks at Amity before his eyes come to me, and he shakes his head. “I could be wrong. The camera angle wasn’t the best, but it looked like the target was the RV.”

It takes a moment for his words to sink in. Amity’s RV was her home until she moved in here with G. And technically, it is still mine, even though I spend every night with Havoc. And now it’s been shot up like something out of a fucking movie.

“Did you see how much damage there is?” Amity asks, her voice filled with fury. I reach out and squeeze her hand.

“No. But as soon as the others come back and give us the all-clear, we can go look.”

I swallow, my eyes moving around the quiet faces in the room until they fall on the large clock on the wall. It’s five minutes past midnight. The witching hour seems fitting for the chaos that just occurred, which is when something else dawns on me.

“What if it was shot up because someone thinks I’m still sleeping there? I mean, if it weren’t for Havoc, I would be, especially at this time.”

Havoc freezes solid. G curses and grabs Amity, holding her to him before she starts freaking out.

“I’ll kill them. I don’t care who they fucking are. I’ll slaughter them all,” she screeches.

I tap Havoc lightly, needing him to let me go, but he’s a solid immovable force behind me.

I look at G with pleading eyes and he shuffles closer with Amity. I grab her arm, and as soon as I touch her, she stills. She turns to look at me, her eyes damp with tears, which sets me off.

“Stop crying. I’m fine.”

“I’m not crying. I’m allergic to your perfume.”

“It’s your perfume I’m wearing.” I grin.

“I knew I liked it.”

She grabs my wrist tightly. “Do not die on me, Pippin. I’m not fucking kidding around here, okay.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Have a little faith in me.”

She blows out a shuddering breath before nodding. “Okay.”

“Okay.” I look at G. “Was this what I was like after the whole being thrown off a cliff thing?”

He chuckles. “You might have looked a little unhinged,” he admits. Havoc is still not speaking.

People have drifted away a little now to give the illusion of privacy, even though I know they’re still tuned into us. I turn in Havoc’s hold and look up at my man. I suck in a deep breath at the barely banked fury.

I reach up and cup his face. “Come back to me, Havoc,” I murmur softly so that only he can hear me.

His head dips just a fraction so his stormy eyes can stare into mine. “They could have killed you,” he grits out.

“But they didn’t because they didn’t do their homework.” That makes me frown. “Anyone from your old club who saw us together knows we are a couple. So either they think we’re faking it and know enough to find out I technically live in the RV, or the threat isn’t from the club but from somewhere else instead.”

I see G step up beside Havoc, a thoughtful look is on his face. He’s thinking about what I’m saying, which is just as well because Havoc is stuck on something else.

“You don’t live in the RV. You live with me.”

“Do I now? And when did you ask me to move in with you?”

“Asking implies you have a choice. The first time you took my cock, you became mine. That means you sleep beside me. That’s non-negotiable.”

I stare at him, flabbergasted. Looking around for a weapon so I can beat his ass, I come up empty-handed. He seems far too smug. Though I prefer that to the desperation he wore before, I’m not ready for him to reduce me down to property. I’m not opposed to being his as long as he’s mine, too. What I don’t like is the way he skims the line of doting boyfriend and sexist jackass.

As if sensing the violence inside me, his lips twitch with amusement, which sends my temper from simmer to boiling inferno. Bending down, I slip off my shoe and flip it around so the heel is facing him. I raise it above my head and glare at him.

G sighs, fighting a grin. “I can’t let you hit my president, Tinkerbell.”

“Why not? He thinks it’s okay to slap my ass if he thinks I’m in the wrong. I’m just returning the favor.”

I ignore the laughter in the room as Havoc unfolds his arms and lets them hang loosely at his side. I roll my eyes when I realize he has a giant hard-on.

“You want to spank him?” G chuckles.

“I want to knock some sense into him,” I hiss.

Havoc uses my distraction to make his move. I expected him to toss me over his shoulder, as that seems to be his signature move. Instead, he leans down and kisses me, and I forget why I was mad with him to begin with.

“I want you to live with me,” he murmurs against my lips. “Move in here officially, and we’ll look for somewhere we both like.”

“Okay.”

He grins and resumes kissing me. I swear my IQ falls faster than my panties when this man gets his hands on me. He just tricked me into giving in, but it’s hard to resist when I want the same things he does. He may not be everyone’s dream man, but he’s mine, no matter how much I like to pretend otherwise.

He pulls away when there is a commotion behind us. With a sigh, I find myself once more tucked within the cradle of Havoc’s arms as Mac and Toot approach, grim-faced, with Hannibal and Midas behind them.

“There is no damage to the perimeter fence. Unless someone scaled it and got in and out without being seen, then my guess is we’re looking at a sniper,” Mac tells them, coming to the same conclusion G and Havoc have.

“Amity jumped the fence once, though, right?”

Amity grins. “Not everyone is as good as me.”

“Thank fuck,” Havoc mutters. “The clinic?” he asks Hannibal.

“There is no damage. Nobody has been inside, either. The alarm was still on when we entered. The RV took most of the damage,” he admits softly.

I sigh. “I guess we better see what we’re dealing with.”

“In the morning. I’d rather err on the side of caution. It will be impossible to spot a sniper in the dark until it’s too late. I will send the prospects out to patrol the area so I need someone on the gate.”

“I’ll do it,” Crane offers.

Havoc nods. “G, contact Byte. See if anything suspicious has gone down on their end.”

“Want me to message Kieran too?”

He shakes his head. “No. I told him we wouldn’t unless it were an emergency. I don’t want to risk blowing his cover. He’ll contact us if he finds anything.”

“Alright. Come on, Amity. I might as well get some rest. I have a feeling it will be a rough few days.”

She walks over and gives me a quick hug. “It’s just stuff. We can replace anything we need to. We can’t replace each other.” She’s right, of course. Nobody knows that better than us.

“Everyone’s alright. We were lucky,” I agree.

G leads her away as Havoc walks us to the closest table and sits down, tugging me into his lap.

“You don’t want to get some rest?”

“I need to talk to the guys.”

“Want me to give you some space?”

“No, stay. I’m not ready to let you out of my sight just yet.”

“Okay.”

“Here you go, Tinkerbell.” Toot offers me my shoe, which I must have dropped mid-kiss.

I should probably be embarrassed, but I’m too tired to care. Instead, after thanking him, I drop it to the floor and kick off the other before straddling Havoc and tucking my head against his neck. He relaxes further under my submission, his talented fingers trailing up and down my spine in a soothing gesture.

I let them talk everything through, not paying a lick of attention as I start to drift off. I’m glad it was the RV they targeted. If they’d noticed me alone on the deck, would they have targeted me instead? I can only imagine Havoc’s anguish if I were killed, and maybe that’s the point. I might be the target, but Havoc is the prize.

Thank God none of the girls were out there with me. I would have never forgiven myself if they got hurt.

I bolt upright, almost clipping Havoc’s chin with my head. “The girls. Legs, Lil, and the others. Has anyone spoken to them?” I ask turning to face the table.

I see something dawn on Midas’s face, something that looks an awful lot like regret. Before he can act on it, Kruger answers, “Legs and Lil were at the pawn shop. I grabbed them and sent them upstairs. The rest of the girls are in the kitchen.”

“Oh, thank God. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to them. Not after everything they’ve already been through.”

“They didn’t make an attempt anywhere else. They were never in danger,” Midas says. Something tells me it’s to absolve himself of his guilt.

“No, thankfully Legs decided not to go to the clinic because she’s feeling better,” I say sarcastically, even though she’d have never been there at this time of night.

“She’s sick?” Midas sits upright.

“She’s had that sickness bug that’s been going around. Doesn’t she work for you? Haven’t you noticed?”

He mumbles something and storms off.

“That man needs high fiving in the face with a chair,” I snarl before settling back down against Havoc’s chest.

“It’s been a long night, cupcake. Why don’t you rest a little and when we’re finished here, we’ll head on up to bed. We can check in on the girls if you want first.”

“Okay,” I agree on a whisper, my eyes already drifting closed.