Page 27 of Double Shot
“Thank you, and the Guild will remember and repay this great debt,” I said, returning his bow.
“Is this MMO game shit?” Lach asked with a barking laugh.
“It certainly is,” I said. “Name your price, sir.”
“The Orb of the Kraken-God,” he said.
“Done,” I agreed. There was a certain paradox – a successful deejay, electronic musician, and club promoter, and still a borderline introvert. His goodbye was brief, and as much as I owed him, I was still glad to be alone with the people who were my family, Kyle and Sadie.
No sooner had the door shut behind Grant than Sadie and Lach turned and the three of us were left, mere steps between us, staring at one another, the silence heavy.
Sadie’s eyes filled first. There was a slight tremble, growing to convulse her body into a violent shudder. I went to her without thinking and pulled her into my arms, her slight form crashing against mine a wave upon the rocks, her resolve dissolving like seafoam as the reality closed over all of our heads.
Together…
I felt her reaching blindly behind me to Lach, her small hands that had so flawlessly gripped the rifle in the car opening and closing, grasping at air. There was a clack as Lach set his glass aside and joined us, coming around to crush her small form between us. He hugged me, holding her between us where she was always meant to be and I caught the glimmer of tears and emotion in his obsidian gaze as well.
I buried my hand in her long silky hair, pressed her to my chest and met my partner and best friend’s eyes, tears in my own and nodded. He sniffed, and I did too, a slight laugh from him met by a chuckle from me.
We’d never been so free with emotion in front of one another like this. It was… uncomfortable, but right and undoubtedly what our girl needed from us right now as she wept so freely against me.
She cried an ocean, our Sadie did, and with the catharsis came exhaustion.
It was the reunion we had been waiting for. Freed from the constraint of spectators and the threat of bodily harm and death. Her eyes were reddened and puffy from tears and weeping. I felt my own tears freed upon my face, the pure, ecstatic release of finally being out from under the Escadrille’s thumb and having them back, and they weresafe.
I had dreamt of this.
This moment, imagining it, had sustained me when Kaijin had been at her most sadistic.
Then the inevitable event came. Lach was the first to step back from us both. The downside of adrenaline was the crash. Lach seemed nonplussed, but this was old hat to him. His crash usually involved large amounts of gin, and escapades with prostitutes. The thought of that was sour in the mouth. When the euphoria of reunion was faded, I could see the wind go out of Sadie’s sails.
We escorted her to the bedroom and stripped her nude, letting the satin of the robe fall away from her smooth skin. I looked, relieved she was free from scar or injury that she hadn’t already possessed upon first coming to us.
I gave her a few chaste kisses, while Lach pulled out a simple silk nightie and we slipped it over her head. She made a soft noise at the sensation of the fabric sliding down her body. We all but carried her to the bed, tucking her into the middle.
“Both of you,” she purred sleepily. “Stay with me, please? Don’t leave me.”
“Yes, Poppet,” I said. I stripped and took the cloth bits that Lach held out to me, changing into something more suitable for sleep and tried to not look at the ruin of my stump. I made sure she couldn’t see it. I had put a lot of punishment on it today, with a less than stellar prosthetic under me. For not the first time, I missed my old carbon fiber and titanium leg that was left under the ashes of Bootlegger Head.
“Got a crutch for you,” Lach murmured. “Gonna need to give that a break for a couple of days and get you a new leg.”
I nodded quickly and deliberately averted my gaze to Sadie. He nodded and looked… I don’t know. I couldn’t quite identify the look but it was of no consequence. I got into bed with her as Kyle changed himself, lifting the blankets to slide in between them and to put Sadie firmly between us. It was not lost on me that he took the side of the bed closest to the door to the room.
It didn’t take Sadie long to drift into sleep, her body pressed in the midst of ours, her cheek pressed to my chest, her arm around me, clutching me close. If this were a similar thing toTheOccurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,then this was the closest to Heaven that I could imagine.
Lach and I stared at one another over her sleeping form for I don’t know how long. I could practically feel his unrest. His comedown ritual incomplete, I knew he was seriously wanting for a drink.
“Go,” I murmured quietly. “Take care of yourself, mate.”
“You sure?” he asked, and ran his hand down Sadie’s body, over the covers as though she were feline for real rather than in just her grace.
“I’m sure. You’re no good to us for what comes next if you can’t have this.”
He grunted. “You know me so well.”
“Aye,” I agreed.
“I’ve got my phone. Call or text me if anything comes up with Shady… she—” His mouth pressed down into a flat line. “She might need us both,” he said finally. I didn’t know what he meant, but Sadie stirred slightly in her rest and I didn’t wish to push it. I simply nodded and held her a little tighter.
