“Peace. Silence. We don’t get that a lot where I’m from.”
“Brooklyn that bad?” This from Bass. I watch his eyes slowly rise to my face, daring me to lie to him.
“We didn’t come from Brooklyn.” I might not think they’re with the ones after us, but that doesn’t mean I trust them. And I’m not about to lay my life story out at their feet.
Law must realize I’m not going to talk about my past, or at least not much of it, to get us to the part he wants to know. “What happened today? Why were they trying to kill you?”
I shrug.
Casper huffs out a laugh and rolls his eyes. “Seriously? You expect us to believe that?”
“Don’t expect fucking anything from you. I don’t know why they wanted me dead. They didn’t exactly start talking before they started to shooting.”
“But you knew they would come. That’s why you sent Oliver to Mama Bear’s house.” Bass is calm as he speaks, unlike Casper, who’s clearly frustrated by me. Not that I care.
“Didn’t know he was going to her place.”
“You just sent him away.” Law leans on the table. “You knew someone was going to come for you, and you wanted him far away.”
I nod once, even though it’s not needed.
“How did you know?”
I look away and try to cage down my anger at myself. I was stupid. So stupid. “Ollie was pretty bummed about missing out on the party, so I figured ice cream in town would cheer him up. We don’t go in much, so I figured it was okay. Noticed some people.” I look back at the table, to Law, then cast my eyes to Bass. No idea why. “Saw they noticed us too. We left as soon as we could, but I knew it was only a matter of time. Had Ollie packed and out before the sun went down, knowing it was the best shot he had.”
“Before night?” Casper cast a confused look at the others, but I only nod.
“He knows to get as far as he can when it’s light out before hiding through the night. Never expected that he would just wait it out at Maddy’s place. I just told him to head north.”
“You just kicked him out?” The outrage from Bass has my hackles rising.
“I didn’t kick him out for nothing. He knows the drill. I stay, he goes. He can survive—he knows how. He had no problem facing off against you assholes, did he? The kid’s strong, so fuck off. You know nothing about him or me, so quit judging.” I’m hissing at him but want to yell and scream. I know everyone in this place can hear me, but I still try to keep it down for Ollie and his friends while they sleep.
“Yousacrificed yourself,” Casper says as he leans back in his chair and looks me over.
I glare at him, daring him to say something, but it’s Law who draws my eyes as he nods and speaks.
“Hell of a mother to give up the one thing she wants to protect most in the world.” I see the appreciation in his eyes and not an ounce of judgment.
“You have no idea,” I say, but I don’t give a fuck if they think I’m talking about myself or not.
“Kid snuck into the house before the alarms were set,” Chains says as he and the person they call Gator come into the room. “Footage shows he came in through the bathroom window and then hid under the guest bed till he woke up Mama Bear. We watched as he helped her get the kids up and into the storage room. Went as far as making sure he was the last one down there before he closed it up for her. I don’t like that the kid came into my house, but I can give him props for protecting mine.” He looks down at me from his standing position by the table. “You taught him well.”
I nod because I’ve got nothing else to say. Ollie and I have been protecting each other from the start. It only makes sense that he would use that same training on those he sees as friends.
“What else did the videos show?” Law asks.
Gator speaks up. “The three assailants drove past the place three times earlier in the day, then came back about two hours ago and parked a street over. They took it on foot, and two came in the front. One went to the bedroom, which is where you”—he looks at me—“took him out quickly.”
“You guys have cameras inside the house? That’s fucked up.” I shiver, thinking about all the pervert footage they have of me and Ollie.
Gator rolls his eyes. “We only have cameras on the outside. We can determine what happened based on what we saw from the outside and what we saw of the place on the inside.” He goes back to looking only at Law as I snort my disbelief. “From there, she cleared room after room till she found the second one in the kitchen and took him out, but not without drawing his attention, and he took a few wide shots. Flint’s crew’s going to need to do some patchwork before we get that unit back on the market.”
“Shit.” Law shakes his head.
“You know he’s going to charge us double, right? He hates repeat work,” Casper says with a sigh as he crosses his arms.
“Yeah, I know.” Laws nods before shaking his head again in obvious frustration. “Fuckers are going to cost me an arm and a leg.” He takes another breath before addressing Gator again. “What about the third? Where did he come into play?”
