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I eased myself up to sit. He pulled back, putting an arm up to pillow his head with a sleepy smile on his face. I didn't get it. I mean, I guessed at was he was implying, but I couldn’t tell if he was serious. Was he teasing me?
"Us?" I asked.
He smirked. He opened his mouth and started to say something but a rattling of keys in the door stole his attention. He twisted himself to look back at the door.
Marc appeared first, followed by Axel. Brandon and Corey tailed behind them. Kevin followed and he closed the door behind himself.
I sat up further, pulling myself away from Raven. Raven shared a small smirk with me, like I was doing exactly the thing he wanted me to do. I didn’t know how to tell him I was just confused and didn’t know where to put myself.
Brandon worked his way around the group of guys, his arms open and his face full of concerned lines. “Kayli, what the hell were you thinking?”
For a flash of time, I thought he was talking about sitting on top of Raven. “Huh?”
He came around, pulling me up by the arm. He hugged me to his body. He pushed his face against my ear. “You shot him in the leg! And the boat?”
“Sorry?” I wasn’t sure if that’s what I should say. He didn’t sound peeved as much as it was like, oops, you spilled the milk.
He sighed heavily and whispered quieter so only I could hear. “How am I supposed to protect you when you’re running off half-cocked like that? Next time, give me a chance to keep up, okay?”
I grinned into his shoulder. I couldn’t help it.
A body slammed in behind me, nearly knocking us over. Corey’s face loomed near mine, the grin was broad. “Marc told us about the boat crash. That was awesome. I wish I’d seen it.”
I struggled to breathe between the two, and then started wriggling. “Guys, you’re such dorks.”
“Hey,” Axel barked at me, but in an amused tone. “What did I tell you about the name calling?”
The twins released me, and I stood on the carpet with my hands up in defense, as if waiting for one of them to strike.
Axel gestured to the couch. “Okay, sit. We need to figure out what happens next.”
Raven pulled himself up on the couch, and he slid over, making room for the others. Corey sat next to him. Raven gave him the I wasn’t making room for you look but Corey was oblivious to it and grinned happily at him. Raven smirked, shook his head and sat back.
I sat next to Corey and Brandon took up the space my other side. Between them, it was like two mirrored bodyguards, equally exquisite.
Axel and Marc sat on the coffee table. I guessed they really did need the coffee table. They used it for these meetings. Kevin sat on the floor.
“Okay,” Axel said. “From what I’m hearing, Coaltar’s crew called for a tow boat, saying there was a small accident. Coaltar was toted out, and has a private doctor looking at his leg.”
“How do you know all this?” I asked.
Corey coughed lightly and grinned.
I smirked at him and poked him in the arm. “You sneaky devil.”
“Yeah, well,” Corey said, rubbing his hand across the back of his head. “I figured I’d tap in and at least figure out if they were coming after us.”
“He’s going to be in surgery soon,” Axel said. “And from what I hear, he’s already planning a recovery retreat down in Palm Beach, Florida. He’s telling people he’ll be there for at least three weeks. For now, he may just be out of our hair.”
“What about the cartel?” I asked. “Did I mess up? Are they coming after us?”
“Actually,” Axel said, sitting up a little straighter. “From what I understand, the man that attacked Marc on the boat was a member of the cartel. He’s heading back to his gang, but Coaltar’s made a deal with him not to talk about you. This gang member wasn’t happy, but apparently Coaltar’s already gone above and beyond what they expected and they appreciate his intervening early.” Axel raked his fingers through his jet-black hair and yanked the strands away from his eyes. “No one wanted a turf war in this area. The JH-14 drugs were from an offshoot of their own gang looking to start an uprising. They’re going to infiltrate and pick out the key personnel and take care of it their own way.”
I gasped, my hand reaching for Corey’s leg for stability. “They can’t—“
Axel waved his hand in the air. “They’re drug gang members,” he said. “Every one of them. The village is safe, but the persons responsible will be hunted. When Coaltar told you that part about the drugs not hurting anyone if they drank it from the well, he was telling you the truth, or at least he believed. Maybe he even believed part of what he was saying when he thought he could save lives, but the truth was, the cartel would have never let these guys get away with this. The drugs may have actually warned the village the cartel was coming, but it wouldn’t have stopped this assassination.”
Corey gently wrapped his hand around my wrist and tugged it until he could clutch my hand. “Kayli,” he said quietly, drawing my attention. “These aren’t good guys. These are murderers and drug dealers fighting their own war. But now they’re going back home and out of Charleston. The battle is over there now. The DEA and other government agenices need to take care of this. This is beyond what we can do. We can’t take on the world.”
I had to agree. Outside of stopping Coaltar, I had no idea what else to do about this. Maybe Axel was right. Corey was right. They all were. How far do you go to help people?
And with that thought, I sighed heavily. “It’s over,” I said softly. It was true. They didn’t need me anymore and I wasn’t in danger. There was nothing to hold me here. I was a stranger they met a few days ago, and despite so much that had happened, this all had to end.
The others nodded grimly.
Kevin looked confused. He brushed his palm against his dark curly hair. “Why the hell do you guys look like that? I say it’s about time this was over. Now we can get back to it being almost quiet around here.”
Raven smirked. “When is it ever quiet?”
“It certainly isn’t usually this bad,” Kevin said. “Apparently I missed most of it.”
“Consider yourself lucky,” Axel said.
I started to say something, and then realized Corey was still holding on to my hand. He’d intertwined our fingers. I grinned at him, as it was so cute. He didn’t strike me as gay like his brother said. Still, Corey’s smile was again melting that wall inside me. It made it hard for me to say what I had to.
“Guess you guys don’t need me anymore,” I said. “It’s time I went home.”
There was a collection of grunts and coughs. They looked at each other.
Axel shrugged. “If Coaltar’s out of the way, and there’s no sign of him looking for you, there’s no reason to hold you here.”
Marc frowned. “Kayli,” he said. He jerked his head and motioned to the door. “Can I talk to you
? Outside?”
I glanced at the others, wondering, but no one questioned this. I stood, worried that if I didn’t go with him, he’d come after me and carry me out like last time.
I stood, releasing Corey. I waved shortly at Brandon and then at the others and followed Marc out into the hall.
When the door closed behind us, I hovered on the carpet. The hall was empty, and I was nervous, wondering what trouble I was in now.
Marc still favored his leg. I was surprised to see him up and going and not strung out on pain killers. “How’s your, um...” I said. I didn’t know how to bring it up.
His eyebrows shifted above his mismatched eyes. “My leg?”
“Yeah,” I said.
He smirked. “At least I didn’t get shot this time.”
I rolled my eyes and took a step back. He could joke about this?
“It’s fine.” Marc faced me and waved off his hand like he didn’t want to talk about his leg any more. “I promised you,” he said.
I wasn’t sure which promise he was referring to me. “Huh?”
“I told you that you’d never have to see that hotel again,” he said. “And I didn’t want to tell the others yet.” He leaned on one leg and hobbled closer. “You can stay here, you know? I mean, if you’re uncomfortable in the bedroom right now, there’s at least a couch. And Wil could come with you. We’ll make room.”
My mouth dropped open and my heart thundered. “Marc...”
“He’s cool,” he said. “I would have done it sooner, but it got kind of crazy. It’s no big deal. A few months and he’ll be in college. And even before then, we’ll get you an apartment. Or you can just move in. I don’t care. Whatever you want.”
I squared off my shoulders at Marc. I knew he wouldn’t like my answer, but it needed to be done. “I have to go,” I said.
“Not this shit again.”
I made a fist, aiming a loose punch at his chest. “I mean I have to go home.”
His eyebrows hunched together. “Bambi, I promised you that you wouldn’t have to go back.”
“I know,” I said. “I appreciate it, but...” I stumbled for words. It’s not what I wanted. In my heart, I’d already grown really fond of everyone.
