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“Thanks, Lucien,” Calder replied. Lucien returned the smile, looking as if he wanted to pull Calder in for a cuddle.
Maybe last night had been good for them. Or at least, had put them on better footing than they had been.
“Let’s take the chair to the first floor, where we have some more room to work. Then you can help me drag what I need out of my truck,” Gio announced, part of him hating to ruin the moment. But neither man seemed upset by his intrusion. They turned their smiles to include him like they were just happy that he was with them right then.
Gio carefully picked up the chair and navigated it through the crowded attic with Lucien’s help. He brushed off offers from both men to let them carry it, which was so damn adorable.
“How about we leave the chair here in the foyer and bring the padded blankets in here?” Calder suggested. “Reduces the chances of something happening to the chair outside.”
Lucien snorted. “Like one of Baer’s squirrels chewing on a leg.”
“Or a bird crapping on it,” Calder added.
Gio set the chair off to the side in the foyer and clapped his hands together. “Works for me.”
There was no way in hell he was going to argue with that. The process meant him staying at the house a few minutes longer. Once the chair was wrapped and packed, he had no reason to linger.
Together, they stepped out of the house and onto the porch. Before they reached the stairs, Gio stopped to see ten young girls in Girl Scout uniforms walking down the driveway. The sight of them was so unusual that it stopped him cold. Why in the world would an entire troop of Girl Scouts be approaching the house?
“Wow. They look really serious about those cookie sales,” Calder murmured softly beside him.
“Do they usually send the entire troop to strong-arm you?” Gio inquired.
Calder shrugged and glanced over at Lucien. “I’ve only been living here a few months.”
“Don’t look at me. I haven’t been here much longer than you. First I’ve seen of them, but it’s like they know Baer can eat an entire box of Thin Mints in one sitting.”
Smiling, Calder lifted one hand in the air in greeting. “Hey, ladies! What can we do for you?”
The Girl Scouts stopped in a line, spreading out in the driveway that formed a circle in front of the house. In an almost synchronized motion, they reached behind them and pulled out machine guns. Honest-to-fucking-God machine guns.
Gio couldn’t move. His brain was utterly locked up to see their small hands wrapped around the two grips as they took aim. What the fuck was he seeing?
“Shit!” Lucien swore a second before his larger body plowed into him, tackling him to the porch and rolling them out of the direct line of fire. They rolled together, Gio going loose in Lucien’s arms.
Ten guns sent out a relentless barrage of bullets into the house. Lucien had come to rest with his spine on one of the thick columns and Gio between his legs, his back against Lucien’s chest.
“Calder!” Lucien bellowed, his hands tightening on Gio.
“Here. I’m good.”
Lucien dropped his head so that his forehead was pressed to Gio’s head. “Thank fuck,” he muttered, though Gio could barely hear him over the noise.
“We need Grey!” Calder called.
“He’s not going to be able to do much until they run out of bullets,” Lucien shouted.
“What the fuck is going on? Who called the Girl Scout hit squad on you guys?” Gio demanded. This was insane. He was crouched on the front porch of a gorgeous house, his heart trying to beat out of his chest while the Girl Scouts of America were attempting to gun them down.
“Lucien?”
Gio shifted in Lucien’s protective hold to see Lucien and Calder exchanging pained looks.
Lucien shook his head. “There’s nothing I can do that won’t hurt them.”
Calder sighed and nodded. “I think…I think I can summon the water from the pool. Use it to form a barrier. Can you get Gio into the house?”
“I can. You’ve got this,” Lucien said in a firm voice that left no room for doubt.
“What?” Gio croaked. None of this was making sense.
“It’s okay. We’ve got you. We’re not going to let anything happen to you,” Lucien whispered directly into his ear. His arms tightened a little more. While the world was literally exploding around him, Gio found himself believing him. Lucien and Calder would keep him safe even if one man was talking crazy about pool water.
Bullets pummeled brick, shattered windows, bit into the wood porch, and sent chunks of plaster spinning out from the column. Lucien swore, and Gio’s heart went out to him. This beautiful house was being destroyed by the gunfire. All that hard work gone in the blink of an eye.
