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“You’d be really mad if you died before you could kick someone’s ass.”
He followed that with a snort and another slight tilt of his head. “Okay.” He took a breath and let up on the gas. Texas’ normally soulful brown eyes burned like embers in a dark fire. And if Stover hurt my guys, I would unleash that fire. I’d make sure he burned in it.
* * *
Vineyards smelled of grapes, I realized. Fruit and flowers. The scent surrounded us as we crept through the rows and rows of grapes. I felt suffocated by all of the smells. It was so heavy in the air that I held a hand over my mouth and nose as we moved towards the house at the top of the hill.
As we approached the back veranda, a swinging sign that readLittle Hill Vineyardcaught my attention. A golden glow of lights illuminated from within. Texas and I trailed up to the back door and when we found it locked, he handed me the gun and bent down to check it out. After a moment he withdrew a small ring of keys from his pocket. I frowned at them as he slid one partially into the lock, glanced my way, and smacked his hand down hard turning the key at the same time.
The door popped open. “How…?” I whispered as I handed him back the gun and he slipped the ring of keys back in his pocket.
“Bump keys,” he said quietly before putting a finger to his lips and gestured for me to step to the side.
We entered through a kitchen, the sound of voices drifting down from somewhere above. We both looked up as we heard a distinctive shout and a crash. “Stover,” I said, moving towards the stairwell.
“Harlow, no,” Texas hissed, but it was too late, I was already halfway up the stairs. I paused, turned, and gestured for him to follow. “I should go first,” he said, moving past me. “Stay behind me and if any of them have guns, I want you to run.”
“Fat chance,” I whispered.
“What?” He turned and looked back at me.
“You got it,” I lied. There was no way in hell.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “I mean it.”
I nodded and nudged him forward. “Let’s go.”
Texas turned and lifted the gun in his hand as we crept up the stairwell. My heart raced against my ribcage, pounding so loud that I swore it was as if the damn organ was hooked up to a speaker. I could hear it in my ears.
“—tell me where the evidence is and you can all go home,” I heard Stover saying as we neared the second floor. Texas paused and put his hand back to keep me from continuing forward as we listened to the response.
“Where do you fucking think it is, you idiot?” I bit my lip at Grayson’s remark. There was a beat of silence before a sharp thump and a responding groan.
“I’ve been incredibly patient with you, Jenna,” Stover continued, “but this is your fault. You got these people involved—”
“You got them involved,” I heard a feminine voice—assumedly Jenna—interrupt. As Texas and I moved closer to the corner, and I leaned past him to peek around the corner, I spotted them through an open doorway into what looked like an office. I was right. It was her. “If you hadn’t embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars, none of this would be happening.”
“It was three million, you little bitch,” Stover snapped with a growl. “A million dollars. Do you know how much it costs to even live in Sydney? I left my life behind in Texas to come here and what do they repay me with? They wanted me out! I took what I was due.”
There was a deep rumble as a man encased in all black—black cargo pants, black shirt, and a black mask covering his whole head—strode by the doorway and said something. I looked to Texas, but it appeared that neither of us could make out whatever was being said by the man.
“They’rewhat?” Stover screeched. “Get them in here now!”
Texas moved down a step, pushing me back as the man in black appeared in the doorway once more, this time heading in our direction. “Go,” Texas hissed, motioning for me to retreat back down the stairs, but as we turned another man in the same attire—all black everything—appeared at the end of the staircase, effectively trapping us between them.
I could see indecision cross over Texas’ face and then he quickly lifted the gun and took aim. I gasped as the gun went off and covered my ears as they began to ring immediately after. The man at the top collapsed, clutching his leg as he groaned. Texas swung around and pointed the gun at the man from below.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Texas warned as he backed up the stairs, pulling me with him. The man watched us through the eye holes in his mask. It was hard to tell from his expression, but from the tension in his body language, he wasn’t happy. We moved past the fallen man as he rolled and clutched at his leg, cursing a blue streak so rapidly that it became all gibberish to me. Texas swung around as Stover appeared in the doorway. “Harlow, get the others,” Texas commanded.
I rushed ahead, moving past Stover with as minimal contact as I could. He scowled at Texas, keeping his eyes trained on him even as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.
“Harlow, what—you shouldn’t—” I rushed to Grayson’s side as he struggled to move away from the wall.
“Don’t worry about that now,” I said, as I shoved him forward and frowned. Reaching into his pockets, I felt it when he stiffened as I brushed against something that wasnotwhat I was looking for. “Are you serious?” I said as I found the pocket knife he kept and used it to slice through the zip ties at his wrists.
He shrugged. “Can you really blame me, Doll?” he asked with a rueful grin. “You’re here. The blood is pumping. Texas is holding a gun…” There was a pause. “Why the fuck does Texas have a gun?”
I moved to Marv and cut his restraints next. “It was for emergencies,” Knix said with a sigh as I got to him.
