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I dug into my pocket until my fingers brushed my phone. I yanked it out then pressed Luc’s contact number.
“What’s up?”
His laid-back tone was about to change, and I cringed as I relayed what had happened and thought about the two dead guards.
“El has her gun on him?”
“Yes.”
“Look everywhere. Make sure there isn’t anyone else but stay by El. I’m coming.”
I heard him shout to the other guys, whoever was there. Then a door slammed in the distance. It wasn’t long before footsteps pounded the cold ground. Guards poured from the forested area and surrounded us, their weapons drawn. One of them took over for El, nudging her back by me.
Seconds later, more footsteps sounded. When Luc broke through the tree line, I took an involuntary step back at the pure rage on his face. I knew it wasn’t directed at me, but it was enough to make a grown man piss himself. Luckily, I hadn’t.
“Are you both okay?”
Luc’s tone was more growl than anything else. I nodded, and El replied that she was but that Ben had hit me in the head. I scowled at her. Not the time. Not when Luc looked ready to commit murder.
Max, Marco, and Stefano arrived soon after Luc. Marco went to El’s side. Max issued orders to security. I didn’t pay attention. My focus was on Luc. His hands clenched at his side. Then he hauled Ben up by one arm while snapping at Stefano, “I need you to cover Summer. Get her inside.”
I could only blink at him as he waited until Stefano wrapped an arm around me, and we raced back to the house, his gun covering us the entire way, while Luc dragged Ben behind him, scanning the surrounding area, gun out. Guards matched our pace on either side of us, combing the area with weapons in hand, ready for another ambush. Marco and El took up the rear of our group.
Once inside, Stefano deposited me on the couch, and Nicole, Emiliana, El, and Lil crowded around me.
“Oh, darlin’,” Nicole crooned. “You’ve got quite the goose egg. Lil, honey, can you grab a bag of frozen peas?”
Emiliana knelt in front of me and held up a finger. “Follow my finger with your eyes, Summer.” I did as she asked. “Do you feel nauseous? Did you black out?”
“No more than usual. And no, I didn’t black out.”
She grimaced. “Well, the bad news is you’re going to have a helluva headache, but it doesn’t appear that you have a concussion.”
I let them fuss over me while I held the peas that Lil had given me to my head. They chatted, trying to take my mind off things. I could only respond in one-word answers. Anger at Ben simmered until it was boiling. “What are they doing with him?”
I looked at Emiliana, as she was the most unapologetic and up front out of all of them.
“Interrogating him.”
Enough time had passed. They should have gotten what they needed from him. Or I assumed they had.Better have. I studied each of the women surrounding me. I was grateful to Luc and the girls for helping me hone my ability to shoot a gun and thought about letting them know what I planned to do. They probably would back me up and let me go in there. Emiliana would have, for sure. I think El too. But I wasn’t chancing it.
“I’m going to run to the restroom. Be right back.” I set the peas down and stood, careful to take measured steps, not to rush. As soon as I was in the hallway that would lead to the bathroom, I made a turn and went in the direction in which I’d watched Luc drag Ben, thoughts of how Ben had murdered Lauralee fresh in my mind. He’d gone unpunished. Anger propelled me forward, and I knew what I would do—an eye for an eye.
I knew there was a basement door toward the side of the house near the garage entry. When I spotted it, I tiptoed down the stairs until I came to a closed door. The sound of a fist hitting flesh penetrated the thick wood, followed by a loud groan. I’d found them.
With a twist of the knob and a hard shove, I let myself into the unlocked room, where Luc loomed over Ben. Stefano leaned against a wall. Marco and Max stood with arms crossed, observing.
Luc’s head swiveled in my direction. For a second, I wasn’t sure he saw me through the red haze that surely covered his rage-filled eyes. I felt the same rage. Then he grunted. “Summer, what are you doing here?”
I flashed him a closed-lipped smile, not trusting myself to talk. He narrowed his eyes, but then Ben half gurgle-chuckled from the ground, effectively drawing Luc’s attention back to him.
Luc delivered another bone-crushing punch, and Ben’s body convulsed as it fell to the ground. I crossed my arms over my body, pissed that I hadn’t been the one to do that. The man had choked me with the intent to kill, and earlier, he’d almost succeeded. He probably would have if El hadn’t been there. Enough was enough. This needed to end.
Luc hauled Ben’s swollen and bloody body up with barely any effort, dropping him on a chair. The man was a mess but still alive. That couldn’t continue.
“Are you done now?” I waited for Luc to answer. “We have everything we need from him?” I had to be sure.
“I’m not done, but we do have what we need.”
