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“Goddess, for a woman, you’re such a mansplainer!” Wren yelled, hopping off the counter just to stick her finger into my chest, anger lining her face. “Let’s get some things straight, so shut up.”
She watched me with an expectant look, waiting until my lips were firmly shut to begin speaking. She paced the short space in front of us not covered in blood or taken up by Alfie’s body, ticking things off on her fingers as she spoke.
“First of all, you may think your safety is less important than my mental health, but don’t you dare act like I should share those priorities. Even if shooting Alfie would haunt my dreams the rest of my life, I would’ve shot him over and over. Because at least you’d be there, comforting me when I wake up screaming.
“Second, I’m not going into shock. Honestly, I’m proud of my marksmanship. I was aiming for his shoulder, and that’s what I hit. Dev would’ve never let me live it down otherwise. I didn’t expect all the blood to go flying, which is why I threw up. And I hate throwing up, which is why I’m shivering and clammy.”
At my skeptical look, Wren stomped her foot in a small tantrum, and if that movement wasn’t enough to convince me she felt like herself, her words were. “Despite what you thought for months, despite the fact that I don’t have to prove myself to belong, I do have something in common with the rest of you. I will do terrible things for my family.”
I waited for a moment before tentatively asking, “Do you have a third?”
Wren glanced at the two fingers she held up before shrugging. “No, I guess not. That’s pretty much everything I wanted to say.”
Wren hopped back up on the counter, allowing me to wrap my arm around her shoulders as we sat and waited for Dev and Alex to arrive. I’d watched her press the panic button, and I was sure the two of them were breaking a handful of laws to get to us as soon as possible.
“Was that…the first time you, you know?” Wren gestured toward Alfie’s prone body.
I hummed in agreement, pulling Wren closer to my side. “Despite the jokes you and Ames like to throw around, Dev and Alex aren’t mindless killers. I haven’t had much experience beyond breaking and entering and surveillance the past couple of months. And hanging out with mobsters and other equally unsavory characters. I’ve been around plenty of violence, with the types of people I tend to attract, but no, I’ve never killed anyone before.”
“I’m sorry.”
I gripped the side of Wren’s face, forcing her to meet my gaze so she could see the sincerity shining in my eyes.
“I’m not,” I insisted, whispering the words against her lips. “I would kill a thousand men to keep you safe and not feel an ounce of regret over it.”
“Same.” Wren bit her lip before confessing, “I would’ve killed Alfie for you. The only reason I aimed for his shoulder is because I worried a bullet through the head might go through and hit you. When I watch medical dramas on TV, most of the bullets they have to remove surgically are in the torso. Headshots are usually through and through.”
The fact that Wren’s shot wasn’t just based on the classicaim for the biggest target, but rather the result of her dubiously-sourced medical knowledge, had me doubled over in laughter. Wren followed behind soon after, both of us falling back on the counter as we broke down in giggles. We were still laughing when Alex and Dev burst through the doors ofIn Bloomwith their guns raised.
Chapter26
Wren
Turnsout disposing of a dead body was much easier on Halloween. Everyone was already dressed in their creepiest outfits, so the blood splattered across Bex’s jacket and face weren’t out of place among the party-goers drifting through the streets. Actually, as I glanced at our clothes, I realized most of us had blood smeared somewhere on our bodies or clothes. I had blood on my shoes, and Ames had a streak across her cheek, likely from brushing her hair back while we cleaned up. Alex and Dev both had blood seeping through the fabric of their shirts, broad stripes of red across their chests and arms.
Honestly, we looked pretty badass. It looked like the lot of us had escaped from a horror movie, tired and bloody but with relief on our faces. Which was pretty accurate, considering everything we’d already been through that night.
After Alex and Dev arrived, guns blazing, we’d gotten to work cleaning up Alfie’s body. Alex and Bex wrapped Alfie’s body in cellophane, tying the ends so he looked like a gruesome piece of candy, and dragged him next to the back door while Dev called in for someone to pick up the body. Ames and I tackled the giant pool of blood smeared across the floor, using a couple pairs of my pruning gloves and another roll of paper towels to mop up the mess.
Alex hadn’t been happy when he returned from the back hallway to find Ames and me kneeling in Alfie’s blood, but it couldn’t be helped. We couldn’t risk someone walking by the giant windows in the front ofIn Bloomand calling the police. It was the first time I’d regretted getting a storefront with giant windows and no blinds, especially when the sun finished setting and the glare disappeared, putting our actions on display for anyone who might happen to walk by.
We finished cleaning up a majority of the blood just as the first few partygoers and trick-or-treaters filtered into the streets. Alex tied up the bloody trash while Bex used bleach wipes on the wall where a few stray droplets had splattered. Ames used a mop to clean up any remnants of blood off the floor, while Dev made sure the back door was unlocked for whoever would come to pick up the body and perform any additional cleaning needed. I finished changing into my costume because like hell was I going to miss seeing trick-or-treaters because some asshole decided to threaten my girlfriend at gunpoint.
It was too easy to play up my ordeal to guilt Alex into letting me drive us home, which resulted in multiple clutches of the “oh shit” handle and a couple sarcastic Hail Marys from my passengers. But we pulled up to Dev’s townhouse just as a gaggle of small children made it to his street.
“We made it!” I yelled as I parked Alex’s car with a jerk in Dev’s driveway, running through the front door and grabbing the bowl of candy Dev had thrown to the middle of the hallway, probably in his haste to reach us when I pressed the panic button. I cleaned up the few pieces that had fallen to the floor and stepped back onto the porch, rolling my eyes at the four of them climbing out of the car on shaky legs. “You guys are dramatic.”
Dev shot me an exasperated look, opening his mouth, but I quickly held up a finger. “I’ll remind you that saying I’m a bad driver is sexist.” I watched as Ames went to speak, adding, “And racist.”
Dev laughed as he came up the porch steps, scooping me into a bear hug and kissing me on the cheek.
“Love you, little Wrennie.”
“Love you too, Big Daddy D,” I told him solemnly, barely managing to keep my smile at bay. Dev rolled his eyes at the new nickname, while Ames snorted so loud she scared a bird out of a nearby tree.
Alex just shook his head as he ruffled my hair with a small smile, calling over his shoulder to tell Dev, “We’re using your shower.” Alex jerked his chin at Ames, who followed behind him with a blush working its way up her cheeks.
“Don’t fuck in my shower!” Dev yelled as he ran after them, raising a fist in the air like a disgruntled old man. He dropped character halfway across the threshold, laughing as he corrected, “Just kidding. I’m moving soon, so fuck wherever you want!”
