Queen of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #4) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,103

took out the necklace he’d been keeping for me. “No need to hide it from the Devil anymore.” He slid it around my throat, shifting my hair aside as he put it on me and a smile lit my face at having it back. My little memento of Jess was in its rightful home once more.

“Thank you for keeping it safe for me,” I said and he grinned, kissing me sweetly again.

“My pleasure.” He stood and I pulled my clothes back on while he flattened his hair, tucking it behind his ears. As I got up, he headed to the window, peering outside and his whole body stiffened.

“Oh fuck,” he hissed, turning to me with wide eyes. “The army’s here. They’re two doors down.”

“Shit,” I gasped. What the fuck had we done? We were supposed to be keeping watch. Saint was going to shit a brick, spank us both until our asses were red raw then shit another, bigger brick.

We ran from the room, tearing back through the movie theatre and racing up to the apartment. We spilled inside and my three other boys leapt out of their seats on the couch, instantly seeing that something was wrong, tension coursing through their muscles like they were prepared for a fight to the death.

“They’re almost here,” Monroe blurted.

“Jesus – fuck, why are we just hearing about this now?” Saint demanded, then his eyes skated over us and he cursed. “You had one job, Nash.”

“It was my fault too,” I said.

“Oh I am well aware of that,” Saint said coolly, his fingers twitching like he was hungering for a spanking. But there definitely wasn’t time for that right now.

“Well what are we gonna do?” Nash pressed.

“I called Niall. My family’s on their way here,” Kyan said. “They’re gonna breach the barricades somewhere. If we can hold out for an hour or two-”

“We don’t have a fucking hour or two,” Saint growled.

“Maybe they won’t come in here,” Blake offered with a shrug. “They’re checking houses, right? Why bother hunting through some old boarded up movie theatre?”

“They’re clearing every building in the city,” Saint hissed. “Of course they’re going to check here, that’s their damn job. This is the army we’re talking about, not a bunch of backwater hillbillies out hunting for a missing alligator. They’re looking for people who could be hiding. People like us.”

A loud bang came from outside and we looked between each other with concern.

"Tatum," Saint hissed, echoing all of our thoughts. It was one thing for us to be found here but after that article had been released implicating Tatum in the Hades Virus scandal, there was no way we could risk her getting caught.

"Over here," Kyan growled, moving to the nearest bed, pulling it out and opening a cupboard behind it. We all followed after him like a flock of sheep being herded, hoping he had some solution for us. “There’s enough space in here. You can fit, baby.”

“I’m not hiding away in there while the rest of you are left to deal with the army,” she hissed, glaring between the four of us as we all pushed her towards the tiny space. I wasn’t even totally convinced she’d fit in there and there was no chance for any of us to join her.

"They're hunting for you, siren," Saint replied urgently, dropping the bag filled with our most important possessions onto the countertop and unzipping it. He grabbed an envelope full of fake passports and handed them out. "They won't know who we are. Even if they make us leave with them for this division shit they're implementing, it won't matter. All you have to do is wait here to meet Kyan's family and go with them. We’ll meet you at the O’Brien’s. You'll be safe with them, won't she?" he asked, turning dark eyes on Kyan.

"I'll message Niall and tell him to look after you personally," he replied with a nod. "You stick by his side until we get back to you and I swear you'll be safe."

"With a man you've told me is fucking insane and kills people for a living?" I asked incredulously. "How the hell is that her being kept safe?"

"Uncle Niall might be a gun for hire, but he's also got a moral code hiding beneath the crazy. We don't exactly have time to get into it now, but long story short, about ten years ago his wife was kidnapped, raped and murdered. He hates men who hurt women and he's loyal to