Queen of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #4) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,109

toward the door and I weighed my options against whoever was on the other side of it. They sounded like a big bastard.

Screw that.

I snatched the gun out of the bag on the bed, trading it out for the bat. I was opting for bullets over brawn. It was definitely the better option right now. I primed it, taking aim, my breaths coming unevenly. Keep your head, Tatum. If they have a gun, shoot first.

The door flew open and my heart lurched into my throat as I found a huge man pointing a sledgehammer at me. He was at least as tall as my Night Keepers, though may have had a few inches even on Kyan and his dirty blonde hair was swept away from his face in a casual I-give-zero-fucks way that a lot of men spent hours trying to perfect. I guessed it just came naturally to him because I seriously couldn’t imagine him standing before a mirror and preening. Colourful tattoos crawled over his hands and up his neck and the smile on his face was next level psycho.

Niall burst out laughing, slinging the sledgehammer over his shoulder to rest there and the tension ran out of my body as I recognised him. Though I could bet that pretty much anyone else who found this monster of a man darkening their doorway had a very different reaction to spotting him.

“The cavalry’s here!” he announced in his Irish accent, his voice as deep and rich as his nephew’s. He strode into the room like he owned it, carving his tattooed fingers over his stubbled jaw and taking in the apartment.

“Thanks for coming,” I said earnestly.

“That’s a weird thing to thank me for, but I’ll give your regards to the sock who was a top-notch lover this morning.” He strode forward as I snorted a surprised laugh. “It’s good to see you, lass.”

I glanced over his shoulder, expecting more of Kyan’s family to appear, but no one did.

“Is everyone else downstairs?” I asked.

“Nope, it’s just me. Unless you’re referring to the ghosts of my past, then they’re here too, but they’re not much good in a fight. Or much fun to hang out with all the damn time if I’m being totally frank. And speaking of fights…”

“You came alone?” I questioned in concern as he looked around the place, taking in the possible exits and looking like he was only half listening to me.

“Yep. I thought about bringing the rest of the family, but I’m feeling kinda stabby today and they all annoy the ever loving fuck outta me, so I decided to just go rogue and do it alone. Don’t worry though, I’ve got a plan.”

“What’s that?” I asked nervously, hoping it was a damn good one because if Saint and the others had been sure that we’d need an O’Brien army to get me out of here, then I was inclined to trust their judgement on it over Niall’s.

“Not sure yet. But it’ll come to me. Always does.” He flashed me a grin and I balked, wondering if Kyan had seriously misjudged how good his uncle’s word was because that sounded a whole hell of a lot like he was going to wing it.

No doubt Saint was having an aneurism over the mere idea of that somewhere as we spoke, sensing on the wind that someone had just uttered the words not sure yet about a plan we were already in the middle of.

Shouts sounded downstairs, making my pulse jackhammer and my grip tighten on the gun.

“We gotta go.” Niall picked up the bag on the bed, shouldering it and holding the sledgehammer ready to swing.

I ran to the fridge, taking out the box of vaccines and shoving it into a backpack before putting it on. I slid Kyan’s bat under the straps over my shoulders to keep it there then nodded to Niall. The guy was missing a few screws, but I didn’t have much choice in trusting him now. He’d gotten into the city, so I just hoped he had a way to get us out too.

“Alright, lass, stay close to my side. We’re getting out of here.” He jogged to the door then took a grenade from his pocket and pulled the pin out with his teeth.

“Niall!” I gasped in fear.

“It won’t blow until I’m ready for it to blow,” he said calmly and my throat thickened as he started running down the stairs, keeping his thumb on the trigger. But one false move