get out of the station?” the Thing snarls as I cuddle into Callum. I don’t want Neil to see how scared I really was, how vulnerable I felt, like a child all over again. Cal just squeezes me close, enveloping me in his scent and his hoodie and his eternal calm, like a dark sea under a full moon. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Yeah, well,” Vic says, shrugging. “We are, and just in time to see our girl strangle the life out of you.” He laughs again and moves forward, getting up close and personal with Neil as Hael and Aaron hold him back. “To be honest with you, officer, you’d have been lucky if Bernie had strangled you. We have something much darker in mind.” Victor works his jaw for a moment, like he’s thinking, and then hauls back to punch Neil in the face.
Just one hit is all it takes to knock my stepfather’s head back against the stone and plunge him into unconsciousness.
The boys let him crumple to the ground like a discarded toy.
“Find the key to those cuffs,” Vic orders, but Aaron’s already on it, bending down to retrieve the small, silver key from the grass. He quickly unlocks the remaining cuff from my wrist, and then places both sides on Neil’s wrists instead.
“Hey,” Hael says, stepping close and peering in at me, still trapped in the safe circle of Callum’s arms. “You okay, Blackbird?”
I glare at him.
“Of course I’m okay,” I snap back, pretending like I don’t notice how badly I’m shaking. The boys extend me the same courtesy, which I appreciate. “I had him. Didn’t you see?”
“You’re the only woman I know who could go from being handcuffed in the back of a squad car to choking the life out of an armed police officer in less time than it takes most people to decide what movie to watch on a Friday night.” Oscar tucks his gun away again, confident that Neil is out for the time being. I’m not sure if Oscar’s statement is meant to be a compliment, but I take it as one anyway.
“You made the right choice, calling us,” Aaron says, trying his best to smile at me. But he’s shaking, too, and it occurs to me that they were probably as afraid as I was. Maybe more so. I know I’d rather be the one in danger than see any of them hurt. Likely, they feel the same way about me.
“How did you know where to find me?” I ask, finally taking a step back from Callum. As soon as I do, I wish I were pressed up against him again.
“Weirdly enough,” Hael starts, doing his best to keep smiling, to keep the mood light. “Vaughn called to tell us that Neil was, uh, ‘taking you to see your sister’.” He scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Looks like our dog has properly come to heel, at least.”
“Thankfully,” Vic agrees, looking down at me with crow-black eyes. I can see the strain in them from holding back; he wants to touch me like Cal is, hold me close, check me for wounds and fuck me into a restful sleep. Instead, he takes on his role as leader. “Are you sure you’re okay? If you want to have a breakdown later, I’ll hold you all damn night. Right now, though, if you can function, we need you. We’ve got urgent business.”
I feel a sense of relief in that, in knowing that I have to push my feelings aside for the sake of Havoc. I’m good with that sort of thing, with violence and intrigue. Not so much with my own emotions.
“I’m okay,” I say, and I mean it. I’m hurting all over, and deep down, there’s a little girl crying inside my heart. But that can wait. I can unpack later. “What do we need to do?”
“We need to start a riot, that’s what,” Cal says, and I flick my attention to him, brows raised.
“A riot?” I echo as he nods with his chin in the direction of a black SUV that I’ve never seen before. My guess: they boosted it for a quick ride out here.
“Let’s load Neil up and we’ll explain on the way,” Callum tells me as Hael and Aaron each grab one of the Thing’s legs, dragging him across the grass with zero regard as to where his head falls. If he smacks his skull against a tombstone here, a metal memorial plaque there, eh. Not our problem.
The