Hard as Stone(160)

“Seriously, Abel, all I did was mention to the girl that she might wanna request your shot record before she dated you! It’s not like I told her you had the clap,” Patience yelled as she stomped into the dining room from the bar. “She asked my opinion about you, and I just answered honestly. Besides, you started it when that stud asked me out last night, and you told him you’d recommend he allow the doctor to get my dosage right before he went out with me!”

“Uh oh,” Harmony mumbled, leaning against Jake when he slipped an arm around her waist.

“Oh, good. The three o’clock floor show has started,” Honor remarked dryly as Zeke chuckled.

“You had that man convinced that I had split personality disorder, Abel!” Patience continued to rail as she whirled to face the red-faced attorney. “He offered me the name of his therapist as a tip!”

“Hey! I’m pretty sure you have some kind of undiagnosed mental condition, woman! Maybe you wanna do the rest of the world a favor and dial the number on the card! Get that shit upstairs handled before you try and reel in some unsuspecting bastard.” he yelled back. “That woman you ran off is the niece of one of my biggest clients. Bet me she’s not on the phone right now telling her Uncle Arlo that his lawyer has VD!!!”

Cain howled with laughter just as a loud pop echoed through the diner. Startled eyes glanced around as everyone tried to determine the source of the noise.

“What was…,” Harmony began to ask as Jake dove toward her knocking her to the ground and rolling her underneath him.

Trying to lift her head, Harmony heard Zeke’s frantic shout for Honor to get down and watched from the corner of her eye as he leapt toward her, pushing her sister to the floor and covering her with his body the same way Jake shielded her. The sound of shattering glass and gunfire filled the diner, and she could hear Faith’s faint screams. Like a nightmare in slow motion, she turned her head toward the booth where her pregnant sister had been sitting and saw Cain shoving her sister underneath the table, blocking her smaller body with his. Squirming, she tried to find Patience with her eyes. “Patience,” she whispered, trying to crawl from underneath Jake to find her other sister. “Where’s Patience?”

“Stay down,” Jake barked in Harmony’s ear as glass continued to explode around them, raining down on their bent heads. Pressing more of his weight against her when she tried to move from under him, he kept one hand around his gun and pushed her head down with the other.

As quickly as the horrible noise began, it stopped, leaving the café eerily silent.

“Is it over?” Harmony wheezed as Jake came to his knees beside her, gun drawn. “Jake?”

Jake’s eyes were busy scanning the front of the restaurant. “I think we’re clear, Zeke. Looks like it was a drive-by.”

Turning her head, Harmony’s eyes went to Honor first. Zeke still shielded her with his body, but now he had her pressed against the counter, his back against her chest as his eyes and gun did their own sweep of the area. Distantly, she heard him talking into his radio, but her eyes were glued to Honor’s frightened face. Blood dripped from a jagged cut on her cheek but she seemed unaware of it. “Are you hit?” she screamed as she shoved away from Jake and began crawling toward her sister.

Honor blinked. “What? No. I don’t think so,” she denied, shaking her head.

“You’re bleeding,” Harmony cried, scrambling toward her sister, glass digging into her knees.

“Stay still,” Jake growled, catching Harmony’s arm before she could move any closer. “Glass is everywhere.”

Zeke turned sharply to look at Honor, his eyes narrowing as he spotted the crimson blood staining her jaw. Touching her bloody face with gentle fingers, he probed it carefully. “Glass cut. It’s probably gonna need a stitch or two, but she’s alright.” Staring into her terrified eyes, he murmured, “You’re okay, aren’t you, Kitten?”

Nodding dumbly, she slowly seemed to become aware of her surroundings, her pupils dilating as she jerked forward. “Faith? Patience?” Honor yelled, slapping at Zeke’s restraining hands when she tried to stand up. “Where are they, Harmony?”

“Faith’s okay,” Cain barked back, keeping his wife pinned under the table. “Just scared.”

“I’m not scared, I’m pissed,” Harmony heard her sister’s shaking voice object shrilly.

“Okay, she’s that, too,” Cain amended, shifting partially out of the booth to look at the damage, a gun in his hand, too.