Talon (Uncompromising #1)(58)
“You hurt her,” André seethed, “and I will kill you.”
Neil stared at André for a beat then his expression went blank. “Noted.”
I pushed back from the table and stood. “I’m out. You two fuckers can fight over who sleeps where.” Buying a two-bedroom house was the best fucking decision I’d ever made.
“I’m not staying.” Neil stood.
Too tired to give a shit where he went, I walked to my bedroom, stripped and fell into bed. I groaned at the smell of jasmine then cursed myself for acting like a fucking pussy. Resigned, I reached for the light and my cell phone vibrated.
I STARED AT THE DISPLAY for two seconds, wondering if she was fucking with me. Unable to stand the suspense, I answered. “Siren,” I said dryly.
Silence.
I looked at the phone to make sure the call had connected. “You there?”
“Yes, sorry.” I could hear some sort of shifting movement.
I sat up. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. I just wanted to make sure you…got home okay.”
I didn’t know what I expected her to say but it wasn’t that. “You worried?” I didn’t ask the question nicely.
“No.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “What do you want, Nic?”
“I think Stone is planning something.”
Every muscle went rigid. “You stay the fuck out of it.”
She ignored me. “Randy and a bunch of the guys are here, they’re talking about something big and they all looked worried.”
“First of all, you get caught spyin’ on them, it’s gonna be bad news for you and second, I don’t need an informant. So if that was the purpose of this call, hang up.” Jesus fuck, if Carter caught her on the phone right now, he’d fucking lose it.
More silence.
Damn it. “Okay.” I shoved my hand through my hair and tempered my tone. “You called for a reason and since you haven’t hung up, I’m assumin’ you still got somethin’ to say. I’m not a mind reader, so why don’t you lay it out?”
No response.
“You’re the one who told me to take a hike, darlin’,” I reminded her. “I’m doin’ you a solid by answerin’ the phone when I’m tired as fuck, so speak up or hang up, because my patience is about to hit a wall.”
“It was the right thing to do, telling you to leave.” Her voice turned quiet. “But I didn’t want to.”
Desperate to hear those words from her, my heart warred with the image of Randy putting his arm around her. “I suppose you didn’t want to tuck under Carter’s arm either?”
Pause. Then she cleared her throat. “Thank you for the dinner you made me,” she said formally. “Good-bye Ta—”
I shot up out of bed. “You hang up on me now, I’m comin’ over there.”
“This was a mistake.”
“No.” I was done with this bullshit. “You don’t get to play that hand. You and I both know this mornin’ wasn’t a mistake. Me coming after you wasn’t a mistake. You callin’ wasn’t a mistake and us? We’re not a fuckin’ mistake. I’m done playin’ these word games with you. The only mistake is the fact that you’re there and not here.”
“I’m scared,” she barely whispered.
Fuck. I shoved a leg into my jeans. “I’m comin’ right now for you. Where are you?”
“No!” Panic laced her voice. “He’s here, Stone is here, or was here, and there’re LCs all over the complex. You can’t, they’ll see you.”
Alarm spread hearing that Stone was actually there, in the same apartment with her. “What room are you in?” I kicked the jeans off and went for a pair of black cargo pants.
“Talon, please. I can’t… I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Is that why you pushed me away tonight? Why you didn’t come with me?”
She didn’t say anything.
“Answer me,” I demanded.
“Yes.”
Stupidly ignoring her hesitation, I let relief wash through me for a split second before the anxiety came back that she was within spitting distance of Stone. “Nothin’s gonna happen to me. Or you.” I’d fucking make sure of it. I pulled a black T-shirt over my head.
“But your friends, he’ll go after them.”
“They’re gone. He can’t go after what he can’t find.” I went to my safe and pulled out a few extra clips and tucked them into my cargo pockets. “I told you I’d handle this, Siren. Now tell me where you’re at. You alone right now?”