Page 62 of Havoc

Nine landed on the person, but instead of attacking each other, the person threw their arms around him and took Nine down to the ground by rolling sideways, landing on top of him. They grappled a bit, and it took me far too long to realize they weren’t really fighting—they were play fighting. The person lost their footing and they both came rolling down the hill and right past Mace, who had to jump aside to get out of their way. The two of them landed nearly at our feet.

I looked down into Alicia’s flushed face. Nine was climbing all over her, licking her face. “Ay dios mío! Get off me, Nine,” she said with exasperation. Trying her best to push him off, she grumbled, “Nine always takes things too far. He doesn’t know his own strength.”

I yelled, “Mace, come get your old lady. She shouldn’t be here.”

Then I bent down and offered her my hand. She took it and quickly pulled herself up to a standing position. “Gracias, Havoc. Thanks for the save.”

“No problem.” Before I could explain that she needed to get back home, Mace made it back down the hill.

“I told him to stop. But you know, when it comes to you, he never listens.” Mace kept looking her over, touching her and looking for injuries. “Are you okay? Did the big brute hurt you?”

She shoved his hands away, before pulling him down for a lingering kiss. “You know that he didn’t.”

I sensed movement and discovered that Mace’s cousins were almost right on top of us. That made sense. His family would never allow her to be out in the wilds late at night by herself. I jerked my chin at them. “Edward, Marcus. How’s it hanging?”

Edward answered because Marcus was the quiet one. “I should be sleeping, but we were told to get our asses out here because you were in trouble, and we were the closest.”

“Now, I know Storm didn’t call you two. He said he’s sending prospects.”

Edward shrugged. “Our tribal elders know everything. The eagles are their eyes and the forest creatures are their ears.”

I frowned at him, almost forgetting that he liked to lean into his native heritage a bit too hard. I sighed, “Wish I had some eyes and ears in the forest about now.”

Glancing from me to Riley and back again, Edward stated irritably, “Just tell us what’s going on, paleface.”

Mace’s hand shot out to thump his cousin’s shoulder, almost knocking him sideways. “Stop being a prick. I’m telling your wife you said that, by the way.”

Edward frowned at him. “I was just joking around. There’s no need to get my woman involved. You know how she is.”

Mace flicked Edward’s chest with the back of his fingers and asked, “You mean decent? Yeah, I know exactly how aggravated she gets with your ridiculous bullshit sometimes.”

Marcus finally spoke, “Edward has a twisted sense of humor. He apologizes. Now, tell us what’s going on.”

Mace took point on this one. “Havoc’s lady is being stalked by a dirty cop.”

Edward said testily, “Is there any other kind?”

“Shut up and let me finish,” Mace told him. “Anyway, the asshole showed up here and Havoc kicked his ass.”

For some reason Riley felt the need to interject. “Nine helped, ‘cause he’s a good boy.” She even managed to change into her dog-talking baby voice, making Nine come and jump on her. I went ahead and took a minute to introduce her to everyone.

“Anyway, we’re heading to the bunker until the club can sort out the legal ramifications of giving a duly appointed officer of the law a good beatdown.” Glancing from one cousin to another, he added, “We’re gonna patrol the outside of the bunker in case they show back up.”

Turning to Alicia, he frowned. “I’m not even gonna ask why you decided to tag along, and where’s Huri Junior?”

She grinned unrepentantly at him. “You’re the one who taught me to shoot, fight, and track. It’s downright silly to train me up and expect me to sit at home like a good little wife, our son is with his grandmother. Your mom says ‘Hi’.”

Before Mace could reply, I said, “Riley and I are moving out now. If you want to come, you’re welcome, but we can’t waste any more time here.”

I led Riley onto the path and began our upward ascent into the darkness with only a flashlight shining the way through the dense foliage. She was careful about watching her footing and avoided stumbling over tree roots and branches. I vaguely heard the others following behind. Mace’s cousins spread out about ten yards on either side of us and slowly pulled ahead to scout the area. I didn’t expect them to find any trouble in the forest at this hour, but it never hurt to be vigilant.

I jerked my chin up the hill and added, “We need to keep moving. The path dwindles out in about a quarter of a mile. But don’t worry, I can find the bunker blindfolded.”

Riley immediately followed my lead.

Once he saw we were all moving in the same direction, Nine surged ahead to lead the way. He padded along on all fours, stopping occasionally to sniff something on the wind or to run his nose along the ground. We’d taken him with us to the bunker many times, which explained why he was confident enough to lead rather than stay by Mace’s side.

I slowed my pace to keep Riley at my side, occasionally wrapping my arm around her waist when she stumbled. Hiking rough terrain after dark might have been something Mace and I did for sport. But I could tell Riley wasn’t thrilled to be doing it tonight. Of course, Mace and I knew this area like the back of our hands. We had spent a lot of time at the cabin and in the surrounding areas. And together we had mapped pretty much every hidden trail for miles in every direction. Riley seemed to sense that she was safe in our keeping, even in this really unusual situation.

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