Page 51 of Coup De Grâce
I hated that for him. He didn’t deserve the pain of losing all his family, not like this. Not because an organization decided the windfall of every fucking thing around the globe, and then decided who lived and died. It wasn’t right.
“You did not kill them,” I said fiercely. “None of this is your fault. They had nothing to do with anything in our lives, and that’s fucking clear by where we are right now. Those assholes went after your family for no reason other than they could.”
He nodded slightly, but I could see the doubt on his face. “But they never would have been on the Shadow Government’s radar if it weren’t for me.”
“You said it yourself,” I shook my head slowly. “They’ve been watching us for years. There’s no way you could have predicted that any of this would happen.”
He sniffled and glanced out into the fields. He needed to do something, anything, to keep his mind occupied, and I didn’t know how to do that. I wasn’t accustomed to taking on the role of the caring friend. But for Johnny, I would do my best.
“Come on. Let’s take care of the horses.”
I took his hand, giving it a firm squeeze before leading him to the stables. I didn’t know shit about ranches or farming. I had even less experience with horses, but for my friend, I would do whatever he asked.
Jack and Jason followed, their solemn demeanor just as black as Johnny’s. I assumed they knew his family somehow, but I wasn’t privy to any of that information.
“What do you need us to do?”
We walked into the barn and Johnny glanced around. “We need to put out feed. Hay…” he said, nodding to the back of the barn.
“Okay. I’ll get started on that and?—”
My words were cut off by the sound of a door creaking open. We all stiffened, reaching for our guns just as a trapdoor in the floor opened.
I glanced at Johnny, wondering if he knew about the door, when he sighed in relief and tears filled his eyes.
“Fuck,” he cried out, bending over just as a man stepped out of the trap door. Then he was running toward the man I could only assume was his brother, and engulfing him in a hug.
“How the hellare you still alive?” Johnny asked, squeezing his brother tightly. “I saw the house. I thought you were fucking dead.”
His brother chuckled, patting him on the back. “We thought we were, too.”
Johnny finally released his brother and stepped back, looking him over. His arm was bandaged and his pant leg had blood on it, but other than that, he seemed fine.
“How’s Delilah? The kids?” Johnny asked, looking past his brother to the trap door.
“They’re all good. I promise.”
Johnny blew out a harsh breath, his head sagging in relief. “You got out,” he whispered to himself. “Fuck, I really thought?—”
He bit back the words, and I could tell it was taking everything in him to hold it together.
“Let me grab Delilah and the kids,” Thomas said, squeezing his brother’s shoulder. “We can get out of here, and then you can tell us what the fuck is going on.”
“We need another vehicle,” Jack pointed out. “Jason and I will head out and find one. Stay out of sight until we get back.”
Johnny nodded gratefully, and then we all headed back to the trap door. I was shocked when we descended into another panic room beneath the barn. This was state-of-the-art.
“This was not here before,” Johnny said as he took in the room.
“No, I added it in after the last time the house was blown up,” Thomas retorted. “Figured I should have a backup plan. Thank God I did.”
Thomas walked down a narrow hallway, guiding us to a steel door. Before he even reached it, the door whooshed open and a woman rushed out, burying her face in her husband’s neck.
“Thank God you’re okay.”
Thomas chuckled, patting her back. “Baby, I was gone for less than five minutes.”
She smacked him on the chest, giving him an admonishing smile. “That doesn’t mean you were fine. Are we leaving?”
