15
BILLIE’S POV
What the hell was that?I did not like that sound. Not at all. It was a wolf howl, but there was something very different about it. Something that made me feel sick to my stomach. It was pained in a way that struck at my core.
I froze, I stopped shooting. I felt like I'd been encased in a block of ice.
"Cody?" I called down to the window of the panic room because he had more access to everyone else than I did. He had the walkie talkies and the wolf senses as well. But he wasn't responding. What the fuck was going on? "Cody?"
He was with our son, in that room, looking after our child. But I didn't know if he was still in his human form or not. If he'd shifted, then that sound could have come from him. If so... oh God, if so then it meant Russians or people after the bounty payment could be with our son, and everything was over.
Without even thinking about it, I slipped down the roof towards the window, which was now fucking closed. What the hell was going on? I banged against it a few times, trying to either smash it or get someone’s attention. I was beyond the stage where I didn’t want to wake Joey up. If it got me inside the house then so be it. By this point, we were likely going to have to run anyway, so he needed to wake up.
"Hey, Cody, someone. Come here, let me in. Now. I need to get in now."
The window was just about to give when finally I saw a face. Cody's. He was alive, but looked panicked, which didn't help my mood at all. By the time he swung the window open, I was on the edge of my tether. Even as I caught sight of Jasper standing beside Joey's bed, protecting him fiercely, with a fire in his eyes, I couldn’t be relieved.
There was no getting away from the fact that someone was hurt, and I still didn't know who. I could just feel it in my bones, and I hated it.
"Who is it?" I gushed, no explanation needed. "Who got hurt?"
Just at that moment, Phoenix’s voice came crackling through the walkie talkie. "Grant," he rasped. "Grant is hurt, and it's bad guys. I need help."
Jasper didn't pause for even a second, he took off at the speed of light before I could even blink. I went to race after him, but Cody held onto my arm to stop me from going anywhere. "You need to stay here. You need to care for Joey."
"Hang on, but there are still more enemies coming. I have to get back on that roof and shoot. I have to make sure none of the other guys get hurt."
Cody nodded, thankfully understandingly. "I see, I know, but will you give me a moment first? I'm not going to go out there. I think Jasper and Phoenix have it under control when it comes to Grant, but I do want to be sure there isn't anyone else in the house. We need this place at least, to be locked down and safe."
I couldn't argue with that logic. I nodded and let him go, even though it was agonizing to do so. I chewed nervously on my thumb nail while I waited for Cody to go and return. Because I didn't want to pace like a crazy person, only getting myself increasingly wound up, I curled up in the bed next to my son.
I needed a sense of calm, some clarity, and a reminder of what I was doing this for. I needed my family at the fore front of my vision so I wasn't blurry or confused when I got the chance to look down that scope again. I had to be on top form.
"I have to be tactical," I whispered to myself as just one lone tear burst free and cascaded down my cheek. "I can't let emotion get the best of me."
I had always been so good at keeping my feelings far away from my work, which was exactly what made me such a good sniper shooter, but I'd never had my own family on the line before. I'd always been fighting someone else's war. It was never my son at risk. That was why I left it all behind after all.
I squeezed my eyes shut, refusing to let any more tears out, and I held on to Joey. I couldn't have been more happy that he was still sleeping, still okay, still alive. There might have been a world of shit cascading down on us, but as long as my son was still fine then I could cope. Even as I heard the unmistakable ring of gun shots ricocheting around the house. Yep, Cody was right to check inside. There were still people here. Thank goodness the panic room remained untouched.
Eventually, after what felt like a life time, Cody returned. He had a piercing redness in his cheeks and the haunted look of a man who had just been forced to act in ways he wasn't ready for. I could understand that, this was supposed to be our date night. Not the night where we were all fighting for our lives.
"It's all on you now, Billie," he whispered regretfully to me. "The guys have got Grant inside now. They're caring for him as best they can while calling Stark to get us some back up help here, but what we really need is our sniper."
A sense of pride rushed through me. At least it wasn't just the guys laying their life on the line for me. I was helping out as well, taking care of business. Even though a definite sense of exhaustion was coursing through my veins, I took hold of the gun once more and headed back onto the roof.
I lay down, peering through the scope, and saw people still coming. Thankfully it didn't seem to be as many as before, but it was still a little unnerving. At least this was something I could do; I was trained for this.
"Spot me, Cody," I called down because I didn't want to be on my own through this. I wanted to know that I at least had someone with me. "Can you?"
He agreed and leaned out the window, helping me out as much as he could. But it was actually a little easier now. I could shoot freely without having to worry that I was going to hit the wrong person by mistake. The wolves moved fast, especially while they were fighting, so I was frightened that by the time the bullet left the gun on the way to its target, they could jump in the way.
But they had all barricaded inside the house now. I was fine. I could shoot everyone that was coming to attack me and my son. This was the most personal war zone I had ever been in the middle of, but it was a war zone still.
I followed my gut, trusted my instincts, and listened to everything that Cody said to me as well. One by one, the people coming for me fell––none of them quite reaching the house, which was good.
"Do you see any more?" I called down to Cody as I kept flickering my gaze everywhere. My heart hadn't stopped racing in what felt like forever, and I didn't think it was going to until I knew that we were safe. But where else in the world was I going to be able to feel safe when the safe house had been compromised?
"I don't think so," Cody replied cautiously. "But I can hear something?"
"Like what?" Uh oh, I didn't like this one bit. "Cody, what can you hear?"
"Cars. Like a rumble of car engines. Who is this going to be?"
Panic gripped tight on me. Perhaps the people who we had fought off before were small fry and this was the big guys. The Russian Government officials who'd destroyed my Project Hammond team one by one. They'd tired us all out, caused us to fight a bunch of money hungry assholes who just wanted to capture me and my son for a fee, and now they were coming to kill us. Or me at the very least.
I had faith in myself and the guys as well, but Grant was already hurt and everyone was on edge. This could be a really messy situation here. The more that I thought about it, the more tied up in knots my stomach became...
"They are RedEye vehicles." The relief in Cody's voice was evident and allowed my shoulders to fall down as well. "Back up is here. Stark has sorted us out."
Cody held out his hand to me, but I was too nervous to take it at first. I wasn't sure it was the right thing to do. If I left my post, then no one would be up here in case we were attacked again. My fears must have been evident in my eyes.
"We're no longer outnumbered," he reassured me. "We're going to be fine. If anyone else comes at us, the back up will sort it. It's time to come inside now."
If Joey hadn't joined him, I might never have agreed, but something had finally woken up my son and I ached to be near him. I slid off the roof easily and climbed back in through the window where I could finally take him in my arms.
"I saw you with a gun, Mommy," he murmured, his words getting muffled in my chest. "You looked really cool. I could tell that you were saving us."
I couldn't reply. The emotion that I'd been trying my hardest to keep inside came spilling free. The tears burst out hard and fast and absolutely raced down my cheeks. I never thought of myself as cool, but I did like saving everyone.
"Come on," I just about managed to whisper to him. "We need to go downstairs to check on Grant. I want to find out if he is okay."
"What happened to him?" Joey asked me, clinging tightly to my hand as we walked. "And why are we in this cool new room? Cody said it was to keep us safe."
"Safe from the bad people, yes," I replied thickly. "But I don't think we have anything to worry about anymore. We're going to be okay."
It didn't escape my notice that I avoided the topic of Grant because I wasn't sure which way things were going with him. I just hoped that we would find him okay. For the guys to be worried though, his injuries had to be pretty bad...
Oh thank God! Relief flooded me as I spotted Grant on his feet. He was a little pale, and didn't look his usual up beat self, but at least he was alive. Me and Joey ran to him and hugged him, but gently just in case there were more injuries that we couldn't see. I just wanted to feel that he was real, to comfort him if I could.
"Is that back up?" Grant asked Cody over my head. "Are they really turning up now when everyone is dead? Do they not know it's a bit too late now?"
"I think they came as quickly as they could," Cody replied as he offered his friend a one shouldered shrug. "I don't know. But I suppose we should just be grateful that we aren't on our own now. Just in case it starts again."
The idea of it all starting again had me weak at the knees. I really wasn't sure if I could handle it. Not that I would have any choice in the matter. If it came down to it, and it was a life or death situation, I would find the inner strength.
"I'm actually going to speak to them now." Cody pointed behind us. "To fill them in on what's going on. Let them know where we're at. Grant, do you need medical assistance. I can get an ambulance here in a heart beat..."
"Nah, don't you worry about me." Grant grinned widely. "I'm made of steel."
I narrowed my eyes at him. I wasn't sure if I believed him or not. I had a feeling that Grant was just trying to play it cool. But if he was really hurt, then I was going to find out. I was going to make sure that he would get help whether he liked it or not.
Once Cody left the room, me and Joey both deflated and slid down on to the pillows that were still out on the floor. Some of them had been kicked to the side, I could only assume in some fight at some point during the night.
"Are we safe now?" Joey asked me quietly. "I don't like this."
I pulled him on my lap and hugged him tight. "We're safe. We're fine."
Grant came and sat beside us, holding on to his stomach as he did. I eyed him before I lifted up his top to see a seriously bad bruise on his torso.
"This looks bad," I said with a warning to my voice. "I think you probably should have someone take a look at you. It must hurt."
"This is nothing," Grant blew me off. "I've been injured worse than this when I'm just running around as a wolf. I will recover fast, trust me."
"Yeah, don't worry," Jasper agreed. "I've been bruised like this before too."
I turned to look at Phoenix for help. He was the one who had called for help through the walkie talkie. He must have been there when the injury happened. If anyone would be on my side on this, it was going to be him, right?
"I was worried too," he confessed with a lop-sided smile. "But once I got Grant inside and I checked him over, I saw that he was okay. He will be okay. Wolves heal a little bit better than non-shifter humans do, so don't panic."
Ha! Don't panic. That was a freaking joke, but I suppose if they were all on the same side, then there was nothing that I could do about it.
"Fine," I breathed out. "Sure, I guess I'm just happy that we're all good. I mean, that was scary. That could have turned out worse."
I slid my eyes closed and tried to calm my racing mind, but that wasn’t exactly what happened. Instead, I found my brain drifting off towards the brutal murders of my comrades once more. None of them deserved to die, they were all good people who were just trying to do their job. No one should have been hurt, but they were. I wasn't sure if I deserved to be alive when they weren't.
But if I allowed myself to get sucked down that rabbit hole, then I was screwed. It was one that I could drown in forever. I was sure that anyone in my position could do the same thing, but that wasn't healthy. I couldn't worry about why I was still alive, instead, I could only live my best life. Not just for me, but for my son and my new family as well. Wherever we ended up next.
Instead of allowing myself to think, and to get all caught up in my worries, I grabbed Grant and kissed him softly. Since he was more than able to respond to my advances, I could reassure myself that he truly was okay. Then I rose to my feet and kissed Jasper, before pressing my lips to Phoenix’s. I was missing Cody's, but I knew that I would get the chance to kiss him soon enough.
Oops.All of a sudden, it hit me that this was the first time I'd acted on my feelings around Joey. But he barely even batted an eye lid, he certainly didn't look confused or anything like that. It was just fine, normal almost.
Yeah, my son was going to be just fine with whatever happened next, as long as we were all together, which made me so very happy. I wanted this family more than anything else in the world. Especially now. There was something about a near death experience––it brought what was important to the forefront.
"Hey, this is Anthony Johnson," Cody declared as he entered the living room with us once more. "Leader of the back up squad. They aren't going to go anywhere, even if it seems like we're safe because things have just taken another turn."
"What do you mean?" I stood my ground, needing to know exactly why Stark had made this decision. "Do you really think that things are going to take another turn?"
Cody darted his eyes towards Anthony with fear plastered across his expression. My heart sunk, I didn't like the way that felt at all. Much as I was prepared to go another round if I needed to, I didn't know if I had the strength.
Anthony stepped forwards and took control of what was to come next. And just as I feared, it was the worst news. "The onslaught wasn’t the end," he said gravely. "The people who have put the bounty on your head have tripled it, which of course will send a flurry of other money hungry bastards your way, which will be even more problematic now they know where you are."
Shit, this was terrible. "So, we need to move now? To another safe house?"
Anthony surprised me by shaking my head. "Not yet. We need to wait for the CIA first. They are on their way right now and shouldn't be too long."
"The CIA?" Wow, Stark was going all out. "And then we will move?" Anthony nodded. "Great, so we need to get packed up and ready to go."
Okay, well, I was good at packing light to move, I suppose, but this was still pretty worrying. We were comfortable here, we liked it. But if we needed to keep going to remain alive and safe, then so be it. I grabbed Joey's shoulders and led him upstairs with me so we could pack our bags together, and I could hopefully reassure him that everything was going to be okay. Even if I had no idea what the future would hold...