Her daughter mirrored the look. Though their styles were completely opposite, they mirrored each other in a way they looked like sisters, not mother and daughter. “I am not hiding in L.A. while my family is in danger.”
“That’s precisely the point,” Mia all but screeched. “You’ll be in L.A. the only dangerous thing you’ll experience is kale juice and I’ll be able to breathe a little easier. Now—”
Mia’s rant got cut off as Lexie’s eyes focused on me. “You’re Caroline Hargrave,” she breathed.
I’d been around famous and powerful people before. All of them failed to affect me. People were just people, after all.
But something about Lexie, about the fact that she was exactly like she portrayed herself, and that she fricking recognized me, had me a little star struck.
“Yes! She’s a journalist,” Mia cut in. “So now your publicist is gonna have to deal with the story of why the heck Lexie Decesare came into the middle of a war in Amber.”
Lexie rolled her eyes. “I think her angle will be more about the war and less about me.”
“Stop being so humble,” Mia commanded. “You know you’re more famous than any war. Even one with as many hot guys in it as ours.”
She was bordering on hysterical and clinging to humor to get her through this, but Mia was right. Lexie was more newsworthy than even a motorcycle gang going to war with a human trafficking cartel in a small seaside town in California.
So was the world.
Cade
They arrived at the warehouse and they knew something was wrong immediately.
The something wrong being that it was fucking empty.
Not a soul, or whatever Fernandez was, anywhere.
The sense of foreboding he’d been carrying around grew larger as men cursed around him.
He looked to Steg for guidance, as he had many times throughout his life. But for once, the weathered man looked just as lost as he fucking felt.
“What the fuck is this?” Jagger demanded.
Cade understood the wildness in Jagger’s eyes, the fact he was being robbed of the retribution he so sorely needed.
“It’s a trap,” Gage cut in, pale as he’d ever seen him. As afraid as he’d ever seen him. “Just not one we expected.”
“Fuck,” Brock hissed.
Every brother had a piece out. And nowhere to point it. No blood to spill.
His phone vibrated in his pocket.
Cold dread intensified.
“What the fuck is this?” he demanded.
“I’m not an outlaw, I’m a king. I don’t play by your rules,” Fernandez said. “I hope you said goodbye to your wife and children.”
The line was dead before Cade could say anything.
He looked at the men. “We need to get the fuck out of here and back to the club. Now.”
For the first time ever, his voice almost shook. His terror over how fatal his lapse in judgment might be had him paralyzed.
For a split second.
Then the vision of his wife and children had him moving.
And the rest of the men.
So that meant some of them got out in time when the remote activated bomb went off.
Others were not so lucky.
Caroline
After Mia had told Lexie she was now doing a tell-all TMZ interview airing all her embarrassing habits as punishment for her turning up here, things calmed again.
As it neared midday, the children were ushered down to the basement, and they all seemed to sense the need not to fight it. Even Mia’s boys, who I was sure were going to do something like steal two motorcycles and ride off into the sunset, went willingly. It was obvious that the women didn’t want to sit in some underground bunker without a bar, so we all planned on taking shifts, with Lauren, Lily and two prospects going first.
Everyone tried to distract themselves with stories of the current pranks Amy was pulling on her mother, the fact that Belle had convinced Cade to let her paint his toenails, Mia tying her sons to the bed so she could have sex with her husband in the garage, the time Lucky tried on a pair of Bex’s panties to see what they felt like. Nothing worked.
And then, five minutes till midday, Killian jumped into action.
“Stay here,” he demanded, eyeing Lexie.
Naturally, we all followed him.
We got outside to see a black SUV pulling in. Killian turned and glared at Lexie, she shrugged.
I was relaxed because I recognized the license plate number of the car. I guessed that’s why Killian’s weapon was holstered, and they hadn’t open fire yet.
Rosie hopped out of the driver’s seat.
Swiss, of all people, limped out of the passenger’s.
“You’re throwing a party without me,” she greeted, scowling at us all. “Now that’s just rude.”
Gwen ran up and hugged her. “What are you doing here? Cade is going to kill you.”
Rosie shrugged. “Someone’s always trying to kill me. My brother will be a welcome change of pace.” She winked at me. “I’m sorry I’m way past fashionably late, this guy here is actually almost a match for me.” She pointed to a wincing Swiss. “But I got here just in time, I see. Cade was working on the belief that Fernandez wouldn’t turn a small American town into a war zone. Which is a sane belief. I’m not as sane as my brother. So I hedged my bets on a different outcome. He’s so not gonna laugh when I say I told you so.” Something moved in her face. Something that didn’t match up with the lightness of her tone. Like she wasn’t even sure if she’d have a brother to say that to. Or if she’d be able to say it herself.