Page 15 of Hearts of Fairlake (Men of Fairlake #8)

"I'm not saying you're wrong," I began with amusement. "But there were probably better ways of handling that."

"You were uncomfortable. I made her stop groping you."

"She was drunk."

"Yeah, and? Would you be saying the same thing if it was some random guy who came up and groped you repeatedly while trying to talk about what he wanted to do to you?"

Alright, that was a fair point. “Probably not. But I'm pretty sure you scared the piss out of her."

"All I said was if she didn't remove her hands, she was going to have a bigger problem than tomorrow's hangover," Chase said, taking what I assumed was a retaliatory bite out of the caramel apple we'd found at one of the stalls.

I raised a brow. “There were several more curse words in there, and then you told her that her other problem would be the stumps where her hands were."

Chase shrugged. “Well, drunk or not, you don't put your hands on other people."

I turned to stop in front of him, smirking. “Especially when that person is yours? "

Conflicted emotion flickered across his face, and I waited to see what he would say, not caring if he could see that I was enjoying myself. Chase was not a jealous man, but he was certainly possessive. To his credit, he tried not to behave like it and would fight tooth and nail against the 'accusation' of being possessive. Part of it was because he truly believed that treating someone like they belonged to you was about as red flag as you could get, but also because he knew I was capable of handling myself.

On the other hand, those feelings still existed in him even if he fought against them and kept any expressions of them tied down. So, I still managed to catch a glimpse of it here and there. I appreciated him trying to keep it under wraps out of respect for me, but I also liked it a little. There was something warm and cozy about him being so into me it could spark his temper whenever someone tried to 'steal' me from him. We both knew no one would ever manage that particular feat, but emotions rarely made sense or listened to reason, which was true for his irrational possessiveness and my affection for it.

Eventually, his eyes narrowed. “This smells like a trap. I don't like it."

I laughed, leaning forward to tilt my head back and kiss his chin. "You're always so worried about me trapping you. When was the last time I tried to trap you?"

"Literally this morning," he grumbled, leaning down to kiss me.

"This morning?" I repeated in confusion and then laughed, remembering that I'd spotted Bennett wandering around in his uniform and had asked Chase if Bennett had always had a dump truck for an ass or if it was a recent development. Chase had responded by choking on his coffee and spitting it all over the floor and then bitched me out for it as he'd cleaned up the mess. "That wasn't a trap. It was a genuine question. You're just paranoid."

"And if I'd said yes?"

"Then I would have said lucky Adam...though I guess it wouldn't matter if he'd had that ass the whole time or only recently, Adam still comes out the winner, doesn't he?"

"There's nothing about this conversation I like."

"That's okay, I'm having a great time."

"Of course you are. Because you like seeing me suffer and fucking with me."

I snorted. “Maybe just a little."

And we both knew he enjoyed it when I messed with him, even if he did grumble and bitch about it. He knew I didn't mean any of the stuff I taunted and teased him about, but I also thought, and not all that privately, that the teasing was good for him. Chase was a pretty serious person by nature and, yes, grumpy as well. That kind of personality trait could easily make someone take things, including life and themselves, too seriously. It was good for him to have that part of him pricked and poked a few times to keep it at a reasonable level before he ended up becoming far too serious for his and everyone else's good.

“You sleep alright?"

He scowled. “What do you mean? I always sleep fine."

"You've just been...grumpy today," I said, unable to help my smile because I knew what he’d say next.

"I'm always grumpy, remember?"

"Grumpier than usual."

"I have not."

"You have. And you only get grumpier when you've slept badly, or something's bugging you."

If I didn't know any better, I'd say my comment made him nervous, as if knowing something was up with him was a problem, which was weird because, after how long we'd known each other, he should know by now, I could read him and predict his next move.

"I'm fine," he said, sounding grumpy again.

"Yeah, consider me totally convinced," I said with a chuckle. "But fine, if you wanna act weird and not tell me what's up, be my guest. I'm sure I'll figure out what's wrong eventually."

"I'm sure," he said with a shake of his head. Before I could follow up to find out just what he was talking about, he turned and frowned. "What's with the yelling?"

I cocked my head and strained until...yeah, there certainly was some yelling in the distance. A woman, from the sound of it, we were too far away to figure out who. "Crap, we should probably go figure out what's going on."

Chase grunted. “Or, we let the cops handle it if it requires the cops."

"Chase."

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

He hated it when I was willing to interfere in something. Not because he hated helping people, he was a sucker in his own right when it came to that. It was mostly because he didn't want to risk me being hurt if something nasty was going down. Again, I chose not to take offense, considering he always acknowledged I could handle myself if need be. He didn't want the risk, but he knew full well that risk wouldn't stop me.

"C'mon," I said, pulling him with me. Of course, he was allowing me to. Chase was considerably larger than me, and if he didn't want to get pulled, he wouldn't have had to try hard.

The yelling had calmed down by the time we reached what I thought might be the area close to whatever was going on. The mood of the crowd certainly changed as most were standing around, murmuring and looking nervous. I thought about stopping to ask someone what was going on, but I never had a chance. A blast tore through the day's peace, sending a rolling flash of fire into the sky.

That was all I could see before I felt myself grabbed and yanked to the ground as debris rained down. Flaming pieces of wood and food pelted the ground and the people, except for me, due to the giant weight pressing against my back and pinning me to the ground. I could only see panic taking over the crowd, and everyone ran in the opposite direction as fast as they could.

"We have to get up!" I yelled, pushing against Chase. "Or we're going to get stampeded."

"Don't know about all that," he grunted in my ear, but I did feel him slide off me, giving me the time to scramble to my feet.

"Well, we can't stay here, and we should probably go see if someone…" I began and then turned around and stopped, my heart suddenly slamming against my chest even more fiercely than before.

"Yeah," Chase grunted, trying to twist around but then wincing. "Can't see how bad it is, but it feels...not great."

A jagged piece of metal was sticking out of his lower back. It wasn't huge, but it looked like it had gone deep. The edges of the wound were staining his shirt in an ugly pattern as I stood there in horror.

"Oh fuck," I gasped, kneeling beside him, completely forgetting about the original problem as I reached out for the piece of metal before drawing my hand away, remembering that the worst thing I could do was remove it without a professional around to treat the wound properly. "Oh shit."

"Pretty sure I can still move," he grunted, trying to push himself upright but wincing as he did so. "But I'm not getting anywhere quickly, I can tell you that much. "

"I don't think we should move you," I said, shoving against my rising panic. "That would just make it worse."

", the park is on fire," Chase pointed out in a calm voice that should have been comforting but made me want to slap him. "We can't stay here."

I looked around desperately to find he was right. Whatever had exploded had sent flaming shrapnel in all directions, and I spared a moment to hope no one else was seriously hurt or killed. But that also presented the problem of the fire being spread from the source. Other booths were catching on fire and spreading it to the trees. If we didn't get moving soon, we could very well be caught in the growing flames and end up trapped.

"Okay," I said. "But you're going to have to let me help you, none of that stubborn crap, you got it?"

"We...can try," he said, and I reached down to try to get his arm over my shoulder so I could stand with him and help him to his feet. It was awkward and clumsy, but we began the slow shuffle away from the mess. Thankfully, it looked like everyone around us had already fled, so we didn't have to worry about other people accidentally bumping into us.

Which was good because our pace was slow but the fire was already spreading rapidly and threatening to overtake us. It wasn't helped by the fact that Chase...was really heavy, and I wasn't exactly the strongest person, so trying to take his weight was a slow process. He wasn't any better, and I was sure every movement was sending pain shooting through his back. The only comfort was that he could walk, so the metal clearly hadn't damaged his spine. I just had to hope it hadn't pierced anything vital while we waited for help.

"Holy fuck," a voice piped up, and I jerked my head around to find Annie running towards us. "Raise your other arm. "

"Great, she's here to help," Chase muttered. "Get to safety, you stupid?—"

"Arm," she snapped and yanked his arm up so she could take his other side, forcing a hiss of pain from him. "Yeah, well, that's what you get for whatever stupid shit was about to come out of your mouth."

"Always a pleasure to talk to you, Annie," Chase said between gritted teeth as we helped him walk. She might not have been the strongest person, but a second person to take some of his weight was a lot better than doing it by myself. "A real fucking pleasure."

"Bitch about it after we get you out of here," she said, eyeing the flames as they spread closer to us despite the improved pace.

"What were you doing out here?" I asked, mostly to distract myself from the painful death approaching from behind but also trying to make it sound like I wasn't struggling already. The last thing I needed was for Chase to have one of his moments of valor and insist we should leave him behind. Despite his normal demeanor, he was the self-sacrificing type.

"I was looking for people who needed help," she said with a grunt. "Do we know what happened?"

"Big boom," Chase grunted and I knew the wound had to be bothering him.

"Basically," I said with a sigh. "We heard yelling, went to go see what was going on, then?—"

"Big boom," Annie said as she began breathing heavily. "Chase, I know probably likes how big you are, and sure, once upon a time, I found it very sexy too, but...maybe you should have considered slimming down a bit?"

"Absolutely not," I grunted.

"Just...just go, you two," he said with a weary sigh. "There's no point in the two of you?— "

"Shut the fuck up with your self-sacrifice bullshit," I ground out as I continued to carry him, albeit with a bit more force than before. "You and I have sacrificed enough in our fucking lives to get to this point. You're not going to convince me to throw your life away just because you have a fat ass, got it?"

"You are so goddamn stubborn," he muttered, but I thought it was less to do with giving in to my stubbornness and more that between exhaustion and pain, he didn't have the energy to fight back. Undoubtedly, if we managed to get through this in one piece, I’d hear all about it later.

Thankfully, it didn't require any sacrifices to make it to the street, where the crowds had finally stopped to stare in shock and horror as the fire spread throughout the park. I had no doubt the damage was extensive, but I was more glad to have the three of us make it out, helped by a couple of people who saw how much we'd been struggling, and getting Chase onto the grass by the police station.

"Where is EMS?" Annie asked with a groan. "Fucking diet, that's what you need, Chase."

"Stay still," I told Chase once we had him down. "Seriously, where is fucking EMS?"

"Dealing with the people who were nearest to the explosion," a new voice piped up, and I turned to see Adam's ex-wife standing there, clutching a kid to her chest while the other two clung to her legs.

"Shit," Chase growled, trying to turn onto his side. ", they can't?—"

"Shut up," I grunted, yanking off my shirt and throwing it over his injured back. "Stay still, goddammit."

Which was perfectly timed as Amber and Colin came over once they realized it was us. Bri's face was pale, but she smiled steadily, her voice calm. "There was...an explosion. Most of the police were there as it was, I'm not sure why, something about a hostage situation. And...is he okay?"

She had seen the metal her children hadn't, thankfully, and her voice was a whisper at the last part. I could only wince, knowing there was no way to know if he was going to be okay. “I don't know."

"Unca Chase, what you doing?" Amber asked in one of her rare moments of clear speech.

"He’s taking a little rest," Annie told her, reaching out to poke the little girl in her stomach, making Amber laugh. Colin was less than impressed and was staring solemnly down at Chase, reaching up to try to take my hand.

I scooped Colin up, both to comfort him and myself, as I tried not to think about the love of my life with a giant piece of metal in his back. "Where is everyone?"

"I don't know," Bri said, her expression threatening to crack down the middle before readjusting to a controlled, if warm, smile. "Adam went to go look for Bennett because he was near whatever was going on. But so was Trevor, and you know Ethan is never far from him, and everyone else is?—"

Oh God. Chase was badly hurt but didn't seem to be in immediate danger. Meanwhile Bri was here by herself, her husband out of town for the day. It might have seemed odd to some people who didn't know them, but Bri still loved Adam, and she loved Bennett as well, the three of them forming a perfect parental trio. Now Bennett was missing, and on top of that, she didn't know what had happened to her brother.

"I'd offer to watch the kids, but I don't want you doing something stupid like looking for them," I told her with an attempt at a smile.

"I've already considered it several times," she said with a grimace. "But I've got the kids, and I couldn't...plus, my expertise is paperwork and the courtroom. Trying to find people in this chaos is not my thing."

The firehouse doors rattled open as the trucks began to pour out. Thankfully, they wouldn't have to go far, and I caught a glimpse of red hair in one of the windows as the trucks passed.

That had to be Julian, which meant Isaiah was probably in the truck with him. Or at least I hoped so because that meant two of my friends were accounted for.

"Stop moving so much," Annie hissed down at Chase. "You've moved enough as it is."

"Christ, I can't believe you're going to try to become a fucking nurse. You have a worse bedside manner than me," Chase grumbled.

"Language," I chided without thinking, looking around anxiously.

Bri jumped and pawed at her purse for a moment before drawing out her phone, almost dropping it in her haste to unlock it. Her eyes darted over the screen, and instead of more stress or relief, the two emotions I would have expected, she simply looked annoyed. "My brother is fine...sadly."

"Sadly?" I wondered, a little confused.

She held the phone out to show me the screen, and I couldn't help but snort. Ethan had sent her a picture, and he stood by a curb, soot smeared over his face, a cut on his cheek, but he was grinning and holding up a peace sign with the caption 'I lived bitch' at the bottom. "Yeah...that's Ethan for you."

"Since he didn't ask, I assume that means Trevor is also safe," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Honestly, he can't help himself. He has to be a jackass even in the middle of an emergency."

"You sound more surprised than someone who's been dealing with him his whole life has any right being," I said with a snort.

"I'll kill him some other time," she said with a shake of her head, and then her brow quirked. "And there's Adam. He was trying to get the crowds under control and help some of the wounded. Idiot didn't even think to text anyone that he was alive."

"Bennett?" I wondered.

"All I got was 'alive' from him, which is...helpful," Bri said sarcastically. "That could range from untouched to in a damn coma. I guess we'll find out."

"God, I hope no one was hurt," Annie said in a low voice. "Especially someone we know."

"I guess I'm just a fucking stranger," Chase muttered.

"Hush," Annie said. "It's a secret, remember?"

I hated leaving Chase, but no one was around to help us. Plus, moving him would be an ordeal requiring getting through the crowd. I looked down at him, raising a brow to ask a question I didn't want to say with the kids within earshot and still ignorant of Chase's condition.

"Fine for the moment," he said, giving me a smile that was probably meant to reassure me. It didn't, but at least he was still capable of trying something like that.

"I’d love to know what happened," Bri said with a sigh. "Everything was fine, and then?—"

"Big boom," Chase muttered into the grass.

"Is he trying to be funny?" Bri asked, sounding more confused than upset.

"Mostly just trying to stay conscious," Chase muttered, then flashed me a reassuring smile when I gave him a dirty look. He might have been willing to make jokes, but I didn't find much about this situation funny. Maybe if we all got through this in one piece, I’d find something to joke about.

A cry went up from the crowd, and I spun around as I heard shouting coming from the park's direction. I cocked my head. “Is that...Bennett?"

"Shit, I've never heard him yell like that," Chase said, and I nudged him with my foot when he tried to get up to see what was going on.

"What's he saying?" Annie asked as people began to back up, creating a gap between them and the park.

"I said stop !" Bennett roared in a voice I would never have dreamed possible coming from him, of all people. "Isabelle, stop!"

"Who?" Bri asked in confusion.

"There is...no way," Annie said, forgetting all about the kids and Chase as she stood up with eyes wide. "Ayla said she was out, but there is no way in hell she’d be back here."

"Wait? That psycho bitch from before?" Chase asked.

"Chase, language!" Bri snapped and then blinked. "As in, Ian's ex? Ayla's mother?"

"You'd be amazed what people will do when they're no longer thinking straight, and I don't think her and sanity have known each other for a very long time," I said. “Shit, they're coming."

Chase grunted. “Amber, no!"

My attention was pulled from where I could see people heading in our direction and down to the little girl who had decided that moment was the time to run into the crowd. Without thinking, I shoved Collin toward his mother and ran after her before she ended up directly in the path of the chase. The problem was that the crowd was too stunned by everything and enamored by the new shouting that they barely moved and didn't realize what I was doing. Amber, being so short, had little problem squeezing between people as she let out a laugh, clearly enjoying this new game.

"Move!" I finally snapped. Amber gained distance as the crowd continued to be locked into a stupor. I finally had to shove a man far harder than I wanted, but I could see Amber heading straight for the park. Either she’d decided she wanted to go back, or against all logic, she somehow managed to recognize Bennett's voice despite the anger and authority and was going for him.

I finally broke through the crowd as Amber sped toward the tree line. No longer fettered by the crowd, I lunged forward. My hand wrapped around her upper arm just as someone came bursting through the trees. It took me far too long to realize who I was looking at, but as rough as the years had been on her, I’d always been good with faces. Under all the stress and pain, it was the same woman I had helped Ethan hunt down so they could get Ayla back.

She had a fucking knife and was coming in our direction.

Amber let out a cry as I yanked her back before Isabelle got hold of her, stepping back and wondering what I could do. Bennett was still in hot pursuit, but it would still be seconds before he showed up, and seconds were exactly how long it would take for her to hurt someone. Her brow half gone, and her bangs singed, she had clearly been near the explosion, but she wasn't fazed by it, considering her death grip on the knife.

I heard another shout from behind me, and before I could do more than turn toward the noise, a streak of red shot past me and directly into Isabelle. The woman had not expected it, and I watched in surprise as her grip on the knife loosened, sending the weapon clattering to the ground. Without thinking, I stepped forward to slap my foot on it and slide it back as Isabelle and?—

"Annie?" I let out in surprise as she perched herself over Isabelle, fist clenched.

"Remember me, bitch?" Annie grunted before delivering what could only be called the most brutal haymaker I had ever witnessed .

"Holy shit," I said, eyes going wide as I watched Annie proceed to lay down a beating I would have never expected from her.

"Owwwwww," Amber cried beside me, and I picked her up to shush her, knowing I’d probably hurt her arm and would need to get it looked at.

For all her craziness, Isabelle wasn't prepared for Annie's surprise attack and was flailing on the ground beneath her.

Then, Bennett and Ian came barreling through the trees, armed and red in the face. Both came to a screeching halt as they watched Isabelle shriek with pain and frustration as Annie grabbed her and began slamming her onto the concrete.

"Not so goddamn tough without that woman-beating asshole with you, are you?" Annie snarled, and I wondered just how long it had been stewing inside her.

"Annie, get off her so I can taze her," Bennett called, exasperated.

"Hold on, she's winning," Ian said, cocking his head. "Really winning."

Bri appeared at my side, gently taking Amber from my arms and even kissing me on the temple as she murmured her thanks. Sighing, I moved forward to grab Annie, not at all surprised when her swing went wild at the sudden touch. I was ready for that and caught her, pulling her back to leave the moaning Isabelle to whimper in the street.

"Feel any better?" I asked her as Ian and Bennett swooped in to cuff Isabelle.

Annie yanked out of my arm and gave a huff, swiping at her hair in a half-hearted attempt to fix it. "You know what? I do. I never thought I'd ever get to pay her back for that cheap shit."

"God, did we leave Chase unsupervised?" I asked wide-eyed and turned to make my way through the crowd, panic blossoming again. There was no telling what the stubborn idiot would do if there wasn't someone there to make sure he stayed down.