Page 17 of Last One Standing (Saint Brothers #5)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

KONA

I wasn’t positive if today was better than the day before, but it was better than the day before that.

Lips had made sure I was healing; he’d stayed to help me wash and eat.

Honestly, he’d never been so kind to me, and I wondered if I’d made an ally in him, that Brick had just gone too far when he’d done this to me.

I kept my thoughts to myself, offering thank-yous every time he assisted me. I wanted to see Pika, but Lips kept updating me that he was okay. No one had hurt him.

Brick hadn’t come to me since the day he’d practically broken me into pieces, and Lips had let me know he’d avoided Pika.

That helped me rest easier, but I needed to come up with a plan for after I was better.

If I had to run for the rest of my life peering over my shoulder with Pika, I would.

But if I could get Pika to go on his own, Brick might be satisfied if I was still here.

My internal planning was interrupted by a flurry of shouts, and movement outside my door had me sitting up slowly. The walls were pretty thin, so I could hear what one of them was yelling.

“It’s in smoke, the whole factory. Jimmy said he saw people running. If we hurry, we can catch them!” It sounded like one of the prospects.

“Fuck!” I knew that roar; that was Brick. “Tick and Robby, stay at the clubhouse and keep an eye out here. Call if anything comes up. Everyone else, let’s fuckin’ ride!”

Tick and Robby were two of the prospects.

The sound of footsteps racing out of the clubhouse was quickly followed by the rumbling of a shit-ton of motorcycles. I’d laugh if it didn’t hurt. What moron would attack the Dead Kings’ property?

Once I couldn’t hear them anymore, I reveled in the silence. I lay my head on the pillow and closed my swollen eyes. Hopefully they’d all burn up in that building…and wouldn’t that be sweet?

It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes when I heard something above me—on the roof, maybe.

Could’ve been a squirrel. A loud crack sounded, and Tick and Robby started shouting.

Shots were fired and with whatever strength I had, I rolled onto the floor for cover.

I hoped Pika was smart enough to do the same.

Surprisingly, it didn’t last long, and then I heard the craziest thing.

“Kona, Pika, it’s Angel. Where are you?”

Angel? What the hell?

“Angel, third door on the left is me. Kona’s at the end of the hallway on the right,” Pika yelled.

I got off the floor and sat on the bed. There wasn’t anything I could do to fight them off, but in my heart I knew they weren’t here to hurt us. They’d come to help us.

“They’re deadbolted inside,” one of the brothers shouted, but I didn’t know them well enough to know who, just that it wasn’t Angel.

“Pika, Kona, stay low. We’re gonna bust the door in—keep clear,” Angel said, and I wanted to say something, but it hurt to speak too loudly. I didn’t move from where I sat.

There was some banging, and then the door was cracked open. The swelling had gone down on my eyes some, so I was able to see two figures rush into my room. One was imposing, huge. I suspected it was that Viking one, Shep I believed his name was. The other was without a doubt Angel.

He kneeled in front of me, enough so I could see his face; his eyes were both angry and sad. Was that for me?

“We’re getting you out of here.” He spoke softly, and I couldn’t protest, not like I would, because he gently scooped me up bridal style.

“Kona!” Pika was right there when we exited the room with Angel.

“Pika,” I whispered.

“What do you need from here?” a blond guy asked.

“Our stash isn’t here, it’s at the club,” Pika answered. “I’d need to get that. From here, maybe some clothes.”

“Gabe and I got it,” the same blond guy said. “Nick’s got the van out front. Get them out of here, and we’ll be out in a minute.”

“Be quick,” Angel ordered. “Mason’s watching the factory with the drone. He’ll tell us when anyone leaves there, but they aren’t far. I want us on our property before they leave that factory.”

“Got it,” the two men announced, and then we were moving.

Every jostle hurt, but I didn’t dare vocalize it. We were being rescued by the Saint brothers, and I had no idea why. Sure, Pika talking to them likely had a lot to do with it. But they were making an enemy that would tear their world apart for what they’d done.

I had a million questions, but I’d hold them until we were in a safe place.

I kept my face pressed to the crook in Angel’s neck; he smelled amazing, like peppermint and something woodsy. I closed my eyes and just breathed him in. Too soon, he was setting me down in the van and buckling me up.

“Is this okay?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

He nodded once and moved so Pika could be next to me.

“Oh, Kona.” Pika started crying as he saw me for the first time in days. “What did he do to you?” He tenderly hugged me and I shushed him as best as I could, my throat tight with emotion.

Soon enough, the van was rolling, and the farther we got from the clubhouse, the less heavy my chest felt.

There was no way this was the end of it.

Brick would come looking for us and to make the brothers pay for what they’d done.

But for the time I had, I was going to try and hold on to whatever fractured freedom this was.

I didn’t know how, but I’d dozed, because the sound of Pika’s amazed gasp jolted me awake. Through the window, I could make out a large house…a mansion, actually. It was fuzzy and details weren’t clear, but judging by Pika’s amazement, it was gorgeous.

“You all live here?” Pika gushed, and I chuckled at the wonderment in his voice.

“We do, little man. There are ten of us here.” That sounded like Shep. I was beginning to recognize some of the voices. “Mason, JJ, Phoenix, Matt, and Four are inside. The five of us came to get you.”

“Wow!” Pika sounded more like a fifteen-year-old than I’d ever heard. “This is so cool!”

Someone behind me snickered. “We like it, and I’m sure you and your brother will be comfortable here.”

For now Pika wasn’t thinking about Brick and the others coming for us, and I wasn’t about to burst his bubble. I’d give him a little while to be a kid and let him pretend he was being swept away in a fairy tale and staying at a huge castle. I’d give him that.

When the van stopped, everyone got out. Angel was helping me once more, and I didn’t protest as he carried me into the house. I couldn’t see too well, but I saw enough to know it was a big place and it was super fancy.

There were a lot of voices, people moving about. And I wanted to ask all my questions and thank them, but my eyes were drooping. I was so damn tired.

“How about you carry him up to the adjoining bedrooms? He and Pika can have those; there’s fresh sheets and everything,” a brown-haired guy with sweet eyes said. I’d seen him at the club, but his name was escaping me. “Once you’re rested, we can all talk.”

Angel carried me upstairs, Pika announcing he was right behind us the entire time.

“Holy cow!” Pika shouted as soon as we entered the bedroom. I’d see it eventually, but clearly he approved.

“How about you take a nap, and when you’re feeling up to it, I’ll tell you everything that’s happened up until this point, and you can ask me all the questions that are bouncing around in that beautiful head of yours.” Angel smiled…and wow, that was a gorgeous smile.

“Uh…yeah,” was all I could muster. He’d called me beautiful, and then there had been a bunch of other words.

“I’ll stay with you, Kona. I’m beat, and I haven’t slept, really. We’ll nap together.”

I wasn’t going to argue. I didn’t want Pika to ever leave my side again.

We got under the covers, resting on the softest mattress I’d ever felt. I wasn’t sure what more was said because I fell right to sleep.