Security (25 page)

"I'd take care of you if your pop called and fired me right now, Ken."

Kenny's chin jutted out. "Yeah? You sure about that?" "Yes."

Bay loved how Simon didn't play games, stared Kenny down, calm and sure.

Kenny kept staring for a long minute and then he threw himself at Simon. Simon caught his brother, kissed Kenny hard.

Bay leaned against Rick, smiled. God, they hadn't been this happy in a long, long time. He hoped it wasn’t about to be ripped away from them.

Rick's arm came around his waist, fingers moving slowly. He leaned harder, nuzzling into Rick's neck.

"You're okay, man. I got you." Rick rocked them together.

"I don't want to lose this." He whispered the words against Rick's skin. Kenny would roll his eyes if he heard and call him Emo-Baby or something like that, but he knew Kenny didn't want to lose this either.

Rick rumbled softly, kept him close. "We're going to keep you safe."

Bay nodded and tilted his head for a kiss, something to occupy his mind so he didn't ask the question he was afraid to hear the answer to: what happens when the threat is over?

Rick kissed him, hard enough that everything else crumbled away. He opened right up, letting Rick in. Rick fucked his lips, making him a little dizzy.

"Rick, babe. We got company." Simon's voice snapped out like a whip. "Get the boys safe. I'll run interference."

Bay gasped, hearing the urgency in the words, in the way Rick's muscles all went tight like a tiger about to leap, but he was too kiss-stupid to put two and two together yet. "What?"

"Move." Simon leapt over the sofa and grabbed a pistol holster before heading out the door.

"Come on, boys. Get coats and shoes on, just in case. It could be nothing."

Bay nodded, slowly getting it and beginning to panic.

Kenny punched him hard in the arm. "You heard them, Bay.
Move
."

He nodded again and followed Kenny to the back door where their boots and coats were, putting them on quickly. "What now?" he asked Rick, holding tight to Kenny's hand.

"We'll wait. Simon will give us a signal. It might be nothing. No panicking."

"I'll try."

"We're good," Kenny added, squeezing his hand hard.

Rick nodded, watching. Simon was out there in the snow, a black smear with another black smear.

"There's someone out there!" Kenny muttered. Bay shivered again, eyes going wide.

"Shh." Rick was still, watching like a hawk.

He and Kevin froze. Hell, he was actually holding his breath. He might have been praying, too.

The men outside talked for what seemed like hours -- Simon not moving around too much, not letting the guy get too close.

Bay could feel Kenny starting to vibrate next to him and he knew his twin wouldn't be able to stay still and silent for much longer.

"Be still, kid. Let Simon do his job."

"Kenny doesn't do still well." Still, his twin was trying hard, he could tell.

"Yeah. Me either." At Rick's words, Kenny blinked. "What? That's my lover out there."

"Mine, too," murmured Kenny.

"And mine," Bay added. "We're all worried for him, for all of us. Now hush, what are they doing?"

"Talking. That bodes pretty well. If it's one of our guys, Simon'll be telling them that he's the decoy. If it's not, Simon's playing stupid."

"Why wouldn't you tell one of 'our' guys the truth? Do you think one of your guys is gonna hurt us?"

"Because you're more important than the good guys."

"You and Simon are important, too." Kenny sounded belligerent.

"Everyone is important," Bay whispered. "Hush." Rick frowned. "It's taking too long..." "What do we do?" Bay asked.

"We go help him. We need to go help him." Kenny let go of his hand.

"No. No. We stay." Rick looked a little sick.

"Rick..." Bay grabbed Rick's arm. "Me and Kenny will go hide, or run to town or anything you need us to do. You go help Simon."

"I can't. This is how it works. Simon is a strong man." Rick’s voice sounded rather bleak.

"Can't you like get a gun and shoot that guy? Kenny sounded angry. Bay was trying not to panic.

"Ken, I don't know who the guy is and I'd have a body to get rid of."

"We can't stand here and watch!" Kenny was getting agitated and Bay grabbed his hand again, holding on tight.

"Kenny. Simon is a pro. He'll be fine. You relax." Rick's eyes never left the window.

"Just like that? What are you -- made of stone?"

Bay turned and wrapped his arms around Kenny. "Shh. Shh. Simon knows what he's doing. He's gonna be pissed if you ruin what he's doing by exposing yourself."

Rick didn't answer, kept watching, staring. It was freaking him out as much as Simon being out there was. Maybe even more.

"What's going on?" Kenny whispered into his ear. "I don't know. I don't know. Hold me."

"Shh. Shh." Rick went stiff, eyes wide. "Come on, boys. Time to bug out. Go. Go. Together, the three of us. Now."

"What? No!" Kenny tried to pull out of his arms.

Rick grabbed Ken, slapped one hand over his mouth. "Now," Rick hissed. "Don't you fucking fight me."

Bay held tight to Kenny's hand. "We're right behind you, Rick."

"Okay. Come on."

They hit the back door, running along the tiny path Simon and Rick kept shoveled so that no one could count their footprints. They'd hit the trees when they heard the rattle of gun fire, snapping through the air.

Rick moaned, but kept pushing them. "Go. Go. Go."

There was one more shot, loud and sharp, and the whole forest seemed to go still and silent.

Chapter Seventeen

Rick heard the shots and his heart dropped, but he did his motherfucking job.

He took the twins and ran.

His fucking heart was broken, though, because... Yeah.

Damn it.

Rick kept the boys moving, head down, heart slamming in his chest. They moved through the woods, snow everywhere.

Bay had tears coming down his face and Ken kept repeating "this is bullshit" over and over again, sounding so angry.

"Come on. Quiet. Let's go." He was going to keep it together. He was going to keep it together and get the boys to safety and then he was going to go kill something. He didn't much care what.

"We should go back." Kenny stopped, Bay trying to tug his twin along. "We should go back and help him! What if he needs a doctor?"

Rick winced. "You two aren't capable of defending against these men if Simon wasn't." Keep them safe. Otherwise Simon's sacrifice was for nothing.

Kenny blinked and blinked back tears. "We can't leave him there on his own, Rick.
Please
."

"I won't lose both of you, t..." The word caught in his throat, made him choke.

Bay stepped up and hugged him tight. "Me and Kenny, we can go to the store, hide in the back until you and Simon come get us."

Kenny nodded. "Yeah, that. Go. We'll be fine, we'll do exactly as you say."

"I..." Rick stopped, frowned. His cell beeped again. "Hold on." He flipped the phone open and there was a text.

DECOY. PLAN. REND IN II.

His knees actually buckled. "That son of a bitch."

"What? What?" Kenny and Bay crowded him, trying to see the phone.

"It was a decoy. They faked it to fool the people after you. He'll follow us."

"So he's okay?" Bay bounced.

Kenny punched him in the arm. "You could have told us!"

"He did! He did as soon as he could." Rick was going to kill the bastard.

Bay smacked Kenny in the arm. "Rick didn't know either.

Come on, we need to move, right? We need to get to the store so we can meet him?"

"Yes. Now." He wanted the boys safe and settled.

They started running along the paths again, both Kenny and Bay following easily now. There was no more trailing behind, no more crying and begging to go back. Rick heart pounded as they went, barreling through the snow.

As cold as it was, by the time they'd run all the way to the store, he was hot and the twins were panting, Kenny all but dragging Bay along behind him. Still, it was easier going with his heart not breaking.

"Okay, upstairs. There's a room with a padlock."

The twins didn't argue for a change, they simply charged up the stairs, following his directions.

The room was secure, warm, dark. The door closed firmly behind him. "Get comfortable. We'll wait."

"How long do you think it'll be before he gets here?" Kenny asked.

"Whenever it's safe." Not soon enough.

Bay stroked his arm and rested against his chest. "I don't get what happened, Rick -- did Simon shoot someone?"

"No, they would have faked a shooting so that the people watching your father's man in the group wouldn't be

exposed." At least he hoped that's how it worked. There was a good chance Simon would have taken a non-lethal shot.

"So everyone thinks Simon is dead but us?" "Exactly."

"Cool." Bay hugged him tight.

"I hope he gets here soon," murmured Kenny. "I don't think I'll believe it 'til he gets here."

"Yeah. Yeah, I tell you boys, I think we ought to go somewhere warm. Somewhere with a beach and a lot of rum." Somewhere far away from here, from everything. Somewhere the people he cared about would be safe.

"Jamaica!" suggested Kenny.

"No, the Barbados." Bay smiled up at him. "Just the four of us? No bodyguards and primaries? Just... us?"

It sounded good to him. "Let's get Simon and go." Tonight. "Can we do that?" Bay looked so hopeful.

Kenny pushed up against him on the other side. "Who's gonna stop us, Bay?"

"Your father wants you safe. Simon and I want out of the race." If they hadn’t all cared about each other, it might not have been the right solution, but they did so it was.

Bay's laughter was sweet. "That would be so cool, Rick.

Me and Kenny, we could live on the beach for a long time without getting bored."

"Yeah." Still, there was no Simon. Where the fuck was he? "Where's Simon?" Kenny's question echoed his thoughts. "Coming." Please, God. Let him be coming.

Without a word Kenny headed for the door.

"Ken? Where the hell are you going?" He reached out, grabbed the lean arm.

"We gotta find him." Kenny tried tugging away from him. "Get Simon and go, that's the plan, right?"

"Wait and go. That's the plan. You two are our biggest priority."

Kenny pouted. "I'd rather go get him and go. I'm no good at this waiting around crap." Like they hadn't had months and months to get that.

"I know, Ken." Rick nodded, squeezed the kid's arm. "I know. Simon's coming. We're the only things he's thinking about."

"Well, he better be thinking about not getting seen or caught or shot, too."

Bay giggled at Kenny's words.

"You know what? I concur, man. One hundred percent." Rick gave Kenny a quick hug.

"You guys need a distraction." Bay looked at them speculatively.

He knew that look. "I'm not having sex right now." Rick patted Bay's ass.