The Shepherd (The Game 6)

“Did you even try to get away from him?” Reese asked.

I stifled a grin, and we all saw Noa’s fury coming.

“You know damn well, Sir!” he yelled.

I glanced over at Colt. “Just think, we get to waterboard him next weekend.”

That made Colt happy. “I cannot fuckin’ wait.”

“All right, let’s get cracking!” Reese said. “We’re four Tops and one, two, three…six brats. Anyone missing?”

Kit, Noa, Mateo, Ella, Gretchen, and Cameron—who stubbornly claimed he wasn’t a brat.

“Gael!” Kit called. “Come play with us!”

I felt for Gael. He was another Little with not-so-little issues; only he didn’t have a Top for an enemy. He was his own foe with his low self-esteem and body image. So he was chubby—who gave a shit. He was still cute as fuck. Almost as short as Noa. Smart and funny, according to Kit and Macklin, who were constantly trying to include Gael.

I didn’t know if he’d heard Kit. The music coming out from the house was too loud, and the patio was filled with people.

In the back of my mind, I registered I was getting hungry when I deduced someone had started one of the grills. But a fraction of a second later, I shook my head. That wasn’t the smell of barbecue. That wasn’t charcoal burning.

“Daddy, is the smoke machine on the fritz?” Kit asked.

I snapped my gaze to the sliding doors and went rigid at the sight of all smoke billowing out. That would definitely set off the smoke detectors—and fucking hell, it wasn’t the smoke machine. Then the screams that suddenly rose above the music kicked me into gear, and I exchanged a quick look with Reese. The understanding and horror dawning in his eyes was the last straw.

Get everybody out.

“Get out of the house!” Reese bellowed.

My heart started pounding, pumping adrenaline and panic through me, and we took off. We sprinted up the lawn, past the pool, and up on the deck, and that was when the fire alarm started ringing so loudly that I barely heard my own thoughts.

I spotted flames in the smoky club area too, licking the walls behind the bar.

“Everybody out!” I yelled. “Away from the house, out of the way!”

“Daddy!” someone screamed.

“Where’s Ivy?”

“Lucian! They’re here! Get inside the cabin, boys—do not fucking leave.”

“Luke, call 911!” Colt shouted. “Kill the goddamn music!”

“Colt, Reese!” I jerked my chin at the side of the house. We couldn’t get in this way. Mayhem erupted, and members poured out onto the deck. Instead, the three of us darted around the house, and we spotted several people rushing out the front door too.

“Move out, move out!” I squeezed my way past everyone and hauled my Henley over my head. The smoke was so fucking thick that I could barely see the club. Pressing the fabric of my shirt to my mouth and nose, I aimed for the stairs. Reese was right behind me while Colt, August, Ev, and Sloan spread out downstairs.

“Make sure Archie gets out!” I yelled to Sloan.

“Archie! Ivy!”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I had to shut out all the screams and focus on my task.

“Greer—” Reese sped up and handed me a master keycard. “You take the guest rooms, I’ll take the playrooms. I gotta find River and Shay.”

Jesus Christ, of course. The horror in his stare made even more sense now. Shay had once lost half his family in a house fire.

I took the card and continued running up to the third floor.

“Everybody out! This is not a drill. There’s a fire downstairs, follow the lines on the floor to the nearest emergency exit!” I started unlocking and pushing open every door I came across in the hallway. Come on, Corey. Where the fuck are you? “I repeat, fire downstairs! Move out! Follow the lines on the floor to the nearest emergency exit! Fire downstairs!”

One not-so-merry group of kinksters stormed out from one of the orgy rooms in a panic, half-dressed and with bed heads and red marks from grabby fingers.

“Get out!” I gestured for the stairs. “Emergency exits on both ends of the second floor, ladder to the left, staircase next to the tower, cover your mouths and noses when the smoke gets thicker. Go, go, go!”

“Master Greer!”

My stare landed on Corey’s frightened expression and tear-streaked cheeks. The fire alarm had him plugging his ears with his fingers.

“Oh, thank fucking God.” I bolted toward him at the end of the hall and squeezed him to me. “We’re getting out of here soon.”

“I’m scared. It’s so loud!” He whimpered and clung to me.

He’d been crying. As in, long before the fire started. That was why he’d lingered up here.

“You’re gonna be brave for me, you hear me?” I cupped his face in my hands and forced him to listen. “I will get you out of here. Do you trust me on that?”

He nodded jerkily and blinked, causing two tears to roll down. He narrowly avoided eye contact, fixing his gaze on my shoulder instead.