Ryan (Mallick Brothers 2)

"I take over. You take your people and leave. You never hear about us again."

Lo pursed her lips. "That could work. Just a warning, we're putting out word to all the local dealers to keep an eye out for new people on our streets. To say they won't handle it nearly as amicably as we are right now would be an understatement."

"We'll stay out of Navesink Bank," Albert said with a nod and, despite not knowing the man from Adam, I believed him.

"You stay twenty miles out of Navesink Bank in all directions or we come back with one of Jstorm's creations. They're of the big bang variety," she specified with what seemed like an almost maternal smile to the younger woman.

"Understood," Albert agreed.

Lo kept her eyes on Al, but addressed me. "Why don't you guys go ahead and head out?" she suggested, reaching in her pocket and tossing a key. "Bry, you too. We'll drop you at the hospital once we're back in town," she added.

I didn't hesitate, I grabbed Dusty and I dragged her with me, finding her oddly uncooperative. But we were given an out and I was fucking taking it. I pulled her through the halls, nodding my head at Shane as he caught my eye when we passed the room where they were holding Dom's, now Al's, people.

Then we exploded outside and I didn't stop until I hauled her up into the backseat of the SUV I had driven to Camden in and slammed and locked the doors. Bry gave me a look that said he didn't want to, but would give me a few alone with her and stayed outside the car.

"Dusty, honey, breathe," I demanded, trying to keep my voice calm, but more than a bit of desperation seeped into my tone.

She wasn't even looking at me, her eyes huge and seemingly unseeing. My hand reached out and pressed into her stomach hard. "Breathe," I repeated.

That seemed to get through as she sucked in air greedily, her belly expanding. Her eyes moved to me, looking at me like she was seeing me for the first time.

And then the dam just... broke.

Her eyes welled up and she face-planted into my chest, her arms wrapping around my center hard enough to make it difficult to breathe.

"It's okay," I murmured, hands sliding around her, slipping up her back, and sifting through her hair. "I got you," I added, pulling her forward and onto my lap.

"How... did..." she started, sniffling hard in a way I shouldn't have found amusing, but she was alive, unharmed, and in my arms. So I was going to go ahead and be charmed by it.

"The tenant in the other penthouse. He thought something was up and looked out the window and saw you get snatched. He called me. We called Hailstorm. You saw the rest."

"What... is... Hailstorm?"

"That's a good fucking question," I agreed, looking out the front window as Lo, Jstorm, and Malcolm walked out first, carefully followed by my family and then the rest of Lo's people who spread out, turned to face the building with guns out still, and walked backward toward the cars, creating a human wall.

Trained.

Highly, highly trained.

Whatever the fuck Hailstorm did, I bet they did it well.

My father tapped slightly on the window as he passed, giving me a nod, then moving off to his SUV.

Bry climbed in the other side of the backseat, Jstorm moving past us to another SUV and Lo and Malcolm hopped in as well.

Then, like we had just stopped for a quick late dinner, we all pulled off and left.

As for me, I didn't pull a breath until we were back on a main street again. As if similarly afflicted, no one else seemed inclined to break the silence either.

It wasn't until we cleared out of the county lines before someone finally did. And that someone, unsurprisingly, was Bry.

"Hey Sunshine," he called quietly, extremely hesitantly, using her hated middle name. I knew he was feeling guilt. Though, really, it was just an impossible situation and she was, after all, okay. "Don't be mad at me, Dust," he urged, needy, desperate for forgiveness.

"I'm not mad at you," she mumbled against my chest.

"You can't even look at me," he pointed out.

"I was looking at you plenty in there. Trying to silently communicate to you to..."

"Shut the fuck up before I got the both of us killed," he agreed, nodding, making her head pop up to look at him. "I know."

"And yet..."

"I knew nothing was going to happen, Dusty. I wouldn't put you in danger on purpose. You fucking know me better than that. I just... that mother fucker had men beat you and steal your safe little haven from you. And then had you fucking kidnapped on top of it all? I couldn't just stand there like a bitch and not say something about it."