Leave a Trail (Signal Bend #7)(96)

“Len signs nothing until Seaver is gone.”

David Vega nodded, then stood and left the room. Isaac rose and turned to his brothers. The Horde stood in a loose circle, facing each other. No one spoke.



CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE



Nearly two o’clock in the morning. No one had heard from Isaac, Show, Len, or Badger for hours.

They’d all congregated at the clubhouse—the old ladies, the children, the Prospects, and the Horde who’d stayed in town. They’d even brought the puppies with them.

The men had spent those hours building an arsenal—gathering their weapons, loading everything. Lilli had pulled weapons for the women, too. But Adrienne had never held a gun before. When she’d told Lilli has much, she’d gotten a look from Isaac’s wife that had scared her for a second—fierce and furious—but then Lilli had smiled a little and nodded. She’d said, “You stay well back, then, if trouble hits. When this is over, if Badge doesn’t teach you, I will. You have to shoot, Adrienne. In this life, you have to know how to protect yourself. This is no place for hothouse flowers.”

That had pissed Adrienne off, and she’d almost pushed back. But it wasn’t the time. So instead, she’d replied, “I’m not afraid. I just don’t know how yet.”

“Good woman. Then we’ll teach you.” With that, Lilli had walked away.

Adrienne had not yet been a full part of this family when Havoc had been killed, but the similarities that the women felt between their vigils on that night and this night were vividly obvious. Seeing the way fear stretched all their faces made Adrienne’s throat twist and knot so hard she wasn’t sure how she could take in breath. The night Lilli, Shannon, Tasha, and Cory were remembering was the night that Badger and his brothers had been torn apart, inside and out. The night that Havoc had died. The first anniversary of that night had passed mere days before. And here they were, clustered together in some kind of macabre reenactment.

In the midst of the adults’ taut worry, the children, too young to understand, were playing contentedly, rolling around with the puppies. The tension had obviously stimulated them, however; as late as it was, Gia, Bo, and Loki were all wide awake, showing no signs of readiness for sleep. The puppies were dropping around them, exhausted, but the kids were still full-steam.

The only child—and he was no longer really a child—who felt the weight of the night was Nolan. He had responded, it seemed, by throwing himself in with the men, gathering weapons, loading them, running what errands they needed. Every time Adrienne saw him, he wore the same expression—empty.

The whole evening and half the night had passed in this way. Adrienne kept herself busy helping Shannon with the twins. They went back to Show’s old room to feed them, so that Shannon could feed Joey without baring her breasts in the Hall. Shannon’s breasts were sort of epic—and they hadn’t become less so while she was breastfeeding. They drew attention. So she sat in a ratty armchair with Joey, and Adrienne got comfortable on the bed with Millie and a bottle.

Usually a devoted nurser, Joey fussed and complained repeatedly, refusing to stay latched.

“Dammit. Dammit!” There were tears right on the edge of Shannon’s voice. Adrienne looked over and saw that there were tears at the edge of her eyes, too.

“Can I do something?”

“My milk isn’t letting down. I can feel it. I’m like an overfilled water balloon, but it won’t release. My nipples are like rocks. He can’t get hold.”

“Do you want me to warm one of Millie’s bottles?”

“No! No! I don’t want him to prefer the bottle, too. I want to do this right with one of them.” Now tears were thickening her words, and Joey began to cry. “God!”

Adrienne knew very little about what Shannon was going through, but she thought she knew someone who did. Still feeding Millie, she scooted off the bed. “I’ll be right back.” Before Shannon could stop her, she left Show’s room and went out to the Hall. She found Tasha and Lilli in the kitchen, talking quietly, both standing with their arms crossed.

“Shannon needs some help. Joey won’t feed, and she’s starting to freak out. She said her milk isn’t letting down.”

Tasha came forward. “That’s anxiety.” Adrienne had known Tasha could help. “Where is she?”

“Back in the dorm—in Show’s room, I guess?”

“Okay. I’ll go talk to her. You focus on Millie. Lilli, would you warm a bottle for Joey?”

Adrienne interjected. “She doesn’t want to give him a bottle. She’s afraid he won’t take her after that.

Like Millie.”

Tasha looked at Lilli. “Warm a bottle. Him screaming to eat isn’t going to ease her worry. I’ll talk to her.

And Lilli—”

“Warm, wet towels?”

“Yeah, thanks.” She opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water and one of Millie’s bottles. She took the water with her and left the breast milk on the counter near the range.

Lilli was at the sink, soaking dish towels in hot water. “Cory’s in the Hall with the kids. Can you manage Millie and also get these back to Shannon?”

Millie had just about finished her bottle, so Adrienne set it on the counter and turned the baby onto her shoulder. “Sure.”