Chapter 6
1106 Words
Killian's pov
“Get your men out of my f*****g bar, Vince.” Cole’s voice clapped like thunder and the door to the church burst open, releasing a torrent of tension that made the bass die mid-thump.
No one interrupted when the reapers were in the church-no one dared unless they wanted to die.
The moment Cole stormed out with a thunderous expression, the music faltered then stopped. My hands that were clasped over Ember’s mound froze and I snapped my head up, glancing at the doorway that led into the church.
Ember froze as well, eyes glazed over. It took a couple of seconds for the disoriented look in her eyes to ebb away and she trailed after my gaze then suddenly jerked as though she had been stung.
Before she could push me off of her, like I could already tell she intended to from the way her palms pushed at my chest, i let my hands drop from beneath her hoodie and stepped away, eyes narrowing as Vince, the Geek’s President stormed out as well, face contorted with rage.
“You heard me Vince, get your men out of my bar before I forget we are trying to keep the peace,” Cole reiterated, gritting his teeth hard with barely restrained anger.
His eyes swept over the round table, where the Geek boys were gathered and he scowled.
The Reapers began to rise, and then the Geeks, Den first and I knew then and there, that just one move was all it took for this place to turn into a world of chaos that wouldn’t spare the bunny in front of me whose face was clouded with confusion, still staring at me as though I wasn’t a monster she needed to get away from.
Cole’s gaze returned to Vince with a friction that could have set the night ablaze, “I won’t repeat myself.”
Vince's lips twitched and then he scoffed with derision, “Don’t make me laugh, Cole.”
“Peace?”
“One of your boys stepped out of line. f*****g fix that up or I’ll be forced to fix it for you.” The threat in his tone was undisguised and his gaze swept to me, as though his words were directed at me.
My hands twitched by my side and instinctively, my breath hitched. I wasn’t sure if I was reaching for the hilt of the blade within my waistband or Ember whose eyes were still wide.
“Vince,” Cole spat out with a dangerous lilt to his tone, warning.
Vince didn’t flinch and he tried to act as though he was unaffected, like he didn’t know that we outnumbered the Geeks by a large fraction.
We did and everyone knew that.
I heard Ember’s feet shuffle and her wide eyes flicked to me again, “What’s going on?” She whispered.
Of course, the little bunny would ask that.
She should have thought of that before venturing into a dark tunnel like the Reapers bar, which she so obviously didn’t.
“Mira…” She called, reaching for her friend with a shaky voice.
My eyes found Cole again, verifying what I already knew.
The moment Vince said the wrong thing, blood would flow.
“You need to go, now.” I said in a voice that was almost a growl, “leave now.”
“Why?”
Fucking Ember Monroe with no sense of self preservation.
Her lips parted as though she wanted to say more but before she could, Mira shuffled to her side and grabbed her hand, “Come on Ember, we have to leave.”
“Right away,” Mira hissed, laying emphasis on her words when Ember still dawdled.
Her eyes found mine once again, lingering for a second too long and then she walked out with her friend.
My fingers twitched as though they wanted to reach for her again and I didn’t turn around until I heard the soft slam of the door behind them.
“Stay the f**k out of our business Vince. You have been itching for war since last year. I swear…”
Vince cut him off rudely, “It was always bound to happen, sooner or later. If you wanted to avoid that, then you should have kept a f*****g leash on your dogs.”
A chair scraped against gravel and Troy, one of the boys moved, jaw ticking.
“Not yet,” I muttered, shaking my head slowly.
It wasn’t time yet. Cole hadn’t given the signal.
Cole’s face darkened and he barked, “Get out!”
His stare was unrelenting and it caused Vince’s gaze to narrow as well.
His eyes flicked to where I stood with Sam, hands hovering over our weapons then over the counter where Alan stood with one of the boys, down to the other end of the bar, where the rest of the Reapers stood, muscles coiled, waiting for the first clash of steel.
I saw the defeat flicker in his eyes before he moved.
“This isn’t over Cole and you should damn well know that I won’t let this go unchallenged.”
“I’ll gut whoever thinks they can take from me.”
His words weren’t just a warning, it was a foreshadowing of war. A prelude to the tornado that was about to hit the reapers.
The Geeks weren’t all bark, or Cole wouldn’t be insistent on having them leave.
I flexed my jaw and took a step forward, into the crackling tension, “It’s best you leave Vince.”
His eyes narrowed on me. I met his stare head on.
He alternated his gaze back to Cole, brows furrowed tightly with anger, “Your pup’s running loose, Cole. Hold your rein on him.”
A low chuckle broke the silence, presumably from Den and then, Vince turned around and stomped out. The Geeks gathered themselves and walked out as well, boots thudding against the floorboard as they made their way after him.
The quiet that followed their departure was palpable, thick and sharp.
Cole let out a deep exhale of air and glanced at me for a beat before nudging his head towards the church.
I didn’t need him to spell it out to know that he needed me to follow after him.
He disappeared behind the door and I followed after him. When I got to the door, my hand paused on the handle and my eyes swept to the door Ember had disappeared through moments ago, letting the memory of her wide eyes burn into me before stepping into the room after Cole.
- Writer
