Page 45 of Friar
“Not here to make friends, church girl.”The old nickname slipped out.
She sighed but didn’t push it, turning her attention back to her scrambled eggs.
“Any news?”I asked as Beast made his way to our table, sliding into the booth across from us.His massive frame made the table shift slightly, coffee sloshing in our mugs.
“Nothing concrete,” he said, voice pitched low enough that only we could hear.“Shield’s got a possible location -- farmhouse outside Millport.Said their electricity usage spiked last week, consistent with someone suddenly occupying a previously empty building.”
“Worth checking out,” I said, already calculating how long it would take to assemble a team, scout the location.
“Forge and Hawk are heading there after breakfast.Reconnaissance only.”Beast’s gaze flicked to Cheri, then back to me.“You’re staying with her.”
I started to protest but caught myself.A month ago, I would’ve argued, insisted on being part of the hunt.Now, I knew my place was beside Cheri, a human shield between her and whatever threats came our way.
“What about the club girl?The one Leigha told me used to hang with Tasha?She made it sound like they were friends or something,” Cheri said, surprising both of us.She rarely inserted herself into club business, content to let us handle the searching while she focused on staying alive and keeping our baby healthy.
Beast’s eyebrows rose slightly.“Crystal?Still claims she hasn’t heard from Tasha since before the barbecue.Forge leans toward believing her.”
I grunted, unconvinced.Women like that stuck together.
The bell above the diner door jingled, and my hand instinctively moved to the gun concealed beneath my cut.Just a middle-aged couple, looking travel-worn and oblivious as they shuffled toward a booth near the front.I relaxed marginally.
“I have that doctor’s appointment tomorrow,” Cheri said, changing the subject.Her hand moved to her belly in that unconscious gesture that never failed to twist something in my chest.“Dr.Cooper said we might be able to tell if it’s a boy or girl.”
“You want to know?”I asked, momentarily distracted from my vigilance.
She nodded, a hint of the old excitement breaking through the constant wariness we both wore like a second skin.“At first, I didn’t think I did, but now… Don’t you?”
I covered her hand with mine where it rested on her stomach, feeling the firm swell beneath her shirt.Our fingers laced together, a small moment of connection amid the tension.“Yeah,” I admitted.“I want to know everything about this kid.”
Her smile bloomed then, full and genuine in a way I hadn’t seen in weeks.It hit me like a physical blow, how much I’d missed that smile, how determined I was to create a world where she could wear it freely again.
The sun shifted, sending a bright ray directly across our table.Something flashed at the edge of my vision -- a brief glint of metal from the alley across the street.My body tensed, instincts screaming a warning seconds before my conscious mind processed the threat.
“Down!”I roared, already moving to shield Cheri as the window beside our table exploded inward, showering us with glass as the first shot rang out.
Glass rained down on us as I threw myself over Cheri, covering her body with mine.The first shot was followed by a barrage, bullets punching through the diner’s facade with deadly precision.Tables overturned as brothers dove for cover, the clatter of dishes and screams of civilians creating a nightmarish symphony.I pressed Cheri down into the booth, my body curled around her, shielding her and our unborn child as chaos erupted around us.
“Stay down,” I growled in her ear, one hand cradling the back of her head, pushing her face against my chest.The shooting paused briefly, a heartbeat of silence before another volley tore through the diner.
The impact came without warning -- a sledgehammer blow to my left shoulder that knocked the breath from my lungs.Hot pain exploded through my body, radiating outward in sickening waves.
“Friar!”Cheri’s voice seemed to come from far away, muffled by the ringing in my ears and the roaring of blood in my head.Her hands pushed against my chest, trying to see what had happened, but I held her firmly in place.The wet warmth spreading across my back told me all I needed to know -- the bullet had gone clean through.
“I’m hit,” I managed, the words scraping my throat raw.“But I’m okay.Don’t move.”
Around us, the diner had transformed into a war zone.The elderly couple who’d just entered were huddled under their table, the woman’s silent scream frozen on her face.The waitress had taken cover behind the counter, clutching a phone to her ear -- calling the cops, not that they’d get here in time to matter.The short-order cook had disappeared entirely, likely out the kitchen’s back door at the first sign of trouble.
Beast had overturned a table, creating a barricade that he and three other brothers crouched behind.Forge stood at the edge of the counter, his gun drawn, returning fire through the shattered window in controlled bursts.Cyclops had somehow materialized beside the kitchen door, barking orders to the Prospects with the calm precision of his military training.
“Back exit!Move!”he bellowed, his voice cutting through the cacophony of gunfire and breaking glass.“Two at a time, covering fire!”
The weight of my body on Cheri must have been crushing her, but she didn’t complain.Her hands had found their way between us to my wounded shoulder, pressing against the entry wound.Pain spiked through me, so intense my vision blurred at the edges.
“You’re bleeding too much,” she whispered, panic edging her voice.When she withdrew her hand, it came away crimson, slick with my blood.“Friar, we need to --”
“We need to get you out,” I cut her off, fighting to stay focused through the pain.“Can you move when I say?”
She nodded, her face pale but determined.Blood -- my blood -- smeared her cheek where she’d touched her face.The sight of it made something primal rage inside me, a murderous fury directed at whoever was trying to take her from me.
