Suits and Scars

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Taylor

Declan's Point of View

Seeing Teeny with a gun in her hand would be an image I would never get out of my mind. Sure it was hot to see, and maybe when everything was all said and done I'd make her show me again, but it also angered me.

I slowly walked towards her with my hands in the air. She hadn't moved an inch yet. Her feet were planted shoulder width apart, arms were straight out in front of her, the gun still pointed at Greg. The closer I got to her I could see the only thing moving was her finger, moving on and off the trigger like she was debating pulling it again.

"He's dead, baby girl." I spoke in a soft tone, "You don't need to shoot him again."

I didn't want her to kill him. The first time I killed someone for The Family I threw up. I couldn't look at myself in the mirror for a few days. I was always jumping at loud noises and my hands shook badly whenever I thought about it. The worst part of all of it was the nightmares that followed for about a month after the fact. I didn't want that for Teeny, any of it.

A sob lurched in her chest and I grabbed the gun from her hand. She turned to walk away but thankfully Chris was standing right there. He picked her up and walked her to the bathroom and shut the door.

"Mateo?" Matt said into his phone, "We'll be out in twenty. Get someone up here for a deep clean and disposal once we leave." Matt glanced over to the bathroom door, "Extra care with the disposal. I don't even want archeologists to find the body." He hung up the phone and looked back at me, "What do we do now?"

I took the gun apart and left it on the counter. I pointed at her boots which were dumped in a pile next to the couch, "We take her home."

Chris' Point of View

"I'm going to go to jail." Taylor murmured when I sat her on the bathroom counter, "I've been so worried about the three of you getting picked up that I never considered what would happen to me."

I drenched a washcloth with ice-cold water while listening to her ramble about us finding someone else to be with while she rotted in jail. I didn't say anything because I knew that right now it didn't matter. She was only going to believe what she wanted to. I didn't even know how she got a hold of a gun.

I know the three of us didn't bring ours, which was stupid considering what we just learned, and I didn't remember seeing one on the table. I placed the cool cloth on Taylor's forehead and felt her relax into my touch.

"Nothing is going to happen to you, Tot. The Family will protect you." The corners of her mouth turned up into a smile that made me think she didn't believe me, "We will protect you." I tried again and then pushed her chin up so she would look at me, "I will protect you."

I leaned in to kiss her lips but her tongue touched just the edge of mine. I parted my lips for her but she didn't try to take over the kiss. Instead, she drew me into her but I didn't want this kiss to go any further than what I was. I just wanted her to know that I loved her and would protect her from everything. There was a knock on the bathroom door causing me to pull away from her.

"Let's get her home." Matt said softly when I opened the door.

Taylor didn't bother putting her boots back on. Rather she just walked through the building in her socks while Declan carried her boots for her. When we got to the front door she paused thinking about her next move. I knew she wouldn't walk outside in just her socks, no one in their right mind would, so I scooped her into my arms and we walked to our waiting vehicle.

Declan drove us back home while Matt typed away on his phone. I sat in the back with Taylor again even though I should have been on my phone too, trying to figure out what the fine details about this deal were. If I had to guess Matt was already trying to figure out if what Greg said was real and, if it was, how to get Tot out of it.