Hold Me Down (Peterick) ➳ Book 3

Eleven

"I don't like this idea," Mikey said as he watched Gabe stuff the rest of their supplies into a large backpack.

Milo cooed and reached a chubby hand towards Mikey's face, no doubt trying to take the sunglasses that Mikey always wore.

Gabe smiled at the child before addressing Mikey. "Taylor practically scared them into helping us. Hell, she almost scared me. I think a bunch of teens won't be a problem, and if there's any sign of conflict we'll leave."

"Not if we're dead."

"Like you wouldn't know they were planning something."

And Gabe had a point. Mikey had been in tune with human behavior long before Ryan had recreated him. It had only been enhanced since then and he found himself able to correctly guess what someone was doing before they did it.

To prove it further, Gabe tossed a can of baby food at Mikey, who effectively caught it while making sure Milo was securely in his arm.

"Told you."

"Whatever."

"You keep your face that way and it might get stuck," Gabe noted, pointing out Mikey's permanent poker face.

Milo giggled, causing Mikey to give the child a frown.

"You boys ready?" Taylor asked.

She and the small black haired boy named Kellin entered the room with the red head named Alan. Vic and Austin, the other two, had gone to meet up with the rest of their group. The two smaller groups would meet up near the outskirts of town and follow one of Vic's friends to a safe house he knew of.

"The way he's describing it makes it sound more like a bunker," Kellin was saying to Alan.

"A bunker would be better," Mikey pointed out. "It's something underground, right?"

Kellin nodded apprehensively.

Both he and Alan were trying to overcome the fear from their initial meeting with Mikey; however, the bridge had been better built using Vic and Austin. Without the two, Kellin and Alan were standing on unstable ground.

"Would you like me to carry her?" Gabe asked as he gestured towards Astoria.

Alan, who was holding her, shook his head. "It's okay."

"Alright then," Taylor sighed. "Let's go."

*

The Hurricane had taken extra precautions when retuning to her hideout with Hayley in tow. It had taken more than enough convincing to get Hayley to come with her, but enough persuasion in the form of food and safety had Hayley trailing after her like a lost dog.

"You'll be fine," The Hurricane had promised when they stepped inside the building.

The glow of small lights and monitors illuminated the room in a pretty way, casting shadows across the floor.

Hayley collapsed onto the worn out sofa and fell asleep in moments.

The Hurricane watched her, a small smile on her face. It was nice to have some real company other than the four male Killjoys.

Speak of them. She hadn't heard from any of them in a while. She knew Kobra Kid was under strict orders to protect something of importance, but she didn't know what. Party Poison and Fun Ghoul were standing by in case an attack were to happen, and with Hayley's warning there would be extra forces added. Jet Star was keeping an eye on the rest of Patrick's group—Brendon, Andy, Joe, and someone named Dallon. She'd been assigned to track down Hayley, who had been proven to be quiet useful.

Her fingers hovered over the keypad for a minute before she dialed in Ryan's number.

"Ross."

"It's The Hurricane. I'd like to talk to you about the possible addition of another member."

"If it's her no."

"She has plenty of information and it would be wise to protect it."

"I'll consider."

*

Pete was fully dressed, pulling two guns out from under the bed by the time Patrick had tugged on some pants.

The noise from the attack downstairs was growing louder, sending Pete into nervousness. This time was different. These were not the soldiers who knew him and wouldn't hurt him. These were rebels coming to kill him and Patrick and Astoria if they could find her.

"In the closest there's a door in the back. Do not open it for anyone unless they know her name. Okay?"

Patrick knew the her Pete was talking about was Astoria and no one knew her name save for a few people.

He nodded and watched Pete run out the door, leaving one of the weapons for him.

The door Pete was talking about was relatively hard to see. Patrick had just locked the door when he heard feet pounding on the steps below.

The waiting was the hardest. Sitting in the dark while listening to the blasts from below gave Patrick a lot of time to think about things.

At one point he had even considered going down to fight, but he knew he'd be more of a liability that help. So he waited.

Pete must've been doing something right to have only ended up with a medium sized wound.

It was chaos when he'd arrived in the middle of the fighting and he situated himself on the stairs to prevent anyone from sneaking by.

Even after he took a blast to his leg, Pete defended the stairs with everything he had because Patrick was up there, and no one was going to take Patrick away again.

Most of his men came out alive, having fended off the small but brutal attack with minimal injuries. However, a few had been whisked off to the infirmary—like Josh.

Pete sent Tyler up to retrieve Patrick to keep the boy's mind off of his critical friend while he wrapped up his own injury.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Patrick muttered to Tyler as they walked down the steps. "The best doctors are working on him. No doubt."

"But, what if?"

"Your Highness," a voice of one of the guards interrupted them.

Patrick watched the silent exchange between the guard and Pete, clinging to the banister as a sheet was pulled off the gurney to reveal a pale body beneath.

"Oh my God," he whispered. "Ryan."