Knock Down, Drag Out / Book One

Chapter Seven

Darcy immediately went into Maddox's arms when he held them out to her, needing the kind of comfort that only he could provide. The note from the stalker crumpled between them, bringing a new wave of tears. They had been so careful about who knew she had gone into hiding and who she really was, and she had started to feel safe even if Maddox wasn't in the room with her. Now her entire world was tumbling down around her and she was terrified.

"What's in the box?" Maddox directed the question to Stanford and tightened his arms around Darcy when she tried to turn around, keeping her in place. The look on his face when she glanced up told her it was bad.

"We need to check on Della," Lylah whispered, her hand pressed against her mouth. She turned away when she started to gag and Darcy clenched her eyes shut. Not much got to them, not when they spent more than their fair share of time digging through others intestines during their E.R. rotation, and this just confirmed her bad theory.

Maddox nodded at Elijah and he pulled out his phone, dialing Damion. "Hey, need you to check an address. 239 Bourbon Street. Woman named Della Harrington. Call back when you get there." He snapped his phone shut and guided Lylah away, rubbing her back when she continued to dry heave. Maddox jerked his head towards his office and Stanford got the hint, dropping the box off before coming back.

"We need to leave as soon as Damion checks on Della and comes here. Safe car, one that we haven't been seen in. Landon's partner has a cabin about three hours away. We'll stop on the way and grab more clothes and supplies, cash only. Charlie, you need to go and get your daughter. Take Zoey on a trip out of state. Aim for a highly populated area and we'll call you when everything is taken care of."

Darcy took a deep breath to calm herself down while Maddox barked out orders. She couldn't put these people in harms way but she desperately wanted to stay with them. Wanted to wrap herself up in the sense of family they shared and never leave. Wanted a place where she and her twin belonged other than the sad memories their father carried them in, like they had died too with their mother.

She watched as Elijah and Stanford helped up a pleasantly stoned Landon and walked him over to the chairs that lined one wall. He had gotten hurt because of her, could have been beaten to death. All because of a crazy man who thought he had a claim on her and didn't want to share. The pain in her chest increased until it felt like someone was squeezing her heart in their hands, leaving her gasping for breath. She shoved away from Maddox's chest and stumbled to the bathroom, throwing up in the first toilet she came to.

Lylah eased open the bathroom door and slipped inside, wrapping her arms around Darcy's waist when she would have fallen down. "I got you. Nothing is going to take you away from me, I swear." Darcy turned in her twins arms and sobbed against her shoulder, tboth of them sliding down against the stall wall. Lylah adjusted Darcy until she was in her lap and stroked her hand down her back in an effort to sooth her.

"Don't lie to me. What was in the box?" Darcy hiccuped, wiping the tears off of her face once they finally let up. They had a rule between them, no lying; even if it hurts. They shared a womb, they could share everything else.

"Della's cat, Fluffy. You don't need to know how it happened, but he died. And pictures of all of us. The guys. Miss Ruby. Charlie. You and me with our new looks." Darcy let out a shaky breath and crawled out of her twins lap, going to the sink so she could rinse the taste out of her mouth.

Both women turned to look at the door when someone knocked on it, giving Maddox weak smiles when he poked his head in. He swept his eyes up and down Darcy's body as if to reassure himself that she was okay. "Damion is here. Come out so we can talk."

Darcy grabbed her twins hand and followed Maddox back out to the sparring mats. Damion shook his head when Lylah looked at him hopefully and Darcy felt like she was going to be sick all over again.

"Della's body was found about an hour ago. Ran into a buddy of mine who was going over the scene and he told me what had happened. It was bad, let's just leave it at that," Damion said sympathetically, reaching out to squeeze Darcy's shoulder when she shuddered. It took all of her will power not to break down all over again, to sob at the loss of a woman who had only wanted to help them.

"I called in a favor at my dad's shop. He's bringing by a minivan for all of you to take. Should be here in a few minutes." Maddox smiled gratefully at Charlie and pulled her into a hug. "Go get Zoey now. I put an envelope full of money in your purse, use it to keep the two of you safe. Call when you get settled somewhere."

Darcy was shocked when Charlie pulled her into a fierce hug, even more shocked when she kissed her cheek. "I see it in your eyes, you blame yourself. None of this is your fault. Take it from someone who's been there," Charlie whispered in her ear, squeezing one last time before letting her go.

Lylah immediately grabbed her hand again and guided her over to Landon so they could check on how he was feeling. Darcy touched the cooling pack and shook her head when Lylah held out a new roll of bandages. "We'll have to change it before we get in the minivan, but I want to leave it alone for a few more minutes."

Landon smiled up at them, the Morphine making him happy. He really couldn't feel anything from the neck down. "So happy my brother loves you," Landon mumbled, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the wall. Darcy shook her head at his comment and pulled his shirt back down.

"He's so high," Lylah giggled, brushing Landon's hair away from his face. He was definitely going to be black and blue the next day but there wasn't much they could do about that.

Darcy glanced over her shoulder and made eye contact with Maddox, letting out a sigh when he smiled softly at her. She didn't want to put him in any more danger than he already was but she also knew that he wouldn't let her go out on her own.

"Let's crack another cooling pack and switch them out. We can rewrap him when we get to the cabin." Lylah nodded her head, helping Darcy change out the packs. She knew her twin was trying to keep her mind off of things and letting her fuss about Landon was helping with that.

Maddox let out a loud whistle, making everyone look at him. "Minivan just got here, we're loading up. We're stopping at the diner to pick up my mom. She refuses to leave on her own so she's coming with us."

Darcy and Lylah moved out of the way so Elijah and Stanford could help with Landon, basically carrying him out of the building and tucking him into the back of the minivan. It took a few minutes to get everyone settled in, Maddox at the wheel since he was the only one who knew how to get to the cabin.

Darcy slid into the passenger seat and intertwined her fingers with Maddox's when he held his hand out for her. "Everything is gonna be fine. We won't let anything happen to you," Maddox promised, bringing their joined hands up so he could kiss the back of Darcy's. She ignored the the ball of dread in her stomach and hoped he was right.