Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Anything you could possibly need,” she said, reaching into the trunk to hand me a simple Glock before going back for other shit. “How many people are you expecting?” she asked, waving toward a trio of fucking machine guns. Which, yeah were military-grade only. We had a hard time even sourcing any for clients. But there were three casually resting in Murphy’s trunk.
“Think that would be overkill,” Coach, a voice of reason again, said.
“How about a flashbang?” she asked, pulling out a stun grenade. “If they’re in a trailer, getting in without a gunfight seems unlikely. And some of those walls are thin as fuck. Anyone walking outside could get hit.”
That was fair.
And there were a lot of kids in this neighborhood.
“Yeah,” I said, pocketing that.
“And I always recommend a solid knife for close combat,” she said, handing me a lethal-looking knife with a slightly curved blade and a handle you slipped your hand inside. “So you don’t drop it when your hand is slick with blood,” she explained.
I took a knife and a few magazines before rushing back to the car.
“Tell the guys to make it on foot,” I called back to her.
“Yep,” she called back, already reaching for her phone.
I took my own advice, parking the car far enough away from the trailer that was mostly hidden by a row of old trees.
“Ready?” I asked, glancing over at Coach as he climbed out of his side of the car.
If I hadn’t looked over right then, I might have missed the transformation.
He went from his usual calm, peaceful self to something tight and rigid and, to be frank, pretty fucking terrifying.
“Yup.”
There was no time to stop and wonder what kind of demons Coach was hiding under all his Kumbayas and pranayama and shit.
Tessa needed me.
My hand tightened on my gun.
I’d never really been a violent man.
But when it came to protecting those I loved, there was no step too far for me.
I’d carve out someone’s intestines and wrap them around their throats if I needed to.
And make no mistake about it, I loved Tessa.
I planned to get her safe.
Then tell her that.
But first…
I reached for the flashbang as I crept up the front steps.
Inside, metal music was blaring from some speaker somewhere, making it easier to reach up and grab the door without someone hearing.
I pulled the pin.
Then, as I pushed my arm in the door, I ran my thumb over the safety lever just before tossing the grenade into the trailer.
My own ears popped at the bang, even from outside the trailer.
But there was no time to worry about that.
I charged inside, Coach at my six.
I heard the crunch of footsteps as someone else came rushing up.
But as soon as I was inside, all I could focus on was finding Tessa.
I expected to feel my heart pounding out of my chest, my blood surging through my veins.
Instead, I felt an almost alarming kind of calm wash over me.
So much so that I didn’t even flinch as Coach flew past me, taking down one of the bikers in a running leap.
Crow rushed in behind him, going after the other two.
The third jumped in front of a door, blocking it. And whoever was inside.
Tessa.
I tightened my hand on the gun and raised it. I slammed it with all my force into the fuck’s face, catching him both in the nose and mouth.
Blood spurted from his nose and lip and I watched in a sick detachment as pieces of his front teeth fell from between his lips before his hands rose to block my view.
I shoved him to the side, hearing more men running in, barking out orders.
They could handle the toothless guy.
I had to get my girl.
I threw the door open and rushed inside.
And there she was.
Used as a human shield against a hulking guy with brown hair, a stringy beard, and coal-black eyes.
All I could see was the relief in Tessa’s eyes.
And the gun at her temple.
“Let her go,” I snarled.
“No. She’s my woman.”
“Yeah? Well, that’s my ring on her finger. Pretty sure that means she’s mine.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Tessa
My ears were still ringing when Randy came barreling into the room, grabbing a handful of my hair and dragging me against his body.
Pain shot across my scalp.
Before I could think, let alone move, his arm was anchored around me, and a gun was pressed to my temple.
“What was that?” I asked, disoriented.
“Shut up,” Randy snarled, pressing the muzzle of the gun harder against my temple.
I’d like to claim it was the first time I’d had a gun to my temple. But Randy had a thing for his guns. Sometimes during sex. And they were usually loaded.
On the plus side, my history with them meant that I didn’t panic just because his hand felt like it was shaking.
There was a commotion in the other room.