Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Alpha nods. “We ride.”
Ripper starts his bike and revs it. A moment later, we’re tearing out of the compound, me clinging to Ripper’s cut and praying that we’re not too late.
About an hour and a half later, the sun’s high in the sky behind us, baking our backs as we weave through the light traffic. We pull into an old gas station that hasn’t opened yet. The guys line up the bikes so we can talk.
“Almost there,” says Ripper. “Ten minute ride, which gives us twenty minutes leeway. How’re we going to do this? If anyone’s got any bright fucking ideas, now’s the time.”
Alpha shakes his head. “We need more fucking time. I’m not going to just hand her over to that shitstain.”
“None of us are going to do that,” growls Ripper, smacking his handlebars.
Ignoring the rest of us, Blade’s looking around like he’s sensed something.
I catch his attention. “What are you looking for?”
“Something is… fuck! Get down!”
Just as Blade throws himself my way, knocking me right off Ripper’s bike, there’s a sharp crack in the air. It passes by with a high pitched whine, and tears through one of the gas station windows with a crash. Glass shards spray into the air, and I cover my head with my arms while Blade rolls with me across the pavement.
Am I screaming? I think I’m screaming.
“Up there!” Alpha throws himself behind the air pressure machine, which does a poor job of hiding his bulk, then fires at someone up in the trees on the hill that rises behind the gas station.
Ripper wrenches his stumped arm out of the bike harness while he pulls his massive pistol from his belt. It booms, and a big chunk of wood and splinters burst from one of the tree trunks, followed by a pained scream.
“How did they find us already?” I yell as Blade hustles me ahead of him so we can get around the corner of the gas station building.
“Shut up and run!” He shoves me into cover just as bullets bounce off the metal corner protector. They ring out like deadly bells.
From around the building comes the growl of motorcycles. I suppose we wouldn’t be so lucky that Dad and the rest of the club have magically caught up to us.
“Shit,” Blade hisses. He’s got knives in both hands, and is pressing me against the wall, shielding me with his body.
I can’t see what’s going on behind the gas station anymore, but the boom of Ripper’s gun is easy enough to pick out. Someone screams, but I don’t recognize the voice.
“Why are they shooting? I thought they wanted me alive!” I yell to be heard.
“Not you they’re shooting at, baby girl.”
A heavyset biker comes around the corner from the front of the station, and immediately staggers back, a knife hilt sticking from his throat. He gurgles and hits the ground.
Oh Jesus. I probably just watched someone die. Again.
A window smashes around the corner, and I really wish I could see what was going on. Are Alpha and Ripper okay? The idea of either one of them bleeding out on the ground behind a gas station out in the middle of nowhere because of me is terrifying.
“We’re going inside for cover!” Alpha’s voice booms over the gunfire.
“Roger!” Blade yells back just as another bullet whizzes by. I don’t relish the idea of dashing around that corner into the bullet rain, but we can’t stay here either.
What neither of us expect are the guys coming over the rooftop.
They’re silent until they literally drop out of the sky, two of them going for each of Blade’s shoulders. They take him to the ground in a shouting pile.
One of Blade’s knives skitters across the pavement in my direction. I pick it up, determined not to go down easy, but it’s hard to find an opportunity to help Blade that doesn’t make me worry about stabbing him instead. I finally get an opening and get one of the guys fighting him in the leg. The sharp blade sinks right into the back of his calf, so smoothly it’s a little sickening.
The guy screams and rolls off, reaching for the knife to get it back out. I lost my grip on the handle, so now I’m defenseless again, but maybe Blade—
A massive hand grabs my collar and yanks me backwards.
“Blade!”
The massive hand is connected to an even more massive arm that captures me around the neck. I kick wildly, trying to hit anything I can, but the guy only laughs and squeezes harder, cutting off my air.
“Stop fighting,” says an oily voice I know all too well, “or he’ll choke the life out of you and we drop your corpse off at your daddy’s doorstep.”
There’s no way I’ll break free, so despite all my instincts, I stop kicking. I need to breathe too. The grip loosens, but not by much.