Reaper shakes his head.
“Maybe another time,” Twitch replies.
One man we don’t know gets something out of his backpack, and as he walks toward the gate, the others reverse. “What are they doing?”
An explosion makes me take a few steps back. There are also distant screams, which I presume are from the sweet butts. I release a shaky breath as I get my bearings. Conan’s barking, but I’ve got hold of his collar.
Reaper swiftly moves to me. “Go upstairs and grab my spare gun. It’s in the top drawer of my cabinet.”
The monitor shows a plume of smoke, and the men walk through the entrance with their guns drawn.
Reaper squeezes my shoulder, and I blink a few times. “Did you hear me?”
My heart is in my throat, but I nod. “I’ve shown you how to use it, and there are already bullets in it. Take Conan with you and find Elena.”
The mention of Elena’s name changes me from a state of shock to focus. She’s depending on me, and I need to keep myself together.
Rage runs in the room. Reaper looks at him. “Go get the keys to the truck and go with them. We will force them away from the driveway to give you safe passage.”
Rage leaves immediately.
“No!” I yell. Reaper can shoot well, but it didn’t matter. There were four men and only two if Rage plays bodyguard. “You need Rage with you. We will be fine.”
My eyes flick back to the screen, and the men are getting closer to the house.
Rage returns and stands by the door, waiting for me.
“There’s no time. I need you to go now! Rage, give her your gun and get the sweet butts upstairs first.”
Cracks of gunshots hit the clubhouse, making me scream. Conan is barking, going ballistic. I turn to my name being yelled. It’s Rage.
“Go,” Reaper yells at us. I give Reaper one more look over my shoulder. He must see my hesitation because he points to the exit. “Please, I need you safe.”
I reluctantly turn and follow Rage.
Elena is at the bottom of the stairs. Tears stream down her cheeks as she talks on the phone, her hand shaking. “Who is here?”
When we reach her, we all stand against the wall. Rage takes the phone from her hand and brings it to his ear. “Axle, we need you now! Jude is here, shooting at us.” He hangs up and gives Elena her phone, takes Conan’s collar from me, and peers at Elena. “You need to take Conan while Ava takes my gun.” Elena swallows hard, then grasps Conan’s collar. Conan pulls forward, like he wants to run after the men shooting at us, but Elena holds her ground, pulling back on his collar.
“Hold these,” he says and places the car keys in my hand. He reaches down, pulls out his gun, and passes it to me.
I stare at the cold metal object in my hand. I never wanted to use this.
“Stay here. If anyone comes through the back door, shoot them!” Rage runs through the house.
The gunshots are loud cracks, one after another, but then I hear the shattering of glass. With all the commotion, from the screaming to the bullets and to Conan barking, all I can think about is Reaper.
Rage returns to us, the sweet butts behind him. They are crying, their hands covering their faces.
“Upstairs,” he yells to them. They quickly dart up, following his instructions.
My heart constricts more and more with every gunshot.I can’t lose Reaper.
I turn to Elena. “We are getting out of here now.”
She looks at me questioningly. “But Rage said...”
“The men need all the help they can get. Now come on before he gets back!”
