Look at him go. How many of Blaze’s men did it take to take him down?
Huh. This might be more than a rescue mission. This could be a recruitment effort.
“Listen.” Reaching into my pocket to pull out another magazine, I swap my low one for a full one. Frowning, I press the muzzle against his forehead. “Your sister asked me to save you. Can’t do that if you’re trying to kill me. Now, I don’t want to make her sad by being the one to tell her you’re dead. Are you gonna play nice, or are you going to break her heart?”
“She’s alive?” His voice comes out in a gargled, outright painful tone. “Who are you?”
Can I introduce myself as his future brother-in-law? Probably shouldn’t jump the gun.
“A friend.” Deciding it’ll be better to go this route, my shoulders relax when he stops struggling. Pulling back, I keep my pistol aimed. “Now, can I save you, or do I need to be worried?”
“I want to see her.” He coughs after the words leave his bloodied lips.
Good enough for me. Holstering my weapon, I cut the ropes binding him. Once he’s free, I watch as he tries to stand and prepare myself for anything.
One step in, and he sways. It could be from a head concussion or a loss of blood. Who knows? Either way, I’m forced to give him my shoulder as we make our way out.
Stepping through puddles of red and over chunks of the men who hurt Paulie, I feel pretty good about everything.
Here’s to hoping the other two have been able to keep up with themselves.
There’s gunfire echoing in the distance. Hoping that’ll be where the other two are, I start making my way over.
I’m caught off guard by the sound of screams, and I’m even more confused when I finally do see Warden and Hammer. They’re jogging toward me, but they’re not alone.
Warden flinches when he sees us, both bloodied. If he’s this disgusted, I’m willing to bet Haven will be, too.
“Who the fuck is she?” Motioning to the red-haired woman wrapped in Hammer’s arms, the scarred man gives me a silent shrug in return. His shoulder is bleeding, but he doesn’t seem too bothered by what looks like a rusty nail sticking through his shirt.
“We fucked up.” Warden doesn’t beat around the bush as he expresses his concerns. “BadRipper. Judge is going to kill us.Thisis going to start the war.”
I motion for him to continue, impatient.
“We let their inventory slip away. They’re going to know we were here.” Warden’s expression matches mine as he looks at the woman. “There were so many of them.”
Inventory.
While he’s telling me about a shipping container filled with women, I’m only half listening. While I already knew they dipped their toes in trafficking, I can’t help but realize something that makes my blood run boiling hot.
“You know what’s funny?” Interrupting him, I look past them as a laugh leaves me. “They wanted Haven to bring Eliza here. Not to their clubhouse, buthere.”
Eliza Parsons came to us to run away from an arranged marriage with the very man who runs this town.
Arranged marriage, my ass.
“He wanted to sell off Ghost’s girl. I think Blaze got a little greedy and hoped to sell mine, too.” Another laugh leaves me, but there’s nothing humorous about it. When Paulie grunts, it feels like a confirmation.
Judge was hoping to avoid bringing war to Willowbrook Ridge. He’s got nothing to worry about. I’ll bring it here instead.
10
Haven
Just when I think I’m going to chew my thumbnail completely down, I see them. Relief floods me at first, then horror comes.
Ripper has Paulie, and both are bloodied. Hammer has a woman, and Warden looks like he’s seen a ghost.
What happened to them?
