Jace returned fire through the window, trying to buy himself some time to get Winter out of the cabin. He counted the echoes — two shooters, one covering the other end of the property. It was a standard sweep—a move that he knew well. The Rabbits weren’t playing around, but then again, neither was he. Jace had too much at risk if he let them win this time.
“Go, go!” He pushed Winter toward the back door. “The truck is behind the shed. Stay low.”
“What about you?” she asked.
“I’ll be right behind you,” he promised
“Jace—” She started to argue with him, but he cut her off with a look.
“Go,” he ordered. Winter stayed low and got to the back door. She ran out to his truck, crunching snow under her boots as she went, and slid into the passenger seat. Jace turned back to the window and fired twice more, then ducked out the back, following Winter to the truck as promised.
He slid into the driver’s seat and squeezed off rounds to keep the shooters pinned in place. Winter took the keys from him and got the truck’s engine roaring. “Seatbelt,” he barked. Bullets struck the rear of the truck as they tore down the narrow mountain road. Snow sprayed in their wake, and the tires screamed against the ice. Making it to town was going to take a fucking miracle—especially with the Dead Rabbits on their ass.
Winter clutched the dashboard, her eyes wide. “They’re behind us!” she shouted.
“I see them,” he said, trying to stay calm, but feeling anything but. He jerked the wheel, taking the back route he’d cleared weeks ago — a narrow logging trail that cut through the woodsand came out miles from the main road. The truck fishtailed hard, but he corrected it just before they hit the bend.
“Hold on,” he ordered.
Winter glanced back to see if they had lost their tails. The SUVs following them had hit the curve too fast. One slammed into a tree, metal crunching, but the other stayed on them, headlights cutting through the snow.
“Jace!” she shouted. “One is still back there.”
“I got it.” He slammed the brakes just enough to let the truck slide sideways, aimed his gun out the driver’s window, and fired at the oncoming grill. The SUV swerved, caught a rut, and went over the edge of the mountain. For a long second, all he could hear was their breathing in the cab of his truck and the grind of the tires on frozen earth. Then silence. Jace didn’t let himself slow down until the cabin was miles behind them and he was positive that he had lost both of the SUVs following them.
Only then did he reach over, his hand finding Winter’s, where it gripped the door handle as though it was her only lifeline. “You okay?”
She nodded, though tears streaked her face. “Do you think that we lost them?” she asked.
“Well, I’m pretty sure that the guys that went over the mountain are dead, and the ones who hit that tree are banged up enough that they won’t be coming after us—not for a while at least. It doesn’t mean that they won’t call for backup, but we’ll be long gone by then,” he insisted.
The headlights carved through the dark, and they finally found the main road. They were going south—home to Huntsville, and he wasn’t about to let anyone, or anything, stop them from reaching their destination. He’d get her there if it killed him.
WINTER
By the time they reached Huntsville, the sun was bleeding into the horizon — a dull orange glow fading behind the low mountains. The truck was coated in salt and mud, and the windshield smeared with dirt from the snow melting away.
Winter’s nerves had been wound tight for hours. Every mile of empty road felt like an invitation for trouble. Every headlight behind them felt like a threat that was coming for them in full force. Jace hadn’t said much during the nearly eighteen-hour drive. He just kept driving, his eyes flicking between the rearview mirror and the road ahead like a man who didn’t dare blink. They only stopped for bathroom breaks, which were many at this stage of her pregnancy, and food. Her back was screaming at her for a break from the truck, and hopefully, it would come soon since they had crossed over into Huntsville.
When the turnoff to the safe house finally came, it was nothing more than a gravel lane choked with overgrown brush. At the end of it stood a long, low building with metal siding — a repair shop by the look of it, but Winter caught the faint glint of motorcycle chrome through the open bay doors. She recognized the cut on the man as soon as he stepped out of the building—Royal Bastards MC. Savage had come to meet them personally, and for some crazy reason, that gave her some sense of peace.
Jace pulled the truck to a stop and exhaled for the first time in what felt like hours. “We’re here,” he said quietly to himself.
Winter had only met Savage a handful of times, but she’d never forgotten him. He carried himself like someone who’d seen the worst of the world and decided to stare it down anyway. She really liked the guy and his husband, Bowie. Their wife, Dallas, was someone whom she had come to respect as one of her sisters in the Royal Harlots. They were family, and Savage showing up tonight only proved her point.
Jace climbed out of the truck first, scanning the perimeter before helping her down. Rebel popped out from behind Savage and didn’t waste time greeting them. Jace’s sister had quickly become Winter’s friend, and she felt awful not telling her about the baby. Rebel was going to be an aunt, and keeping that from her wasn’t fair. Still, when she finished hugging her brother, Rebel pulled Winter in for a bear hug and kissed her cheek. Rebel stood back and looked her over, smiling as her eyes landed on Winter’s belly.
“I have no idea how I missed that before,” she said. “My nephew is going to be spoiled rotten,” she said.
“You know it’s a boy?” Winter asked.
She looked over at Jace, and he just shrugged, “I told her that we’re having a boy.”
“Bolt wanted to be here too,” Rebel said, changing the subject, “but he is meeting with your boss at the FBI. They want to put a detail on you guys as a precaution.”
“But I told them it was a shitty idea,” Savage said, cutting in. He pulled Jace in for a quick side hug and then surprised Winter with a bear hug to end all bear hugs.
“Put my woman down,” Jace grumbled. “You’re going to squeeze the baby out if you keep that shit up.” Winter giggled as Savage put her back down on the ground.
