“Mav, take the right. Go several houses down and cut through yards. Remi, you do the same to the left. You, stay the fuck here,” he snapped.
“Like hell,” I argued. “This is because of me.”
“And I’m trained to do this,” he hissed.
I laughed at that. “If you think I don’t know what I’m doing, then you don’t know a thing about me. Besides, it’s me he wants. You’ll only get her killed.”
“If you go in hot, you’ll get everyone killed.”
He was right about that. “How are your skills?”
An eyebrow quirked at my question. “Not bad.”
“Good, then stay here. At my signal, start taking them out.”
“JR!” he hissed as I jumped the fence and jogged through the trees across the street from Josie’s house. Kneeling down behind some bushes, I glanced to the right, seeing just the slightest hint of Mav cutting through the neighbor’s property. I hadn’t seen Remi yet, but I couldn’t wait any longer when I heard the most horrifying scream coming from inside the house.
With my gun dangling at my side, I strode across the street, making sure the men could see the gun.
“What is this? A party?” I asked.
“Boss was waiting for you to drop by,” one of the guys said. I recognized him as one of the boss’s favorites. I had no idea where Archer was, but he was skulking around somewhere, waiting to make his move.
“Tell me, what the fuck is the boss doing way out here in Montana?”
“He needed to clean up a mess,” the guy shouted.
“A mess, huh? If you don’t get off the fucking property, he’s gonna be cleaning your blood off my shoes.”
“You and who? Your buddy Archer? We came prepared.”
He might be prepared, but I had vengeance on my side, and I wasn’t about to let anything happen to Josie.
“Get the fuck out of here now while you still have the chance.”
The man smirked at me. Actually fucking smirked at me.
“I warned you.”
The first shot came out of nowhere, striking the guy I was talking to in the neck. He collapsed on the ground, writhing on the ground, but I was already moving on to the next man, firing round after round. Bullets flew around us, and as soon as it was clear, I ran for the house.
Pain bit into my side and I stumbled running up the steps, but nothing could keep me from Josie, not when I was this close. Her screams echoed in my ears as I tore the door open.
But nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. My beautiful woman tied to a chair, her face swollen, dripping with blood. And a sluggish trail dripping down her chest.
Rage filled me as the boss turned to me, twirling a knife in his hand. “JR. Nice of you to?—”
Milo charged past me, leaping at the boss and latching his teeth onto his neck. His yells died quickly as blood squirted from his neck. Storming forward, I wrapped my arms around his neck. My eyes connected with Josie’s for a split second before I twisted with all my strength and broke the boss’s neck.
He dropped to the ground with a thud, but I was frozen where I stood, forced to stare at the damage to the woman I loved.
The air was sucked out of my lungs as I repeated the words in my head. I loved her. Fuck.
With shaking hands, I knelt in front of her, slowly working at the ties around her ankles, careful not to damage her skin.
“Are you okay?”
A whimper left her lips and her body shook, but no other sound left her mouth.
