We shower quickly and clean up. I get done in the bathroom before her, leaving her to blow dry her hair, while I get dressed. My eyes rest on my ghost piece that's hidden in the nightstand, and for a split second, I hesitate. My fingers itch to grab it, a feeling I don’t quite understand. My instincts are usually not wrong, though, and with everything the club is facing, having extra protection wouldn’t be a bad thing. Rounding the bed, I slip the gun inside the back of my jeans. I jog down the hallway, heading toward the kitchen, intent on making my girl breakfast right when the first alarm blares.
One trips, then another. The sharp wail of the alarm splits the quiet, peaceful silence of the morning. My heart thuds, and shivers break out on my skin. Turning, I bolt back toward our bedroom, needing to get to Win. I only make it three strides when a blast hits at the front of the house, and my body careens to the side, smacking against the wall. Smoke fills the air, causing me to scramble on my knees, keeping low to the ground until I get to the room.
“Win!” I call out for her. My gaze whips around the room. She slides from under the bed, our go bag held tightly in her grip.
“Finn.” She races over to me, and I wrap her in my arms. “What do we do?”
My hands cradle her face, forcing her wide-eyed gaze to mine. “It's going to be okay, Win.” Tears fill her eyes, but she nods at my reassurance. I pull out my phone, hoping to see at least one camera working, so I can estimate how much time we have until they descend upon us.
I find men, dressed in black, moving through the woods and notice it on the south corner. We do not have much time; it looks like they’re moving fast. Taking Winnie’s hand, I lead her to the window, popping it open and checking to make sure it’s clear.
“Run to the black truck. Do not look back. Do not stop. I’ll be right behind you.”
Her eyes furrow, and she looks ready to argue, then thinks better of it. “Okay.”
I help her swing her legs over the windowsill and watch her land on the ground before she takes off to the truck. I toss the bag to the ground and then jump right after her. My feet hit the ground, and I feel the sharp twinge that races up my leg. Not enough to cause pain, but enough to set my teeth on edge. I grab the bag quickly and race to the truck, swinging my door open and hopping inside right as Winnie’s seat buckle clips into place. I fire up the engine and gun down on the gas, all in perfect time. I hear Winnie’s gasp, my eyes following her line of vision. Three men, in all black tactical gear, weapons raised, break through the clearing. Another missile is fired at our cabin. I press down the gas pedal harder, the back of the truck careening as we take off.
The truck thumps and jolts over the uneven path. I couldn’t chance taking the driveway, figuring they already blocked it off. “There's a spare phone in the glove compartment. Call Bullet.”
Winnie doesn’t hesitate, grabbing the phone and dialing up Bullet. His voice comes out strong and clear after Winnie hits the speaker button.
“Your monitors are going haywire.”
I grunt in response, the truck flying over another bump. “Find out how they found the cabin.”
“Working on it,” Bullet swears, and I hear him typing. “What’s your plan? This already sets us back steps.”
“Plan E,” I bite out, my gut clenching as we hit another bump. Winnie grabs the handle and braces her arm so she doesn’t hit the window.
“We don’t have a plan E.” Bullet’s voice edges, and I hear him snap a command at someone else over the line.
“I always have a plan E,” I tell him, before hitting end on the call.
“What's plan E?” Winnie asks, her voice small, and I hate the fear I hear laced with her words.
I glance at her quickly, my mouth forming a grim line. “We were compromised somewhere within the club. My cabin should never have been found; I’ve been very diligent about keeping it hidden. Only someone in the club would know. The first blast hit the front, right where the call box, extra security, and firewalls were. That was our plan B and C.”
“What happened to D?”
I see the property fence line coming into view and press harder on the gas. My poor truck is really going to take the brunt of this one. We fly down the ditch, up the other side, and crash through the fence, onto the main road. The tires spin and squeal, while I grapple with the wheel to get us back in control. Once we’re straightened out, I check my rearview, looking for any guests following us. I’m not stupid enough to believe we lost them already, but it would help if we had some time. A mile down the road, I see another vehicle bound up onto the road, just as we did. “Fuck.”
My foot presses the gas to the floor, and we accelerate down the highway. Originally, I would head away from town to avoid people. But something tells me Bianchi would expect that. At the T in the road, I careen left and head right into town. Winnie’s eyes flick from her side mirror to the windshield to me.
“Plan D would have been making it to the clubhouse. But that's already compromised,” I tell her, feeling the sting of betrayal deep in my gut. “Plan E is to escape.”
She reaches across the console and places her hand on my arm. “I love you.”
I glance at her. Her face is pale, and her lips tremble. Not even an hour ago, I was inside her, and now her past is trying to collide with our present. I grab her hand and bring her knuckles to my lips. “I love you, Win. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She nods, and tears fall down her cheeks. I fucking hate Marco Bianchi with every fiber of my being for what he’s done. He will pay for the terror he’s inflicted on my girl. Winnie is strong, more than even she realizes. He didn’t break her. She will get through this. We will get out of this alive. And when we do, I’m going to hunt down the man who thought he could have my wife, and for even a moment inspired fear inside of her. For that alone, he needs to die.
Chapter 30
Finn
We drive for six hours straight before I feel there is even the smallest smidge of distance between Bianchi’s men and us. Winnie eventually falls asleep on the drive while I remain vigilant. I second-guess every vehicle that comes near us, my hand always on my back waistband, ready to grab my gun and shoot. At some point, I’ll need to ditch my truck as well, though I hate that idea at the same time because I know Squirrel is probably helping track us. If it wasn’t glaringly obvious that someone in the club was a rat, I wouldn’t worry about it. Given the day's events, I need to get rid of it before this second leg.
It's dark before we roll into a small town just outside of Columbia, South Carolina. There's a small motel where I pull in, on the darkest side of the building. Glancing over at Winnie, I reach out and touch her shoulder. She jolts out of sleep, eyes wild.
