Oh, fucker. You’re gonna die.
* * * *
Ronni gasped as Jared dodged bullets and the gunman drove off. Her hands shook, and her body ached from being pummeled to the ground. She took a deep breath. Okay. They were all safe.
Then Jared lowered his chin and ran full bore after the fleeing vehicle.
“Jared,” she yelled, shoving around the damaged car and running after him.
“Ronni, wait—” Chalton reached to grab her, his fingers scraping along her arm.
She lifted her gun and ran after Jared, her feet sliding on the ice. Her boots skidded across the asphalt, and her arms windmilled to regain her balance. She turned, her breath panting white into the freezing air.
Several yards ahead, Jared reached the Buick and grabbed the trunk, using the leverage to flip himself up on the roof.
What the holy hell was he doing? “Jared, damn it!” Careful not to fall, she tried to find traction along the side of the road to keep moving forward. A sound behind her caught her attention, and she partially turned to see Chalton on her heels, blood flowing from his chest.
“He’s crazy,” Ronni bellowed, turning again for the road.
Jared crouched on the roof of the speeding vehicle, his body stiffening as he lifted his arm back to apparently punch through the metal.
The driver hit the brakes.
Ronni yelled again as the car turned into a wild spin. Jared grabbed the windshield wipers, and his legs flew out from the car. The vehicle crashed into an abandoned brick building, throwing him across the road.
He bounced three times, leaving huge divots in the ice and asphalt.
“Jared,” she breathed, reaching him and sliding on her knees. “Oh, God. Are you okay?” She leaned in and grabbed his face. “Jared?”
He clasped her hands and stretched to his feet, giving her no choice but to follow. Blood flowed from a cut above his left eye, and his cheekbone was turning purple. “I told you to stay put.” Pushing her behind him, he advanced on the now silent car.
A gun appeared through the driver’s window.
“Fuck.” He jumped forward, kicking the gun back into the car.
A man howled in pain from within.
Growling like an animal, Jared ripped off the door and sent it spinning through the air. It fractured in the center of the street and slid several yards back toward the restaurant.
Holy crap, he was incredible. Her stomach warmed, even as she kept her distance. How out of control was he?
He manacled the man inside by the neck and lifted him from the car, smashing him back into the metal several times. Metal crunched, and the guy cried out in pain.
Finally, Jared stopped beating on him, and the guy hung limply, his body heaving.
Jared ripped off his face mask. “Who is he?” Jared growled.
Ronni inched forward as Chalton took position next to her. The guy had blond hair, a series of tattoos down his neck, and cloudy brown eyes. “I don’t know,” she said softly, looking him up and down.
“Who were you shooting at?” Jared asked, his face an inch from the blond’s.
The blond swallowed, and a snot bubble dropped from his nose. “It was just a job,” he stuttered.
“Who?” Jared asked, smacking him back against the car again.
The guy wheezed. “Please let me go.”
“Talk before I break your neck,” Jared snarled.
