Bile rises in my throat, my heart banging against my chest.
No, no, no, no, no.
I kick. I flail. I fight with everything I have. But I’m already losing energy. He’s too strong.
“Hold still, bitch,” he snarls.
Thiswill notfucking happen.
I know better than this. I know how to fight this.
With a deep breath in, I wrap my legs around his waist and pull him forward. With all my might, I thrust out my hips. He jerks back, and I slam my feet into his stomach as hard as I can. As he stumbles, Axe swings his legs out, catching the man’s ankles, and the asshole falls to the ground. Then Decker clamps his thighs down on his head, and he’s squeezing and squeezing.
The man slaps at Decker’s legs, his face turning red, then purple. His other hand reaching to his back and pulling out a?—
“Gun!” Axe yells.
Decker jerks his whole body, moving his legs swiftly to one side. There’s a crunch, and then the man’s body goes limp.
“Shit,” he murmurs as he loosens his hold and the body slumps beside him. He lies back a minute, catching his breath, and then he angles up and gives Axe a curt nod. “Thanks.”
Axe merely grunts and rests his head back against the wall.
Decker pushes to his knees and shuffles to my side, and as he leans into me, I sit back on my heels and rest my head on his chest. The beat of his heart thumps hard against my cheek.
He looks down at me. Warm, whiskey-coloured eyes sliding over my skin, cataloguing my face. “You good, babe?” he asks.
I nod and do that thing. Push it all down. The fear, the panic, all the thoughts of what could have happened. I’m fine. I’m good.
Never let ’em see you sweat.
He presses his forehead to mine. “Stop doing that,” he whispers. “You don’t have to wear that face all the time, Gracie. Not with me. We can do ugly, remember? After all this, we can do real.”
My heart jumps a little, and the sob I’ve been holding in, that I buried deep down in the darkest parts of me, worms its way out. And when the tears start to flow, he kisses me. Not gently. Because I’ve never needed that. In moments like this, when the world is falling apart, I needthis. Passion and possession. Ferocity. Teeth. Biting. Pain. Hurt that Ichooseover the kind that’s chosen for me.
Axe clears his throat. Loudly. And I pull my lips away from Linc.
“You said there’s a way out of this.” Coughing, he kicks out his foot and drags the fallen gun closer. “Now would be the time to fill us in.”
Decker smiles. “Got any weapons on you, Gracie?”
I grin. “You think I’d show up to the Sinner clubhouse without a way to take someone out? Who do you think you’re talking to?”
He hums. “Beautifully ruthless.”
He’s got my switchblade out of my boot and the ropes around my wrists half cut when a smug voice draws my attention back to the open door.
“Look at you three. Getting along. Love to see it.”
A snide smirk stretches across the square jaw of a face I fucking hate.
Sergeant Bag of Dicks.
Decker lets out a long sigh. “Sorry about this, babe. I promise I’ll make it make sense,” he says, voice low. A slow smile curls across his face as he pushes to his feet, morphing into another man completely. “Allen. About time you fucking got here.”
32
Allen’s attentionfalls to the body on the ground, to the gun Axe has nearly managed to get into his hands.
