Page 61 of Devil’s Snare

“Shane! Please.”

“You’re right,” he agreed with a coolness I knew meant he planned to kill Penny. I felt rage from him. Annoyance.

The girl? Penny seemed desperate. Confusion and fear dominated her emotions as Shane pointed a gun at her chest.

“You’ve never been worth the hassle.” He fired the gun and shot her three times in the chest.

Her body jolted as she screamed. He kicked her aside, stepping over the growing pool of blood seeping into the wooden floor. I knew she was dead as he snarled in disgust.

Gwen moaned, and I could feel her pain. She was disoriented.

“Get up, bitch. We need to move. That fucking biker will come for you, and I’m done dealing with his shit.”

I still didn’t get it. What did Shane and Penny have to do with Gwen or Becka? Cyber couldn’t find anything online. Maybe Shane knew how to cover his tracks. Still, it didn’t make sense.

What was the motivation for murder?

I couldn’t let him touch Gwen, so I had to get this fucker outside the cabin. “Hey, asshole!” I shouted right as I kicked open the door. “Prepare to meet Death.”

Shane pointed his gun toward me and fired. I moved out of the way, much faster than humanly possible. I couldn’t keep it up for long because it used a massive amount of energy, but it saved me from a hole in my gut.

“You really are a nuisance, aren’t you?” He fired again, and I dodged it a second time.

I didn’t have the fucking patience for this guy. Instead of trying to get him to talk, I rushed him. My shoulder slammed into his chest as he pulled back on the trigger. The bullet whizzed past my ear and hit something metal, bouncing off to land somewhere I couldn’t see.

The force of the collision sent Shane and me to the ground. I pulled back my fist and punched him on the side of the head. It didn’t stop him. With rage as a catalyst, he fought with a determination I didn’t expect. This fucker was strong, and he knew how to fight. We rolled around on the ground, knocking into furniture.

A cast iron skillet dropped beside my head along with a lantern. It crashed to the floor beside the skillet and ignited the floorboards. I had to end this before the fire got to Gwen.

I reached for the skillet and raised it high, bringing it down on Shane’s head. It knocked him unconscious, long enough to scramble to my feet and grab Gwen.

The little cabin’s walls were already ablaze. In only minutes, the whole thing would burn to the ground.

I scooped up Gwen, wondering why she remained silent. Her eyes were closed as her head lolled against my shoulder. I didn’t have time to assess her inside the cabin. I jumped out of the doorway and through a wall of flames. Rushing to the grass as the sky opened up and rain began to fall, I searched her body for any burns.

There were none.

With relief, I bowed my head for a moment, knowing I could have lost Gwen in there. My hand slid behind her back to lift her when I felt something wet. It wasn’t the rain.

Lifting her, I noticed the red liquid smeared on my hand.

No, no, no, no, NO!

How did this happen? Was she shot before I arrived?

I yanked up her dark blue shirt and saw the wound. A bullet hole in her back. Fuck! The bullet that ricocheted. It must have hit her.

Ghost shouted as I turned my head, seeing him pull Shane from the cabin. “I’ve got him. We’ll get answers.”

“Gwen is hit! I’m taking her to the Tree!”

A mournful howl rose around us. I struggled to breathe as I felt Omen’s sorrow.

No. I wasn’t losing Gwen. I refused.

If I had to take her place, so be it.

Chapter 14 Gwen