Kord froze and Kenzie felt his hand go to his belt for his gun. This wasn’t going to end well if it ended in a shoot-out.
“Put me down, Kord. I’ll come with you if you let him go,” Kenzie said, wiggling free. She slid off his shoulder and put herself between the gunman and Kord.
“Kenzie,” Kord said with warning.
“I can’t have your death on my hands, Kord. Go. Protect the others.” Kenzie didn’t fight as the man reached out and yanked her to him. Kenzie almost cried as she felt the gun being pressed to her head once again.
“Where’s your car?” he demanded.
Ryker had to guess where to land the stealth helicopter. Thick fog had rolled into town from the river as he slowly placed the copter down in the park at the end of Main Street.
Two burning vehicles lit up Main Street by the bar, but the fog created a hellish atmosphere that suited Ryker well. It matched his mood for vengeance.
“Thank goodness you’re here,” Tinsley cried as she flung herself into Paxton’s arms.
“What’s the situation?” Ryker demanded as his eyes never left the town.
“Kenzie negotiated to leave with them and that brought the people from behind the bar to the front of the bar. That allowed us all to escape. The Bells used the fog to their advantage and called Winston who rang the bells as they freaked everyone out with some sounds. Everyone gathered at the church and armed themselves, but it’s literally bringing a knife to a gunfight at this point. The men after you have RPGs and threatened to blow up the bar. To distract them, Gage blew up the second SUV and Kord was supposed to grab Kenzie and meet some of us here,” Tinsley said quickly as her eyes kept darting to the fog. “But he should have been here by now.”
Ryker looked at Peter and Paxton and nodded. They didn’t need to say anything. They knew what had to be done.
Paxton kissed his wife and then set her aside. “I’ll take the left.”
“I’ll take the right,” Peter said.
“I’ve got the middle.” Ryker flicked the safety off on his gun.
“Tinsley, tell the church to cause a distraction,” Paxton ordered before he chased after Ryker.
“Already on it,” Tinsley called back.
Ryker didn’t hear anything but his beating heart as he ran through the fog. He knew the town like the back of his hand. He didn’t need to see the ground to know what he was stepping on.
“A pirate never forgets!” Ryker heard someone yell in the direction of the church. Then suddenly it started slowly. It was the sound of metal on metal. Click. Click. Click. Then the sound grew louder and faster almost in time with his heartbeat as Ryker continued to run toward the fires.
He heard men speaking Italian with worried shouts as the tapping of metal on metal grew so loud and quick it was almost deafening, but then Ryker saw her. His angel had a gun pressed to her head. Kord was moving slowly around so that the man holding Kenzie was no longer facing Ryker, but Kord was. Their eyes met briefly, then Kord returned all attention to the man who now had his back to Ryker.
Ryker couldn’t shoot the man for fear of hitting Kenzie. But by moving in this direction, Kord gave Ryker the opportunity to sneak up behind him unseen. Ryker shifted the way he was holding the rifle so that the butt of the gun was at the ready. He stopped running and got in position.
Slowing his steps, Ryker made sure his footfalls were silent as he moved forward. His vision narrowed on the man holding the woman he loved. Ryker brought back the rifle as he crept forward.
“Take me instead. I’m Ryker’s friend,” Kord was pleading, keeping the man’s attention on him.
Ryker stopped directly behind him. “You shouldn’t have threatened the woman I love.” He hauled back and hit the startled man in the face as he turned to see who had spoken.
Kord leapt forward and grabbed Kenzie as the man who had been holding her crumpled to the ground. Kenzie turned around and saw Ryker stalking through the fog looking like a fallen angel bent on revenge. Ryker slid the rifle strap so the weapon was slung over his back and hunted down the man who was now writhing in pain on the ground while all hell broke loose around them.
The church doors were flung open, doors along Main Street were flung open, and all at once the citizens of Shadows Landing came pouring out, shouting and screaming as war cries filled the air. They held sabers, cutlasses, guns, knives, boarding pikes, and knitting needles in their hands.
Ryker ignored them all as he bent down and yanked the man up by his shirt so that his toes were dragging on the ground. “Who sent you?” Ryker growled.
“Little Joey and he’ll send you all to hell,” the man spat defiantly.
Ryker growled and slammed his fist into the man’s face, breaking his nose and sending the man flying backward a good five feet. “You first.”
“Ryker,” Kenzie said as Ryker stepped over the man and pointed his gun down at him.
“No, Kenzie. You’re my heart and soul. No one threatens you and lives.”
Kenzie placed her hand on Ryker’s arm. His muscles were so tightly clenched under her hand that she felt the individual tendons in his arm. There was murder in his eyes, and vengeful fury had his jaw clenched so tightly she feared it might break. “And you’re mine. Ryker, you’re mine, too. Don’t let the darkness overtake you. I’m right here by your side, exactly where I always want to be.”
She felt Ryker take a deep breath as Kord began to move slowly forward as if not to startle Ryker. “I got him, Ryker,” Kord said, putting away his gun and grabbing his handcuffs.
Kord began to walk toward the man and Kenzie screamed. The man’s gun had fallen when Ryker had hit him, but she saw him reach for his ankle and then a gun was in his hand. He lay bloody and broken on the ground, but with enough left in him to fire.
It seemed to happen in slow motion. Kenzie saw the muzzle flash and Ryker stumble back as the bullet hit his chest. And then saw him fall to the ground. “No!” she screamed with all the pain of love being ripped from her soul. It had been a direct shot to Ryker’s heart. There was no coming back from it.
Kenzie screamed, but then all the air lodged in her throat as Ryker peeled himself slowly up from the pavement looking like a demon sent from hell. The man who had shot him screamed just at the deadly look on Ryker’s face.
Kenzie couldn’t form words. He’d been shot in the heart. He had to be dead. But here he was shaking his head at Kord to stop him from arresting the man. That one look made Kord step back as Ryker stalked menacingly forward toward his prey.
Kenzie turned to see the man scrambling backward, his face white, as he rambled in Italian, probably praying for his eternal soul.
Ryker was about to reach him when the fog shifted and a hisss as equally menacing as Ryker’s glare was all the warning they got. Bubba charged from the fog, his jaws open, hissing in anger.
Kenzie gasped as the gator’s jaws snapped shut over the man’s neck. She stood frozen in place, her hands covering her mouth, open in a silent scream. The man tried to struggle, but then he was gone, dragged into the foggy darkness by Bubba.
Kenzie took a slow, unsteady step forward with her hand outstretched. Her eyes had left the fog and focused on Ryker, now standing and staring at where Bubba had dragged the man who had threatened her. Slowly, Ryker turned.