We sat in surprisingly comfortable silence as I finished his sandwich and slid it in front of him.
“It’s late. I’m gonna turn in,” I told him quietly. “Thanks for staying.” As the words left my mouth, the dogs started barking and growling ferociously toward the back patio. I’d never heard them do that, and the hair rose on my neck at the sound.
“Fuck,” Gunner bit out, immediately pulling out his phone. “Go lock yourself in the bedroom, back of the closet. Now,” he ordered as he held the phone to his ear.
I looked at him wide eyed and turned to do as he asked. Now was not the time to argue, even though despite my fear, I wanted to help. What if he was outnumbered? What if he got hurt? I could hear him on the phone with someone—Max?—telling them to get to the house.
I ran on shaking legs to our bedroom, locking the door behind me. I could hear the dogs, their barking more frenzied as I eyed the bedside table where I knew Max kept a gun. I grabbed it, ready to hide in the closet when the sound of glass shattering from the living room hit my ears at the same time as the bedroom window broke as well.
I stared in horror as a large man climbed in through the window as sounds of a struggle could be heard from the living room.
“Stop right there,” I ordered, training the gun on him. Pop had had me shooting at eight years old, and I had damn good aim.
He took a step back, his dark eyes assessing me. He was heavyset with dark beady eyes and a receding hairline. I took him in. He was big but obviously out of shape. Even now he was huffing and puffing from the effort of climbing in through the window. I might not be able to take him, but I could likely outrun him if given the opportunity.
“What do you want?” I demanded.
He sneered. “We’re gonna take a little drive,” he replied simply.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I growled, hoping I sounded a lot stronger than I felt.
He took a menacing step toward me.
“Stop,” I repeated, holding the gun higher.
He smirked, seeming entirely too comfortable despite my having a gun trained on him.
My heart hammered in my chest as my palms began to sweat.
“Go ahead,” he prompted, again taking another step toward me. He didn’t think I’d go through with it.
I swallowed hard and pulled the trigger, squeezing my eyes shut.
Nothing happened.
His amused laugh had me opening my eyes in shock. “Looks like you’re out of bullets, sweetheart.” He smirked, yanking the gun out of my hand.
Shit.
Chapter 21
MAX
“Somethin’s not right,” I growled to Maddox as we waited at the drop point along with Cash and Xander. “Are you sure your intel is good?”
Maddox had heard the Rossi’s were doing an arms deal inside city limits, and we wanted to be there when it went down. This was our best chance to bring some hurt on those assholes. Now, it was an hour past the time we’d been told, and my instincts were screaming at me to get back to Wren.
“I thought it was, man.” Mad shook his head. He had a source he’d used for the past few months, but he wouldn’t tell any of us who it was. If I didn’t trust the man so damn much, I’d be suspicious. Just as I was going to press him, my phone rang with Gunner’s name flashing on the screen.
“Fuck,” I swore. “Gun,” I barked by way of answer. I knew something had to be way fucking wrong for him to be calling.
“Someone’s outside. Need you back here,” he replied. I could barely hear him over the sound of the dogs going crazy. “I put Wren in your room, but I don’t know how secure that is. Not sure what I’m up against.” His tone was calm, but I knew my best friend well enough to detect the underlying stress in his voice.
“We’re coming,” was all I told him as I hung up and started up my bike. I couldn’t spare the time to say more. I didn’t need to explain anything to the guys, they’d heard the conversation. Within seconds, our motors were revved and we were hitting the highway back to my house.
Even at the speed I drove, it felt like an eternity to get there. I wasn’t accustomed to feeling fear. The thought that something could be happening to Wren in that very moment, that she could be hurt or worse, had me feeling helpless and so fucking angry a red haze had formed in my vision. I had to fight to think clearly through it as I parked off the road a half mile from my house. We needed the element of surprise, and the sound of our bikes wouldn’t allow for that.
“Gun didn’t say how many,” I shared as the guys came to stand alongside me. “I don’t know the state of play. We go in quiet.”
I didn’t wait for agreement but simply took off at a run. I’d never moved so fast in my life. The sound of a gunshot as we neared the house had me doubling my pace.
A glance through the shattered patio doors showed Gunner standing over a dead man, a smoking gun in his hand. “Wren?” I panted, stepping over broken glass.
“In your room. I haven’t been back,” he replied, his breathing labored. “Was fighting this asshole.” He swore, kicking the dead man with his boot.
I ran back to my bedroom, finding both dogs whining at the closed door, the sound making my gut clench in fear. The gnaw and scratch marks proved how hard they’d tried to get into the room. I opened the door and at first didn’t understand what I was seeing. The window was shattered, and a large man was laying over Wren. It took me a second to realize he was dead and she was trapped under him.
“Fuck!” I swore, racing into the room, the dogs at my side as I hauled the man off her. Wren crawled into my arms, knocking me to my ass. She was sobbing uncontrollably as I pulled her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her.
“Fucker’s dead,” Mad announced. “I don’t see any wounds.” His tone was confused as he and X peered down at the him.
Gunner soon joined us, his face dark with remorse at what he saw. “I’m sorry, Wren. I couldn’t get back here.” He was shaking his head, clearly tormented. “I had two guys on me. One I took care of. The other ran. Not sure how far he got; Bo got him pretty good,” he added, giving Bo an affectionate scratch on the head. “Could have been a lot worse without these two backing me up.”
Wren was shaking in my arms, her head buried in my chest. “It’s okay, Gun,” she managed through chattering teeth. It killed me to see her like this. I wondered how long she’d been trapped under that fat fuck.
His eyes turned to me full of fury. “It was a setup, wasn’t it?”
“Must have been,” I growled, feeling so stupid for not planning for that possibility and relieved I’d at least thought to have Gunner stay with her.
I’d never make that mistake again.
“What happened?” I asked her quietly as I held her close.
She sniffled and pulled back to look at me with teary eyes. “I came back here when Gunner told me to. I grabbed your gun just as he broke through the window.” Her eyes turned to the dead man on the ground. “I tried to shoot him, but the barrel was empty,” she whispered.
Another mistake I’d have to correct.
“He thought that was pretty funny.” She winced at the memory. “He took it from me, and I don’t know, I just sort of attacked him,” she admitted. “I knew I didn’t have much chance, but it was either that or stand there and let him shoot me.”