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“Ain’t likin’ this deal,” another one of the Shirley men called out.
“Daddy!” the boy in his arms cried out and tried to wiggle free. Cage tightened his grip.
Shit.
Shade, Rook and Cage all exchanged looks. The smile Shade now wore had nothing to do with being happy.
Cage lowered his voice. “That your Daddy?”
The boy nodded. “Daaaaaddy!” he cried.
“Got your boy,” Cage called out. “You got my girl. Let’s trade. Father to father.”
Silence answered him. It stretched out for a full fucking, heart-pounding minute.
The wood door creaked open wider and a man stepped into the doorway with Dyna in his arms.
Cage’s pounding heart seized.
He couldn’t see his baby girl’s face. He couldn’t see shit. Dyna—if it was her—was wrapped in a stained blanket.
“Better not be pullin’ any shit,” came from Judge behind him. “Better be her in that fuckin’ blanket or all three boys die right here. Right in front of your fuckin’ faces.”
“Show me!” Cage yelled. Ten yards separated him from his baby.
Ten fucking yards.
He wanted to sprint those thirty feet and snatch Dyna from that Shirley’s filthy motherfucking hands.
He didn’t. Instead, he kept a firm grip on the man’s son and held his ground.
“Halfway,” the inbred, toothless motherfucker demanded.
Cage gritted his teeth and gave him a nod.
“Got your back,” Judge said softly behind him.
Cage adjusted the knife he held close to the toddler’s throat so he didn’t slice it by accident. He moved slowly and carefully, his eyes focused on his daughter. When he got closer, he stopped. “Lemme see her face.”
Dirty fingers peeled back the blanket enough to see the wrapped bundle was indeed Dyna and she was awake but quiet.
His kid was the goddamn best.
“Halfway,” Cage reminded the goat-fucking hillbilly.
One side of the bearded man’s lips pulled up in a sneer, but he moved closer.
Cage continued until they met amongst dead leaves and mud. His brothers were behind him, the Shirleys in front of him.
His brothers all had his back.
Finally, they only stood a couple feet apart. Two fathers. Two children.
And a whole bunch of hatred filling that empty space between them.
“Let ‘im go,” the boy’s father demanded.
Cage put the toddler on his feet, but kept one hand clamped on the kid’s shoulder as he held out his other arm. “Hand her over. Carefully. You hurt her, we got two more behind me.”
The man’s mouth tightened and he gave a sharp nod. He held out Dyna with both hands. Like a fucking sacrifice.
Cage’s heart stopped beating, his lungs failed to take in air, as he released the boy and grabbed Dyna at the same time.
Then, fuck him, he had her. His baby in his arms.
He didn’t take the time to check her, instead he backed away quickly as the boy wrapped himself around his father’s leg.
“Once we’re safely off this mountain, the other two will be waitin’ at the bottom,” Cage reminded the clan member, who said nothing and didn’t even hug his damn kid.
When he got back to the line of Fury members, Judge muttered, “Let’s get the fuck outta here now. Gotta get your girl home.”
That sounded like a plan.
“They’re all gonna die, right?” Cage asked his sergeant at arms.
“Fuck yeah,” Judge whispered back. “They’re all gonna die.”
Cage gave the man a nod, turned and headed toward the lane. They’d all take that back down the mountain, using the two remaining boys as insurance for their safety. They wouldn’t have to worry about tripping any booby traps by taking the main dirt road.
Cage stayed in front, cuddling Dyna against his chest, occasionally peeking down at her to make sure she was whole and uninjured. But he had to concentrate on his footing. He didn’t want to trip with her in his arms since the mountain road was rough with water-filled potholes and deep ruts. Traveling in the limited light made it even more treacherous.
Everyone else stayed behind him, keeping watch, with guns drawn and heads on swivels as they moved as a group toward Copperhead Road.
It was a long fucking hike back down and Cage was getting anxious to get Dyna home. At first, he thought someone stumbled behind him. Until he heard his brothers shouting and scrambling.
“Take cover!” Rook yelled at him, yanking on his shoulder and almost knocking Dyna from his arms. “Fuckin’ motherfuckers!”
Cage caught her before she tumbled and he jumped off the road and into the brush, picking the biggest tree he could find as a shield.
More shots rang out, landing in the dirt and surrounding trees, causing tiny explosions.
“Fucking motherfuckers,” Rook muttered again under his breath, gun in hand, and a tight grip on the kid who had been his shield. “They’re stupid as fuck.”
“Guess they don’t give a shit about the other two boys. They’ll just make more,” Cage said.
“Goddamn worse than the Amish when it comes to poppin’ out snot monkeys.”
