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This time, instead of fighting the unpleasant memories, she let them come. Let them fuel her hatred and anger. She embraced the feeling of being a needy unloved seventeen-year-old girl yearning for attention and affection. She let the old feelings of shame, humiliation, and fear wash over her and power her next move.
She knew what she had to do. Could live with it.
She just prayed it would work.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Zach struggled against Rocket’s unbreakable hold. He was going to kill his brother the second they were free of this fucked up situation.
The only reason he didn’t let his rage fly and take Rocket down was that he couldn’t put Toni at risk any more than she was already.
She had to be terrified, standing behind Shark, knowing what would happen to her the moment Maverick reached the group. Blood ran in small rivers down her arms and face from what looked like dozens of scratches. They’d better just be from the trees in the woods. If the fucker that brought her from the car had laid a hand on her, he’d be dying a slow death as well.
“I’m cool,” he said to Rocket who loosened his hold. That was a damn lie. He was about as hot as it got, but his hands were tied. Used to being in a position of power, being rendered impotent and unable to help his woman was torture. There might not be anything he could do in that moment to save Toni. But he damn sure could end Shark’s life when this was done.
As he watched, Maverick took a staggering step forward then stopped to catch his breath. After a few seconds, he managed another step that looked agonizing.
Mav would need to be transported straight to the hospital. For a second, Mav’s gaze found Zach’s and Zach worried his friend would turn and charge Shark. He wouldn’t survive it and Toni might not either. He gave Mav the smallest head shake he could manage.
Mav struggled forward another step and then a loud bang rang out. Shark made a strangled noise, clutched his abdomen and fell to the floor.
Zach gaped at the gun hanging limply in Toni’s hands and her dazed expression before all hell broke loose.
Zach and Rocket both charged forward. Rocket grabbed Mav around his waist and swung him toward the building. Zach plowed into Toni. He tackled her to the ground and shielded her with his body while the pop of assault rifles sounded around them.
It didn’t take long before quiet ensued. Zach lifted his head and did a quick count. Ten Handlers were milling around. Mav was over Rocket’s shoulder in a fireman carry that must have hurt like a sonofabitch but was the easiest way to get him out. The two rooftop guards weren’t anywhere to be seen but were probably dead on the roof, and the man who’d escorted Toni out of the woods was dead as a doornail. Shark lay unmoving just feet away in a pool of his own blood.
The only thing Zach regretted was not being the one to dish out a little MC justice before killing Shark himself.
Beneath him, Toni squirmed. “Let me up. Are you hurt?” She pushed against his chest until he sat back on his knees. Scrambling to her knees as well, she ran her hands over his body. “Did you get hit anywhere?” Her voice was one breath away from hysterical.
Zach grabbed her hands, stilling her frantic search for bullet holes. “Baby, I’m fine. Not a scratch on me, though I can’t say the same for you.” He ran his finger over an angry gouge running up the side of her porcelain neck.
Toni didn’t even seem to notice she was bleeding. “Is everyone else okay?” She tried to shove him away with thrashing arms, but he yanked her close and held her head against his pounding heart. “Everyone is okay. You did good, baby. You are fucking amazing. Shit, I can’t believe you had a gun.”
“Oh my God. I shot him. I had to do something.” Trembling in his arms, she burrowed as close as she could get without climbing into his skin. “The guys on the roof! Did they kill anyone? Should I have waited? Oh my God. Did I get someone killed? Let me see. Please, I need to see everyone.”
She shrugged out of his embrace and Zach helped her to her feet. The red, ragged scratches covering her skin looked worse up close. Her hair was a snarled mess, falling out of its band and with twigs scattered throughout.
“Wait,” he said, lifting one of her arms. “Baby, you’re scratched to shit. I promise everyone is okay and you can see them in a minute. I just need to know you’re okay. Scared ten fucking years off my life just now.”
She met his gaze and he saw that she wasn’t quite as good as she claimed. Hell, she’d just taken a life. But being the fierce woman she was, she didn’t fall apart. She shoved it down and straightened. Later, in private, might be a different story, but Zach planned to be there for every tear, every second of guilt, every worry, and he’d soothe them all away.
