Page 140 of Until Joy

I thought about Graham, lying in that hospital bed, probably wondering where I was. I thought about Little Grandma, who had survived so much worse than this. I thought about all the people who were counting on me to come home.

I wasn't going to die here. Not like this.

I pushed up on my good arm and started running again.

Chapter 35

The Harley rumbled beneath me like a caged beast, every vibration sending shockwaves through my skull. The comm system inside my helmet crackled with static, the earpiece pressing against the bandages wrapped around my head like a vise. The sounds of my brothers talking was like bass drums.

I didn't give a damn.

The pain was nothing compared to the terror eating me alive from the inside. Joy was with that psycho bitch, and every second I wasted feeling sorry for myself was another second she was in danger.

My ribs screamed in protest as I leaned into the first curve, the bike responding to my commands despite the way my vision kept blurring at the edges. The doctors had said I had a severe concussion. That I needed rest and medication and absolutely no physical exertion.

They could kiss my happy ass.

“Graham, you copy?” Wes's voice cut through the static.

I pressed the comm button on my handlebars. “I'm here.”

“You sound like shit, brother.”

“I feel like shit. Doesn't matter. How far out are you?”

“Z and I are approaching from the water. Nico and Jax are circling around to the south side with Randy and Seth.” There was a pause. “You sure you can handle this? That concussion⁠—”

“I can handle it.”

My voice came out harder than I'd intended, but I couldn't afford to show weakness right now. Not when Joy needed me to be the SEAL I'd trained to be for twelve years.

The lake house road was nothing more than a dirt track, full of ruts and holes that made the bike buck like an angry horse. Every jolt sent fresh fire through my broken ribs, but I held on, focused on the single goal that mattered.

Get to Joy. Stop Glenda. Bring my woman home.

“Remember the plan,” Seth's voice crackled through the comm. “Graham goes in loud and obvious. Glenda will focus on the frontal assault while the rest of us move into position.”

I gritted my teeth against another wave of pain. We'd gone over this back at Jax’s. Use me as bait. Let Glenda think I was coming in like some half-cocked amateur, all emotion and no strategy. She'd concentrate on the obvious threat while my brothers closed the trap from every other direction.

It was a good plan. It just required me to play the part of the reckless boyfriend, which wasn’t far off the mark today.

The trees started thinning out ahead, and I caught my first glimpse of the cabin through the branches. Small, isolated, perfect for keeping someone prisoner. My blood went cold at the thought of what Joy might be going through in there.

“Eyes on target,” I reported. “Single story, two windows facing this direction. No movement visible.”

“Copy that,” Nico responded. “We're in position on the south side. Tan Chevy Impala. Glenda’s car. Same one from the hospital.”

“Wes, Z, status?”

“Coming up from the lake now. Quiet as a cemetery.”

“Bad visual, asshole,” I growled.

I was maybe two hundred yards from the cabin when the first gunshot cracked through the air.

My heart stopped.

“Did everyone hear that?” My voice was barely controlled.