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Wylder pushed in front of me, his stance rigid, his hand leaping to his gun. Xavier’s gaze fixed on him, and he let out a low, rolling laugh. “Do you think that little toy is going to stop me? Do you really think a bitch like her is worth protecting?”
“I think I didn’t fucking ask you,” Wylder said. “Back off.”
“Oh, no.” Xavier strolled toward us, his men flanking him. He didn’t bother to draw his own weapon, as if he thought he was bulletproof. “But if you want to make me toss you aside to get to her, that’ll just make it more fun.”
I didn’t have any weapons of my own on me—I’d left them behind to go into the parlay with the Red Shark’s men. My hands balled into fists. I wasn’t going down easy anyway. “I’ve never done anything to you. I don’t even know you. Leave me alone, asshole.”
Xavier clucked his tongue. “Sorry, but it’s time to collar the cat. I’ve given you free run for too long.”
Just then the door to the shop opened, and Gideon strode out. “I couldn’t—”
His words died when he saw Xavier, his feet skidding to a halt.
Xavier cocked his head at Gideon, and an expression came over his face that turned it even uglier. “And you must be the kid who’s been messing with my people’s security systems.”
Gideon didn’t speak, standing rigidly still. I wasn’t sure he had a weapon on him either, and Xavier was closer to him than we were.
Xavier sneered. “You know what happens when you piss off the lion? I will tear you limb from limb until you beg for death. It’s payment time.” He nodded to his men.
The three guys charged at Gideon. Xavier barreled toward me, his teeth bared.
Kaige threw himself into the fray, tackling one of the men before they’d even reached Gideon. Rowan took a shot at one of the others, who slowed, ducking. Wylder stayed between me and Xavier, firing his own gun, but Xavier dove to the side at the last second.
We spun around, Wylder shooting again and hitting Xavier in the chest—but the impact barely seemed to shake the beast of a man. He thumped his stomach, and I heard a thud that told me he was wearing a Kevlar vest under his shirt.
Before Wylder could take aim at Xavier’s head, the other man launched himself at us with a roar. He managed to knock the gun right out of Wylder’s hand, his shot going wild. Wylder whipped out a knife and slashed it across Xavier’s arm, and I aimed a kick at his gut that from the looks of things hurt my foot more than it did our attacker.
Xavier cracked his knuckles, circling us for a second, considering Wylder’s knife. From the corner of my eye, I saw Rowan and Kaige shielding Gideon as they wrestled with Xavier’s other two men.
One of the lackeys punched Rowan hard enough that blood flew from his mouth. He landed with a thump on the ground and rolled back onto his feet. The guy was already swinging his gun hand up to shoot Kaige while the last attacker had him distracted.
Rowan sprang in the way so fast he was almost a blur. He wrenched at the man’s arm with a snap of breaking bone and pulled the trigger right at the guy’s face for good measure. The front of the attacker’s skull burst apart.
Kaige threw the last guy to the ground so hard that he lay there, stunned. As they hurried Gideon to the van, Xavier made another grab at me. At the same time, he slammed his elbow into Wylder’s ribs to force him to the side. Wylder let out a pained huff of breath, staggering. Xavier’s meaty hand snagged on my wrist.
Acting purely on instinct, I karate-chopped his forearm with all the desperate strength I had in me. Xavier just yanked me closer to him, his other hand reaching for my throat—
And then Wylder rammed his knife into the monster’s shoulder.
Xavier’s grip shook, and I pulled free.
“Come on!” Rowan yelled from the van. Another car was just screeching to a halt behind the one that had brought Xavier, and the guy Kaige had toppled was starting to push himself upright.
I hated turning tail and running, but sometimes that was what you had to do to survive.
Wylder and I dashed for the van. The second we’d thrown ourselves past the back doors, Kaige hit the gas as hard as he could. The tires screamed in protest, leaving marks on the pavement. Shots boomed after us as we heaved the doors shut.
Then the gunfire stopped. I looked through the back windows to see Xavier staring at us, several men around him, his smile back in place. Even with the tint on the windows hiding my face, it felt like he could see right into my eyes. Then he threw back his head. The last thing I heard before we raced around a corner was a cold laugh spilling out into the dusk.
The sound chilled the blood in my veins. I rubbed my bruised wrist. “He wasn’t even trying that hard. He’s still toying with us.”
What the hell were we going to do when he decided to really get serious?
