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But how.
He raises his eyebrows when he sees me in my bra. “Where the fuck is Shovelhead? Have him bring the boys out there to clean up. Can’t be much more than fucking parts by now.”
I won’t believe that. I can’t.
“He’s dead,” I tell him. “You’re going to lose, and you’re just too freaking dumb to understand it.”
“Oh, Faith,” Crow says in a syrupy sweet tone that’s as venomous as a cobra. “You can fool yourself all you want, but they’ll never reach you here. Even if they survived the explosion, they’re sitting ducks out there. My boys’ll fucking murder all of them. They made a mistake ever coming here.”
A loud thud draws all of our attention to the closest barricade wall. It actually wobbles a moment before settling.
What the heck?
Another thud and this time, something tears loose, the wobble up top intensifying.
“What the fuck’s going on?” Crow waves a couple of his guys forward. “Go fucking check on that.”
There’s a sudden sound of splintering wood. Crow and I jump back instinctively as the barricade doesn’t just wobble, but topples and comes tumbling towards us.
“Jesus fuck!”
It comes down with a thunderous crash, kicking up a cloud of dust from the floor that makes it impossible to see. Then, as I blink through it, big shapes emerge, shapes that resolve into the people that are becoming my whole world.
“Alpha,” I more whisper to myself than actually say. My heart squeezes tight and I can’t believe exactly what I’m seeing.
“Motherfuckers!” he booms. “It’s time for a fucking reckoning!”
“Get them!” roars Crow, and then the food court is packed with Pit Vipers. “Ten grand for every Eagle cut you bring me!”
A loud boom is followed by a flash of light. Ripper. One of the Pit Vipers is thrown back by the force of a bullet that hits him right in the face with a terrible squelch. I look away, trying not to hurl. There are limits to my new level of understanding…
The room fills with Screaming Eagles, the battle quickly turning into a fist and knife fight. Close up, you’re as likely to shoot a friend as an enemy.
“Faith!” Alpha hurls one of the Pit Vipers across my field of vision, taking with him another one as they collide, revealing Dad punching his way through the Vipers with brass knuckles on each hand.
Alpha and Ripper spot me and start tearing their way through the men between us. I don’t know how many guys Crow has here, but right now, it’s like he has an unending supply.
I want to run to them, but I stand put, trying to cover Blade, who’s still slumped up against the post. God, I hope he’s still alive.
I feel hope for the first time since we broke free, and then a strong arm comes across my throat and yanks me back so hard I lose my breath.
I wrestle and kick, but then the hard steel of a gun barrel is put against my head. “Stay very fucking still, Faith, if you don’t want me to blow your brains out right here in front of your old man. I’m getting sick of this shit.” Crow tightens his grip on my throat even harder as he maneuvers me up onto the podium to be seen. “Hey! Motherfuckers! If you don’t want your little girl iced, surrender right fucking now.”
It takes a moment for everyone to catch up, but the brutal fight slows, and then stops. The floor is slick with blood and a lot of guys aren’t getting up. Luckily, everyone I recognize is still standing, though Alpha’s bleeding from an ugly cut on the side of his head and Ripper looks like he’s favoring one leg over the other. Dad looks exhausted, though he’s still standing straight, so maybe it’s just that I know his expressions better than anyone else.
“If you fucking hurt her,” says Ripper in a steely voice so sharp it could slice through a rock, “I will blow your fucking head off and shit in the stump.”
I can’t see Crow’s face like this, but it’s like I can sense his ugly grin anyway.
“Well, if anyone fucking knows stumps, it’s the cripple.”
“You can’t fucking win this,” says Alpha. “We got more men coming in, and your little shits aren’t fucking worth three to one of ours. Are you really going to fucking take those odds?”
“Shut up with your fucking bullshit. We all know that as long as I’ve got your little girlfriend, none of you’ll do a fucking thing. Her life is in my hands.” He runs a finger down my blood-spattered chest.
If looks could kill, Ripper and Alpha’s glares would murder Crow several times over. The crew of Screaming Eagles behind them look deadly, but Ripper, Alpha and Dad are death made incarnate.
I stomp on Crow’s instep with all the strength I’ve got.
