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I swallow hard, unease rocking through me. I know I don’t have a great deal with Zade, but something tells me he’s the lesser of the two evils. The idea of being taken by this man terrifies me, and I find my hand twisting around in my binds, gripping onto Zade’s with everything I’ve got.
Another man from the opposite direction steps forward. “Fuck that,” he growls. “I say we take them both out while we’ve got the chance. The rest of us can fight it out for leadership.”
Zade grunts his disapproval, still as fucking cool as a cucumber, as though this meeting is about as relaxing as a warm bubble bath on a cold winter’s night. “Need I remind you of the likelihood of any one of you surviving such a poor, desperate attempt like that? Say you did manage to kill me, what then? I can guarantee that not a damn one of you would survive the callous nature of The Circle. Without me claiming leadership, the world you know would crumble.”
Rust scoffs, now behind me. “I’m willing to take that chance.”
Without a second of warning, Rust lunges for me, and in the same instant, Zade throws me to the ground. With my hands bound behind my back, I have no way to save myself, and I crash to the dirty floor, my tits taking the brunt of the brutal fall.
Rust’s momentum throws him forward, and Zade uses that to his advantage, his hand shooting out and gripping the back of his head. He throws him down beside me with an incredible show of strength. The guy’s face slams into the filthy concrete, and a scream tears from my throat as I scramble away.
The other men start to move in, but when Zade pulls a gun on Rust, they slow their movements, not completely backing down. “I didn’t want to make an example of you, Rust. You’ve been good to me over the years. But then you went and tried to put your hands on what’s mine. You disrespected me, Rust.”
Terror blasts through my veins, and knowing what’s coming, I glance up at the men around us, not wanting to see Rust’s brains splatter across the warehouse. But something tells me, the second Zade pulls that trigger, this fucked-up little game will take a turn for the worst.
The men look ready. Their hands flinch at their sides, prepared to draw their weapons, half of their wicked stares locked on Zade, the other half looking at me.
I swallow hard. I know Zade is as lethal as they come, but there are at least twenty other men in this room. There’s only so much ego can do before reality comes crashing in.
Where the fuck are the boys?
BANG!
Rust’s blood splatters across my face as a gasping squeal tears from my throat. It’s fucking on.
The old warehouse quickly becomes a flurry of action, and gunshots are heard from all around. I hastily try to get to my feet, my bound wrists making it much harder than it ought to be. Men race toward Zade, and before I can even make sense of the mess, another two men are dead.
My eyes flick from left to right, my heart racing with fear, terrified someone is going to break through Zade’s hold to get to me. Men turn on one another as if settling old scores, and if they’re not shooting, it’s a fucking brawl. Blood drenches the floor, and men fall down all around me as others flee, realizing this bullshit isn’t worth their life.
I hear commotion and fighting coming from outside and realize what’s keeping the boys busy. There’s no way that Zade can hold these assholes off for long, so I pull against my binds trying to free myself.
Almost dislocating my thumb, I pull one of my hands free, and the rope falls to the ground behind me. Without a moment of hesitation, I lunge forward and grab the knife at Zade’s hip, tearing it from the holster. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he roars at me.
“You’re the one doing something stupid,” I spit back at him, knowing damn well there’s not a thing I’ll be able to do to help defend myself against these trained assassins, but the feel of the knife in my hands makes it just a little easier to breathe. “I’m just trying to even the field a little.”
Zade scoffs, clearly deciding that my need to help is going to do nothing but slow him down, but he doesn’t have time to argue his point as another asshole comes hurtling toward us, his ferocious gaze locked on me.
My heart pounds, but when I hear a window smash across the warehouse, I catch the slightest glimpse of Dalton’s face before Zade steps in front of me, blocking the asshole’s path. I feel Dalton’s intense stare as he tries to cut through the warehouse, past the brawls, and through a spray of stray bullets. Each echoing BANG makes my body jolt with fear.
