AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Rooster,” Brewer warned behind me.
I was blind and deaf to everything around me except the red-hot rage I felt at the sight of Pruitt. When he spotted me, he went silent and straightened up, anger twisting his features.
Tank moved to block my path. I kept going, barreling forward. Tank planted his hands against my chest, shaking his head.
“Don’t land yourself in jail for this little prick, all right? Lou needs you right now.”
More hands grabbed me from behind—Brewer, Red, and Axel. My boots skidded on the slick tile floor as I tried to plow through them to get to Pruitt.
“You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve to show up here after taking a shot at her.”
“Me?” Pruitt spat, incredulous. “You’ve never done a damn thing to protect Louisa. All you ever cared about was saving your own ass.”
I strained against Tank, Brewer, Red, and Axel, fury burning through every bone in my body. I managed to gain a step, wrestling for more traction. Mack joined the group, adding his weight to hold me back. Crow and Bear moved to block Pruitt.
“None of you,” Pruitt hissed. “Not a single one of you will stop me from seeing my wife when she wakes up. That’s myright.”
“You don’t even deserve tolookat Lou let alone get anywherenearher,” I fired back. “She could die because of you. All you had to do was let her go. Lou just wanted her freedom and her happiness and you were too goddamn selfish to give her that.”
“If you had kept your hands off her in the first place, we wouldn’t be here. You left. You broke her heart twelve years ago and you didn’t even look back. That bullet had your name written on it. Not hers.”
The wail of police sirens in the parking lot sent a stunned silence settling over the room.
“We have to go,” Brewer said. “The cops are here and they’ll arrest all of us for disturbing the peace.”
I wrenched my arms out of Red and Axel’s grip. Then I jabbed a finger in Pruitt’s direction.
“You won’t get away with this. I’ll make sure of it.”
Pruitt spread his arms, beckoning with acome ongesture.
“Do your worst. I’d love to leave your body in the fucking ditch so I can take my wife home where she belongs without you getting in my way.”
Before I could reply, the tread of heavy boots in the corridor signaled the cops had arrived. My club herded me down the hall, their broad bodies shielding me from making a stupid mistake as much as they protected Pruitt from being beaten to death by my bare fists.
Chapter Eight
Lou
I blinked awake, squinting against the glare of blurry white that greeted me. My body felt heavy and slow and my mouth was dry. Slowly, memories began to drift into my consciousness. Thecrack-pop-popof gunfire. The tension in Rooster’s voice when he called my name. The warm pavement against my back and the sky overhead.
I blinked harder, attempting to clear my vision. Gradually, my focus sharpened until I realized I was in a hospital room. Machines beeped steadily beside me. The sheets were crisp and smelled like the sharp tang of bleach.
How did I end up here? The last thing I remember was Rooster’s face above me, the fear in his tone, my blood on his hands.
Somebody call an ambulance!
I had been shot.
When I tried to push myself into a sitting position, pain blazed through my torso. I gasped, sinking back down against the pillows again.
“Good. You’re finally awake.”
The beeping from my heartbeat monitor began to go faster at the sound of Jed’s voice. My gaze darted away from the ceiling to see him seated on a chair in a corner of the room. He looked like a coiled snake about to strike, his dark eyes menacing, a frown etched into his face.
My chest felt tight. What was he doing here? Why hadn’t the police arrested him after the drive by shooting?
Then again, Jed wouldn’t have done the dirty work himself. He would have sent one of his Devil’s Disciples.
