AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Time almost seems to slow down. It only takes me a second to figure out that the sound I just heard was a gunshot, but Ransom is faster than me. He wraps his fingers around my arm, yanking me out of the way of the next shot.
“Motherfucker! Get down, angel!”
We use the bike for cover, huddling behind it, and I can see a car speeding by down the street, more gunshots echoing as it goes past.
The bullets ping into the bike, hitting the metal with loud sounds, popping the tires, leaving it a mess.
My heart is going a mile a minute, my entire body tense and on edge as my fight-or-flight response kicks in. The car peels off down the street, rounding a corner with a screech of tires. As soon as it’s out of sight, Ransom leaps into action.
“Stay close,” he mutters, and this time, it sounds much more serious than when he said it just a few minutes ago. “They could come back for another shot at us.”
Luis and his men are emerging from the garage, all armed with weapons, but Ransom doesn’t stop to talk to them. Pulling out his own gun from the under-seat compartment, he shoves it into the waistband of his pants and then grabs my arm, standing up and dragging me behind him.
We dart between buildings and down alleyways, staying off the main streets, and my stomach swoops sickeningly as vivid memories of sprinting to try to evade Troy’s Jeep in Mexico fill my mind. By the time Ransom finally stops running, I’ve lost track of where we are entirely. He pulls me into the doorway alcove of an abandoned looking building, glancing up and down the street before pulling out his phone to make a call.
“Vic,” he says as soon as his brother picks up. “I’m with Willow, down by Luis’s place. Someone just fucking shot at us.” He grimaces, baring his teeth. “I don’t know who. I didn’t get a good look at them. But my bike is fucked, and we need to get out of—” He breaks off, listening to something Vic is saying. “Yeah, alright. That works.”
He sounds pissed as he talks to Vic, one hand still wrapped around my forearm. It’s a good thing he hasn’t let go, really. His almost bruising grip on me is keeping me grounded, holding the fluttery feelings of panic at bay.
It’s not even the first time someone has shot at me or around me, but that was a close call. A bullet grazed my arm, and if it hadn’t been for Ransom’s quick reaction…
I don’t want to think about that.
Ransom’s face is pinched when he hangs up the call, shoving his phone into his pocket.
“Motherfucking cocksuckers,” he mutters under his breath.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur.
“What? What do you have to be sorry for?”
“Your bike. It was brand new, and now—”
Before I can finish, Ransom lets go of my arm. His face is intense as he reaches up, gripping my chin and looking right into my eyes.
“Fuck the bike,” he says firmly. “I don’t give a shit about the bike.”
“But—”
“Willow. No bike, nothing in the world, will ever matter more to me than you. You’re safe, and that’s all that fucking matters. Okay?”
I swallow hard, then nod shakily. The last several minutes feel a little surreal. We went from just running a simple errand to getting shot at, and I’m still reeling from it a little. But I force my muscles to stop shaking, reminding myself that there’s no room for fear right now. I can’t let it cloud my thoughts or slow me down.
“We’re getting a ride out of here, since my bike is fucked,” Ransom explains. “Stay behind me as much as you can.”
He positions his body in front of mine, his fingers wrapped around the grip of his gun as he watches the street warily. We stay like that for what feels like forever, and when Vic and Malice pull up in the car, my heart leaps at the sight of them.
Keeping his gun drawn and his head low, Ransom wraps an arm around my shoulders and hustles me into the car. We jump into the back, and Malice cranks the wheel to pull away from the curb.
“Did you see anything on the way over?” Ransom asks, peering out the back window as he shoves his gun back into his waistband.
Vic shakes his head. “Nothing.” He looks to me, craning his neck from where he sits in the front passenger seat. “You’re alright?”
I nod. “Yeah. Ransom pulled me down before anything could happen.”
“Good.”
Malice adjusts his grip on the wheel as he growls, “What the fuck happened?”
