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“You also reciprocated that exact action, which you have never done in front of someone else.Ever.” Glaring at him, I pull at my cigarette before exhaling heavily. Fucker does have me there. But I don’t know how he expects me to explain it to him when I can’t even explain it to myself. “It feels like there’s fucking hope for us, Ax. Like there’s more to the blood and bullshit we have to deal with every day.”
“We like the blood and bullshit,” I interject, stubbing my cigarette out into the sand bucket I have placed by the door.
“I’m not saying we don’t, but today, despite all of it, we got a fucking minute to unload. Literally.” I almost chuckle at his attempted joke, but I manage to hold it back and shake my head instead.
Laughter catches my attention, drawing my gaze out over the yard, which is filled with people. A sense of sadness washes over the compound, the death of two brothers combined with another injured has left us hurting once again. Emmett is with the coroner, making all of the arrangements. It helps that we have them on the books, so we don’t have to go through the whole mess with the authorities, but it’s still a longer process than preferred.
Maggie has the grill out, manning it like a total boss as always, while the old ladies, the families, and the Ruthless Bitches are all gathering at the picnic tables or sitting around on the grass in groups.
Nothing brings a family together quite like loss.
The kids don’t really understand, that’s their magic I think. They’re running around with water guns and causing mayhem, but it also brings a smile to everyone’s faces under the late evening sun.
“You have to admit it, Ax. Despite all the bullshit with the Brutes and the losses we took today, when we were in this garage earlier, it made us feel invincible.”
He likes her. They all do, yet there’s something we don’t know, and I’m the only one who seems to see it.
Grunting, I don’t offer him any further response as I lie back down on the floor and pull my rag back out. The second I lift my hands in the air again, my whole body stills as gunshots ring out around us.
Panic kicks in as I quickly jump back to my feet, smacking my head on the damn bike as I go and I stumble for a second. Rubbing at my head, I stare with wide eyes as I glance from Ryker to the chaos outside. Women and children are screaming as the Brutes trample the compound, and my blood boils like an inferno.
“What the fuck?” Ryker grunts, a snarl on his lips as he reaches for the gun at his hip.
“It’s retaliation for the fact that wedidn’tget the hit on them like we wanted. That we even attempted it to begin with,” I grumble, reaching for my own handgun and making sure the safety is off. “Do we have any other weapons out here?” I ask, knowing the answer as frustration bubbles in my veins.
“No.”
“Then let’s make it work with what we do have,” I grunt, ready to tear these motherfuckers to shreds and not feel any remorse about it.
Gunshots sound out again, the commotion getting louder, and it moves us into action. With my gun raised, I start to rush toward the enemy. We’re at a disadvantage from this angle, coming up behind the Brutes, when what we want is someone placed between the innocent and the Devils.
As if sensing my thoughts, the double doors to the clubhouse swing open with a whoosh, but where I expect to see our men barreling out in droves, I see the last person I expect.
Scarlett.
She’s in nothing but a long t-shirt, with her hair twisted up into a bun on top of her head, but that’s not the part that has me surprised. It’s the gun in each hand raised and ready to take aim.
“What the fuck is she doing?” I grunt, not turning to look at Ryker as I feel his presence beside me.
Two steps. Two steps is all she takes before she starts firing. The guns pop with precision, hitting the closest two Brutes to the children, and they drop to the floor.
“Round the back!” she hollers to the women and families, turning to her right to glance at them while firing two more rounds from each gun and dropping four more men in the process.
Holy shit.
I spot one of the guys to the left as he raises his gun at her, and before I can consider if it’s worth it or not, I point my own at him, pulling the trigger and watching him drop to the floor instantly.
Her eyes find mine through the chaos, her pupils so dark from here I would swear they were black. With a small nod, she continues.
“Maggie. Move.” The order falls from her lips, making our mother hen frown for a moment, glancing down at her grill before she relents and rushes inside.
Moments later, Shift and Gray rush from the clubhouse with more weapons, and this time, the only weapons sounding off belong to the Ruthless Brothers as more men load up and come out.
There must have been two dozen of the Brutes when they first arrived, and now only four remain, their guns dropping to their feet as they surrender. It was either a ridiculously easy attack in their opinion or a suicide mission, because I can’t see Kincaid anywhere.
Rushing across the ground, I slow my pace when I fall in line with where Scarlett, Shift, and Gray stand, and Ryker joins us from the other side as the Brutes drop to their knees at Scarlett’s order.
Her chest heaves with every breath she takes, beads of sweat clinging to her temple as she continues to keep a firm grip on the guns in her hands.
