AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mine,” he thundered.
“Move out,” Tank called. “I need my woman in my sight.”
Warren waited until they were all assembled by the front door of the clubhouse. An anxious hush fell over the men when he stepped forward.
“If Rose or Franny get injured from one of you, I will burn you alive.”
Without another word, Warren kicked the door open. His hands were twitching. The willpower he clung to was slipping. If they didn’t hurry, he was going to unravel. Opening the door of his truck, a memory of Rose riding beside him with her hand on his leg flashed over him. He didn’t have time to think about it now. Rose needed him. The case of his rifle stuck out under the backseat. He wasn’t going to need it today. No. Today, his enemy would look in his eyes as the life drained from theirs. No one hurt his wife and got away with it.
Chapter 19
“Rose. Shit, Rose. You have to wake up.”
Rose winced as she covered her eyes. It was hot. Hotter than she had ever felt before. She was in an oven. The heat made her head pound. The bed was hard. Why did Warren have to have such a hard mattress?
“Rose,” Franny whispered. “Open your eyes. I can’t carry your ass out of here.”
“I thought you loved my ass. You can’t keep your hands off it.”
“Jesus. He must have hit you harder than I thought. Fine. I promise I will grab your ass every day, twice a day if your will open your eyes.”
Rose frowned. Something wasn’t right. Blinking slowly, she eased her hand away from her eyes. The sun blinded her. Flinching, she quickly covered her eyes, peering out between her fingers. Warren was nowhere in sight. She was lying on the dirt in some kind of thick-walled mud building. The roof was missing large chunks that let in the sunlight that was trying to bake her. A broken ladder was leaned up against the wall in the far corner. It was like a bad western movie set, crumbling pueblo and all.
“How is the head?”
“Beating like a base drum at a rock concert,” she mumbled. “Where are we?”
Rose pulled herself up enough to lean on the wall. It took a minute to let their situation sink in. Wherever Lucas left them wasn’t exactly hospitable. It wouldn’t surprise her if snakes and scorpions were hiding in the corner.
“An abandoned pueblo a few miles from the clubhouse.”
Rose nodded and winced. “Don’t suppose my idiot brother left us any water?”
“Not a drop,” Franny confirmed. “He forced me in here at gunpoint. After he carried you down the ladder he got back in his buggy and left. We need to get out of here before he comes back. That boy doesn’t look like he was wrapped tight to start with, and he is unraveling fast.”
“You know which way is back to the club?”
“Follow the road. I know Tank is tracking me. He is already on the way. If we are lucky, we will meet them before someone else finds us.”
Rose pushed herself up. Unsteady on her feet, she used the wall to support her as she stumbled toward Franny.
“How is the wound?”
“The bleeding has slowed. It grazed my side.”
Rose fell to her knees in front of Franny. She yanked Franny’s shirt up to see for herself.
“We need to work on your definitions because that, my friend, is not a graze. There is a hole. As in entrance wound and,” Rose reached around behind her and gently probed her side. “And an exit. Grazes do not have either of those.”
“Well, Debbie Downer, aren’t you just precious after waking up from a nap.”
Rose’s lips twitched. “How long ago did Lucas leave?”
“Hard to tell, but the sun hasn’t moved too far. Less than an hour, I guess.”
“Got it. Get my ass moving because he will be back soon. We aren’t lucky enough that he got bit by something creepy-crawly and isn’t coming back. I’m going to use the ladder to go up on the roof. I need to get a look around.”
“Right behind you,” Franny winced as she got to her feet.
