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There was a long pause as the enormity set in, and then Teeny said, “You got him. I saw him go down.”
Mason moved his rifle slightly and replied, “It’s not a done deal until we take out his captains.”
“We’re three down and two more to go on that accord,” Nicco replied.
“One to go. Storm just took out Marino,” Diego interjected.
The men went back to shooting, but I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Someone was coming up the ladder. I turned with my gun in both hands and aimed at the top. Shock roiled through my gut when the bruised and battered face of Chester emerged. I’d honestly thought the Slayers had squeezed him for information and killed him.
Chester jumped into the loft, his hand reaching for a gun the moment his feet hit the ground. “I should have known. Fucking scum betrayers. Our don’s most trusted, joining forces with his enemies when no one’s looking.”
I had a clear shot and wanted to pull the trigger with all my heart and soul, but my hands began shaking and I just couldn’t do it. Suddenly, the sound of multiple guns firing at the same time rang out. The sound was almost deafening. When it was over, Chester was lying on the floor of the loft riddled with holes.
“See, this is the kind of thing that fucking happens when you don’t tie up your loose ends. Assholes keep popping back up for one final scare,” Diego said, disgusted.
“I agree. Where the ever-loving fuck did he come from? And where the fuck did he get that gun? I thought Storm said you had him locked down,” Nicco said.
“He was on lockdown. We had him in one of our vans with a bunch of shovels. The plan was to take care of him along with whatever bodies needed disposing of from this battle.” Teeny said. “I’m guessing when the fighting started he took his chances, probably got the gun from one of his fallen comrades.”
Lucas grumbled, “It pays to be smart, not lazy. Digging is part of the process. As satisfying as having Chester dig his own grave would have been, it’s safer to kill them and dig the grave yourself.”
Teeny rolled to a sitting position with his rifle across his knees. “Dude’s not wrong about that. Lesson learned.”
Mason turned and got onto his knees, holding his rifle in his hands like he was expecting Chester to rise one final time. “I don’t think it has anything to do with digging graves. Storm doesn’t kill people at our clubhouse, where our old ladies and kids hang out. Too many eyes and ears around for shit like that.”
“It doesn’t matter now. Done is done,” I said.
Nicco approached me and squatted down to look me in the eye. “You okay, princess? You’re looking a little worse for wear.”
Mason opened his mouth, probably to tell him to get away from me, that he was too close. I quickly said, “I’m better than ever. That freak is dead. Our don is also dead, so he can’t arrange any more marriages for me. And I found myself a hot biker, like you suggested.”
Nicco grinned and tilted his head toward Mason. “He wouldn’t be the one shooting daggers at me now, would he?”
I reached out to grip Mason’s arm with my free hand. “Yeah, he’s the perfect mix between protective and allowing me to make decisions for myself.”
I pulled off Nicco’s fake engagement ring and tossed it to him.
Nicco caught it in one hand, playfully tossed it in the air, and caught it again. “You’re a good girl to be following my directions so closely.”
I rolled my eyes. “It was more of a suggestion than a command of any kind.”
Diego came over and squatted down as well. His expression was guarded but his voice was pleasant when he spoke. “Well, if you were mine, I’d burn in the fiery pits of hell before I ever put you in this kind of danger.”
“Rilia does what she wants. It’s my job to make sure bad shit doesn’t happen to her.”
Diego glanced over his shoulder at Chester. “You’re doing a fantastic job of that so far, Bubba. I believe it was my bullet that hit the mark.”
I gave Diego a playful kick. I’d realized that I had been mistaken about him and Lucas, they weren’t sociopaths in training—and underneath the hard front, he was still the little boy who would share his ice cream cone with me. “Stop being an ass. We’ve all zigged when we should have zagged.”
Diego looked around the room and sniffed. “I suppose. I learned early on to shoot first and ask questions later.”
Suddenly, Anthony Akers popped his head up into the loft. “What’s going on up here? I heard shots.” Before anyone could answer, he caught sight of Chester and pulled an annoyed face. “Making messes for me to clean up, I see.” Glaring at Diego, he stated flatly, “I charge double for offsite work.”
“Yeah, I know. Now that I’m in charge, there are going to be a lot more messes that need cleaning. You might want to go ahead and hire a crew.”
Anthony’s face blanked out so fast it was almost comical. “Yeah, sure thing, boss. Whatever you say.”
When I turned back to look out the window, the Slayers and Twisted Metal brothers were restraining their remaining enemies and sitting them all down in a long line. Cassandra and several medics were treating brothers that had been shot. I didn’t see any brothers down and I prayed that meant all of them had survived.
