Damn it.
“Take this,” I said as I shifted the gun in her direction.
“I don’t have any training in order to be able to shoot a weapon.”
“The safety is off and all you have to do is point and shoot. Keep both hands on the weapon when you do so the recoil doesn’t bite you in the ass.” When she was hesitant in taking it, I shoved it into her hands, wrapping both around it. “Do what I say, Mitch. It’s going to be fine. We’re simply going to drive out of here and head toward Hawk’s ranch. Do you understand?”
“I get it. What if I can’t fire?”
I almost chuckled at her question. “Trust me. You’ll have no problem if it becomes necessary.”
The darkness was oppressive even if dawn was likely thirty minutes away. When she finally accepted my offer, her hands shaking, I took a deep breath. She’d been a stupid girl, but I could understand her trust in someone she believed to be a friend.
Hell, Snake had trusted me with his life and I’d failed.
I shoved the thought aside as I moved toward the door. “Stay behind me just in case.” I grabbed the rifle, enjoying the heaviness that the piece of steel afforded. No motherfucker was going to stop us from getting the hell out of here.
When I opened the door, the brisk air assaulted my senses, forcing me to suck in my breath. After taking a deep breath, I was relieved that I wasn’t able to detect anything out of the ordinary. I grabbed her hand, pulling her onto the porch.
Then a wafting of gasoline shifted into my nostrils.
“Get inside!” I hissed, but not soon enough, sliding directly in front of her.
Two sets of headlights popped on, the glaring ugly light centered directly on the front door, blinding my vision.
There was no sound, no telltale signs of the assholes behind the wheel. Then a crunch of snow created an instant reaction. I swung the barrel of the rifle in the direction of the sound, prepared to fire. Damn it, the lights prevented any possibility of seeing a single freaking asshole.
When a solid ten seconds passed, I aimed at chest level, almost taking a shot.
Until I heard a dark chuckle coming from thirty feet in front of me.
“Did you really think you were going to get away from me, sweetheart?”
I shifted the weapon a few inches, my gut telling me I could cut the asshole down with a single bullet.
“What the fuck do you want?” I asked, my tone as gruff as I could make it.
“Well, you obviously already know that.”
Another crunch of the snow brought the fucker closer.
“Stay right where you are,” I snarled. “I have no problem shooting you straight into hell.”
“You can do that, but I assure you that the men who are with me will have no issue taking a single shot to your kneecap. After that, you’ll be forced to watch as that pretty little lady you’re protecting is violated in the most… delicious ways.”
His laugh pissed me off more than anything. How in the hell had he found her? The phone call to her friend. Mitch’s girlfriend had been helping Giordani all along and he’d been able to grab the location from her phone. I grew enraged that she’d been betrayed by someone she thought she could trust.
I would enjoy putting a bullet between his eyes.
“You want to try, asshole? Bring it.” While I knew I was goading him, I needed to see just how much muscle he had. The sound of four vehicle doors opening and closing meant there were at least four others, too many to take on by myself. “Get inside, Mitch,” I huffed under my breath.
“I’m not leaving you,” she said almost casually as she moved from behind me, avoiding my protection.
The asshole’s snicker was almost too much to take.
“I’m going to give you a single warning, Giordani. Get the fuck off this property or you’re going to regret it.”
He continued laughing, as if I would hesitate to shoot.
I knew the sound of soldiers preparing to fire, the split second when their minds questioned what the fuck they were doing.
I also realized I had no time to second guess my decisions.
Firing two shots, cutting out the first two headlights, I dove in front of Mitch, knocking her down to the deck. Then I was prepared to fire in Dante’s direction. I yanked the gun from her hand, tossing the rifle and shifting toward the railing, able to knock out the other two headlights as two shots were fired in our direction.
There was no hesitation on my part, popping off almost an entire round.
Everything seemed to shift into slow motion as another series of headlights erupted in my field of vision.
The motherfucker had friends.
Pop! Pop!
Another round of shots was fired, vehicle doors opening and the gruff sound of men rushing in our direction echoing in my ears.
When a hard thud occurred followed by a yelp, I rolled in the opposite direction on the porch, preparing to shoot again.
The angry cries of at least two men were followed by the sound of an intense scuffle.
“Reaper.”
Hawk. I would know his voice anywhere. Still in slow motion, I shifted a quick gaze in her direction. “Stay here.”
The range of headlights allowed me the first illuminated view of Dante’s form, a gun in his hand, doing nothing but igniting another round of rage. When the worthless bastard took off running, there was no hesitation on my part.
I utilized the training that had provided experience as well as expertise, racing after him into the ugly shadows of the forest.
As dawn began to break over the horizon, the sliver of moon continued to glow, allowing me to see the bastard just as he neared the bank of trees. The snow was no hindrance, my adrenaline flowing. I lunged forward, tackling him to the ground.
He refused
