Page 27 of Beyond the Cut
Cade lowered his weapon and Zane did the same.
“Fucking bastard,” Zane muttered.
“Come here and say that.” Cade gestured Zane forward, but as he did, he caught the flash of headlights on the road below. “They’re here.”
All their differences vanished in a heartbeat, and they took up their positions. Cade, Zane, and Jagger were on point. Shaggy, T-Rex, Tank, and Gunner had their backs. They’d ambushed protection runs before and everyone knew what to do.
The first Jack went down under Zane’s gun, but before Cade could get a clear shot at the Jack in the lead, a bullet pinged off the rock near Jagger’s head.
“Fuck. They’ve seen us.”
“Scouts,” T-Rex shouted. “They’re off to the side. Two Jacks and a civilian.”
Another bullet thudded into the dirt only two feet from where Jagger was now crouched and ready to run for cover.
“They’re after Jagger.” Cade jumped to his feet and moved between Jagger and the shooter. “Zane. You and Gunner get him out of here. Tank, T-Rex, and I will cover.”
“Jesus Christ,” Jagger growled. “I’m not running away from the fucking Jacks. Bring them on.”
“The Sinners need their president.” Cade kept low and followed Jagger behind the cover of a large rock at the edge of the outcropping. “Especially now. Without you…”
“They’ll have you,” Jagger said, checking his clip. “You can lead them. I trust you.”
Cade swallowed past the lump in his throat. Jagger’s faith had pulled him out of a nightmare and into a world of friendship, honor, loyalty, and brotherhood. He’d helped Cade bury the past and look to a new future where he had something to live for beyond the bottom of a bottle and a mountain of guilt. But he had no desire to replace a great leader and a true friend.
“You’re making it damn hard to protect you. Go, or I’ll shoot you myself.”
“When your men were falling around you in that desert, did you run away?” Jagger fired a shot around the side of the rock and someone screamed. “Were you the last man standing because you were right where you wanted to be—with your men—or because you were hiding and watching them die?”
Cade gritted his teeth against a memory that had almost destroyed him. He’d lived through the ambush only because the slaughter had been so sudden and so violent that his men had fallen dead on top of him, ironically saving his life. Even now the guilt lingered. “Fuck you.”
“Fuck you back. Don’t expect me to be any less of a man than you were. And don’t even consider fighting the Jacks without me by your side.” He lifted his hand and Cade did the same, their knuckles bumping as fists collided.
“To the end,” Jagger said.
“To the end and back.”
Jagger ducked a bullet and then returned fire. “You planning to come back from the dead?”
“I’m not planning to die until I’m an old man.”
***
It was a little after seven when Dawn arrived at Banks Bar. She’d stayed late at the florist shop, helping her boss get the bouquets ready for a weekend wedding, and then missed her bus when she stopped to grab a snack from a nearby deli. She stuffed the sandwich in her mouth and grabbed her apron from the hook in the stockroom, hoping Banks wouldn’t be around. She had never been late before and she didn’t want to blemish her perfect record.
“That supposed to be your dinner?” Banks emerged from the parking lot with a crate of bottles in his hands.
Damn. Dawn nodded, her mouth too full of chicken salad to speak.
“Not very healthy, always eatin’ on the go. You need to sit down, relax, and enjoy your meals. Better for digestion.”
“No time,” she muttered through a mouthful of bread. “Not really a sit-down-and-relax kinda girl. I think they call me an A-plus personality.”
Banks pulled a bottle from the crate and placed it on the stock shelf. “You’re killing yourself to feed Shelly-Ann’s shopping habit. Those girls of yours should be livin’ in style with the amount of money you’re giving their aunt.”
“One day,” she said. “I haven’t lost hope yet. I reported the assault to the police this time and Deputy Benson thinks there’s a good chance they’ll be able to put Jimmy behind bars. My lawyer says that kind of offense will likely be enough to convince an appeals judge to overturn the custody order.”
“You want him outta the picture, you just say the word.” Banks shelved another bottle. “I got friends who can make him disappear.”
