Page 117 of Property of Yak

Opening my eyes, I tilt my chin up and look him in the eye. “He’s my old man. Of course we had sex unprotected. What did you expect?”

The answer is more catty than I intended, more like something Liz would say, but I can’t help how it comes out.

He eyes my flat stomach in disgust. “Yeah, well, there’s one way to take care of it because I’ll tell you one thing: I won’t be raising a bastard son of a Taylor.”

He draws his leg back and swings it forward, kicking me in the stomach, hard, making me curl into a ball as I cry out in pain.

“Stop. Don’t hurt her,” Ray calls out.

“You’re a fucking pussy. She doesn’t want you, Ray, and even if she did, it doesn’t matter. She’s not yours or that interloper’s. She’s mine.”

As he kicks me a second time, I bite my tongue. As much as it hurts and as badly as I want to break, I won’t. The men I love need me to be strong, and I refuse to be anything less when it counts.

That’s when I hear it.

The sound of bikes rumbling, and nothing has ever sounded so sweet.

Yak

Men jump off of bikes as others jump out of vehicles. Some of our men are swarming the other exit as we take the front. The building is surrounded, and whatever we find on the inside will be as well.

This is it.

Everything I’ve been working toward has led to this moment.

“We’ve got bodies inside. More than just three,” Keener murmurs as he checks out his thermal imaging camera.

“Be ready, boys. May your aim be steady and true,” Yooper says as he marches toward the door.

“You good?” Benjamin asks.

I nod as I rack my handgun. “Yeah, stick with me, and remember, if they shoot at us, we shoot back.”

“Understood.” He nods as we approach the building.

I watch as my brother tips his chin, giving the signal for Goose to bust the door down. When he does, Yooper makes his way in first, followed by the rest of us, and I can’t help but hope nothing happens to him.

I just got him back, and I’m not ready to lose him again.

Before the worry can set in, though, gunshots pull me into the present.

There’s a crate not far from the front door, so Benjamin and I make our way to it, using it as cover.

“How many men does he have?” he mutters.

I shake my head as I peek around to get a good look. I knew he had some men on his side, but I severely underestimated how many.

“Too many,” I mutter.

“Well, let’s get this party started.”

I watch as my future father-in-law leans around the crate and starts firing.

Damn. He’s really doing this. Fighting with us.

He must feel my gaze because he looks over at me as he takes cover again.

“Are you going to start shooting or what?” he asks. “I won’t let some pansy-ass be with my daughter, so tonight you better prove yourself, or I’ll put a bullet in you myself.”