Page 69 of Riding Hard

I give it a couple of good kicks, Fantasy does a couple more, and then I deliver the final one, watching as the doorjamb splinters and the door swings wide open.

Without seeing anything, I move into the house, and then I stop. Wrath and Fantasy hiss behind me, but I don’t turn to look back at them. There in front of me is a scene that I don’t think I could have imagined in a million fucking years.

Juliette is on her knees, naked, holding a pistol in her hand. She’s pointing it directly at a naked man who is covered in holes and blood. The anger instantly seeps from my body, and it’s replaced with nothing but pure concern.

I don’t rush toward her the way I instinctually want to. She’s got a gun in her hand, and right now, judging by the way she’s on her knees, her entire body frozen and her eyes not even blinking, I can only assume she’s in shock.

“Juliette,” I coo as I take a step toward her. “Juliette,” I call out again when she doesn’t respond the first time.

“Honey,” I say, crouching down to my haunches so we’re at eye level.

Something about the way I say honey breaks the spell. She turns her head, her eyes tearing from the lifeless body in front of her to find mine, and then I watch as her entire body relaxes.

“Can you put the gun down?” I ask.

She shakes her head, her lips pressing together for a moment. My gaze flicks to her throat, and my entire body jerks at the sight of the swollen red skin there. He’s choked her. I’m going to kill him, and if he’s already dead, I’m going to mutilate his body in hopes that his soul can feel it.

Juliette shakes her head. “I can’t put it down. If he’s alive, I need to make sure he’s not.”

God. What the fuck did this asshole do to my woman?

“He’s not going to touch you or anyone else ever again, honey. We got two guns pointed at him.”

She flicks her gaze behind me, and I watch as she looks from side to side, then her attention focuses back on me. She places the gun down on the floor. Holding out my arms, I don’t move toward her, as if she’s a wounded animal. I wait for her to come to me.

She does, and when she’s close enough, she throws her body into mine. Wrapping my arms around her, I hold her close as she buries her face in my neck and begins to cry. Standing, I turn her around so she doesn’t have a chance to look at that fuck again.

“Give her to me,” Alex calls out. “Take care of that piece of shit. I’ll take her into the bathroom and clean her up.”

I guide my palm down her hair. “You good with going with Alex for a few minutes, Jules?”

She lifts her head, her eyes finding mine. They are watery as they search. “I’ll be right here,” I state.

“Okay,” she whispers.

She doesn’t let go of me, though. Instead, Alex comes up beside me, and I actually have to pass her off to him. He doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around her, and then they’re gone down the hallway.

CHAPTER

FIFTY-SIX

LOOT

“He’s definitely dead,” Wrath announces. “Your woman did not fuck around. She emptied that gun into this fucking piece of shit.”

There is a sense of pride to his words, and if I could gather my thoughts and feelings in this moment, I would probably react the same way. But right now, all I have is confusion laced with anxiety.

Just as he says that, there is a knock on the door. My spine straightens, and that anxiety I thought I felt just seconds ago was nothing, because a whole fucking truckload floods my system.

Turning around, I see Officer Lee standing in the doorway, his eyes wide as he takes in the scene. I know he’s got to be wondering what the actual hell is going on here, and as much as I want to explain it to him, I can’t even speak.

Fuck me.

Wrath shakes his head at me, and I watch as he makes his way toward Lee. He doesn’t ask me to go with him, and thankfully, he seems to be taking on this part of the situation, and I’m grateful as fuck, because my nerves are fucking shot.

I cannot believe that this happened. And I also don’t know what exactly this is yet. I can deduce and put shit together, but fuck, this is nothing I would have expected. I imagined I would be the knight in black leather here to rescue her.

I still can’t quite believe that this shit is real, and I’m standing here looking down at Victor’s lifeless body, and that’s not even taking into account that Juliette is the one who did this to him.