Page 117 of Riot’s Revenge

That stopped me. For one second, all I could see was Maria standing beside the truck before I left. Her arms wrapped around herself and tears in her eyes.

I don’t know if I believe you anymore. . . Please don’t leave me.

Fuck. I dragged a hand over my mouth. “I ain’t dying tonight.”

“Good.” Reaper checked his weapon. “Because I’m pretty sure she’d kill me if you did.”

A couple of the brothers snorted, normally I would’ve had something to say back, that night I didn’t. Nothing was certain, not with things like that, but in my head I was making it home, back to my old lady where I belonged.

I looked toward the barn again, I had a feeling that was where we’d find them. “Let’s finish this.”

We spread out. Reaper took the house with Keno, Finn and Link while Spider, Tiny and I headed toward the barn. Ripper and the others stayed back and checked around the outside.

We’d barely made it halfway across the yard when Spider’s arm shot out across my chest. “Stop.”

I froze, gun at the ready, staring out into the darkness to try to see what he’d seen. But I came up with nothing. I couldn’t hear anything but my pulse thundering through my ears.

He crouched slowly, brushing aside the long grass, and I could see a thin wire stretched across the ground between two fence posts.

“Tripwire.” Tiny leaned closer. “Fuckin’ amateur hour.”

“Still would’ve blown your balls off,” Spider muttered. He followed the wire toward a crude explosive hidden beneath a rusted metal bucket and carefully stepped around it. “Don’t touch shit.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Tiny muttered.

I moved past them.

“Riot.” I ignored Spider. “Riot, slow the fuck down.”

I couldn’t, because every second we wasted was another second those bastards were still breathing.

The barn door stood slightly open. I pressed my back against the wood beside it and listened. Nothing, still just the sound of my own heartbeat and Maria’s words echoing in my head, “Whose bed have you just rolled out of?”

Then, there was a small scrape that sounded like a boot against concrete.

I looked at Spider, who nodded to indicate he’d heard it too. I held up three fingers counted down. Three. Two. One. I kicked the door open, and gunfire exploded instantly.

“Fuck!” I threw myself behind an old tractor as bullets tore chunks from the wooden wall behind us.

Tiny returned fire, and someone screamed. I hoped it was them and not him, but I didn’t have time to check.

Spider disappeared around the other side of the tractor while I crouched low and searched through the darkness. I caught movement at the back right corner and fired.

A body dropped. I didn’t even think, I was already moving.

“Riot!”

The bastard was still alive when I reached him. He lay on his back clutching his shoulder, blood pouring between his fingers as he tried dragging himself toward the gun he’d dropped. I kicked it away.

His eyes lifted to mine and recognition flashed across his face, then fear. Good. I liked fear, my anger fed off it.

“Where are the others?”

“Fuck you.”

I hit him. My fist connected with his jaw hard enough to snap his head sideways. Pain burst through my knuckles but wasn’t enough. I grabbed his kutte and hauled him upright before slamming him into the wall. “Where?”

He laughed. “Your bitch screamed when we hit her. Did she tell you?”