Page 172 of I Will Revel in Glory (Death by Daybreak MC 3)
A groan escapes me as I curl up involuntarily, clutching my arm over my belly.
“Whispers on the wind say that you’re pregnant. Congratulations, by the way.” Alvise tosses the board aside and bends down, digging under my jacket for my spare pistol. I snatch Queenie’s knife from my boot and flick the blade out with a scream. I no longer care if we’re quiet, if we draw attention to us. I want that. I want my men to find me.
The blade sinks into Alvise’s shoulder, but he snatches my wrist too quickly for me to yank it back out. He shoves my arm back as I scrabble with my left hand, trying to get to the gun before he gets hold of it.
I manage to yank it from the holster as he pulls the blade from his shoulder and then proceeds to stab me with it. The knife glances off the bone in my arm as I grit my teeth in rage. I’m certain in that moment that I was right with my metaphors: I’m a grizzly bear.
And you know what happens when you approach a bear’s cub?
You get fucked-up.
I might lose this pregnancy, I tell myself, but I can’t worry about that right now. Instead, I swing the weapon in Alvise’s direction, pulling the trigger and hitting him in the same place where I sunk my knife. My aim is off because my arm is trembling. I’m aware that I’m bleeding, but I can’t feel it right now. The shock and adrenaline hide the reality of the injury from me as I attempt a second shot.
A small section of the roof breaks off, falling in a mess of flames. It smashes into the ground between me and the Don of the Grey Wolfe Mafia, disrupting our fight for the time being. I use the opportunity to get to my feet, my stomach cramping as my chest seizes and I cough so violently that I almost drop the pistol.
The man is maniacal. He appears out of the smoke and tackles me before I can shoot him again. We wrestle for control of the gun, and it ends up tumbling to the ground. He snatches it before I can get to it, jerking away from me and stumbling to his feet.
“Biker bitch,” Alvise snarls, his eyepatch blocking his right eye from me while the left one gleams with an endless storm of rage. He lifts up the gun as my mind frantically searches for a way out of this.
A figure appears out of the smoke behind Alvise. It takes me a second to realize who it is, my eyes widening as I see Grey. His face is a mess of blood, and I’m not even sure what the fuck happened to his eye, but he’s alive.
Before his father can fire the weapon, Grey is drawing a blade along the pale line of Alvise’s throat. His skin splits like a second smile, blood blooming prettily along the sharp slice until it begins to spurt. Red sprays into the air as the man chokes and stumbles, careening to the side and tripping over the pile of downed crates while Grey sags to his knees on the floor.
I force myself to crawl over to him, reaching out to grab his shoulders.
“Grey!” I shout, but he isn’t particularly coherent, lilting to one side as I struggle to keep him upright. Even though I’m hurting, and I can’t breathe, and I’m bleeding like crazy, I make myself stand up. With a scream of frustration, I haul my friend up and into my arms, his legs dangling on the ground in front of me. I’m not even sure how I’m managing this. Call it adrenaline. Call it love. I don’t fucking know.
I drag Grey across the floor in the direction of the barn’s entrance. Or … at least what I think is the entrance. I’m so disoriented that I wonder after a minute if I’m going the wrong way. I pause, hefting the limp body as I look around.
I can’t see shit.
I have no idea where I am. My eyes scan the room before I realize that I have a radio attached to my belt. I drop Grey rather unceremoniously to the ground and then reach down to grab it, lifting it up and tuning into the frequency that DBD uses.
“Gidget!” I hear my voice straight off and relief spikes through me, making my tired body sag prematurely.
“I’m … in the barn,” I choke out, my voice a weak, fluttering thing, as small and insignificant as a sparrow’s heartbeat. I find myself suddenly on my knees beside Grey with no memory as to how I got there. They’ll come for me, I tell myself. I’m not worried. I’m not.
“We’re on our way,” the voice snaps back. I have no idea which one of my men it is. I’m too disoriented. All I know is that it’s one of them for sure. I can feel the truth of that in every beat of my heart. I wrap my arms over my belly as the world tilts and spins around me. So tired. It’d be so easy to lay down beside Grey and fall asleep.
