Page 59 of The Devil's Reward
The only problem is that the seat belt has locked, making it damn hard to get it unclipped. I take my knife and start sawing away at it. “I got Sage,” King cries out to me, and I glance back to see he’s pulling her along the back seat as carefully as he can. “I’ll get her out and come back to help you.”
I open my mouth to answer him, but then I smell it. Smoke. Fuck, we’re out of time. “Get her out of here, this thing is going to blow,” I yell back at him.
“What?” he says, stopping.
“Get out!” I scream, furiously hacking away at the seatbelt. “I have Rose.Go, King!”
“I’m not leaving her,” King screams even as he continues to drag Sage out.
“I will get her out,” I vow, everything in me coiling in determination. Because I will not lose another person in my life. I’ve lost enough. I will not fail. Not again.
So I ignore the smoke; I ignore the memories flashing; I ignore the panic building inside me. I only focus on getting Rose free and clear. The smell of gas and smoke grows stronger and I work like a madman, sweat dripping off me as I finally cut through the belt and drag her with me.
I hear the hissing first, just as I reach the open door, and I hear King screaming my name. Screaming for his mother. I tune it all out and I move. Faster than ever before. With every bit of strength I have, I yank Rose out of the SUV and into my arms, turning and running as the hissing grows louder behind me until the vehicle explodes.
The heat singes my back, knocking me off my feet, and I instinctively tuck my body around Rose’s and roll, protecting her.
When I finally stop, I carefully release her, laying her in the grass as King rushes over to me. “Mom,” he gasps, getting on his knees beside her. “Mom, mom, answer me,” he pleads. “Wake up, please.”
I roll to my knees, coughing and panting as I try to get my bearings. My ears are ringing, my back tingling, and my mind cloudy and blurring. Between blinks, the field becomes the forest, the sky rains with bullets, and Armon’s standing there, returning fire and screaming for us all to retreat.
I shake my head, trying to clear it, and then I hear sirens. There were no sirens in the jungle. King looks at me with fear in his eyes, and I know I have to keep it together. Push it away. With every ounce of control I have, I shove the memories back and get to my feet. “Where’s Torque? Bullet?” I rasp.
King looks around in confusion, like he’s only just noticed that they’re not with us. “He’s back with Dad,” he rasps out. “He probably called the ambulances.”
“How’s Sage and Izzy?” I ask King as he moves back towards them.
“They’re alive,” he answers, the relief in his voice clear. He turns and waves his arms when cops and an ambulance stop on the edge of the road. “Over here!” he screams at them. “We have two more injured down the road,” he yells to the cops, pointing in that direction, and two cops come running over, paramedics after them.
“We have men on the way there,” the first cop to reach us assures him as they quickly get to their knees with the paramedics.
King starts to snarl when one of the paramedics tries to force him out of the way, but I quickly put my hand on his shoulder. “You need to let them do their job, brother,” I tell him quietly.
King slowly nods, but his eyes don’t leave Sage. “Call Sniper,” he tells me coldly. “I want that bastard found.”
He and I both. But who are we looking for? Our mole? Or Dmitri and his crew?
THIRTY-ONE
MOLE
These fucking women are a pain in my ass. I need them out of the way. Fast.
Fuck. Fucking fuck fuck.I hiss in fury as I jump out of the SUV, running the rag in my pocket over every possible surface I can reach to wipe away any fingerprints or DNA. Then I step back, grab the gas can, and quickly dump it around, over, and inside the SUV. I need to get rid of it, and the best way is to torch it.
I’m far too close to the club grounds, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I need to burn it and get the hell out of dodge before the rest of the brothers get word.
I needed Kaleb to pull away and put enough distance between the bikes and me, but the stupid kid didn’t do it. I needed the distance so I could chase them, ram the SUV, grab Sage, and leave the rest of them there for dead. Instead, I got cocky and I went after Bullet first, then the women’s SUV.
Now they might all be dead, and while I shouldn’t care, I don’t need Dmitri pissed at me more than he already is. I’ll end up with a hole in the back of my head for sure. This means that if they live, I need to figure out a way to get to them in the hospital without being suspected.
These fucking women are a pain in my ass. I need them out of the way. Fast.
I grab my lighter and flick it open, then throw it into the SUV and hurry away. I hear the hiss of the spark and then the whoosh of the flames as the gas catches. I run into the woods, and I don’t stop running until I’m near Syn’s property. I listen carefully for any sounds before I hurry on, not wanting one of her dogs to alert her I’m here.
When I reach the club grounds minutes later, the text comes in. We ride. Now. I have only a few precious minutes to get to the back of the clubhouse and grab my backup bike so no one gets suspicious. I quickly jam the cameras to make sure I’m not spotted.
When I make it back, no one glances my way as I run to my bike and follow everyone out. I unjam the cameras as we clear the gate. I hang towards the back and keep my face grim as we ride down the road. Even though inside, I secretly hope Bullet is dead, because it’s exactly what he deserves.
