Page 47 of Triple the Danger

Saylor didn’t look back, weaving through the trees as much as she could. She had to get back to the clubhouse, but she would have to circle the grounds without Leon catching her. Determination had her picking up speed. Her lungs burned, her feet pounded on the ground, and she could hear Leon chasing after her, crashing through the forest.

“I’m going to kill you!” he screamed vehemently. A shot rang out, and a tree far to her right exploded with the impact. She still ducked out of reflex, but she didn’t slow. She looked around and saw the clubhouse up ahead. She was getting closer.

But she had no time to celebrate because just outside the clearing, stepped another man, one she’d never seen before. The gun in his hand was pointed at the head of one of the twins, his arm wrapped around her neck in a chokehold. She was struggling with all her might, but the man pressed it tighter to her temple. Saylor skidded to a stop, frozen in horror. She was pretty sure it was Win he had a hold of, the side of her head sticky with blood from where he must have hit her with his gun. “Take one more step, and she dies,” the man warned her dangerously, in a voice devoid of emotion.

Saylor heard Leon getting closer, and she knew she had to make a decision. “Let her go,” she gasped to the man, holding his stare. “She’s not part of this. She’s just a kid.”

“Like I give a fuck,” the man spat. “She’s gonna help me get what I want, and then get me the hell out of here. I might even let her live, but I want that book. I suggest you give it to me, or the girl dies.” He pressed the barrel even tighter to her head, and Win let out a whimper before she cut it off and stilled.

“I don’t have it,” Saylor told him as calmly as she could, even as Leon slowed behind her, close enough that she turned her body to see both men. Leon was panting, clearly not used to running so much. “The MC has it,” she continued. She had to assume that this was the third man that was after her. The one who shot at her at the cafe. “One of whom is this girl’s father, and he’s going to be fucking pissed when he sees what you did to her.”

The man’s cold eyes never moved from hers. “Well, if that’s the case, perhaps I should demonstrate what will happen if they don’t get me the book…” He trailed off, and Saylor’s entire body froze with terror as his finger tightened on the trigger. She knew that, unlike Leon, this man would not miss. Win would be dead before she hit the ground.

Suddenly, Leon let out a screech of pain, and another voice screamed, “Win, now!”

The man holding Win loosen his chokehold just enough for her to let out a scream of determination, and then she managed to flip the big man over her shoulder, sending them both to the ground. Saylor was amazed that the gun didn’t go off, and Win scrambled away from the man before he could regain his bearings to grab her again. Saylor rushed toward her, helping her to her feet. Then she saw Wren emerge from behind a tree, her face a mask of hardened determination. “You need to run,” Saylor told them both. “Get the men. Go. Now.”

“We’re not leaving you,” Wren snapped at her. Win gave a weak nod, but Saylor could see she was fighting to keep herself upright. Fuck.

“Yes, you are,” she hissed. “Your sister needs medical attention. She needs to be your top priority right now. We need your father and the other guys. I’ll hold them off. Go.” She turned and saw that both Leon and the new man were getting up, everything about them screaming danger. Leon looked incensed, while the other man looked like he was envisioning her murdered corpse on the ground.

She heard the girls shuffling back, and then their footfalls picking up the pace. She had to trust that they were getting away, which left her alone with these two fuckers. What she needed was to separate them from their guns. She could handle them on her own, but if they had their guns in hand, she was at a serious disadvantage. She’d figure something out. If she failed she would be dead, and she didn’t relish dying this way.

“You are far more trouble than you’re worth,” the new man said, advancing on her and lifting his gun. “All because you couldn’t mind your own damn business.”

“I believe that was Leon, not me,” she corrected him tightly. “He was the one that blackmailed you, not me. I was trying to get back at him for beating me, and I thought I was taking his casino cheats.”

“Good point,” he deadpanned. Then he turned on his heel, and she watched in shock as he fired his gun, dropping Leon where he stood, a bullet lodged between his eyes. Holy shit. “There, that’s one problem taken care of,” the man said calmly, turning back to her. “Now, the book. I’m not leaving without it. And unless you want the corpse of every man, woman, and child on this compound used as kindling when I burn this place to the ground you’re going to make sure I get it.” He lifted his gun and aimed it at her again.

A shot cracked through air, and the man hissed as he ducked, holding his cheek. Saylor hunched over, quickly jumping back and turning to run, but stopped when she saw Tom appear from the trees, his own gun drawn as he approached the man now crouched down on the ground. But the moment Tom got close enough, the man released a low snarl and launched himself at him.

Saylor didn’t know what to do, but she couldn’t leave Tom to handle this alone. She rushed forward but hit the ground when the gun went off again. She heard them grunting and the sound of fists on flesh, and when she looked up, she saw that the man was getting the upper hand, straddling Tom, while Tom struggled to hold his arm back so he couldn’t point the gun the man was still somehow clutching in his hand. Tom’s weapon was nowhere to be seen. She scrambled to her feet, running forward, but then a wild cry filled the air, and a figure slammed into the man hard enough to send them both toppling away from Tom. It also set the gun off again.

“No!” Tom screamed, terror and pain in his voice as he rushed to his feet. Saylor ran past him toward the pair, her heart in her throat.

The man threw off a limp Wren, her body landing with a thud on the ground as he moved to get to his feet. Saylor let out a scream of her own, one of rage and determination as she launched herself at him, taking him down, not even caring that the gun went off yet again, the singe of the bullet along her bicep nothing more than a slight irritation. She was too angry, too determined to make him pay.

Every ounce of her training rose inside her, and she managed to get him pinned, punching him hard in the face; she dug her knee into his wrist, making him drop the gun with a groan of pain. She wailed on his face a few more times, red tinging her vision. He hurt Karissa and Glitch, and now both of the twins. People who were innocent in all of this. He didn’t deserve to live. She’d gladly go to jail for murder.

“Saylor, stop,” Tom’s yell penetrated the red haze as he grabbed ahold of her, pulling her away. “Stop,” he ordered again when she struggled. “You can’t kill him. We need answers, okay?” She stilled, knowing he was right, but it took another couple of seconds before she gathered herself enough to acknowledge him, and he pulled away. Then he was turning and heading for Wren, her prone form unmoving.

Saylor followed him. Tom checked her over, a grim look on his face, and fear in his eyes. “She’s alive,” he told her. “It looks like the bullet grazed her, but she’s out cold.”

Saylor knelt beside him, but turned her head when she heard the other man groan as he tried to rise, but then fall back to the ground, moaning in pain. She picked up his gun from where it lay discarded, and thought again that she could handle living in a prison cell for the rest of her life just to get to end his.

“Saylor!” Jax’s voice screamed, drawing her attention. She turned to see the MC running toward them. Leading the pack was Jax, but close behind him was Rogue, who looked to be seconds away from committing murder. She had to guess Win made it back to the clubhouse. When his gaze landed on Tom, rising to stand with an unconscious Wren in his arms, he let out a roar that had her eyes widening and even backing up a step. Holy shit, that was another level of rage.

Rogue never stopped until he was taking Wren from Tom’s arms with a snarl. Tom swallowed hard, but he didn’t cower, not even when Rogue shot him a look that would have a normal man shitting himself. Then Rogue turned on his heel, and she heard Savage order, “Get her to Doc, Rogue. He’s already seeing to Scarlett and Win.”

Rogue took off without looking back, and she saw Ice run after him. She wondered if that was to make sure he didn’t lose his shit. But then she found herself in Jax’s arms, and that thought was gone just as quickly.

“Are you alright?” Jax demanded, pulling her back so he could check her over. “Where are you hurt?” Then his gaze landed on her bleeding arm, and his eyes widened in panic.

“It’s just a graze,” she rushed to assure him as he gently gripped her bicep to inspect it. “I’m fine. Jax, Karissa and Glitch?—”

“Their men have them,” Jax interrupted, dropping her arm and hauling her back into him, squeezing her tight, his heart pounding under her ear. “They’re fine. Fuck, we heard the shots, and I thought for sure you were dead. Never been so fucking scared in my life.”

Him and her both. “I’m fine,” she breathed, closing her eyes and sinking into him.

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