Page 42 of Bruiser's Reckoning

“And what might his name be?” It’s all I can do to keep myself calm. I don’t want to think of being sold off. Or given to a man who is a head honcho to some cartel. Or being held captive on some island off the shores of some other country.

“Gabriel Quintero,” he answers and straightens himself in his seat. “It was his men who killed your brother to get you out of hiding. He has no problem ordering such a thing. If not for a debt of my own, I wouldn’t have agreed to give you to him. However, there’s no way I could pass up more money on top of a cleared debt.”

I scoff at his nonchalant attitude about the way he’s handling all of this. I mean, seriously, he’s acting as if it were an everyday occurrence for him.

“Great! So, I get to be given to a man to pay off another debt, who in turn also took me as a payment. Tell me, did you at least get top dollar?” There’s no keeping the sarcasm at bay.

“Of course,” he grins, nodding, “I wouldn’t take anything less.”

“Well, good for you.” Rolling my eyes, I want nothing more than to make this car wreck and keep them from getting wherever it is they’re going to meet this Gabriel Quintero.

The remainder of the car ride is done in silence, and when we turn onto a battered road, I wonder exactly where we’re meeting this guy.

”I’m not a stupid man,” Johnathan suddenly states darkly. “I knew they would follow, even with men watching. They’d give us enough time to get a head start, but not that much of one. They wouldn’t want to take the chance of being too late.”

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“I informed the woman I traded you for that we were heading to the airport to give you to your owner,” he answers. They’ll probably head to one of the smaller airports. But we’re heading to Grove End Landing Strip. It’s secluded and only used by private plane owners who are willing to pay for the secrecy. They also know how to keep their mouths shut for a fee.”

“Right,” I mutter.

This guy is seriously underestimating Bruiser and the rest of the club. He doesn’t know Savage and Gunner were out watching. They’re close, probably closer than my man is. But still, I know Bruiser is coming. I can feel it in my stomach.

Suddenly, the car jerks and swerves. The driver loses control of the vehicle, and we go off the road, rolling over the edge and down a ravine. The sound of metal crunching screams in my ears. As many accidents I’ve been to, I’ve never been in one, not even a fender bender.

Finally, the car comes to a stop, landing upside down. I blink and do my best to assess my injuries. The seatbelt kept me from bouncing around the inside of the car, but the pain in my body is enough to tell me I’m hurt. I reach up to wipe my face, bringing my hand back to find it coated in blood. Okay, so a head injury for sure. Heads bleed, so no big deal.

I blink a couple more times and glance around to find Johnathan’s body lying in a funky position. From the looks of it, his neck is broken. Too easy of a way to die in my opinion.

Outside the ringing in my ears, I can hear yelling and what sounds like gunfire. What the hell?

I shake away the thought and struggle to unbuckle without hurting myself further.I barely complete this task when I hear Bruiser’s voice and more gunfire. Or maybe I’m just imagining it’s him so the gunfire doesn’t freak me out as much as it already is. Slowly, I cross the small space to Johnathan’s body, pressing two fingers to his pulse, confirming what I already know. He’s dead.

Lovely. Just freaky lovely.

I glance around, fear threatening to make me throw up. I don’t do well feeling queasy. I don’t like throwing up . . . ever. I need fresh air. That’s what I need. It could help clear my head. Make me less woozy. Seeing the back glass is shattered, I crawl toward it and edge out to the murky sodden ground. How is it that I’m even alive right now?

Regardless, I am, and I need to get out of this ravine before something else can happen to me.

“Ouch,” I hiss, cutting my leg on a shard of glass. “I swear Bruiser is going to kick my ass when he finds me. He told me not to get hurt, and here I am,” muttering to myself, I scramble to my feet.

I stumble slightly and move closer to a fallen tree to brace myself.

“Okay, Gwyneth, you’ve got to think. There’s no way Bruiser knows I’m down here,” I snap and glance upward. I’m going to have to climb up there.

Another gunshot causes me to jolt and a scream to leave my lips. This isn’t good.

Wrapping one arm around my ribs, I push away from the tree with my other.

“Bruiser, she’s down the ravine, brother. We’re trying to get to her, but the fuckers hiding in the trees are keeping us from getting to her,” I hear Savage yelling.

“Bruiser,” I scream louder than I screamed before.

“Gwyneth,” he shouts back. “Hang on, Princess, we’re coming for you.”

“Like I have anywhere else to go. I don’t even know how to get to him,” I grumble to myself.

I take a step forward only to slip and fall. My side hits a sharp rock, and I roll forward, unable to contain the pain radiating from everything. I can’t even focus on the smell surrounding me. All I keep hearing is the sounds of gunfire and shouting. If this is it for me, at least I know I’m not going out as some cartel leader’s sex slave.

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