Page 99 of Crave Me

I sneered, then went to bolt toward Caleb.

I’d only made it two steps in when a white-hot pain tore through my gun-wielding hand.

It had me dropping my gun into the dirt and I looked down to see a knife buried in the back of my hand.

I spun to see Jeremy Wheeler now behind me, a gun cocked and trained on my skull.

“Walk away while you still can. Your boy belongs to Elijah now anyway.”

I scoffed. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with.” I ripped the knife out of my hand and his eyes shot wide at my lack of a reaction. “And stop posturing. We both know you can’t kill me. To take King all the way, you need me alive.”

“We can take it without you.”

Lies. But that brief break in his concentration was all I needed to toss his blade back the way it had come. I watched it cut through the distance between us in a blink, then embed into his chest. He choked and staggered back. Despite the tactical gear he had on, I could tell by his reaction that it had still penetrated. Just not enough.

“You, on the other hand, are highly expendable.”

I dove for my gun in the next second, snatched it up, then slammed back against the side of the farmhouse just as a bullet bit into the wood.

“You’re right! You saw through my bluff!” he yelled over. “Can’t kill you, but I can sure as fuck keep you at bay and make you watch as you lose your boy again!”

Fuck.

I looked out to see Elijah hauling open the car door and struggling to drag a clearly weakened Caleb inside. He could barely resist Elijah’s pull, and his whimpers as the bastard yanked on the choke chain had me sick to my stomach.

“Caleb!” I bellowed. “Caleb!”

“Cas!” he cried weakly.

I gritted my teeth, then burst from my cover, fucking gunfire be damned.

I didn’t care.

I couldn’t lose Caleb again. I just fucking couldn’t.

No matter what the price.

A bullet plunged into the back of my tactical vest as I bolted forward, sending me reeling forward. I was wheezing when I forced myself to turn around and fire off a shot that had Wheeler ducking behind a tree.

It bought me some time, just enough where I was able to reach Caleb as a wounded Elijah was trying to drag him inside the car with him.

Just as I got a grip on him, I was roaring as fingers dug into my wounded hand, and I looked to see Elijah had lunged across the seats and was driving his nails in deep.

I went to fire my gun in my non-dominant hand, but it required letting go of Caleb, something I wasn’t willing to do.

But then Caleb suddenly smashed his cuffed fists into Elijah’s throat.

It had him choking, his grip relinquishing.

I hurriedly untied the choke-chain, then hauled Caleb out with me.

I ignored Elijah’s screams for Caleb to come back as I covered him with my body while another bullet from Wheeler bit into my back.

I returned fire, pushing him back into the forest.

But he kept coming, firing more.

Suddenly, something sailed through the air.

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