Page 21 of Handcuffed By the Bounty Hunters

“Shit,” Cameron says again.

“I don’t think anyone knows that man is dead,” I say. “There was nothing in the news. Everyone’s covering it up. And they’ll do the same to me if they catch me.”

“They aren’t going to catch you.” Roark’s voice is firm. “You have us now.”

No sooner are the words out of his mouth than a gunshot sounds. Bark splinters on a tree two inches to the side of Roark’s head.

8

Cameron

Iyank Penny down and to the left. Roark has the same idea and covers the other side of her, using his body as a shield. Another bullet hits the tree right where we’d been standing.

Maybe Roark and I weren’t trained for bounty hunting, but we were trained for fucking protection, and by god we’re going to protect Penny.

“Just give us the girl and you don’t have to die today,” a man says.

“Clive,” Penny whispers. “He’s here.”

He sounds like a typical asshole supervillain, too, his voice all cultured and rich and shit. I want to punch him in the throat, see how cultured he sounds when he’s garbling and gasping for air.

We drop our bags and duck behind flimsy cover—a few trees and a boulder that’s more like a big rock. This position can’t be held long. I don’t know how many guys Clive brought, but it’s probably enough to surround us. They’re likely already moving in.

“Penny, I only need to talk to you,” Clive says. “You stole some very sensitive information. My feelings are hurt, darling.”

She shakes her head, her deep brown eyes wide with fear. “I think he knows what I saw.”

Even if he didn’t know, he’s too dangerous to be trusted. Case in point: shooting at us before trying to talk. He wants our attention, he got it.

“We’re not giving you up,” I whisper, squeezing Penny’s hand.

Roark nods in agreement, but his gaze is bouncing around as he constantly checks our surroundings. The man’s a machine, doing everything we were trained to do.

“If you give me the files and I’m assured they haven’t been copied, I won’t press charges,” Clive continues.

Yeah, even I can hear the insincerity in his voice, and I never met this dude until now.

“But Penny,” he says, “I can’t wait forever. We need to resolve this now.”

“We can’t trust him,” Penny says quietly. “He prides himself on being unpredictable.”

Every second that ticks past only reinforces my belief this guy is a total douche. Unfortunately for us, he’s a homicidal and unpredictable douche.

Off to the side is the ridge we’d originally been aiming for. We need help, and we need it ten minutes ago. Maybe if one of us runs with the phone…it’s a long shot, but things are looking dire if we stay here. Whoever runs will be safest, and that means it’s got to be Penny.

We didn’t bring guns—Ironwood encourages non-deadly force. Protection, not aggression. Usually it’s a moral I can get behind, but our situation would be a fuckton easier right now if we had an even playing field.

If we don’t have guns, we need to get guns.

The closest supply can be found in the fists of our enemies.

“Penny, if I can’t reason with you, darling, I’ll have to reason with your bounty hunters,” Clive says again. “Hand her over. We’ll stop shooting if you do and you’ll still get paid. I just need to talk to her.”

I catch Roark’s eye. We aren’t giving Penny to this monster. It doesn’t matter what Clive says he wants with her, there’s no fucking way.

“Penny,” I say, pulling my phone from my jeans pocket, “do you think you can run to the ridge over there?”

Roark gives me a surprised look. “That’s a good idea. We can cover you, Penny, and you’ll get reception to call for help.”

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