Page 45 of Ride or Dies

I cursed and swerved, my brothers moving with me automatically, but by the time we heard the next shot, I realized they weren’t shooting at us.

They were shooting into the bar.

Where Evie and Jenna were.

I didn’t even think about the danger or whether or not this was going to come back to bite me in the ass. I only knew that two people I cared about more than my own life were in the building that was being shot at.

I pulled my Beretta M9 from the holster I wore under my cut and started firing at the other bikers, thankful that no one else was outside. My aim was shit because I was still going way too fast, but it got their attention and that was more important. From either side of me I heard the near-deafening sound of one of the monsters Mason carried on him, and then the slightly—not by much—quieter Smith & Wesson Tucker used.

In just seconds, the men were riding away, the squeal of their tires muffled by the ringing in my ears. I gave my head a shake as I skidded to a stop in front of the bar. I thought those guys were the only ones shooting, but I had no way of knowing what had happened inside the bar. There could’ve been someone the other MC had a vendetta against, or it could’ve been some drug deal gone bad. For all I knew, there were a dozen guys inside with guns, waiting to see what happened next.

All of that flew through my head in a flash, but none of it even made me pause. Keeping my gun in hand, I ran for the door of the bar and hoped like hell I wasn’t gonna get shot the second I stepped inside. I heard Mason and Tucker shout from behind me, but I ignored them. They’d either follow me or cover me from out there. I trusted them to make that call. All that mattered to me was getting to Evie and Jenna and making sure they were okay.

And at some point, I was going to need to face the fact that I was a shitty brother, because I kept tacking my sister’s name on as an afterthought. Not because I didn’t love her, but because it wasn’t her injured or dead body I kept seeing in my head. Somehow, in the time between my impulsive kiss and hearing that first gunshot, Evie had become the first person in my mind.

And as soon as I knew she was safe, we were going to have an unpleasant talk about the stupid shit she’d done today.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Evie

Iwrapped my arms around Jenna and squeezed my eyes closed as more gunshots filled the air. I’d never been a religious person, but I was definitely praying right now, begging for protection, for safety, for a damn miracle. I didn’t want anyone in Rocky’s hurt, but I was going to be selfish and put Jenna and myself at the top of the list of people I wanted to walk out of here unharmed when this was all done.

We were huddled behind our table, the chairs knocked to the side when Jenna had acted faster than I’d thought possible and flipped the table onto its side. I didn’t know if the wood was thick enough to stop a bullet, but it was all we had right now, and with the shooters outside, the odds seemed to be in our favor. If they decided to come in, though, all bets were off.

I was still thinking about what to do if that happened when I heard the screeching of tires and then several seconds of complete silence as we all registered that the shooting was done.

Unless that was what the shooters wanted us to think.

Jenna started to stand up, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

“They could be trying to trick us,” I hissed. “Don’t move until we know it’s safe.”

“Evie! Jenna!”

I closed my eyes as relief flooded me. I’d never been so happy to hear Levi so pissed.

“We’re in here!” Jenna shouted back. “Is it safe to come out?”

“Stay where you are!” Levi barked the order. “Everyone stay put, and if you have any weapons, drop them or I’ll drop you.”

“Evie, you all right?” Mason’s voice came from outside.

“Nice to know my brothers are taking this protection thing seriously,” Jenna muttered before answering him. “We’re both okay. Thanks for asking.”

“Doesn’t look like there were any shooters inside,” Levi said.

“No, just the guys outside,” I answered even though no one had asked. I just wanted to stand up and see them and know that we were safe.

“Is anyone hurt?” Tucker called out.

That was when it hit me that he hadn’t asked me or Jenna if we were okay. The fear that had coursed through me shifted into something that made my stomach ache. I’d known the guys wouldn’t be happy that I left the clubhouse, but I had a bad feeling this was going to be so much worse than I’d expected.

Shit.

A chorus of people answered, most sounding like they were saying they were okay or just bruised. As people began to come out from where they’d been hiding, Jenna and I exchanged a look before getting up too.

The bar was trashed. My jaw dropped as I looked around at the mess that’d been made. Tables were flipped and chairs turned over. Food mixed with broken plates and glasses, liquid pooling around them. At least none of it looked like blood.

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