Page 114 of Throttle

Next to me, Tank twists his target’s neck, and he falls lifeless to the floor.

That's one way of doing it.

I raise a brow and he shrugs. Big Ass brute.

I glance behind us and see my club emerging from the side walls.

With three fingers raised, I grasp the doorknob and begin a countdown. When I make it to one, I whip open the door, piece in hand.

Oh shit.

We’re outnumbered. By a lot.

As they reach for guns, I swiftly roll behind a wall for cover, trusting my brothers to do the same.

The massive area fills with the sound of gunfire, and I seize the opportunity to strike when the shooting stops. I scan the vicinity, not seeing any signs of where Tequila or others might be.

What if she’s not here? What if we fucked up?

I take another shot and hit a guy in the chest.

A bullet whizzes by my head, but I duck in time.

“On your right!” Charger calls out to Hush, but he’s already seen him.

He uses his bat to strike the biker's knees before slamming his head against the wall.

Tank fires and successfully hits the target. Chain doing the same. But there’s too many of them.

There's a sudden loud crash, followed by a flying Hummer. I duck, covering my head.

Pipe leaps forward, simultaneously shooting his rifle, and his men do the same. Some climb out the back and others funnel in from around the broken-down walls.

Never thought I’d be glad to see him.

The knocked down wall reveals a set of stairs off to the right and I grab Tank’s attention. He nods, covering me while I make a run for it.

I have no idea if Tequila is down here, but this may be my last hope, and I’ll fucking crawl to her if I have to.

I reach the door at the bottom of the steps and find it locked. I kick once, nothing. With another powerful kick, it finally opens.

No one could have anticipated this. What I was looking at.

Blood. Cages. A body.

I went to check on the woman lying face down near the stairs. My heart rate decreases when I realize it’s not Tequila. I feel guilty for being relieved. As sorry as I was for her, I was glad it wasn’t my girl.

Tank and Hush make their way down and stop right next to me. Tank scans the room and when I hear a scream, I can tell it’s her. My stomach drops in terror.

Without hesitation, I sprint and locate a back entrance, with Hush right on my tail.

I swear to everything on this Earth, I will slaughter anyone who hurt her.

Tequila.

Mentally, I was in Throttle’s bed. Him holding me tightly, protecting and comforting me. It was the only idea I had to make this less dreadful.

They stripped me, ripping my dress off and throwing it aside as if it were insignificant. They were cleaning me, removing the dry blood I still wore from Caleb and from the wound on my arm.

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