Page 25 of The Edge of Intensity

No. Nothing is great about anything when I hear a few more gunshots. Parker’s phone goes off and he’s listening for a few heartbeats to whomever is calling him before he hisses out a few words.

“What’s going on?” Kathleen asks when Parker ends the call.

“They took Erwin down but one of his men slipped away. They think he alerted the others who weren’t at the ranch. The guys are coming here, but it will take–”

“What? Hours? Minutes?” I snap, feeling panic hitting me full force, especially when I hear someone trying to kick down the door. “Oh, shit. Did they hurt our guys who were outside?”

Kathleen palms her gun. “Try not to think of anything bad happening, we don’t know anything yet.” She squats down and grabs a tiny gun strapped to her ankle. “Here, do you know how to handle a gun?”

I stare at the chunk of steel in Kathleen’s palm and keep my lips sealed. How the hell did everything escalate so freaking quickly?

“Why isn’t she answering your question?” Cosima asks. “Did she take the gun? Eastlynne knows how to shoot a gun, our mother taught the both of us.”

“It’s not nice to rat out people,” I snap at my sister.

“Fuck you, sis. It’s not nice to bring people into my bedroom while I specifically told you not to bring anyone around the damn house. I respected your shit for years and now that I’m asking–”

“Gunshots and people trying to get inside the house, Cosima,” I snarl, cutting off her ramblings. “As soon as we kill the fuckers who disrupted our home, I will make sure no one else will step foot inside the house again, okay?”

Hushed voices come from the living room and Parker signals with his hands to Kathleen. I have no clue what they’re up to but Kathleen seems to understand. Parker aims his gun forward and slips out of the bedroom.

The rumbling of bikes approaching is coming from outside. My gaze goes to the windows but it gives a view of the stables since Cosima’s bedroom is located on the back of the ranch house. Fear grips my heart when I notice a man with a jerrycan jogging out of the stables. He drops the jerrycan at his feet and flips his lighter, letting it fall to the ground as well.

Realization hits me full force and it causes the words to slip over my lips in pure horror, “He set fire to the stables while the horses are still inside.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

– ROURKE –

I see Eastlynne’s ranch coming into view and hit the throttle a little more. Behind me are some of my brothers. I have no clue who or how many. Panic hit me the second I realized one of Erwin’s men slipped away.

There are a handful of skilled people watching over Eastlynne and Cosima, but the notes and details I saw taped to the kitchen wall in Erwin’s house were enough to make me hurl my guts out.

The fucker made a hitlist with Winfield at the top of the list, my name second, Parker third, and the list goes on. Even the name of the damn horse is on there, but right beside my name? That’s where the fucker listed Eastlynne. The note next to it showed the details of her ranch and Cosima was listed as well.

They had several plans hashed out and a failsafe if something happened. Which is now and the details are branded in my brain of how they would alert others if their ranch was hit so they could retaliate and strike at my woman first, then go to the clubhouse and burn that one down.

Which is why I jumped on my bike the second I saw one of the fuckers run off with a damn phone glued to his hand. Marvin took him down, but I knew…knew it was useless; the train of retaliation was already in motion. I called Parker to alert him, but I clearly heard gunshots in the background.

I didn’t even bother with taking the road to get to Eastlynne’s place, and picked the shorter version by going straight through pastures. The scent of fire hits my nose and at the same time, I see flames and smoke coming from the stables.

A wave of relief hits me when I notice horses coming out of the stables. It’s short-lived when I notice the woman urging them to run. I curse loudly and hit the kickstand as soon as I’m almost to a stop to rush toward her, gun drawn. I want nothing more than to fire my gun at the man who is coming up behind Eastlynne, but my woman is blocking my target.

“Watch out,” I bellow and it causes Eastlynne to spin around.

I get the room I need to pull the trigger, but it’s not fast enough to save her from the fucker coming up behind her with a shovel raised to hit her. A gunshot blasts through the air and it seems to come from within the stable. The fucker’s body jerks before I shoot him as well, and he crumbles to the floor. My aim is directed at the stables when I finally reach Eastlynne.

“You okay?” I question.

“Thank fuck you’re here,” Eastlynne grunts and slightly limps as she tries to go into the stables. “You need to help Kathleen. Go. Go.”

Cursing, I jog into the stables and have to put my arm in front of my face to use my sleeve as a barrier against the smoke. Kathleen is sprawled out on the ground when I finally reach her. A man’s dead body lies near her and I can tell she’s the one who took him out.

There’s a piece of a wooden shovel in the fucker’s chest and it holds a bloody handprint. Kathleen’s hands are bleeding so it’s not too hard to guess what went down. The gun that’s still lodged in her hand must have been lost during the fight. Thank fuck she found it in time to save Eastlynne from getting hit by a shovel.

“Where’s Parker?” I question as I scoop Kathleen up and carry her out of the stables to where Eastlynne is waiting.

“Bedroom. Cosima. Others were coming into the house when Eastlynne and I went out the back to save the horses,” Kathleen croaks.

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