Page 84 of Byte

I thought about trying to maneuver my hands to my front and then using my bindings to strangle him from behind, but that would likely result in him crashing my truck or shooting me since his hands were free. It went against everything I’d ever been taught, but I stayed quiet and patiently waited for us to arrive at Byte’s house. Since I’d been there so many times, I could tell exactly where we were without being able to see out of the windows. I almost sighed in relief when he turned into Byte’s driveway.

As expected, he dragged me out of the back seat and used me like a shield as he positioned himself about twenty feet away from the front porch. Once he was where he wanted to be, he yelled for Byte to come outside.

Shaker opened the door and cautiously stepped out onto the porch. “What in the hell is going on out here?”

Chad pressed his gun to my temple. “Where’s Gabby?” he demanded.

“She’s not up for having visitors right now,” Shaker said.

Chad tensed, and I could practically feel the rage rolling off of him. “I’m not fucking around!” Chad screamed. “Send her out here, or I’m gonna kill your friend!”

Shaker raised his hands in a placating manner. “Hang on a second. Let’s talk about this.”

“Send her out here! Now!” he yelled and pressed the gun harder against my head.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do that,” Shaker said and made eye contact with me. He glanced to the ground and then back to me before he returned his attention to Chad.

“I’m fucking serious, man! If she’s not out here in the next five seconds, your friend is dead!”

Shaker looked directly at me and said one word. “Drop.”

I did exactly as he said and crumbled to the ground in an instant. The crack of a rifle sounded through the air not even a second later, followed by a dull thud that I felt more than heard.

Shaker leaped off the porch and pulled me to my feet. He wrapped me in a bear hug and started patting me down to check for injuries. “Holy fuck! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I think so,” I stammered.

Before I could give it any more thought, Ranger came through the front door with his trusty rifle in his hand. He walked right over to Chad, or what was left of him, to inspect his work. “Yep, I still got it.”

“Was there ever any doubt?” Shaker asked.

Ranger shrugged. “No, but I try to be modest.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “That was a pretty ballsy move, son. You okay?”

“I’d be better if one of you would untie me,” I said.

“Oh, shit,” Shaker said and pulled out his knife. “Sorry about that. Turn around.”

I rubbed my wrists once I was free and was surprised at how sore they were even though I wasn’t restrained for very long. “It’ll take a day or two for the soreness to go away,” Shaker said in a way that made me think he knew from experience. Before I could ask, the sound of motorcycle pipes and sirens approaching filled the air.

“My dad’s going to be pissed,” I said.

Shaker nodded. “Your dad will be, but your president will be proud. How’d you know he was in your apartment?”

“The welcome mat my mom gave me was all messed up, like someone tripped over it.”

“The one you complained about?” he asked.

“Yep, that’s the one. And now I’ll never hear the end of how the ugly-ass welcome mat she got me saved my life, as well as yours, Ranger’s, and Gabby’s.”

The club arrived first, with my dad leading the way. He barely managed to get his kickstand down before he was off his bike and in front of me. “You scared the shit out of me,” he said as he engulfed me in a hug.

“How’d you know?” I asked.

He stepped back and shook his head as if I should’ve already known the answer. “I was on the phone with Ranger the whole time.”

Before he could chastise me for putting myself in harm’s way, Byte was shoving him out of the way and hugging me. “Thanks, brother. I fucking owe you.”

“I’m just glad it worked out the way it did,” I said.

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