Page 91 of Three to Fall

X grinned. “Hey! How did you know I was going to say that?”

“Not exactly the greatest options.” Grayson palmed the gun Hawk had given him to use. “We don’t have time to wait for the others to get here. We’re out of options. We’re going to have to fight. X is right.”

I clenched my fingers into fists. “No. He’s not. And there is an option you haven’t considered.”

Everyone turned in my direction.

“You trustmeto get us out of this alive.”

X lowered his voice and whispered to Scythe, “Maybe she has one of those machine gun bras…”

“That would be insanely cool,” he whispered back.

We all ignored them, my gaze solely on my men. “Do you trust me?”

I’d trusted the three of them with my life more than once. Now I needed them to put the same trust in me.

None of them seemed very happy, but all three nodded without hesitation.

“Then follow my lead.” I glanced at my youngest sister, shielded by Shari’s protective arms, and prayed like hell this would work.

If it didn’t, we were all dead.

I moved to the edge of the doorway. “Husband. Please. We wish to seek your forgiveness.”

“Like hell I do,” X muttered, only loud enough for the rest of us to hear.

Hawk shot him a look. “Just do what she says. She knows him better than any of us do, and we ain’t fucking all dying here tonight by getting in a shootout we can’t win.”

I waved a hand at them, as Josiah’s deep, arrogant chuckle echoed through the night. “You expect forgiveness? After everything you’ve done? You came onto my holy lands and brought men wearing the Devil’s insignia on their backs.”

Actually, it was only Hawk wearing a club jacket with the Slayers’ logo on the back, but Josiah was dramatic to his core, forever in the middle of the constant show he put on for his disciples. He loved the attention. His arrogance thrived on it.

And that was exactly what was going to get us out of this.

Taking a deep breath to calm the shaking in my limbs, I stepped out from the safety of the building. For the first time in months, I faced off with my husband.

It was the first time ever, really. Because I had never dared to openly stare at him the way I did now. I’d spent years staring at my feet in his presence, trying to be the meek, obedient woman he expected me to be.

I never wanted to be her again. And yet I dropped to my knees on the hard ground, small rocks digging in as I knelt before Josiah.

I couldn’t bring myself to look away, even though it was expected. I stared him in the eye, hating him with every fiber of my being. “I have been a disobedient, foolish woman.” The words scalded my tongue, poisoned the air around me as I spat them out, hating every one but saying what needed to be said. “Let them go and I’ll be different. Better. I’ll be whatever you want me to be.”

Josiah laughed from his position on the hill above me. “You always were a stupid woman. I don’t want you, Kara. Didn’t you hear? You’ve been out too long. Tainted by the sins of other men. Your sister is set to be my wife a mere three days from now. You’ve been replaced. Jacqueline! Get out here and see what happens when a wife of mine disobeys me.”

My fingers clenched into fists at my side. Jacqueline and Shari slowly followed me out into the night and knelt either side of me, their gazes firmly on the dirt, their hands tucked behind their backs in the subservient position we all assumed while kneeling in front of the altar at church each Sunday.

A desperation rose inside me, fueled by the sick leer in Josiah’s eyes when he looked at Jacqueline. “That doesn’t need to be.” I distracted him, pulling his attention back to me. “I have returned to take my place at your side. These men I bring with me, they will kneel beside me and allow you to wash away their sins so they, too, can be good men of the Lord.”

The seconds ticked by too slowly. Each one spanning a lifetime and fueling the realization that Whip and the others wouldn’t get here in time to be any help.

Josiah cocked his head to one side as Hawk, Grayson, and Hayden came out of the shed, their hands up, and knelt either side of Shari and Jacqueline. A moment later, Scythe and X did the same, quiet but clearly not happy.

All of their hands were empty. I had no doubt they’d stashed their guns somewhere beneath their clothes, and I felt sick when Josiah’s men moved in and patted the guys down, removing any weapons they found.

Josiah’s gaze stayed hot on Jacqueline. “There she is. The bride-to-be.”

To my surprise, Jacqueline lifted her head. “I’ll never be your wife.”

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