Page 77 of Devil's Vengeance

Panic made it hard to think straight. I thought I’d be behind the desk when he showed up. Or close enough to it that I could reach the panic button. But there was too much space between me and the button, and if they watched me use it, they’d scatter before Chase or the cops could show up. I had to stall them, get myself around the desk somehow, and–

One of Trick’s buddies hopped over the circulation desk, pulling out a knife along the way. He cut through the wires that connected the button to the security system, wiggling them at me with a grin when he noticed me staring.

“What? You thought we didn’t know about that? Or about the alarmson all the doors?” Trick taunted. A quiet thump made me look over my shoulder, where another few bikers were knocking books off the shelves as they made their way closer. Surrounding me. Shit. We didn’t plan well for this.

“I’m not part of this, Trick. I’m not involved with Chase anymore. Leave me out of it.”

He chuckled, shaking his head at me. “Yeah, I heard about that. Big blow up, screaming. I even heard you slapped him. At first, I thought you staged it, but you went out of your way to avoid him. The one guy who gave a shit about your safety. I thought librarians were supposed to be smart?” He slunk closer, a slimy grin on his face. “No, gorgeous. This isn’t about Chase. This is about you. See, you called the cops on my guys. Twice, in fact. Both times, someone ended up behind bars. That doesn’t fly with me and my crew. I think you owe us a little payback. Don’t you think?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You mean when you threatened to rape me, and then when you started shooting up the house I was in? No. I don’t think I owe you anything. You want to act like a criminal, you should get treated like one.”

He huffed out a laugh. “Man, you really are a dumb bitch, aren’t you? Boys, let’s have some fun.”

He reached for me, but none of them had noticed my hand slip into my purse. My fingers wrapped around the can my mom had slipped in there that morning. This would probably hurt me a bit too, but it would give me an opening to escape. I drew in a breath and held it, flicking the safety off the can, and yanked it out before Trick could get his hands on me. I sprayed the mace in his eyes first before arching around to the assholes surrounding me. It surprised them and a few jumped back, putting enough space between them that after I’d emptied the can I could dodge through the gap and run. I could hear them cursing and shouting, but I didn’t look back. There were three exits aside from the front door. I just needed to get through one of them so I could get to my car.

When I finally worked up the courage to glance behind me, I was relieved to see the aisle empty. But because I’d already turned the lights off, I didn’t notice the obstruction in time when I turned back around. Itripped over something wide and soft, pain shooting up my wrists as I hit the ground hard.

“Fuck. You okay?”

Chase’s familiar voice hit me like a gut punch. I scrambled to my feet, reaching for him, but before I could get my feet under me, a shot rang out, sending bits of paper and wood showering over us as it missed me by mere inches. Chase yanked me out of the way, firing back, but he must not have known how many there were, because I saw two more coming around from another direction.

“Chase!”

Unlike last time, where I heard the shots but escaped before I could even comprehend what was happening, this time I was right smack dab in the middle of it. I saw them raise the guns, saw the flashes of light when they pulled the trigger. Chase shoved me down before I could get hit, but I heard him grunt when one of them struck his shoulder. Tears burned my vision and I felt like I couldn’t breathe right. Never in my life did I think I’d end up in a situation like this. It was worse than the kidnapping because it felt like there wasn’t a chance of us getting out alive this time.

“I told you I’d come for your girl, Jesse! Since you came for the show, I’m gonna make you watch!” Trick cackled from somewhere in the shadows. I couldn’t see him from where I was squatted behind Chase’s hunched form.

“The back door is on our right. I’ll give you an opening. Get outside,” Chase murmured, ducking when another shot zipped overhead.

“Are you insane?” I hissed.

He glanced at me over his shoulder, his expression determined. “I’m not letting him hurt you. I swear on my life, Mariah, I’ll get you out. Just don’t hesitate. When I say run, you run.”

I wanted to stay hunkered down where we were, but the cover was limited and they were getting closer. We only had a half shelf of books to protect us on one side. The other side was completely open. Which was good for me to get out, but if anyone came up from that side, we’d be screwed. Chase would be screwed. Could I really leave him alone to be surrounded?

“Go, Mariah!”

Choking on a sob, I jumped to my feet just as Chase shot off another few rounds. I heard a few shouts, including one that sounded a lot like Chase, but I couldn’t turn around. If I did, I’d freeze, and Chase’s plan would have been for nothing. I reached the exit door, throwing it open, but I only got a few steps outside before a hand fisted in my hair.

“Not so fast!” Trick crowed triumphantly. “You’re coming with me.”

“Not on your life, asshole,” I snarled back. Thank god for cross-body purses because I still had it on me. Which meant I still had my taser. I yanked it out and twisted, ignoring the screaming pain from Trick’s grip on my hair. I thrust the live taser at him, connecting with his chest, and he jumped back with a yelp.

“You fucking bitch!” he shouted.

He lunged for me, but he couldn’t get close without risking getting tased. I darted out of the way, booking it around the side of the building. I learned from my last kidnapping and started running regularly to make sure I didn’t get winded too fast. I could hear Trick chasing after me, and I used the knowledge that he wanted me alive to keep the panic from overwhelming me. That didn’t stop him from hurting me, though. When he got close enough, he tackled me, knocking me to the ground with his weight pinning me down. The shock had me dropping my taser and it skidded a few feet out of my reach. I twisted and fought to get him off me, ignoring the warmth dripping off my chin where it hit the ground.

He was trying to pin me when the Devil’s Disciples showed up. The rumble of their engines split through the air, forcing Trick to jerk his head up in surprise.

“Fuck!”

His weight disappeared off my back and he took off, heading for his bike. I didn’t want him running away before the crew could get here. So despite the shakiness of my limbs, I pushed myself off the ground and ran toward the line of bikes, shoving the closest one over. It tipped on its side, knocking into the next one until they all fell like dominoes. Trick barely had enough time to jump off his before it crushed his leg beneath it.

“You’ll pay for that,” he hissed, eyes wide and full of fury.

I lifted my chin stubbornly. “Oh yeah? Try me, asshole.”

I wanted him to take the bait. The crew wasn’t far. If he stuck around,they’d get to him before he could do much damage. I had enough self-defense lessons to handle him until they got here. But Trick wasn’t stupid. He shot me one last scathing look and took off, disappearing into the dark.

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