Page 75 of The Devil's Conflict

“I don’t believe you,” Macy snips. “If that’s true, why do you have a bunch of toys in your room I can’t play with? Every time I try, you yell at me. But you make me share mine. It’s not fair!” She stomps her little foot and I have to use every ounce of my training not to laugh or lose my composure.

Oh yeah, Quinn definitely looks horrified now. Nothing like your daughter outing that you and your man have a few things to spice things up lying around. The other women are making a mixture of choking noises, along with snorts of laughter as they try to hold it back. I glance at Archer who is now no longer looking amused, and just plain grossed out. Poor kid. I glance past him to Crypt, whose face is also stoic, but if I also see his jaw flexing as if he’s trying to keep it that way. When his gazeconnects with mine, he allows the slightest smile to pull at his lips, before it’s gone and he goes back to scanning the grounds.

“Macy, that is enough,” Quinn says in what I dub the mom-tone. I swear when Theo and I were growing up, our mother practiced that shit to make sure it was perfect. And it must work on Macy, because she instantly loses her scowl and her face goes sugary sweet. Clearly this little girl knows when to retreat.

“Come on, Archer,” she says excitedly, reaching out for his hand to pull him away.

“Macy,” Quinn says warningly. “It’s time for you to go and get ready for bed, so let’s get you inside and ready for a bath.” She gets up from the table, and I can see Macy wants to argue, but clearly thinks better of it. She lets Archer’s hand go and nods morosely.

“Night, baby,” Rose tells her, holding her arms out for her.

Macy loses her sad look and launches herself into Rose’s arms. “Night, Nana Rose. Can we make cookies tomorrow?” she asks.

“Sure we can,” Rose says, kissing her forehead. “And then, I think it’s time we have a girl’s day, huh? You and I and some of your aunties can do our hair and nails, and your Mama can take a nap.” Quinn shoots her a grateful look over her head.

“Okay!” Macy screams excitedly as she pulls away. “Can Archer join too?”

“Of course he can,” Rose answers, and Archer looks like he’s not sure if he should be happy to be included or not. But he just smiles and nods. “Now, you go get your bath.” Macy kisses Rose’s cheek and then she turns back to her mother.

I hear the click before I sense they’re there. Before the first shot is fired. And I know the moment Crypt hears it too. I’m moving with all the speed I can muster and pray that I don’t harm either of them. “Down!” Crypt and I both scream, just as the first shot rings through the air.

You know how they say time goes in slow motion when you’re in fight or flight mode? They’re right, and it’s been a long time since I’ve felt it, but thankfully, my reaction has always been to fight.

I slam into Macy, who screams, and in turn I knock Quinn to the ground, twisting us both so that Quinn and Macy both land on me. It knocks the wind out of me for half a second, but then I’m pushing them off while ordering, “Get behind the rock wall. Now!” Quinn doesn’t need to be told twice, terror covering her face. She grabs Macy and stays as low to the ground as she can. I pull my gun from my back, firing back as Crypt is already doing the same and making his way toward the women.

My head whips around and I see Eden grabbing Archer and them both making a run for the rock wall. Bullets whiz through the air, striking the picnic table, where Izzy, Sadie, Rose, and Sage are all trying to take cover. I rush to cover them, shooting back and managing to duck down to avoid getting struck by a bullet. I hear more shots fill the air, and that’s when I realize that Theo is out here now too, returning fire.

“You need to get to the rock wall,” I yell to the women under the table. “Now! I’ll cover you. Go!” They all hesitate for just a second before they start to move. Izzy makes her break and I shoot one of the men that pops out along the edge of the treeline, gun aimed right for her. The man falls, but I see others making their way. I fire and scream for the other women to move, and this time, they all make a break for it, and I rush to position myself at their backs, gun sweeping.

Finally, they’re all behind the wall, and I crouch with them. I hear Macy crying, and my heart breaks, but right now I have to focus on keeping them all safe. But I’m quickly running out of ammo, which means we’re going to be in shit if I can’t find another weapon, or a way to get the women into the clubhouse, but the door is too far, and they’ll all be too exposed.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I peer out around the edge of the wall, seeing Crypt now behind one of the pieces of playset equipment, firing at the trees; I scan and see that Theo is along the edge of the clubhouse, also firing, but too exposed, and Kaleb is hunkered down behind the smallish storage shed that I know houses the kids outside toys. Again, not a lot of cover, but enough.

I look back at the women. “We need to stay here until the guys come,” I tell them loudly. “No one moves.”

That’s when I hear yells and turn my head to see the MC members moving out in a large wave, guns drawn and already firing. Thank God.

Suddenly, Macy screams, and I whip around to see three men coming out of the trees behind us, all of them with weapons drawn and pointing right at the group. My stomach sinks, but I’m already moving to get in front of them, firing. I manage to hit the first one square in the middle of the forehead, and he drops like a stone, but the other two immediately start firing back and I know I need to lead them away. We’re pinned down here, and I can’t let any of these women die on my watch.

“They all die but the blonde one with the gun,” one of the men yells to his partner. “The Boss wants her.” He looks and points at me as he says it.

Well, that’s not ominous at all. “Tell your boss he can get fucked,” I snarl, firing again, managing to get one of the men in the shoulder, making him scream and drop his gun. It fires, and the women scream. I instantly turn back, terrified that one of them has been hit, but I quickly register that they’ve scattered and seem to be fine. My head whips back to the one with the gun, and see him lift it, aiming toward Izzy.

I rush him, hitting him hard and sending us both flying and falling to the ground. The gun goes off, and my ears ring, but I don’t stop. I knee him in the gut, then land a quick punch to hisface, even as he grabs my wrist and makes me drop my own gun to the ground. He tries to headbutt me, but I narrowly manage to avoid it. “You fucking whore,” he spits, trying to get me off him.

Thank God I trained with men so much bigger than him, because I don’t allow him to get the upper hand. I manage to flip us, my arm around his neck as I put him in a chokehold, my entire body straining with the effort to keep the pressure steady. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he goes slack, and I release him, scurrying back so I can grab my gun, and his.

I get shakily to my feet, just in time to see Shadow pulling Quinn and Macy into his arms, and Viper doing the same to Eden and Archer, then running out from behind the rock wall toward the safety of the clubhouse. But just as they get past the wall, I see men come from the other side of the house already aiming for them. I’m moving as fast as my legs can carry me. There are four of them, and I manage to get between the two men and their families, my bullets hitting two of them before they can even get their guns up, while the other two fall, from other bullets.

“Go!” I scream at Shadow and Viper, who don’t waste any time. I cover them as they get them inside. Crypt is at my side quickly. “We need to get the other women inside,” I yell to him, bracing myself against the building.

Crypt looks down at me and nods, his eyes hard and grim. “How many can you get?” he demands.

“I’ll get Izzy and Sadie. You handle Rose and Sage,” I tell him.

“I got your six,” Crypt says, and we’re moving.

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