Page 22 of Lady Death

“Bring your hand up more,” he instructed as they moved around each other. “You’re leaving your guard open too much.”

She adjusted her stance and he nodded.

“You keep telling me how to improve and I’m going to beat your ass one day,” she teased.

“In your dreams, shrimp.”

She chuckled just before she struck. Darby easily defended against the attack, parlaying that into a series of hits that pushed her back.

“Heel-toe alignment,” he instructed. “Yeah, good. Make sure you feel solid over both feet.”

Suddenly, the night exploded as the large front window shattered into a thousand shards. Staccato gunfire erupted. Everything in the path of destruction was torn to shreds. Keres landed on her back with Darby on top of her, as the rapid sounds reverberated through the gym. It seemed like hell on earth, and there wasn’t much she could do except wait it out and hope she and Darby survived.

Then, as quickly as it had started, it ended. The absolute sound of silence rang through her ears like static, leaving her shaken. Her heart pounded in her chest, and Darby’s weight on top of her didn’t allow her to catch a breath.

She pushed against him. “Get off, Darby.”

He didn’t move, so she tapped his arm. Nothing. Fear hit her and she struggled under his weight. No. No, no, no! Throwing her hips upward, she used her momentum to tip him off her. He rolled onto his back and that’s when she saw the blood. Lots and lots of it, covering the mats in a crimson pool.

“Darby!” she yelled, panicked. She shook him but his eyes remained closed. “Darby, please!”

The distant sound of sirens grew steady as they neared. Keres placed her fingers on his neck, trying to find a pulse but couldn’t detect it. She placed her hand over his heart, hoping in vain to feel his chest rise and fall. Tears poured down her cheeks as she came to grips with what had just happened.

Then hands were pulling her away. Helping her stand when her knees weakened. She was taken out of the bullet-ridden place and led over to an ambulance. All she could do was stare at the gym as a gurney was wheeled in, and then momentslater she left with a black body bag strapped to it. She could no longer hold back her sobs. Half an hour ago, Darby was alive, teasing while training her, and now he was with Jonathan in the afterlife.

There wasn’t a doubt in her mind who was behind this. Ronin warned that Davorin would find out who had fucked with him. The Deathmen, the warehouse, and finally, his girlfriend. This was payback. The retaliation had come.

Chapter Twelve

Ronin sat with his club brothers at the Poke and Tickle bar, holding a royal flush. He didn’t reveal his satisfaction, and let the pile mount up before laying down his winning hand. Groans from Thorn, Lincoln, and Ghost erupted and they all threw in their cards while he pulled the pot toward his side of the table.

“You fucker,” Ghost muttered.

Ronin grinned. “Don’t hate that I’m at least ten times better than you at poker.”

Ghost flipped him off.

“Just for that, you can buy the next round,” Lincoln said.

Ronin shrugged. “Sure. I’ll treat all you paupers.”

“Fuck you,” Thorn muttered. “But, yes, I am a pauper and Daddy wants some tequila.”

A round of groans filtered around the table.

“Never, ever call yourself Daddy again,” Ghost remarked with a shudder. “Just too fucking weird.”

Thorn laughed just as Ronin’s phone buzzed. He picked it up to glance at the number.

“Excuse me, I have to take this.” He rose and headed outside, putting the call through. “Yeah?”

“Hey,” Mac from the White Death MC greeted. “You know that girl you wanted me to look into? The one at that boot camp gym?”

“Yeah. Did you find something?”

“A call came through the police,” Mac replied. “The place was shot up from a drive-by. One dead.”

Ronin went still as he tried to comprehend what he’d just heard. “Was it her?”

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