Page 46 of Throttle All the Way

“Damn right,” Aiyana shot back, smirking as she reloaded.

The fight of the opposite side of the grounds was chaos. Hart and Saddle came in, their presence a whirlwind of violence. Saddle used his massive frame to pin one Scorpion against the wall, crushing the life out of him before tossing the body aside like a rag doll. Hart moved with surgical precision, his knives a blur as he cut down anyone who got too close.

Brimstone and Silencer joined the fray, Silencer always a step behind Bulldog, watching his back. One Scorpion thought he had an opening, raising a bat over Bulldog’s head. Silencer didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the guy by the back of the neck and slammed him into a wooden beam, the impact shattering both the bat and the man’s skull.

“Focus!” Silencer growled, his tone sharp but not unkind.

Bulldog snorted. “I’m focused, you asshole.”

“Then stay alive,” Silencer shot back, his knife flashing as he dispatched another Scorpion.

The room cleared quickly after that, the last few Scorpions either dead or fleeing. They knew better than to stick around. I reached Mila and carefully lifted her, limp in my arms. She was battered and bleeding, her breaths shallow, but she was alive.

“Cipher,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

“I’m here, Angel,” I murmured, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

But before I could carry her out, Volkov’s voice echoed from the shadows.

“You think you’ve won?” he sneered, stepping into the light. His gun was raised, aimed directly at me, a smirk twisting his face. “You’re a persistent son of a bitch,” he said, his voice dripping with venom.

I moved to shield Mila, but before I could react, he pulled the trigger. Pain exploded in my side as the bullet tore through me, knocking me backward.

“Cipher!” Mila screamed, her voice breaking.

The barn seemed to spin, my vision darkening at the edges as I fought to stay conscious. Volkov stalked closer, his gun now trained on Mila.

“Don’t move, motherfucker!” Bulldog’s voice thundered through the space.

Volkov turned, raising his weapon, but Bulldog didn’t hesitate. The roar of his shotgun filled the barn, and Volkov’s body crumpled to the ground, a gaping hole where his head used to be.

Bulldog stood over the body, breathing heavily, his hands still gripping the shotgun like it was an extension of his fury.

The barn fell silent, the only sound the crackling of the broken timbers and my ragged breathing. Bulldog approached Volkov’s body, his expression unreadable. He chambered another round and shot Volkov again, point-blank, just to be sure.

“It’s done,” he said, his voice low and final.

My mind blurred in that moment. I caught glimpses of Hart and Saddle as they lifted me, stumbling out of the barn doors. Mila’s whisper carried in the wind as Bulldog carried her out. Aiyana and Ray followed close behind, their protective instincts still in overdrive.

“You’re gonna be okay,” Aiyana said to me as she ordered the guys to set me down.

She turned to Bulldog, “You need to leave them.”

“Did you lose your mind or something?”

“You need to leave them, I’ll take care of them. Ray’s already calling the ambulance. They’ll be fine.”

Bulldog dropped to a knee, setting Mila’s unconscious body next to mine. He gripped my jacket. “I’m sorry.” He slid it off me, and then Aiyana clipped the badge onto my belt.

She granned Bulldog’s hand over my chest. “Go. I’ve got them.”

“Don’t you let them die,” he said, concern and uncertainty marring his tone.

“Just trust me, baby,” she reached up and cradled his cheek.

He squeezed her hand and then I heard the familiar roar of motorcycle engines before I let the darkness overtake me.

EPILOGUE

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