Page 114 of Dizzy

Somethin’s about to go down.

Butterflies go wild in my stomach.

Is Dizzy here for me?

“Common negotiation tactic. Open with a low-ball bid. When they don’t bite, lower it. This gash’s life is our low-ball bid. Now he knows it’s worth less to us than a used beater. I figured it would’ve put some fire under his ass. Jed fails again, though. He said Dizzy would do anything for this bitch. Apparently not.”

Rab finally stands, setting me at his side.

“We gonna kill her here?” Scratch asks. My heart slams against my ribs.

“You really are a dumb fuck, ain’t you?” Rab sneers. “Nobody’s killin’ anyone in this crowd of witnesses. You got her?”

Dober’s hand clamps around my wrist. He nods.

“I suppose we’re movin’ to a new phase of negotiations,” Rab sighs. “Guess we ain’t gettin’ those blueprints.”

The sound of engines grows louder, echoing. A dust cloud blooms behind us where a line of port-a-pots form a boundary of the festival.

The beady-eyed guy is on the phone. “They’re headed this way.”

He’s gesturing away from the port-a-pots, down an incline, toward the main gathering area. You can see it now. People parting like the red sea, crowding under the vendor’s tents. Another cloud of dust rises in the air.

The death metal band is still raging, but the radios have been shut off. Everyone’s craning to see what’s going on.

“There’s ten of ‘em. No eleven.”

“Relax. We outnumber them. This is just gonna be a conversation.”

“Heavy Ruth and Dizzy Jones are riding lead.”

He’s coming.

My body sags. Dober jerks my arm. “Try anything, bitch, I’ll shank you in the back.” He takes my knife from his pocket, flicks it open, and presses it flat between my shoulder blades so my hair hides his hand.

Oh, fuck.

Dizzy’s coming, and I’m gonna die in front of him. My eyes burn.

I can see them now. Oh, my gosh. It’s like a movie.

The terrain’s too uneven for full speed—and there are too many people—but they’re coming steady. Dizzy’s hair and beard are wild in the wind, and his face is terrifying. My belly clenches and my heartbeat breaks into a gallop.

Heavy rides beside him, glowering and fierce, and seeing them side-by-side like this, there can be no doubt. They share blood. And they are intent on the same purpose.

Dizzy’s dark eyes meet mine. A shiver courses down my spine.

He’s coming for me.

He is righteous fury personified, and he is comin’ for what’s his. He thinks I’m working for the enemy, and he doesn’t care.

He loves me. Holy shit. He loves me.

All of a sudden, voices rise, and there’s a charge in the atmosphere.

“Fuck. Is that a pump-action shotgun?”

“They ain’t gonna open fire in the middle of Spank the Devil,” Dober says, but he doesn’t seem so sure.

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