Page 94 of Daughters of Chaos

I start moving slowly toward her. "I'm here, Wildfire. I'm here."

Her eyes turn glassy, and a sob shakes from her lips as she drops her arms to her lap. "I'm so tired," she whispers. "So fucking tired."

She doesn't flinch when I pull her into my arms, cradling her protectively. "I've got you," I tell her, holding her close. "I've got you."

Her answering sob almost breaks me. She's safe now. Nothing, and no one will ever get to her again. I'll make sure of it.

"So . . . tired." Her voice is weak as she repeats the words into my chest, fisting my shirt like it's a lifeline tethering her to safety.

Cupping the back of her head as I rub her back, I tell her, "Sleep, Wildfire. I've got you. You're safe now." She lets out a shaky breath before giving in to exhaustion, falling limp in my arms.

Jesse's been quiet for a while, but he reminds me that we aren't home-free yet. "We need to go. I let the others know we found her. There are only a few of Scar's guys left. We should be in the clear once we get outside."

I carefully stand up, holding Raven to my chest as Jesse leads the way outside. We don't run into any more of Scar's crew, and the gunshots have stopped. Viper and the others must have taken care of the rest of them while we were inside.

I see the exit ahead.A few more yards, and she'll be free of this hellhole.My arms still cradle Raven as she sleeps, her head lolling with every step I take.Almost there, Wildfire. Almost outta here.

Jesse lowers his gun as we reach the exit, extending one hand to open the door. As he starts to push it open, a familiar click sounds by my ear, and a hard object presses into my head. "Not so fast."

J turns, eyes wide and livid, as he looks at the prick standing behind me with a gun pressed against my skull. "Where do you think you're going?" the fucker mocks.

"We're leaving," I grind out. "With her."

He laughs, pushing the barrel of his gun harder against me. "Ohhh, I don't think so. Leave the girl, and maybe I let you walk out in one piece."

"Not a fuckin' chance!"

Jesse's eyes move frantically between me and the Bastard. I see him trying to work out how to get us out of this, but the fucker has the upper hand here. It won't be easy. "Think about this, man," he says slowly and calmly, holding his hands in front of him. "Think about it. You fire that gun, our guys hear it and come racing in here, you'll have thirty bullets in you before you reach the corner. There's no way you get out of this unless you put the gun down. You do that, we won't kill you."

Scar's man scoffs. "You think I'm stupid? If I drop my gun, I'm dead. At least this way, I'll take one of you with me." His barrel bites into the back of my head.

"You drop that gun, and I promise I won't touch my weapon," Jesse says. "We just want to take her and go. You can disappear into the wind."

A snarl erupts behind me. "You think I'll fall for that? Fuck you. I'll cash my ticket to hell, but I'm takin' this fucker with me."

Loud ringing from the gunshot echoes in my ears. I wait for the pain, wait for the blood, darkness, numbness, anything, but none comes. Jesse lets out a breath as he looks at the ground behind me. "Oh, thank fuck. Took your sweet time, didn't you."

Confused, I look behind me. Laying there is one of Scar's men. The sick fuck's lifeless body is bleeding from a bullet wound to his head. Reality hits me like a Mack truck. I'm alive. I'm still here to protect Raven. A wave of gratitude washes over me as something moves to my right.

A bulky figure appears from the shadows with a hard look in his eyes as he lowers his gun. My brother. My savior. "Raptor," I say with a gruff nod. I'm not much for thank yous or talking in general, but I know he understands my gratitude.

His returning nod confirms it; then his eyes focus on the small body I hold in my arms. His jaw tenses as he juts his chin in her direction. "She okay?"

"Think so," Jesse answers. "Pretty banged up and exhausted, but she's tough. They find Kat?"

Raptor nods. "Yeah, she's already in the van outside. We're just taking care of the stragglers and prepping the tanks."

Jesse starts to reply, but I don't hear a word he says. I want to get Raven as far away from this place as I can. Without another word, I move passed him, carrying her into the cool night air. Each of our guys stops what they're doing as we pass, taking a second to confirm we have my girl back. When I reach the spot where Bear, Hammer, and Viper have Scar on his knees, everything freezes.

Viper takes one long look at Raven, leans in to say something to Scar, and fires a bullet through the middle of his forehead.

"He the last one?" Bear asks, eyes glued to the dead body of the Bastards' president.

"Yeah," Viper confirms, glaring at the corpse. "Time to light it up."

His eyes shoot to me and Raven, and I watch as he swallows hard. Agony is written on his face as he looks at his daughter. "Get her back safe," he orders. "The rest of us will clean up here."

Minutes later, it feels like I can finally breathe. Raven is still asleep in my arms as Raptor pulls away from the warehouse. Brightness and loud booms follow when we reach the highway, speeding away from the last holdout the Bastards will ever have.

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