Page 51 of Redeeming Meg

Five of Hagar’s death squad, plus Hagar himself. The odds weren’t good, but Declan wasn’t going down without a fight. He needed Meg to snap out of her guilt-driven sense of duty and help him out.

“Remember Winnipeg?” he said.

She blinked and turned her head ever so slightly, frowning. “Winnipeg?”

He stepped into her line of sight and gave her a wicked grin. “Yes, Winnipeg.”

Her brows scrunched. “You can’t be serious.”

Hagar, no longer in the spotlight, took a bold step toward them. “What are you talking about?”

With a nod, Declan tossed Meg his gun. She caught it at the same time he grabbed her by the back of her dad’s jacket and lifted her clean off her feet. “This, you motherfucker.”

She screamed, partly in surprise, the sound morphing into a warrior’s yell. As it was meant to do, it startled their target, even as Declan sent her flying.

Bam, bam,bam, she fired the gun as she sailed through the air, taking out two of the death squad before she crashed into Hagar.

They landed in a heap on the wet tile floor.

Tessa cowered but kicked out at the nearest goon when he fired at Declan.

Declan ducked and ran, swiping up Meg’s weapon and slamming his booted foot into Hagar’s head. He dropped to his knees, sliding across the floor and firing at the men still standing with both his and her weapons.

Meg unleashed another scream, but a bullet lodged in his arm, and he dove for cover beside the fountain. Somehow, Tessamanaged to get to the machete and leverage it to cut the gray tape binding her wrists.

Declan leaped up on the rim of the fountain and struck the last squad member in the gut with a roundhouse kick. Toppling backward, the man sent a volley of bullets skyward and fell hard on top of one of his comrades. Declan jumped down and kicked the M4 away from the asshole’s hands before he sent him to his maker.

From off to his right, another gun went off and another man fell, sightless, to the floor. Declan whirled to find Tessa holding the weapon she’d removed from one of the already dead men. The death squad were all dead.

Together, they turned to Meg and Hagar.

Declan froze. Hagar had his arm around her neck and held her in front of him, using her as a shield as he walked her backward one slow step at a time.

She staggered, a wound in her abdomen pouring blood. Blood dripped from the side of her lips, too.

In Hagar’s hand, he raised his machete. “Put down your weapons, or she dies,” he growled.

He wasn’t without injury: blood trickled down his cheek from a gash at his temple. His nose was busted, and the blood that dripped from it coated his lips and teeth.

Declan stepped behind Tessa and shoved Meg’s gun into the waistband of his pants, sliding out from behind her to lay his Sig down. Tessa let the M4 clatter to the ground.

Hagar shoved Meg to her knees in front of him. “You stole her from me,” he said to Declan, “but she’s always been mine.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. “Meg,” Declan demanded, trying to get her attention. “Look at me.”

Her eyes were distant, unseeing as she stared at the floor where her blood seeped across the tiles. Slowly, too slowly, they slid to him. “It’s okay,” she said again. “I remember Winnipegand Serbia and all of them. Serbia is one of my favorites. Find Tommy for me.”

Serbia? The goatfuck that…

Had he heard her right?

Hagar laughed. “You’ll never find him. He owes me a great debt.” He raised the blade. “Just like you.”

Time expanded and warped.

Declan’s heart stopped.

His chest locked up as the blade began to fall.

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