Page 31 of Breaker

Robert Murray turned to face me, a sinister grin on his face. “Well, well, if it isn’t the knight in shining armor. You’re too late, boy. Juniper is coming with me.”

I lunged forward, my rage boiling over as I prepared to fight for Juniper’s safety. But Robert was quick, dodging my attack and pulling out a knife. The blade glinted menacingly in the dim light, a clear threat that he wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

“Breaker, please be careful,” Juniper whimpered, her voice trembling with fear.

I circled Robert, my eyes never leaving his, waiting for an opening. I knew I had to be smart, to find a way to disarm him and get Juniper to safety. Without using my gun. I didn’t want to risk Juniper darting into the path of a bullet, or worse, her uncle deciding to use her as a shield.

As we faced off, I silently vowed to do whatever it took to protect her, even if it meant putting my own life on the line. Juniper’s safety was all that mattered, and I wouldn’t rest until she was out of her uncle’s clutches and back in the protective arms of the Hades Abyss MC.Myarms.

“You have a choice,” Robert Murray said. “You can either quietly let me leave with Juniper, or I can kill you and carry her out over your dead body.”

“No! Please… don’t hurt him,” Juniper begged.

“I’ve got this, Juni,” I assured her, although I had to admit I wasn’t feeling as confident as I tried to sound. This could go sideways in the blink of an eye.

“How sweet. Looks like she’s found someone to care about, and you even return her affection. It’s nauseating.”

“You’re a monster,” I said. “What the hell would you know about love and affection?”

He smiled. “Not a damn thing. But I do like some excitement. And power.”

My gut twisted. “Power?”

He closed his eye briefly, a look of bliss crossing his features. “It’s so thrilling when they plead and scream, doing their best to fight their way to freedom, only to settle down and accept their fate once I’ve had my way with them.”

I nearly threw up from the picture he painted. If I could, I would rid the earth of every rotten bastard like this one. All they did was cause pain and suffering. I doubted they had souls, but if Robert Murray had one, I’d make sure he had a one-way ticket to hell.

“Have you fucked my little niece yet? I never could bring myself to do it. Not with her. Even I have my standards, and family is a no-go. But I do have a friend who is very eager to meet her. Oh, the things he wants to do with her.” Robert sighed, and I had to hold on with everything I had not to launch myself at him. I knew that’s what he wanted, to provoke me into acting without thinking. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

I heard Juniper whimper and made the mistake of glancing at her. I wanted to reassure both her and myself that she was fine, but it was the wrong thing to do. Robert Murray lunged at me, and I threw my arm up to block him. The knife sliced through my long-sleeved shirt and I hissed at the sting of pain as he drew blood. He didn’t give me even a second to catch my bearings before he was after me again, his knife stabbing at me over and over. I kept dancing out of the way, but when I realized he was herding me closer to Juniper, I forced myself to stay still.

The evil smile he cast my way said enough. I’d been playing into his hands even though I’d tried not to. Without a moment of hesitation, I drew my gun. Before I even got a chance to fire off a shot, the asshole made a motion to something over my shoulder. Just as my finger was squeezing the trigger on my gun, I heard an explosion of glass, Juniper’s scream, and then felt fire through my right shoulder. I glanced down in disbelief as the realization I’d been shot hit me.

“You knew I wasn’t alone,” Robert said. “And now you’ll pay the price.”

I didn’t get a chance to respond before I felt his knife sink into my gut. The world started turning hazy, and no matter how hard I fought to stay conscious, it was a losing battle. The last thing I heard was Juniper screaming my name.

* * *

Juniper

“No! Not Breaker.” I fell to my knees and tried crawling to him, but my uncle snatched me by my hair and dragged me back to my feet.

“This is your fault, Juniper. If you’d come with me earlier, your husband wouldn’t be dying right now.”

Tears blurred my vision and it felt like my heart had been shattered. He was right. Thiswasall my fault. Fangs, Yankee, Breaker… they’d been hurt, and would possibly die, all because I’d stayed here. How many others out there were wounded or dead?

“Now come along like a good girl,” my uncle said.

I followed him, not sure what else I could do. As I stumbled from the house, I realized things had quieted down outside. I didn’t see any of the Hades Abyss members, except for those on the ground. Not only were Fangs and Yankee still down outside the house, but I saw three other bodies on our way to the fence line.

My uncle had cut the fence, and now he dragged me through the opening. When we reached the road, he shoved me into the back seat of his car. I noticed he set the child lock on the door before closing it, and I knew he’d done the same for the other side. He’d not leave something like that to chance.

I felt numb as we pulled away.

Closing my eyes, I let the tears fall silently, as I prayed harder than I ever had in my entire life.Please. Please let Breaker and the others be okay. Don’t let them die.

Even if I never saw them again, I wanted them to live. Maybe then I’d feel a little less guilty.

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