I didn’t see Rémy or Romeo. But I knew they were here wreaking havoc.
Rosco moved to the rear passenger door with confidence behind his wall of soldiers. A devilish smirk hung on his lips.
He thought he’d bring my woman into this fight. Use her as his shield. “Not today, bitch,” I muttered.
Aiming low, I fired. His ankle gave out, causing him to drop his gun.
Rosco shouted in pain as he fell, scrambling for his weapon. But before he could point it at me, I fired again - this time at his arm - and sent him into shock.
“Ah,” he yelled, dropping his rifle like it was on fire. Catch and Ezra ambled toward the other side of the truck while me, Brock and the guys worked on killing Rosco’s front line of defense.
“Ritchie, the girls are secure,” Ezra stated.
“I repeat, they’re safe.” There was a sense of calm in his voice, yet a hint of terror. What happened to them?
Stepping backward, I let my rifle dangle from the strap crossing my body. I removed a gas mask from my oversized left cargo pants pocket.
“It’s over,” I shouted before lowering the mask.
“Die motherfucka,” Rosco shouted.
I shoved a hand in my right cargo pocket, retrieving two items. Pulling the pin, I threw the grenade at the SUV parked behind Rosco’s truck.
The ground moved under my feet as the truck exploded. A plume of smoke rose from the red and orange flames engulfing the truck. The truck doors flew from the flames. The driver’s side door slammed into one of Rosco’s men, who couldn’t escape the horror of the explosion. I wasted no time tossing the tear gas canister at Rosco. Not giving him time to recover.
“I’ll get the truck,” Brock said.
I nodded.
Stalking through the smoke, I kneeled, glaring at Rosco. “You really fucked up.”
I slammed the butt of my rifle into his chiseled face. The cracking of bones sounded right before he hollered. My fist curled around his collar. I tugged him through the street. Pain radiated every inch of my skin. The pain meds could only do so much. I was putting too much strain on my injured limbs.
Brock rolled to a stop in front of me. Two of our men gathered Rosco and tossed him into the trunk.
The gunfire ceased. Rosco’s men were done. We were bringing a few with us to torture. Patrons poked their heads out from their hiding spots around the rest stop.
Catch gripped Tori so tight at his side it seemed as if he was trying to protect her with a steel wall. She buried her face in his side, trembling. Ezra smirked behind the gas mask. I knew he was relieved to have her back. He held Simone close. She kept her eyes closed because of the tear gas. I could see the bruises on her face and my blood boiled. They hit her?
What had they done to Tori? My fist clenched as fury raced through my veins. I ran across the street where they stood.
I grabbed onto Tori’s elbow, “Tori, it’s me.”
Her body shook violently as she mumbled my name. “Yeah, baby, it’s me,” I repeated.
“We have to move now,” I uttered softly. She brought her hands up to cover her face, unwilling to let me see her battered skin.
“Let me see your face,” I pleaded gently.
“No, Ritchie,” she whispered brokenly.
“Tori, I can’t love you any less,” I declared firmly and watched as her legs gave out from under her.
Scooping her up into my arms,I winced at the pain.
“Ritchie, I can carry her,” Catch stated, adjusting the airtight goggles on his face.
“No, I got her.” My heart beat wildly in my chest. Having her back in my arms brought a sliver of peace.