Page 50 of Waves of Fury

Judy and Dan now have both their kids pulled to them, the four of them all crying but clearly grateful for the turn of events.

“What do we do?” Kyle asks, bitterness in his voice. “Kill them?”

My stomach twists at that thought. I don’t want to be like these pricks.

“He said there’s rope in the back,” I grit out in a near whisper. “Tie him to the back of the smaller red truck.”

Kyle, only seemingly mildly disappointed at not being able to make a mess of Mike’s skull, nods and then orders the man to his feet. Tyler also has Gunter rise as well. Jesse takes the opportunity to kick Gunter hard in the balls.

“What the fuck?” Gunter snarls and then gags, spewing barf mixed with chewing tobacco all over the ground. “You smashed my fucking nuts!”

Tyler smirks at me as he forcefully pokes the gun into Gunter’s back, urging him toward the back of the smaller vehicle.

Wayne and Gerry join to help tie the men up. These assholes threatened to kidnap and rape that poor girl. None of us are going to go easy on them. Only when the three dickheads are trussed up painfully to the bumper of the truck do we finally ease up as a group.

“Search the red truck,” I bark out to Kyle and Hope. “Take what you can. We’ll be using the other truck to get the fuck out of this place.”

While they start searching the red truck, I stride over to the blue extended cab Chevy and open the back door behind the driver’s side. The truck is a goldmine of supplies. A tactical bag bulging with handguns and ammo sits on the seat. Two more shotguns lie across the floor.

Tyler opens the other door and his eyes widen when he sees the loot. “These dudes were planning for war. Holy shit.”

It’s unnerving to think we may not be the first group they’ve tried to intimidate and kidnap from, but it’s not like we can call the police. And killing them, though it would be deeply satisfying, isn’t an option. This is America. The world may be falling apart, but some of us still believe in doing the right thing.

The right thing in this case is tying them to the truck and hoping a bear finds them.

Tyler closes the truck door and then appears on my side. I pull back from rummaging under the seat to look at him.

“What’s up?”

His features are hard and his eyes glisten. “Thank you.”

Before I can register what he’s even thanking me for, his arms are around me in a crushing hug. Unable to let the opportunity to touch him pass me by, I wrap him up in a tight embrace.

“You’re welcome, though I don’t know what for.”

He scoffs, his breath tickling my neck and sending tendrils of desire straight to my crotch. “For helping take down those guys. They were seconds from stealing that girl and blowing my brother’s big head off.”

I run my fingers up his spine and he shivers. “We have to look out for each other.”

“I know,” he says, voice hoarse as he slightly pulls away but doesn’t completely release me. “I can still thank a guy for being a badass.”

Lifting a brow, I smirk at him. “A badass, huh?”

His lips curl into a wicked grin. “Yeah. Pretty sexy too.”

Heat floods through me, electrifying every nerve ending in its wake. He thinks I’m sexy. Old-ass me. This guy is great for my ego, that’s for damn sure.

“Sexy, huh?” I tease. “You’re really milking this tip. It’s a good thing I pay extra for compliments.”

He leans forward, his lips brushing over my ear. “You got about ten times hotter when you changed out of your corporate zombie outfit into this one.” His fingers twist around the material of my shirt over my abs. “Rugged looks good on you, Kell. Really good.”

Someone says something close by that has Tyler pulling away from me. I take a step toward him, needing…something…but stop when Gerry rounds the back of the truck.

Dammit.

If all these people weren’t here with us, I’d have shoved Tyler against the side of the vehicle to kiss his youthful lips that know all the right things to say to set me on fire.

But we’re not alone.

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