Page 7 of Redemption

Axel

A ball of fire lightsup the night sky as I drop Kelsey’s bag, grab her by the arm and dive behind some bushes for safety. My arms cradle her as close to me as I can to keep her from taking the brunt of my weight and crushing her. Not an easy thing to do as we’re still cuffed together. Maybe that wasn’t my smartest idea given our current situation, but it was the only way I could make her come with me. Not to mention my dick likes this new position a hell of a lot, despite the circumstances. Her mango scent isn’t helping matters. The fruity shit that is unique only to her has my balls tightening and aching for her.

Then my eyes take in the damage in front of us and it’s like a splash of ice water on my dick. I see red. Willie Mae is in a million fiery pieces sprawled throughout the darkened parking lot. I’m about to bust someone’s ass as I watch my precious truck being blown to fucking pieces, but then the bullets start flying. One hits the ground damn near next to Kelsey’s head causing her to flinch in my arms.

“Shit.” My head snaps around as I do a quick scan of our surroundings. The buildings piss poor lights give way to a few small potted plants and the stairs where we came from, other than that, there’s nothing else for us to use as cover. We’re fucked if we stay where we are. “Wildcat, I need you to do something for me.”

“What?” Tears glisten her blue eyes. Her voice comes out a quiet and shaky mess, hitting me square in the chest. It kills me to see her like this and that pisses me off all over again. It makes me want to rip their intestines out through their fucking throats for each droplet that falls down her perfect face. Something I’ll enjoy doing the first chance I get, but right now I have more important things to handle. I suck down my rage and focus on getting us out of this alive.

“We need to move. We’re sitting ducks right now. When I tell you to I need you to run as fast as those gorgeous legs can carry you that way.” I jerk my head to the small opening on the right if us. “Can you do that for me?”

She nods, but her auburn eyebrows pinch together. “What about you?”

I pull out my Glock and make sure there’s one in the chamber before glancing up at her and hold up our linked hands. “I’ll be right behind you, just don’t slip on the wet asphalt or we’ll be both be fucked.”

After a few seconds pass the firing finally stops, meaning they have to reload and I don’t waste another second. I pull Kelsey to her feet and gently shove her towards the open back of the building with me right behind. “Now, Wildcat.”

My cuffed hand intertwines with hers as I use my body as a shield and keep firing with my right one, until we’re tucked safely behind the building. The salty sea air has me sweating like a hog on a spit, but we keep moving. Building after building we weave our way through as best as the shitty lights will allow with heavy footsteps pounding the pavement right behind us.

On our last turn, we wind up in a darkened alley that opens up onto a street at the end. We’re almost to the end of the building, which means we’ll lose our only source of protection. I need to think of something fast or else it’s open season on our asses.

A flash of green out of the corner of my eye catches my attention under the faded street light. Without giving it a second thought, I shove us behind the dumpster. The putrid smell of trash and who knows what else has Kelsey fighting her gag reflex. Lucky for me, I’ve been in worse situations overseas and can stomach much more than this nasty shit.

Footsteps pound against the wet asphalt closer to where we’re hiding and I slide us deeper into the building until our bodies are tucked tightly inside the small crevice between the wall and the dumpster.

The figures step into the light and I do a quick inventory of what I’m up against. There are only two of them, but I get the feeling the rest are waiting back at her apartment and will come charging over the second we’re found. The younger one is wearing dress slacks with suspenders, while the older bald one of the pair appears to be an annoying ass mouth breather that I can hear hyperventilating from here.

“Ye feckin’ idiot. The girl needs to be brought in alive without a scratch on her.” He smacks the younger one across the back of the head so hard he stumbles back a few steps. There’s no missing their Irish accents and that’s information that I file away inside my head for later.

Kelsey groans at that. I press her up against the brick wall and put my hand over her mouth to keep them from hearing her. If they do, we’re fucked. The metal of the cuff digs into my skin, but I ignore the slight bite of pain and focus on them.

“Sorry, Carrick.” His voice comes out a bit high-pitched. Christ, he sounds like he’s still a fucking kid.

“It’s fine, lad. Let’s find her and get out of here.” He waves the kid off as they start pulling on the doors that line the brick buildings. One by one they yank on the locked doors, creeping closer to where we’re hiding.

Kelsey jerks against my hold and I tighten my hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. I feel her heart pounding against her chest as she fights to control her trembling body. My focus is split on keeping her quiet and the dicks a few feet in front of us. I need to try to form some sort of plan, but my options are slim. We’re outnumbered and outgunned, which I could handle if it was just my ass on the line and not cuffed to her, but it’s not and no way am I risking her ending up with a bullet in her gorgeous body.

The bald one called “Carrick” gets a call and shouts over his shoulder to the kid before he walks off towards the apartments. The younger one hangs back, looking around and heading straight for the dumpster that’s our shelter. I aim my gun at his head, ready pull the trigger when a rumble of an engine catches my attention.

A lifted black truck guns it down the alley, never slowing down. The front bumper nails the dipshit in his shoulder and he’s knocked back a good distance sliding against the asphalt.

The window rolls down and I about choke out a sigh of relief. Zane’s in the driver seat with a cigarette hanging from his mouth looking like he’s on a late night drive and I’ve never been happier to see the fucker’s bearded face in my life.

“Hop in.” He jerks his head to the cab of the truck.

I release Kelsey and slide into the back seat, knowing she’ll have no choice but to follow since we’re stuck together. She slides in against my side, but doesn’t even put up a fight. Since we ran through a hail of bullets, she’s been as silent as a mouse. And that worries me. My Wildcat is never quiet.

In a moment of weakness, I pull out the key with my free hand and bring her wrist into my lap. The movement causes the metal of the cuffs to clank together catching Zane’s attention, but I ignore him and continue what I’m doing. The cuff springs free with a small click, but Kelsey doesn’t even move. Her hand stays limp on my thigh. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her closer to my side. It’s like she’s here, but she’s not really here with us.

The sound of Zane clearing his throat has my eyes darting up to meet his through the rearview mirror. He cocks a dark eyebrow at me, but I shake my head letting him know to drop it. There’s no way in hell I’m explaining why we were cuffed together. With a small shrug, he goes back to paying attention to the road, but I know him. I’ll be hearing about it later.

We drive a few minutes in stifled silence until Zane breaks it. “Where’s Willie Mae?”

“She blew up.” My lips flatten into a tight line as my foot taps against the black carpet.

“Blew up?” He damn near chokes on his cigarette sending sparks flickering toward his beard.

I clear my throat of few times before giving him a one word answer. The wound is still too fresh to do much else. “Yup.”

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