Page 69 of The Devil's Viking

“Not today, you’re not.” Drake looked at Elle and the woman. “You guys OK?”

They both nodded, their eyes huge in their snow-white faces. Elle looked worse for wear, with bruises blooming as purple as her eyes across her cheeks and forehead, and the other woman’s pupils were crazy-huge, so big that there was just a tiny circle of cool green around the jet-black pupil.

“What do we do?” Elle asked. “They’ve stopped shooting so do we stay here?”

“Terrible idea.” Dux grimaced as he moved his leg. “Ice and Viking and Drake will cover us, but we gotta move. You got it, ladies?”

“You mean – we get up and run?”

“That’s exactly what I mean.” Dux stared at his brother. “You ready?”

“Yeah.” Drake looked over his shoulder at Ice and Viking, raised three fingers. Ice nodded, and Drake saw him explaining to Viking what was going on as he reloaded.

“Count of three, you two get to your feet and you fuckingrun,” Drake instructed. “You get me? Don’t look back and don’t stop until you’re behind the van. Clear?”

They nodded.

“Here we go.” Drake tightened his grip on his gun. “Ready? Three… two… one… go!”

He leapt to his feet and started shooting into the windows again, while Ice and Viking did the same. Briley looked over her shoulder from her place behind the tree, saw what was going on, and followed suit. The women took off in a sort of stumbling run, holding hands as they made their way to the van.

“Come on, baby!” Viking shouted at Elle. “Move that assnow!”

“I’m moving my ass!” she screamed back at him. “Shut up!”

Dux guffawed as his brother pulled him painfully off the ground and flung his arm around his shoulders. Dux tried to take a step, but Drake practically carried him. “Attagirl! I like her, Drake.”

Drake was backing up with his brother, moving his gun between the windows and the roof. “I too like her spirit, but she’s taken, man.”

“I know.” Dux groaned as his leg almost gave out under him; Drake was dragging him now, literally pulling all his weight with one arm. “Lucky Viking.”

“C’mon, almost there.”

With one final massive heave, Drake managed to get his brother to the van. Right away, Ice took Dux’s other arm and between the two of them, they got him in the back lying down. The brunette was already in there, wrapped in a blanket.

“Hey, doc!” Ice shouted. “You want to come take a look at this gunshot wound?”

Viking wasn’t listening, however. He had lifted Elle in his arms and he was holding her like he would never let go: he was pressing her dark head into his chest, his lips in her shining hair. She had completely disappeared into his large body and all the men saw were her tiny socked feet, swinging in the air.

“It’s OK, Ice,” Dux said. “Give them a minute.”

“Seems that stern talking-to has been shelved for the moment,” Drake commented. “No big surprise, huh?”

Ice glared, then looked back at the building, checking on Briley, wondering why she hadn’t followed the twins out. He froze.

“Oh, fuck,” Dux said;thatlook was never a good thing. “What? Ice, what?”

Drake rushed over to stand next to the chief Enforcer and he followed Ice’s line of sight. What he saw was not comforting in the slightest.

A man stood in the building doorway, his blond hair illuminated from behind. He was a huge man, broad-shouldered and muscular, and he was holding a gun. The gun was pointed at Briley, who was still hidden behind the tree.

“Fuck,” Drake muttered. “Our girl is in trouble.”

**

Briley peeked around the tree trunk, saw Gideon standing there, so calm and arrogant, just hanging out in the doorway totally exposed. Like he didn’t have a care in the world; like he couldn’t die.

Maybe he does actually believe he’s immortal?

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