Page 53 of Savage Protector

“Van’s almost to you.” Before Tel could finish his sentence he heard the roar of the van’s engine as he settled into position. With his stomach churning about Izzy, he forced his mind to focus on his rifle and the long-range scope and stand he fished from his backpack. He couldn’t think about Izzy right now.

While the bite of her anger had come through the drugs loud and clear, he had to believe making this deal was the best thing he could have done. He preferred her pissed and alive over the alternative.

He wedged his rifle into the perfect spot between two boulders and stretched out on his stomach. The conditions and prep for this were far from perfect, but he’d dealt with these kinds of contingencies for years. No mission ever went exactly as planned.

Although the deep darkness surrounding this property was as much the enemy as the soldiers approaching, giving him more worry than usual. In the other version of his life, he at least had the vast amount of equipment necessary to control situations as they arose. Unlike this wild west bullshit.

“This is it. They’re coming in thirty degrees northwest of your position at the edge of the trees. You should start seeing them any second.”

“I’m in position,” he answered, taking a deep even breath to ease his focus.

“We’re bringing them out now. Counting on you to cover us, Hawkeye.”

He took another slow deep breath and focused his eyes in the direction Tel had given him. The moon shone barely at a quarter of its strength so he didn’t have much help in that area. That gave him no choice but to rely on the intel and his instincts. The latter of which had been itching at him for hours.

He detected movement in his peripheral and he switched direction momentarily to ensure it was friendly. Satisfied when he saw Axel emerge from the garage with a female in his arms, he returned his gaze to the trees in the distance and blocked out a similar image of Izzy in his.

If not for that quick change of focus, he might have missed them as two enemy combatants emerged from hiding several degrees west of where he’d originally been looking. He took another deep breath, this one quicker, and squeezed the trigger. As soon as the bullet cleared the chamber he repositioned and did it again.

The two lead men hit the ground one right after the other. That was great, but his element of surprise was over and the rest of the men started firing. Even at their distance, they had a better than good chance of taking out some of their men before they could finish loading the women.

Houston flipped the switch on his rifle and began firing in short automatic bursts. His intention to give the impression that they were being ambushed seemed to work as the rest of the men took cover.

“Time to get out now,” he warned. “They won’t stay still for long.”

“Gotta get three more out before we can leave.” Axel shouted. “Need at least two more minutes.”

Two minutes might as well have been a lifetime when it came to gunfire. The men down range were still firing at the van and more than one had hit it. For the first time in a long time, Houston wanted to be on the front line of this bullshit. These people had messed with the wrong person and he wanted to hammer that message into their thick fucking skulls until they exploded.

After several more rounds of rapid fire, he switched back to single rounds. He needed precision if he had any hope of picking them off before they encroached further on the van’s position.

Visibility had gone to shit in the chaos of gunfire, screaming from some of the women and—what the fuck?

“Is that smoke?” he asked over the comm.

“Yeah. I’m burning this shit hole to the ground and using the smoke as cover. We’re coming out with the last of them so you need to get ready to go.” Axel’s red hot rage vibrated into his ear and he shuddered to think what they’d found in that building to get him this enraged.

“Copy that.” He focused in on his sights one last time and slow squeezed the trigger until one of the enemy walked into his smoky vision. The gun popped and he pulled back without confirming the kill.

He had no doubt he’d hit the target, but as Axel shoved the last woman into the back of the van and slammed the door behind her, he scrambled to shove his gear back into his bag so he too could get the hell out of here.

“Get the fuck out of now, Hawkeye. We need to regroup and update JD on this clusterfuck. This shit ain’t over.”

The van peeled out of the drive as the club traded gunfire with the enemy guards. Unfortunately, his bike was in their direct path and he would have to either leave it behind or shoot his way out of here.

He pulled his KelTec pistol with its 30 round magazine out of his holster and backed away from his position. He was not leaving that bike behind. No fucking way. He’d just gotten her back and the idea that these fuckers would destroy her was unacceptable. He’d rather kill every one of them first.

A picture of Izzy angry as hell despite the glassy eyes and swollen needle marks in her arms sitting in the van flooded his mind. If he never got back to her what would happen? He’d promised to leave the moment she was safe. That moment had arrived.

Yet he couldn’t shake the facts. She still needed him. Hell, he still needed her. Who did he think he was kidding? He’d locked onto her the moment he saw her. But it was the glimpse into the woman behind the wedding dress that had dug its claws deep.

He had to see her again. Tonight. Nothing short of her complete and total safety would satisfy the possessiveness that beat inside his chest like a living breathing thing. He had to make sure she understood he wasn’t leaving by choice and that he would come back to her. This wasn’t over.

Even if his honor demanded he live up to his agreement…

He already had too much blood on his hands. Innocent blood. The only way to keep that in check was to protect Izzy no matter the cost. If that protection meant that he temporarily left her in the care of the club, she’d have to understand. He’d make sure she did. Then he could complete the club’s God forsaken mission and his.

“Not so fast, biker scum.”

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