Page 115 of Kings Against the World

It’s about waiting for the moment.

I clench my jaw and get ready to rear forward. Break the hold of the bastard restraining me and rush toward her if need be.

“Let our people go,” Silver demands. “Then we fight it out like men.”

Boone shakes his head with a tsk. “Then what fun would that be? You know, when I caught wind of Wheels’s little meeting, I thought… wow, what an opportunity! A chance to get some real payback on the two people who tried to ruin my empire.” He steps forward and yanks Zoe roughly toward him. “This one.”

Then he sweeps his head in my direction. All eyes fall on me.

“And that one. One of your own Steel Kings. Now, I think I deserve some revenge, don’t I?”

“You don’t deserve shit,” Silver snaps.

Boone’s grin twitches and his nostrils flare. A crack in the facade. He doesn't like being challenged, even if at first he found Silver’s backbone amusing.

Silver sees it too, deciding to lean into it. “Now, are you all talk, or are you going to make a move? I think we’re all bored of your theatrics, Boone.”

“I’ll do whatever the fuck I wanna do, just like I always have. BecauseI’min charge. Nobody else is. I run the show. And your little motorcycle clubs?” He scoffs, shaking his head. “They don’t mean squat to me. I’m bigger than that. My empire runs deeper. That’s what you fucking fools don’t understand.

“You see her?” He shakes Zoe by the arm. “I do whatever the hell I want to do. I took her sister. Snatched her up like she was a toy at some playground. My fucking toy! Then I madesome money off her. Lots of fucking money. You know how many people I’ve done the same to?” His eyes sweep the crowd, basking in the weight of his own ego. “Because. I. Run. Shit!”

His loudest, most taunting laugh yet rips from his throat. It’s pure arrogance. He tosses his head back, barking it into the night air.

That’s when it happens.

Zoe finally makes her move.

No hesitation to be found, her hand shoots up, clutching the switch blade. She twists toward him and drives the blade into his chest.

Everybody’s stunned.

But nobody’s more stunned than Boone himself. He jerks, his head bowing to stare down at the blade sticking out of his chest.

A second goes by where no one moves. Nobody even seems to breathe. Even the damn wind seems to die out.

Then, like in most situations like these, it all explodes.

I buck against the bastard holding me, fighting like hell to break free. Zoe’s officially made herself the main target. Which means I need to get to her.

Boone’s shock wears off. His lips curl back in a snarl. “Get them.”

Two simple words that seal tonight’s violent fate. The gunfire is immediate, coming from all sides.

“NOOO!” The scream rips out of me as I snap my head back, slamming it into the guy gripping me. His hold loosens just enough for me to twist free. I elbow him hard in the gut and yank his rifle clean out of his hands.

The haze of gun smoke thickens as more bullets tear through the air. Shadows flicker in and out, bodies ducking behind trees before edging forward to fire away. I swing the rifle up and fire off a shot as one of Boone’s henchmen approaches me. He drops to the ground, though I barely notice.

I’ve got only one focus in this moment.

Zoe.

She and Boone are locked in a brutal struggle. The kind that tells me Boone isn’t going down easy. Not even with a knife wound in his chest. He’s still got the strength to rip the blade out. His movements are slower than usual, but still dangerous as he slashes at her.

I push forward, blasting another bastard in the face. Then another. I’m running now, barreling through the chaos toward Zoe. She’s fighting like I’ve never seen before. Like she’s got nothing left to lose. She evades every slash of Boone’s and advances on him anyway, attempting to use her Krav Maga to subdue him.

But Boone is bigger and stronger. Even wounded. He finally lands a hit, knocking her back. She grits her teeth, wipes at the blood dripping from a fresh cut along her arm.

It doesn’t slow her down. She lunges and he dodges. They tumble to the ground in a tangled mess of limbs, rolling over dirt and leaves.

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