Page 46 of Bee

He turns his head in my direction, and the way his body nearly crumbles is enough to know how right I am for wanting to have more with him.

He pushes through the guys and rushes over to me. "You're okay. Oh, fuck. I thought..." He doesn't finish his statement, just slams me against his body, holding me tight, kissing the top of my head and breathing me in deep.

I have to forcibly push myself out of his arms, "What are you talking about? Of course, I'm okay? Why wouldn't I be okay?"

He puffs out a deep breath before he continues, "Sonny was just at the bar, or he still is. I don't know. I told him I didn't need anything from him, and he made it sound like he was already here. He said he burned the clubhouse to the ground."

"What?" My heart is hammering in my chest. Something could've happened to him. I could've lost him right when I just got him.

"They followed you." Jag snarls and everyone looks in his direction.

Rye turns, "What?"

"They fucking followed you. They didn't know where we were. They're outside now. I can see people sneaking along the perimeter." Jag's eyes are glued out the window. I look in that direction and I don't see anything. But out of everyone in the room, Jag has nearly superhuman instincts. If he says there are people outside. There's a threat.

The air shifts.

It’s not something I see, not yet, but I feel it—thick, suffocating tension creeping in through the cracks of theclubhouse. The chatter dies. The girls around me stiffen. Then, through the window, I see them. Shadows moving in the darkness. Too many of them.

Vexx is already standing at attention. “Weapons. Now.”

There’s no hesitation. No wasted time. The girls move, grabbing whatever they can, loading up, preparing for the inevitable. My pulse is steady as I reach for my gun. This isn’t my first fight. It won’t be my last.

Then, a hand grabs my wrist.

I turn to see Rye, his dark eyes locked on mine. He doesn’t say anything at first, just looks at me, his grip tight enough that I know what he’s about to say before he even speaks.

“Stay,” he says, voice low, almost pleading. “Stay with me.”

I shake my head, my stomach twisting at the look on his face. He’s worried. For me. But I can’t do what he’s asking.

“I’m good at this,” I tell him, forcing a small smirk. “I’ve been here before.”

His jaw clenches. “Bee?—”

I step forward, pressing my palm against his chest. “I promise you, everything will be okay.”

The words are easy, but the truth? I don’t know if we’ll make it out of this. None of us do. But I have no choice.

I turn before he can say anything else and move with the rest of the girls toward the door. Vexx leads us out, and the second we step onto the gravel lot, I see them.

Evan and his men. More than a dozen. Maybe twenty. Armed. Waiting.

The silence stretches thin. Then...

Boom.

From the side, someone throws a Molotov cocktail against the side of the building, and it engulfs in flames.

The first shot cracks through the night, and chaos erupts.

I move fast, years of muscle memory kicking in. My gun lifts, my aim steady, and I take the first shot. A man drops. I spin, fire again. Another one down.

Shouts. Screams. Bullets tearing through the air.

The smell of gunpowder burns my nose, but I don’t stop. I can’t. My body moves before my mind even catches up. I duck low, rolling behind a car for cover, reloading in one smooth motion.

Another shot. Another body hitting the dirt.

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