Page 164 of Deacon

I glance over at the hillside, where Jensen is waiting to signal the second Jack has Freya safe on his horse. It’s dark, just the outline of the trees visible. In the distance, I can hear horses pounding through the woods.

My heart is in my throat.

Jack swore he’d keep her safe. If anyone can, it’s Jack Russell.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not killing me that I’m the executioner in all this, not the savior.

There’s a faint thud to the north. We both turn our heads at the echo. Hooves pound. Then, I see it—a light flickers three times through the trees.

“Jesus fuck,” I breathe, relief flooding through me.

“Let me do it,” Westin says, flitting his eye to the sight again. “She’s safe. Let me take out this motherfucker.”

I shift off my stomach and into a crouch. “No, I need to do it. With my hands.”

I stand and head to where Bones waits just below the rise of the hill. Sovereign stays where he’s at, arm crossed, rifle against his thigh. He’s like a rock. He won’t move until it’s time. Westin sighs, getting up and following me to where his horse stands and mounts up. I do the same, and we head east, taking the long way around Deacon’s Hill to come at the house from the other side.

We just have to wait until the men come back to the house. They’re not dumb enough to follow Jack into the mountains. They couldn’t catch up with Exile if they tried anyway.

We move through the shadows until I can hear the faint sound of talking in the house.

Horses thunder down the hill. I see Aiden leading the way. They all pull to a halt in a spray of dirt and frozen grass. He’s livid—I see it in the way he moves to the house. He walks like me when I’m angry, jaw set and fists clenched. It’s no wonder Freya was scared of me at first.

“They go inside, we move,” I say. “You got my back?”

Westin jerks his chin in a nod. “Don’t tell my wife, but it feels good to be back in the saddle, even just for a night.”

I laugh. “Won’t say a word.”

There’s a short silence. Westin clears his throat and checks his rifle.

“What’s it feel like, knowing she’s pregnant?” he says. “I think Diane and I… We’ll start trying soon.”

“I don’t know, but more likely than not, she is,” I say.

“What’s it feel like?” he repeats.

I clear my throat, tapping my chest. “Feels like all this is on the outside now.”

There’s a long silence.

“Makes sense,” he says gruffly. “Alright. They’re in. Let’s move.”

“Remember, your job is to cover me and get me to Aiden,” I say. “Pick anybody else off who shoots at you. It’d be best if you let the randoms just run. Less paperwork that way.”

He jerks his head, adjusting in his stirrups as his horse prances. I click at Bones, and he starts trotting up the hill, breaking into a canter. Westin keeps pace beside me. The sound of our approaching horses doesn’t reach the men circled by the door and on the porch until we’re breaking out of the field and into the yard.

Then, they hear us, and everything is chaos. Someone starts shouting, trying to raise the alarm. Westin lifts his rifle and fires a row of warning shots over the house. I let Bones take me right into the middle of it and swing off, slapping his hindquarters hard enough so he knows to keep moving. I don’t want anybody killing my horse.

A man with a rifle bursts from the front door. Westin spins and shoots, and the man crumples before he can lift his gun. Through the haze, I hear another set of hoofbeats behind me, and I know Jensen is here. It takes a half second before I see him barreling around the corner and running right over someone with a sickening crunch.

Jensen dismounts, taking a pistol out, and starts shooting like he’s got no fear in his body. That’s the thing about these people from the eastern hills: they’re fucking scrappy, Freya and Jensen both.

A bullet flicks past my ear. Blood trickles down my neck. Through the screaming and the doors slamming, I hear someone’s voice shouting orders.

Aiden.

Gripping my gun, I move through the men, knowing Westin is picking off anybody who tries to shoot at me. My boots clatter up the steps. Through the screen door, I catch a glimpse of Aiden disappearing down the hall.

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