Page 170 of Beautifully Shattered
But I know she’d never forgive me if I tried to stop her again.
“Get ready!” Vender shouts from the front, and we all tense, mentally preparing for the moment we need to jump from the fucking van.
Brody is up front with Vender today, and I can tell JD is worried about having his little brother with us. Ever since the ambush at my place, Brody has been more focused and dedicated to what we do. He insisted on coming today. To do his part.
Stocky, Murf, Trunk and Mex are cramped into the second van, while Trigger, Ace, Tups and Spud are squeezed into the third. All good men. Brothers I’d bleed for.
I just hope none of them die today.
Fuck, this shit is hard.
It’s like my head and heart are splitting in two. Half of me is worried about my men, and the other half about my wife. Both sides of my worry tearing at me.
Shifting my foot, I nudge Abbey’s boot with mine, and her gaze darts to me.
“Remember. On my six. At all times,” I snap, my voice low and edged with steel, and for once, she doesn’t give me the eye rollI’m expecting. Just a tight nod, her eyes burning with the same fear and fury I feel.
“Just remember too, no one kills Daniel and Donny but me.”
I nod this time, happy with the arrangement we have in place.
I agreed to let her be the one to kill Donny and Daniel, if she leaves Ian Allen up to me.
That sick fucker raped my wife. Ain’t no fucking way he’s dying by anyone else’s hand but mine.
The van screeches to a stop, all of us bracing as the door whooshes open, and JD and I leap out first, guns raised, eyes sweeping for threats.
The other two vans speed off towards hangar eight, while the black SUV sticks with us, and Marx men pour out, boots pounding the pavement as we run for the hangar door.
Outside the entrance door, two of the Marx team swing the access door wide and toss in a smoke bomb. The flash flares bright, the clap echoing as the space fills with choking white smoke.
Checking over my shoulder, I see Abbey ready with her gun, eyes darting around, right as the first bullets rip through the air.
As much as it nearly fucking kills me, I wait, forcing myself to hold position until my team is inside, working on securing the inside. Every second we hang back is like fucking acid in my veins, but Abbey’s safety is my first priority.
There’s shouting, more gunfire, and then something we weren’t prepared for.
An explosion.
Hangar eleven behind us goes up in a hot ball of fire, the shockwave knocking us off our feet as part of hangar seven’s wall caves inward.
“Angel!” I bellow through the smoke and chaos, my lungs burning, heart ready to fucking cease to exist if I can’t fucking find her.
My ears ring with gunfire and screams until a dainty hand claws my arm, and I quickly blink through the haze to see her on the ground next to me, dazed as she sits up.
“I’m okay!” she gasps, her eyes wide as they flick around the carnage. “What the hell just happened?”
Gunfire pops closer, and I shove myself to my feet, about to pull her up when a body crashes into me, knocking the breath from my chest.
A fist crunches into my nose, hot pain exploding across my face, and my fists fly automatically, trying to fight whoever the fuck is on me. We scrap like rabid dogs, rolling over the harsh gravel in a feral, bloody scuffle.
“No!” Abbey screams, and at first I think she’s yelling about the fucking thug beating on me, but then her voice comes again, sounding further away. “Come back, you son of a bitch! You’re gonna die today!”
Fuck.
I throw my elbow into the thug’s jaw on top of me, feeling bone crunch under the hit. He tumbles off me, and I shove myself up, my fucking heart thundering as I search for my wife, just in time for a bullet to rip through my thigh.
“Fuuuck!” I roar, heat flaring down my leg, and through the swirling smoke, I catch a glimpse of someone who looks a helluva lot like Allen, turning and bolting away.
