Page 87 of Texas Hold Em'
On Jackson.
I knew immediately the man with the gun was Moss. Bates dropped his hand.
“Wait,” I breathed, but it was too late.
The shot split the night in half.
As soon as it went off, all the Wolverines’ bikes roared to life. Headlights flashed on and illuminated the crossroads down below. Everything happened in less than two seconds, and as the headlights lit up the scene, I watched in horror as Jackson went down. His bike slid a good ten feet across the gravel with him pinned under it.
Bates roared for his men to ride. Their bikes kicked up dust and gravel and surged forward down the slope.
Down below, Mason pulled up in front of Jackson, drew a gunfrom a holster strapped to his gas tank, and fired off six shots in rapid succession.
Four Wolverines went down.
More shots came from behind Mason, who dropped down behind the cover of his own bike and strained to haul Jackson’s up off him. He slid an arm under Jackson’s, dragged him to his feet, and helped him onto his bike.
A bullet sparked off the side of the bike.
Mason roared for Jackson to go, hopped on the back of the bike, and returned fire as the rest of the Devil’s Luck plunged into the fray.
Jackson told me to stay hidden unless I absolutely needed to move. I wasn’t sure if he’d consider this worthy of my involvement, but I didn’t care. I was getting fucking involved.
But I wasn’t going to waste my chance. I had the advantage of perfect cover and the element of surprise. If I just rode out there, I’d give away all my leverage.
So I drew my gun. Bates was within firing range, but I wasn’t nearly the good shot Carrie was. Dimly, I wished she was here, then thought wishing such a thing was batshit.
I closed one eye and trained my sights on the bastard who killed William and Tracy and damn well nearly killed Mason, too. Who’d nearly killed Jackson seconds ago. Who sent men to kill me and Carrie.
“Fucker,” I growled. And pulled the trigger.
The shot was swallowed up by the roar of motorcycle engines and other bullets being fired down below. But I knew I hit my mark because Bates jerked forward and let out a cry. Caroline, who stood behind him, whirled around, her white ponytail spinning around her head like a whip. Moss turned too, and he trained his gun right on the spot where I sat.
But he didn’t fire because he couldn’t fucking see me. So I took another shot as Bates doubled over on his bike.
Caroline started screaming orders. Moss fired a shot at the excavator. It bounced off the metal.
I fired back, and this time I knew I gave away my position. It didn’tmatter, however, because I’d put a bullet in Moss’s thigh, and he dumped his bike with a cry of pain. His gun fell out of his hands and Caroline drew hers, spinning and trying to seek me out while her father bellowed at her to get him the hell out of there.
Moss struggled to get to his feet.Not so fast,I thought.
I turned on my bike. The headlight momentarily blinded Caroline, who shielded her eyes in the groove of her elbow. I seized my chance and opened the throttle, racing out from the cover of the shadows and closing the seventy or so feet between us in mere seconds. Caroline fired off a shot and missed. She panicked, dropped a shoulder, and dragged her father off his bike while screaming at Moss to take me down. Her voice was so shrill and panicked I could hear it over the roar of my engine.
I gritted my teeth and hunkered down low in the saddle while Moss got to his feet, slung the gun up, and fired.
Fuck.
My windshield shattered. Glass sprayed up into my face. He fired a second shot and the front tire blew. I went over the handlebars and landed hard in the gravel. It bit into my elbows as I landed on my back. My ribs screamed with agony.
Clutching at my side, I rolled onto my stomach. I took shallow breaths and forced myself up onto my hands and knees while Caroline screamed bloody murder that I was supposed to be dead.
Her fear made me grin, and I lifted my head and locked eyes with her.
“Maybe I am dead,” I hissed. “And you’re all next.”
CHAPTER 36
CARRIE
