Page 91 of Diesel
My blood freezes, and my heart kicks against my ribs.
We’re being shot at.
Dash is already moving too fast for his injuries. He drags Dayna out of her chair, his body covering hers even as he yells, “Get down!”
I drop to the floor. Ivy’s next to me, Seren pressed beneath her. I cover them both, as if I can stop bullets.
I can barely focus on the yells reverberating around us.More shots ring out. Outside, maybe. The back of the clubhouse… It’s hard to tell where they’re coming from.
Between the legs of the table, I lock eyes with Maylie. She’s holding Theo to her, still nursing him. Her brother is shielding her. Twelve years old and he’s protecting his sister and nephew like he’s been on the frontline for years.
I don’t know why, but seeing her baby still feeding, oblivious to the horror unfolding around him, clears my mind. We’re not dying like this. Not cowering under a fucking table.
“I told you I was getting the tingly thing,” Dayna hisses from under Dash.
Boots hammer past, thundering toward the fight erupting outside. I wish we could see what is going on. Dash presses a kiss to her temple. “Stay here.”
Her hand snaps out and loops around his wrist. “You arenotgoing out there.”
“Babe—”
She interrupts him. “You still have a hole in your side and do I need to remind you I’m pregnant? With your child. You don’t get to run off and die on me.”
“That was… Weirdly romantic,” Maylie says, eyes on her son, like none of this is happening.
I’m not sure whether I should be impressed or concerned.
The firing peters out almost as quickly as it started. Relief mixes with bone deep fear. Are the guys about to come back in victorious or are we about to be gunned down by whoever attacked?
Dash shifts slightly, and I catch the glint of the gun in his hand. At least we have some protection.
The doors kick open. The doors that Dayna only moments ago had been staring at like she was waiting for this.
Two brothers—Fury and Terror, I think—fill the space like titanium walls. Between them they’re dragging a man. He’s wearing the same the leather vest all the men wear, and there is blood trailing down his face, thick and sticky. For a moment I think one of their guys is injured, that they’re helping him, but then they drop him on the floor like he’s nothing. He sprawls and scrambles up to his knees, his eyes wild and afraid.
He doesn’t move too far. Fury presses a gun to the back of his head and my breath hitches in my chest.
Is he going to pull the trigger? Right now?
That familiar nausea builds inside my gut. Anxiety clashing with a sense of helplessness. Dash curses under his breath, pushing up to his feet. This time, Dayna doesn’t stop him.
My tongue is glued to the roof of my mouth, as I wrap my arms tighter around Ivy and Seren.
“What the hell is happening?” Dayna breathes the words like a prayer.
“The rats always come home,” Fury says, using the barrel to force his head lower.
“You’re not going to kill me,” he growls, slicing a glance over his shoulder.
He’s careful not to move too much or too fast. I understand why. The tension emanating off them and the other brothers now crowding in is so thick I can taste it.
“No,” Terror says, circling him like a vulture. “Not yet.”
I can’t breathe. The room has gone quiet. No more gunshots, no more shouts, nothing but his ragged breaths.
“Who is that?” Dayna asks.
Maylie doesn’t take her eyes off the man on his knees. “That’s Crank.”
