Page 37 of Casper
None of us saw them coming. Not until we were surrounded.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CASPER
Six men emerged from the shadows to surround us on every side. Son of a bitch. My gut never steered me wrong. The two from the club were front and center. I knew they were up to something. Mentally I kicked myself for not taking it more seriously. For leading Luna right into this trap.
One of the men from inside, a guy with a shaved head and a skull tattooed on his scalp, acted as the spokesman. He pulled a gun from inside his jacket, aiming it at each of us in turn before settling on Rebel.
“It’s about time we got a chance to talk to you fucking cunts about stealing our business,” he snarled. “You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve to tread on our territory. Got anything to say about that?”
Fearless, even with a gun pointed at his head, Rebel gave a cocky reply. “Maybe if your product wasn’t such hot garbage, your buyers wouldn’t have turned to us. I fail to see how that is our problem.”
Skull Tattoo Guy laughed bitterly before slamming the gun into the side of Rebel’s head. “It’s your problem now, motherfucker. What are you going to do about it?”
I clenched my hands into fists as the sudden need to rip this guy’s arms and legs off struck. There was no way I could stand there and watch him hurt and threaten my friends. At the same time, I didn’t want to do anything to put the ladies in danger.
Fueled by alcohol and his own ego, Stray made a move. He rushed the guy, grabbing his gun arm and twisting it behind his back. With a kick to the back of his knee, Skull Tattoo went down on the ground.
His friends got involved then. As if they’d had this planned out in advance, three of them grabbed the girls. Instead of pulling guns, these guys used knives. I suspected they wanted to avoid the attention a gunshot would draw. Dudes like this didn’t do so well in prison.
“Get your fucking hands off me.” Storm twisted in the grasp of the man holding her. Doing her best to break free. Even though she had a knife pressed against her neck, she wasn’t willing to go down without a fight.
“Hurt my girl and every one of you are dead men.” Rebel took a step toward Storm only to be stopped when the guy holding her pressed the knife harder against her skin.
“Let go of our boss,” he said. “Or the ladies bleed.”
I glanced uncertainly to Luna, our eyes locking. Asking a silent question. What did she want me to do?
She struggled in the grip of her assailant. Holding my gaze, she shouted, “Kick their fucking asses.”
That’s all I needed to hear. I rushed the guy holding her, tackling him to the ground. Unfortunately, it flung Luna to the ground as well. It was the only way for me to quickly break them apart.
She rolled away, getting to her feet. The knife had fallen from the guy’s grip. She gave it a kick, sending it flying. My fists were already moving. Plowing into his face repeatedly. Notcontent to stop when I felt his nose break, I kept smashing him with my fist.
Chaos broke out then. Snatching the gun from Skull Tattoo, Rebel pressed it against the temple of the thug holding Storm. There was a momentary standoff before the guy relented, releasing Storm who whirled around and promptly kneed him in the balls.
He dropped to the pavement, clutching his crotch. Using the butt of the gun, Rebel slammed it against his temple, knocking him out. Rebel waved the gun at the rest. “This is your only chance to get out of here in one piece. Take it or leave it.”
While Stray went to Codie’s aid, I took over with Skull Tattoo. Getting him down on the ground, I viciously kicked him in the ribs until he spat blood.
Deciding he didn’t want any part of this, the last guy released Codie and took off running after the others. Stray wasn’t content with letting him get away. He ran after the guy, easily catching up. A punch in the back of the head brought the guy down.
Stray was on top of him then, feeding him shot after shot. The blood began to spray. I thought for sure he would kill the man. Since we didn’t need four bodies on our hands, I pulled him away.
“I’ll fucking kill this piece of shit,” Stray shouted, straining against me. “Let go of me, Casper. This fucker deserves to die.”
“They’ve had enough.” Rebel pulled Storm against him, surveying the fallen men.
Luna threw herself into my arms. I quickly wrapped her in my embrace, checking her over for injury. I hated how close she’d come to being hurt because of me.
“This wasn’t your fault,” she said softly, tipping her head up to study my face. “I can see what you’re thinking in your eyes. I’m okay. We’re all okay.”
“I think that’s enough partying for one night.” Codie sucked in a shaky breath. “Can we go home?”
She wasn’t the only one ready to leave. All I wanted was to be alone with Luna. She said that it wasn’t my fault, but she was wrong. I was supposed to protect her. I’d done my best.
I stared down at the men, bleeding and unconscious. We got lucky tonight. It could’ve been so much worse. How could I possibly protect Luna when I was the one she needed to be protected from?
