Page 19 of Grizzly's Pride
“I need you to take cover. Hide behind the bar,” Grizzly said.
He gave her a little push. Piper scrambled behind the bar as Rage started shooting again. She managed to catch a glimpse of Rage, chuckling, while he pointed a gun at Tank, who was punching the face of a Black Dog MC member.
Her heart was in her throat. She didn’t know Tank, but he didn’t hesitate backing up Grizzly when Rage and his men had them cornered. To her relief, Grizzly pointed his gun at Rage. Rage, still chuckling, ducked behind an overturned table.
Finally behind the bar, Piper could no longer see what was going on. That annoyed her. She needed to see how her man was faring, but she knew she would only be a hindrance to Grizzly in this fight.
Despite how difficult it was, she’d do as he told her and stay down, at least until the fighting was over.
“Fucking bikers,” muttered a pissed-off voice.
The bartender was on the ground next to her, loading a shotgun full of shells. He didn’t look at her. He didn’t ask her to leave either, despite the fact he probably overheard everything. That Piper had been the cause of this throw-down.
“The police will be here soon. Just got to hang on until they arrive,” the man grumbled.
Piper grimaced at the sound of breaking furniture, curses, and gunfire. As far as she could tell, only Grizzly and Rage had guns.
She silently prayed none of Grizzly’s men died. They didn’t need to involve themselves in this mess, her mess, but nonetheless, they didn’t hesitate to help an MC brother in trouble.
Eerie silence descended on the bar after a few minutes. That was odd. Piper risked a look. She crawled on her knees and peered out.
Her breath caught when she spotted Grizzly splayed on the floor, bleeding out. A large crimson stain spread from the left side of his shirt. No, this couldn’t be happening. Grizzly couldn’t be dead. He always seemed invincible to her.
Grizzly was her protector, the man she was falling in love with. After fate put him in her path, she couldn’t imagine a life without him. Piper refused to believe he was gone. She had to check.
She was about to run to Grizzly, but big fingers wrapped around her upper arm.
Piper looked up and let out a scream as Rage smirked down at her. He looked worse for wear, covered in brushes and cuts. He bled from a cut on the side of his head.
Rage yanked her up with force. Rage was down, and his MC brothers were busy beating up the other Ruthless Reapers members. She knew she wouldn’t get any help from the bartender either.
She tried kicking him. Rage’s fist connected with the side of her head. A swamp of dizziness hit her, momentarily disorienting her. Rage resorted to dragging Piper by her hair. It felt like he was ripping the roots from her skull. A scream tore from her throat.
How had everything gone wrong so quickly? Just an hour ago, Grizzly had taken her to that remote place in the woods.
It felt like they had taken the next step in their relationship. Piper believed they had a bright and promising future, but now? God. Who knew what this cruel biker had planned for her.
“Listen here, bitch,” Rage said.
They were finally outside the bar, and only a few cars were left in the lot. The customers who were inside the bar earlier had all gone home. The bartender had called the police, but Piper couldn’t hear any sirens nearby.
Rage finally released her hair. She intended to make a run for it, but when she found herself staring at the barrel of his gun, she froze in place.
“You’re going to get on my bike willingly, or else I put a bullet in that pretty head of yours,” Rage said, spitting out a wad of blood on the floor. Did he truly believe he was going to get away with this?
“I’ll keep fighting you until my last breath.” Piper wasn’t sure where she got this sudden burst of courage from, but she remembered her father begging for his life. She wasn’t like Mervin. She’d stare at death defiantly in the eyes.
Piper added,“So you might as well end me now.”
“I’m already in trouble with Rat for pursuing this. He told me to drop it, that he didn’t want unnecessary trouble with the Ruthless Reapers. Too late for that now,” Rage said, a note of disgust in his voice. “I changed my mind. You’re too much work. There are better whores out there.”
Piper watched, petrified as Rage put his finger on the trigger. Before today, she’d never even had a gun pointed at her. Would it hurt, she wondered, or would her death be quick? She doubted mercy existed in Rage’s dictionary. Then again, she might luck out, because he obviously seemed to be in a hurry to get away.
Then a feral growl came from the door and Grizzly barreled out like the enraged predator he’d been named for. Her man looked ready to break bones, to do some serious damage.
Rage took one look at his blood-splattered figure and decided to make a run for it.
Rage bolted for his Harley. Piper could tell Grizzly wanted to go after him, but she didn’t see him carrying a gun. Did Grizzly have another weapon on him? In a gunfight, a knife or some makeshift weapon would never cut it.
