Page 97 of Running on Empty

“Yes, sir. I stayed put when… When the attack started, as advised.”

“And the woman?” James asked, lips thinning as he saw everyone’s focus intensify.

“As you left her, sir. We are still locked down in the—”

“Bring her to the first floor of the residence,” James said, interrupting smoothly. “Now.”

“Right away, sir,”

“So those rifles can be lowered now—” James started to say.

“We aren’t taking orders from you, fuckhead,” Lock growled. He dared a glance back at me. “The omega’s running the show, as they always do.”

And that’s what drew James’ attention to me.

I was supposed to flinch under his frank inspection, Ash tearing his t-shirt off and handing it to me as the man’s eyes lingered on my tits. But any attempt to cow me was weakened by the fact that my breasts were coated with his son’s blood.

And his might follow soon after if he didn’t stop staring.

Something he seemed to understand, blinking and forcing his eyes to the floor as I pulled Ash’s shirt on.

“So what is it you want, Jared?” he said finally, turning to the bloke who’d walked in with the MC.

“You know,” was all Jared would say in reply, his brothers ranging around him.

“More of a stake in the family business?” James offered. “A seat at the boardroom table? We can organise—”

“A stake?” came Jared’s reply, his brothers grinning like hyenas around a lion’s kill. “Why would we settle for that?”

One of his brothers stepped forward, his arm outstretched, handgun pointing at the other Spencers. There was a flurry of shouts, pleas, but the man shot his cousin or whoever the fuck he was, the second Spencer senior alpha dropping just like the first one. Then Jared stepped closer.

“You think you’re still in control…”

But before he could deliver his evil genius monologue, she came.

The flunky tried to shove Scarlett forward and even though she had tape stuck to her mouth and her hands were bound behind her, it didn’t stop her from spinning around and driving her knee into the man’s crotch. The Spencer alphas surged forward, but the flunky fell like a sack of shit, landing heavily on the ground in front of them. She marched over to the closest soldier boy, turning around to offer her bound hands for him to free. A knife was produced, her bindings sawed through and the moment she was free, she tore off the tape, wincing at the sensation before turning a steely eye on the others.

“I prefer to tie others up,” she said in a sharp tone, “and only with their explicit consent. You idiots have a lot to learn.” But she stepped over the dead alphas and pushed through the ring of soldiers to come over to me, putting her hands on my shoulders before looking me over closely. “And how are you? Wearing the blood of your enemies is definitely a look. I’m not sure what it's giving yet though.”

“How am I?” I gasped. “How are you?”

“Ugh…” She cocked a hip. “Wanting a shower, some flannel PJs and that reality TV binge session you promised.” She winked at me. “Seeing wannabe supermodels cry always sets me to rights.” Scarlett looked back at the scene with a jaundiced eye. “Whaddya think? Should we blow this popsicle stand and leave the testosterone to it?”

Her unflappable demeanour was goals, but I wouldn’t get a chance to develop it right now.

“Now, we’ve returned the woman, so let’s find a way—”

James’ speech was well prepared, started out strong, but Jared stepped in and shot one of the last of Spencers senior. The man just blinked, a fine spray of blood covering his face before he could recover himself. A shaking hand went up to wipe it away, but Jared wielded the gun, making clear that he wasn’t to make another move.

“You smug fucking prick, living the high life while the rest of us lived on crumbs,” Jared snarled, waving his gun around for emphasis. “Well, that ends now.”

“Feeling like a big man, with your new… associates?” James asked, cool as a cucumber, then despite the fact most of his immediate family lay in pieces around him. “Well, I’m assuming you bought their loyalty with a promise of giving them the distribution rights to Rush.”

James’ smile widened as he stepped closer, pressing the muzzle of Jared’s gun against his forehead.

“However will you manage these gentlemen’s expectations when I tell them that all of our current stock of Rush went up with the fire that was set at The Viper Club, and that the formula for it was encrypted, only unlockable if you had the four different codes.” Max’s words came back to me as I listened to James speak.

“So hand them over,” Jared said, grinding the muzzle of the gun harder into his relative’s skull.

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