Page 65 of Lawless

My entire body vibrates with fear as Mav walks toward the front door in only a pair of boxer briefs and a loaded gun behind his back.

I want to believe the words he said about it being kids, being anyone other than the one man I never, ever want to see again.

A million and one questions race through my mind as each second stretches out like hours, but I can’t latch onto any of them.

The fear coursing through my veins is too potent to focus on anything else.

My entire body jolts as I watch him wrap his fingers around the handle and push it down.

Unlike me, he shows no fear or hesitation as he pulls the door open, and I’m reminded exactly who the man I married is.

I stop breathing as he stands there staring at someone on the other side.

It feels like forever, but in reality, it’s probably barely more than a second before someone speaks.

And when the voice hits my ears, my knees buckle, and I stumble back into the corner of the kitchen.

“Good morning, Maverick. Long time no see.”

The loud crack of a gunshot rips through the air a beat before it’s replaced with my scream as I race forward, expecting to see my husband on the floor, bleeding out.

Reid might have only grazed his shoulder, but I’ve no doubt that the owner of that voice wouldn’t make such allowances.

But thankfully, when I get there, it’s Mav’s gun that fired, although the man I assume he aimed at doesn’t seem to be dead. Frantically, Mav pulls the trigger on the gun, but nothing happens. It’s not firing.

“Ah, Alana,” he sneers. “How wonderful of you to join us. Your husband here just made a very grave mistake. I hope you’re both ready to pay.”

My heart pounds so hard, I can feel it in every single inch of my body as I stare into the cold eyes of one of the men who ruined my life.

“Mav,” I whisper, reaching for his hand.

“Aw, this is cute. Although I must say, I’m surprised you’re still interested in this whore, Mav. Especially now she’s my son’s sloppy seconds. I really thought you’d draw a line there.”

An inhuman roar rips from Mav’s lips as he flies toward Victor. The gun drops to the floor and I shriek as it fires, shooting a bullet across the room that, thankfully, lodges itself into a wall.

With his fist curled, Mav is about to throw a punch into the cunt’s smug face when another deep, dangerous voice rumbles from behind us.

“I think you’ve already made enough mistakes, Son. Don’t you?”

Mav pauses immediately at the sound of his father’s voice.

I feel them before I see them, closing in on us from behind, proving that my idea of running earlier would have been pointless.

They’ve got us surrounded.

“Let us go. We’re leaving. We’re not going to do anything to any of you,” Mav states confidently.

If I didn’t know him as well as I do then I might believe he’s totally unaffected by their arrival, but one look in his eyes and I see his fear is just as potent as mine. But something tells me that it’s not for him. It’s for me.

Bile burns up my throat that, even now, he’ll put my life before his own.

“Maybe it’s not you we’re worried about. If you were going to take a strike at us, you’d have done it years ago. You’re nothing but a pussy, and it makes me wonder if you truly are my son after all.”

Mav barely reacts to his father’s words, but I see the slight widening of his eyes. Mav would love nothing more to discover that he didn’t share any DNA with that asshole. We’re not that fucking lucky though.

“I’ll give you anything you want,” Mav offers. “Just let her go.”

The man behind me moves closer. I already know who it is, the third fucking amigo. But the second his scent fills my nose, my stomach rolls and I fight not to retch as memories slam into me one after another.

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