Page 64 of Bride for the Bikers

“So why bother with the wedding and all that shit? Would’ve been a lot simpler to just kill her and send her head to Carnell with a copy of the DNA test, wouldn’t it?”

“But where’s the fun in that? There would be a lot more public sympathy if my newly found beloved daughter was tragically murdered on her honeymoon. Don’t you think?” Harper gasps and presses herself into me. “I wasn’t even going to bother with Eileen, but what can I say? It’s always good to have a backup plan.”

Shadow takes whatever Nitro gave him and throws it hard. It bounces off the far wall and then deeper into the room. “One, two…”

“What if he shoots my mother?” She looks up at me with huge eyes that break my fucking heart. Tears staining her cheeks.

“He’ll do that anyway if we don't get shit moving.” I reluctantly release Harper. “Shh. We're gonna save them, okay? You just hang back and stay safe.”

Her nod is jerky, and her expression terrified, but we gotta do something. Here's hoping it works out.

“Three!” Shadow yells.

We all dash into the room, throwing ourselves in different directions for cover. They can’t shoot us all at once. Dark smoke billows from where the grenade landed. Havoc runs for a sniper position at the far side. Shadow goes right, Nitro goes left, Outlaw leaps over the couch to hide in a doorway to another room.

Me and Thunder, we charge straight for the fucking middle.

The smoke offers just enough cover for me to find the closest of Mesner's goons and wrap my arm around his neck. A hard twist as I carry him with me is followed by a grunt and a snap. When I drop him, he hits the ground and stays there. Pretty sure he's never getting up again. Good fucking riddance.

A sharp cry of pain followed by a vicious crunch on my other side makes me pretty sure Thunder's taken the other guard out of the picture.

Eileen screams.

Fuck.

As the smoke clears, Mesner and Eileen are gone, escaped through a door at the back of the room. Carnell's been left behind, gagged and tied to his chair.

“Mom!” shouts Harper as she runs into the room.

“Hang back!” I snap so harshly that she stops dead. “Not yet.”

“Nitro, Havoc, check on Carnell,” orders Shadow, and then it's the four of us giving chase.

We pop out in a hall with dark mahogany panels on one side and big windows on the other. Several doors lead away from it, and a staircase leads down. I make a split decision and go for the stairs. “Check the rooms. I'm going down.”

The stairs wind down two floors and end in a door. It looks solid, but it’s been left open. Looks like I'm on the right track. Gripping my piece in both hands and using the frame for cover, I kick it open. The elevator is right in front of me, and so are Mesner and Eileen. His arm is around her throat and his gun is pointed at her head.

“Let her go, Mesner. The whole fucking club's down there. You got nowhere to go.”

“Jesus, why won't you just leave me the fuck alone?”

“Too late for that. Don't make it worse for yourself.”

The elevator dings and the doors open. “Just fuck off!” he yells and gives Eileen a big shove forwards as he levels his gun at me and fires.

Even throwing myself aside, the bullet catches my arm, tearing through my jacket and burning a line of fire along my bicep. Just a graze, I think, but it stings like a motherfucker. Before I'm back on my feet, the doors to the elevator close and he's gone.

“Fuck!”

Shadow, Thunder, Outlaw and Harper come running out the door.

“Mom!” Harper dashes for her, throwing herself down on the floor by her. “Are you okay?”

“Watch them!” I run for the stairwell as I pull my phone out and call Snark.

“Talk to me.”

“Stop the guest elevators! Mesner's on one of them.”

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