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“You have your ring?”
Franny patted her pocket. Rose helped her walk across the room to the ladder. Eyeing it skeptically, she wondered if it would hold one of them. Franny couldn’t climb without help. There was a very slim chance the decaying wood would hold both. Lucas had been lucky it held both of them. Rose wasn’t betting on that kind of luck again.
“If it means getting my happy ass out of here, I will climb up to the roof by myself,” Franny read her mind.
“Let me make sure the coast is clear, and then we are getting the hell out of here.”
Franny grimaced and waved at Rose to get on with it.
Rose placed her foot on the bottom rung and added her weight to test it. When it held her, she climbed up another step. Rose climbed quickly, never leaving her weight on a rung too long.
“Damn, men are never around when you need to be rescued,” she complained as her head swam. She wished Warren was there. He would know what to do. It looked like they were doing this on their own today.
“Get yourself a manly man. You’ll never have to worry about being in danger. They come riding to the rescue before you can break a nail. I’m so calling bullshit on that one. I cannot possibly get anyone manlier than the one I’ve got and what am I doing? That’s right. Saving my own ass.”
“Anytime you are done bitching,” Franny called. “It would be nice to get out of here. I’m a big fan of air conditioning and water. Sun-baked and sweltering were never my idea of a good time.”
“I’m going. I’m going.”
She paused at the top. Rose could hear a faint hum. Poking her head through the hole, she saw two side-by-sides in the distance. A cloud of dust followed them. Lucas was bringing a friend back to their oven of a hideout. They were coming quickly, judging by the growing plume of dust. She didn’t have much time.
Rose wrenched herself through the opening and crawled to the edge of the building. There was a ledge at the front tall enough to keep her hidden. Another ladder was fitted between the slats in the ledge. It was the only way down. Franny would have to climb two ladders. Rose wasn’t sure the other woman had enough strength left for two ladders and a nice hot walk across the red dirt road until the guys found them.
Rose made a decision. She scurried back to the hole in the roof. Franny leaned against the ladder, waiting for her.
“Two of those battery things are coming. We can’t make it without them seeing us. Our best bet is to wait for a chance to get the jump on them. We take the battery buggy and go home.”
“Or you could shimmy your ass down the ladder, hide around the side of the building, steal the buggy, and go get help.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
Franny didn’t have time to reply. The humming stopped. Lucas was back. Rose hurried to the ladder. She needed to get back to Franny. If they thought she was knocked out, Rose might be able to get the jump on one of them. Her foot was on the top rung when the shouting started.
“Why is there blood on the ladder?”
Rose held her breath. It wasn’t Lucas that was yelling. She glanced down to see Franny was frozen in the same spot. Her eyes were wide as she looked up, and her knuckles turned white as she gripped the sides of the ladder. Rose gestured toward the edge of the roof. Franny shook her head no but didn’t make a sound.
“We ran into a problem, but I took care of it.”
“I cannot wait to hear this one. Not only did your stupid little stunt get three of my men killed, but you somehow managed to get the bait bloody. Damaged bait doesn’t make cooperative bait.”
Rose crept onto the roof. Her arms burned as she crawled across the hot surface. Rose stopped when she could see between the slats to the men below. Lucas was squared off with another man right beneath her.
The good news was there were only two. With rotten looking rungs, they would have to climb to the roof one at a time. One at a time was good. She might even go as far as to say one at a time was manageable. Manageable if she had a plan.
The bad news was the other guy was big, as big as Tank big. She could not take out a man that size without a plan. She wasn’t sure where the rest of the crew was, but their best chance was when it was two on two. Well, two versus one and a half. Franny was injured.
“Tank’s ol’ lady got shot. It is a flesh wound. It isn’t like she is going to die from it. I sent three guys to town to get medical supplies. I’ll have it all taken care of before the meet.”
“How did Franny get shot? Did Rose get shot, too?”
Rose frowned. How did this guy know who they were? She looked closer at the man bitching her brother out. The scar that started at his dark hairline ran the entire way to his chin. Whatever happened to him caused his right side to slump a little lower than the left. She had no idea who he was. Rose would have remembered if that scowl was aimed at her.
“She got shot when we were in the buggy. Rose got knocked around a little. They are both fine.”
“I didn’t believe you could be any more of a moron, but you surprised me again. How stupid do you think I am? There is no way one of my men mistakenly hit a target. The MC isn’t going to shoot in her direction, or Tank would put a bullet in their brain. Warren can make a man beg to die when he is in a good mood, but he would never put his wife in danger. You are the only one left. You shot Franny and knocked your sister around.”
“She is alive. They are both alive. Quit your bitching. Did you think they were just going to come willingly?”
