Page 65 of Break Me

The first man goes down hard when I slam into him, driving my shoulder into his chest and sending him crashing into the fence. Wood splinters. He grunts as the air is knocked clean out of him.

The second guy spins, reaching for his gun. But he’s too slow. I fire once. The sound cracks through the night.

He drops.

The first man scrambles, panicked now, as he claws for balance. Grabbing him by the collar, I drive his face into the side of the house, once, twice, until his body goes slack.

I’m breathing hard. My barely healed ribs are screaming. Blood pounds in my ears.

The back door of the house flies open.

“Wolf?” Knox’s voice cuts through the night as he steps out. He stops cold when he sees the bodies. His gaze snaps to me. To the gun. To the blood on my hands.

“What the hell?”

“Get back inside,” I bark. “Now.”

I pivot, my gun coming up just as he raises his own. His shot snaps past my ear, close enough that the sound punches straight through my skull.

I fire back, and he goes down hard, a cry tearing out of him as he hits the ground.

Behind me, Knox moves.

I hear it before I see it. The grunt, the impact, the sound of bodies colliding. He barrels into another Ridgeback I didn’t clock in time, tackling him from behind and driving them both into the dirt.

“You don’t bring war to my doorstep,” Knox growls. “Unless you’re ready to die on it.”

The guy scrambles, wild and desperate, reaching for something at his waist.

“Weapon,” I shout. “On his right.”

But it’s too late. The Ridgeback swings up, gun aimed. I cross the distance in two strides and slam into him. He fights like an animal, clawing and kicking. He’s desperate now that the plan’s blown to hell. Driving my forearm into his throat, I wrench the gun free and toss it aside before he can get another grip.

He spits blood and laughs, teeth red, breath wet and rattling. “Your girl’s dead,” he croaks. “Or she will be.”

Something inside me detonates.

I don’t hear Knox move. I barely register the sound of my own fist connecting, over and over, until the laughter cuts off and the man collapses beneath me. I don’t stop until there’s nothing left but a broken body and a pool of blood.

“What did he just say?” Knox asks.

I don’t answer.

I’m scanning the tree line. The shadows between parked bikes and cars. Every place a man could be hiding.

Headlights slice through the dark as tires crunch hard against gravel, the sound loud and unmistakable in the open quiet. Two bikes tear up the long drive, stones spitting out beneath them as they brake fast and controlled.

Bishop and Diesel come in hot, boots hitting dirt before their engines even finish cutting out. Weapons are up instantly. There’s no hesitation, no wasted motion. Bishop sweeps the tree line in a tight arc while Diesel fans wide, covering the far side of the house like this is exactly what they were born to do.

“Wolf?” Knox drags me back hard. “What the fuck did he say?”

“They came for Raven,” I reply.

The fight drains out of him all at once. His eyes move to the house, to the dark windows, like he’s already picturing her there. Alone and unprotected.

“They came for my sister,” he says quietly. It’s not a threat. It’s a realization.

I step in front of him before he can move.