Page 170 of Caution to the Wind

Cleo.

I closed my eyes and took another deep breath.

“I’m only going to ask one more time, Kasper, what do you want?”

“You pathetictou zoi zi,” he spat, cursing at me. “You think you can come for me and actually succeed in taking out a Dragon Head when you are nothing? Some whore Jiang has entertained himself with and then tossed aside only to be picked up by biker white trash?”

“So what, you came here to kill me?” I asked, opening my arms. “Go ahead then, but leave the others out of it.”

He laughed, and even that was a dull, droning monotone. It was wrong to see his short, soft body threatening someone as big and strong and capable as Boner. I wondered how he got a bead on him and then remembered he’d been Dragon Head of the Seven Song for long enough to have accrued a myriad of offensive tactics.

Inside Hozier’s voice rose as someone turned up the volume on the music. I was glad. Hopefully that meant no one would hear us outside.

“You think one death is enough?” he hissed. “One life isn’t enough. Do you know how much youfuckedme with Golden Door Bank?” he snarled. “It wasn’t just the triad’s own bank, youwu lei zing! The fucking cartels used our bank.”

Boner laughed. “Oh boy, Javier Ventura is gonna fuck you up for losin’ him money.”

“Shut up,” Kasper ordered, and quick as a flash, he buried a small knife into Boner’s side.

“Fuck,” I whispered, moving forward to get to them.

Boner grunted, his knees threatening to give out, hands going to the knife in his gut.

“Stay where you are, Mei Zhen,” Kasper demanded. “I don’t just want your death. I want your white man tosuffer. I want Maxwell Dutton to know he will never be free of me. I will stalk him and his until he has no one left.”

His gaze darted to the door. “Is his daughter in there right now?”

“No,” I said, forcing my body to stay loose. I rolled my eyes for added effect and hoped it wasn’t too much. “She isn’t well enough to attend the wedding. She’s being guarded at the clubhouse with the men.”

He glowered at me, but Ransom barked, “It’s true, asshole. You think they’d bring her to a wedding after what happened to her?”

“You’re welcome to check,” I offered. “But there are armed men inside so it’s your risk.”

“Fine,” Kasper said. Fat drops of sweat beaded on his forehead, rolling into his eyes so he had to blink hard through the salt sting. “It doesn’t matter. You’ll do. Get down here, Mei Zhen, you’re coming with me.”

I swallowed, warring with my flight-or-fight response.

There was nothing for me to fightwithother than my body and a knife against three gunmen. If it was only me, and not Ransom, Boner, and Pigeon at risk, I might have risked it. But they’d be dead on the ground before I could even get close enough to engage the 49ers.

And I couldn’t flee.

There was no way I’d expose Cleo to more harm.

No way I could let violence into the house at my back filled with sisterhood and happiness and soon-to-be-wedded bliss.

Nofuckingway.

So, I sucked in a deep breath and tried to channel Axe-Man’s strength. “Okay.”

“Fuckno, Blossom,” Boner grunted, voice strained from the pain of his wound. Blood pooled between his fingers and trickled down his wrists.

I ignored him and then Ransom and Pigeon as they started to struggle in their captive’s holds.

Kasper waited until I reached him and then recoiled the gun at Boner’s temple so he could bring it down hard on the back of his head. Boner collapsed instantly, eyes rolled up into the back of his skull.

I swallowed my whimper of distress as Kasper left him on the ground and gripped me hard around the bicep, dragging me toward the path that led to the back of the property where they must have parked.

“Ransom, Pigeon,” I called out as I stumbled after Kasper. “Tell Axe-Man––” I had to swallow a hopeless sob as it rose into my mouth. “Tell Axe-Man I love him, and I hope he forgives me for leaving him again. But I’m not sorry for doing it. He told me once he’d pay any price for me. It’s my turn to pay the price for him.”