Page 31 of Mine to Keep (Bloody Desires #10)

I spot the man peeking around the corner, aiming for another shot. Lifting my gun, I fire back, squeezing off three rounds into the wall. I know I won’t hit him, but I need the distraction so I can get us out of here. I get behind the wheel of the car and start it up quickly.

Once I’m inside, another round hits the car, entering the backseat on the opposite side of where Javier is, coming through the passenger seat. Talon screams again, scrambling into Javier’s lap. Javier covers him with his larger body, wrapping his arms around him to keep him safe.

I see fucking red. No one fucking puts my boys in danger.

But I need to get them to safety.

I badly want to go back and kill the motherfucker that shot at us, but that would put my boys at risk and I can’t have that.

I weave in and out of traffic, taking turns at top speed to put some distance between me and the shooter.

“Are you two okay?” I shout, not taking my eyes off the road.

“Knox?” Talon whimpers, his voice sounding impossibly small.

Before he can say more, our car is bumped from behind, sending us all lurching forward.

My boys scream behind me, kicking my heart rate up and my vision darkens with anger. This motherfucker has to fucking die.

“Seatbelts, now!” I roar. I hear them scramble in the back and their seatbelts click just as another jolt sends us forward as we’re rammed again.

I look in the rearview mirror and see the headlights of the car drop back a few feet, then gain speed again. This time, I stomp on the brake, and the car runs into the back of us, causing both cars to spin out. Luckily, we’re the only cars on the street right now.

We spin a few times and I try to adjust us, but we end up banking to a hard stop against a guardrail. I look back at Javier and Talon, who are both curled around each other.

“You two okay?” I ask.

“Fine,” Javier says shakily and Talon looks up at me and nods.

Glad they’re unhurt, I reach for my Glock and get out of the car. Whoever the fuck this is will fucking die tonight.

I see his head pop up from his open car door and I start shooting immediately, emptying my clip into the door. I hear a shout of pain and I smile, advancing on the car to get more shots in after I load a fresh clip.

The man scrambles away, but I round the hood to his car in time to see him running to take cover at the trunk. Before he’s fully covered, I shoot him in the leg, hearing him drop to the ground heavily.

“Nice shot, Viper,” he says with a heavy laugh.

“I know, bitch,” I grit out, slowly making my way to the side of the car.

“Tell me, you think you can kill me before I pump a bullet into the heads of your protégé’s back there?”

My eyes flick to my car and I see he has a clear view of it.

And I hear him shuffling, as if to get to the other side of the car to take aim.

I don’t even think about it—I just take off towards my car, firing off rounds to force him to take cover.

Even when I’m behind the wheel, I pump off shots to keep him pinned down.

When I run out of bullets in my Glock, I reach for my Heckler & Koch from the passenger seat and let her bullets sing.

The HK kicks in my hand as I pull off, putting as much distance between me and the man that’s trying to kill us.

His car is fucked, suffering front end damage and his engine was smoking, so I’m not worried about him catching up with me. Still, I keep my foot on the gas, taking more turns than I need to, not taking any chances with my boys.

When I’m sure we’re alone, I glance back in the rearview at my boys. Talon is a puddle of tears, crying hard into Javier’s shoulder. Javier’s eyes reflect fear, but steel meets my eyes when he says, “Tell us what the fuck that was about.”

“Soon, I promise. We gotta get to the safe house before someone else comes.”

The sound of police sirens has me cursing, hoping they’re heading in the opposite direction and not towards my speeding car.

Besides Talon’s sobs and the mechanical GPS directions, the car is silent. The further we get from the hotel, the more rural our surroundings become.

By the time we get about ten minutes away, there are only a few houses dotting either side of the street.

The last direction tells me to turn down a lane and drive a mile before I reach my destination.

I’m not sure how Peggy found this place, but it’s a great location for a safe house—not too close to neighbors and far from the street.

I’ll be able to see who’s coming long before they get to me and my boys.

I reach for my phone and call Peggy.

She answers quickly with, “Are you safe?”

“As safe as I can be.” I wince as I turn the wheel to avoid a deep pothole. “Listen. There was…an incident on the highway and my blood is all over the hotel room. I need a cleanup crew there.”

She scoffs, but I hear her typing. It goes on for around thirty seconds before she says, “Done. When you get inside, call me. I need to talk to you about what I found.”

“Gotcha.” I hang up and stuff the phone back in my pocket. I check the rearview mirror and see Javier already staring back at me. He looks as if he doesn’t know me.

And he’s right. He doesn’t. But I’ll tell them who I am and hope they don’t run.

The house itself comes into view a minute or so later.

It’s small, maybe a two bedroom, and looks nondescript.

But the more I look at it, the more I notice the upgrades—the cameras at every corner of the house, the large door that looks bulletproof, and the keypad mounted beside it.

There’s a detached garage that, if I had to guess, has a way to get from the house to the garage without stepping foot outside.

Turning the car off, I say, “Let’s go. I’ll get the bags once I’m sure we’re safe.”

Javier pulls Talon closer, keeping him tight against his chest. When I try to help him from the car, he shrinks away, looking at me with wide, fearful eyes.

Even though I want to help my boys, I give him space, stepping back so Javier can maneuver them out of the car.

I follow a few steps behind them, putting a fresh clip into my gun while keeping an eye out for danger.

When Javier gets to the door, he sighs and says, “I need a code.”

Climbing onto the small porch, I input the code Peggy gave me, ensuring I don’t brush up against Javier, even though I want nothing more than to pull them both into my arms to try to explain this clusterfuck.

But I refrain, stepping back as soon as there’s a hiss and the door pops open.

Javier ushers a trembling Talon inside, looking around at his surroundings. I quickly step inside after him, closing the door, flipping the lock and sliding the heavy door bolt across it.

Before I can marginally relax because we’re finally safe, I hear a slide and a click that can only mean one thing.

I turn around and see a gun pointed at Javier’s head.