Dark Temptation (Dark Saints MC Book 2)(52)

I landed on my hands and knees and looked back. Ryder! He’d wound up and punched Dirt so hard he had to be unconscious. It had allowed me to put more distance between me and all of them.

But Boone and Headlock were closing in fast on Ryder. They were going to overtake him for sure.

“Ryder LOOK OUT.” And he turned around to find both of Daddy’s goons coming at him. I really should have taken the moment to keep running. To head to the tree line. To run like hell until my heart exploded. I should have said sorry about your luck Ryder.

But I couldn’t. My selfish focus on my own trouble had already claimed one victim, Ross. I couldn’t let it claim another.

I watched Ryder kick a gun out of Headlock’s hand and then pummel him in the nose. Ryder, who seemed so easy going and fun, was anything but. He’d be a more challenging target for Daddy’s goons then they’d expected. But still that he was a target at all was my fault.

I was stunned as I watched Ryder handle Headlock with a few more devastating blows. I also saw Boone take out a handgun and aimed at the two of them. He was getting ready to shoot. I suppose he only hesitated because Ryder and Headlock were so close. Plus, if Boone killed Headlock, he’d have to explain that to Daddy. Daddy decided who lived and died.

I had a second of indecision. I could run back and try to get the gun from Boone. But I knew I was no match for him physically. And in a wedding dress no less. What I did have was a good arm.

I looked around quickly and there it was. A rock that fit right in my fist. I stood up and took aim.

I may not be big, but I was a pitcher on my high school softball team. I knew how to throw. I launched the rock at Boone. His head was my target, and I hit it. The rock I’d launched landed squarely on his temple.

It stunned him and distracted him from Ryder and Headlock. He lifted a hand to his now bleeding head and changed his focus to me. Good. I had Ross’s blood on my hands. I didn’t want Ryder’s too.

Boone turned the gun on me. Fine. Ryder at least wasn’t in the crosshairs now. Just me. Now and probably forever. Damn Daddy.

“Take another step and I’ll shoot you,” he said to me.

“Daddy won’t be too happy if I get shot.”

“He told us to bring you back. That’s all. Didn’t tell us not to wing you.”

What the hell? Would Boone really shoot me? I didn’t know. But I wasn’t stupid enough to test it.

I was no match for Boone in any category. Boone was fast, huge, and accurate. He closed the distance over the ditch in about three steps. In an instant, he had his strong hand wrapped tightly around my arm and yanked me forward.

He barked in my ear. “That’s enough of your bullshit. Let’s go.” And he dragged me along.

He also made an incredible misstep. He’d put his back to Ryder. Ryder had taken care of Dirt for good it appeared, and Headlock was also now in a heap.

Somehow, in my flight from the Devil's Hawks, I’d stumbled onto a one-man wrecking crew, and he was pissed. The smile and the sexy flirt were gone.

I hadn’t seen anyone in my entire life as lethal looking as Daddy until this moment. And his name was Ryder.

“Get your fucking hands off the lady.” He said in a low voice that scared me and got Boone’s attention.

“Stay out of it, Great Wolf. She’s not your business.” Boone squeezed tighter, and I winced. His whole hand fit around my bicep.

“She is now,” said Ryder. Boone had me in one hand and a gun aimed at Ryder in another. I knew Boone was going to kill him. I’d underestimated Daddy’s club. An underestimation that had already lead to gruesome violence.

I looked Ryder in the eye. I hoped he sensed what I was throwing at him.

With all the strength I had, I pulled away. Boone’s grip didn’t loosen, but I did pull him off balance. And his gun off its target.

Ryder didn’t hesitate. He grabbed for it, and Boone was forced to let me go. I fell to the ground and watched Boone and Ryder struggle against each other as I crawled to get the distance between Daddy's men and me. Ryder had grabbed Boone’s wrist. Their bodies clashed as they wrestled for the gun.

Then it went off. It cracked the quiet of the countryside with a loud pop sound and stopped the struggle between the men. Was it Ryder? Had I caused another man to be hurt today?

The two men separated. Ryder didn’t have the gun. It was still in Boone’s hand. He’d somehow shot himself. He grabbed at his thigh, and I saw a red splotch stain the denim of Boone’s jeans. It had ripped a hole in the side, but it looked more like a scratch.

“You fucking son of a bitch.” He spat the words at Ryder and dropped to one knee as he examined himself.

“It grazed your leg you pussy,” Ryder said and then he was a blur of aggression. Ryder kicked the weapon out of Boone’s hand and then kicked it again into the field. He wound up again and struck another devastating blow across Boone’s jaw. Boone went down. In the space of a few minutes, he’d rendered all three Devil’s Hawks unconscious.

He didn’t go for the gun that had landed in the field. Instead, he put a hand out to me. I was in shock, stuck to the spot on the ground where I’d fallen. I was mired in wedding dress fabric. I was also confused by all that had happened in the last few moments. Ryder took a deep breath and walked closer “You are the craziest bride I’ve ever seen. And you are trouble. For sure. But hurling that rock? That was the ballsiest shit I’ve ever seen a woman do. Come on, I’ll help you get out of here.” Ryder’s eyes locked onto mine.