Last Ride (Wind Dragons MC #5.5)(18)

“Not going to kill you, Faye,” he says, lip twitching. “I’m going to kill Dex.”

“I see,” I murmur, marveling over his stupidity. You can’t kill Dex without killing me, because I will hunt you down. He’s underestimating me. He’s seeing me as the girl he knew, not the warrior woman I’ve become. “And then what?”

“And then the Kings are going to have my back against any retaliation the Wind Dragons plan. It will be war,” he says proudly, like war is a good thing. The more he speaks his idiocy, the more I want to take him down myself. The Kings have obviously used him as a pawn, a secret weapon against Dex, and he’s fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. They probably made him feel important, and they have something in common—their dislike for Dex.

I hear banging noises, followed by gunshots and men yelling, and I’m instantly on alert. I push myself off the ground, my back still pressed against the wall. Eric lifts up his gun and points it at me.

“Don’t move,” he barks, standing up and crooking his finger. “Come here, Faye.”

It’s just me and him in the room, and he still thinks he has control. I have a few moments to decide what to do. I can kill him, or I can just fight and disable him until Dex walks through that door, as I know he will. I decide to go with that. I walk toward Eric, about to knock the gun out of his hands and punch him in the throat, when the door is suddenly kicked open. I freeze as Dex storms in, gun in hand. Eric grabs me by my hair and jams his gun into my ribs. I keep my eyes on my husband’s face, on his expression when he sees who is standing in the room with me.

His own brother.

That has to hurt.

Dex looks me over first, from head to toe. His jaw tightens when he sees my cut lip from where my captor slapped me. He returns his gaze to his baby brother.

“Eric?” Dex whispers, shaking his head in disbelief. “What the f*ck are you doing here?”

He takes a step forward, but Eric brings the gun to my temple. Dex’s face turns to stone. “Get the gun away from my wife, Eric. Now. Don’t be stupid. Whatever they’ve promised you, it isn’t worth it. I’m your f*ckin’ brother!”

“You don’t get to make demands, Dex,” Eric sneers. “You make a move toward us, and Faye is dead. Don’t think I won’t shoot her, because I will.”

“Was it you who hit her?” he asks, hands clenching to fists. “Did you lay a hand on her?”

“No,” Eric says, sounding wary, which he should be, considering the fury I can hear in Dex’s tone. “I haven’t laid a hand on her.”

“Whoever touched her is a dead man,” Dex announces through clenched teeth. “No one puts a hand on my f*ckin’ wife. And if you want to live, Eric, loosen the hold you have on her hair, or I will shove my foot down your f*ckin’ throat, you little bastard.”

“Empty threats, Dex,” Eric replies—but he does loosen his hold. He can pretend he isn’t scared of Dex all he wants, but he is. And he should be.

Dex’s throat works as he swallows. I can see that he’s trying to process this betrayal, the fact that his own blood is the one with a gun to my head. Dex still has his gun in his hand, but he hasn’t even raised it. Over the years, Eric has popped in and out of our lives only a few times. We hardly see or hear from him, and I know the only reason Dex saw him was because their mom asked it of them. They don’t get along, but I didn’t see this coming from Eric. He must really hate Dex with everything he has.

“You only have a gun to Faye’s head because she’s allowing it, brother,” Dex says, sneering the word.

“Really?” Eric replies, scoffing. “I’m sure that’s why she’s been waiting here for you to come and save her ass.”

Dex just shakes his head and says, “You have about fifteen men here, Eric. Even f*ckin’ Xena warrior f*ckin’ princess wouldn’t try and leave if she were smart. And none of these men have honor. You’ve surrounded yourself with scum. Do you know the things they could have done to Faye? Surely, somewhere in there, some part of you must care?”

My lip twitches at the Xena reference.

My man is funny—I think he’s been hanging around me for way too long now; he’s starting to make jokes at the most inopportune times. It’s great.

The two men stare at each other from across the room, the air between them thick with hate, pain, and regret.

I take my chance.

I duck down to the floor before Eric can pull the trigger, my hair slipping through his loosened grasp, and bring my elbow up to his nuts as hard as I can. He drops. They always do. I grab the gun and leap to my feet before he even knows what’s happening. I’m across the room and by Dex’s side in a heartbeat, pointing the gun back at Eric.

“Like I said,” Dex continues. “The only reason you were the one holding the gun is because she let you. So what was your plan? Get me here, then make me swap my life for hers? Kill me in front of her? Then kill her?”

“Yes,” Eric says simply. “Mom is dead. There’s nothing left tying us together. I hate you, Dex. You have everything so easy. You were a shit older brother. It was me who looked after Mom; you hardly saw her. Too busy f*cking with my sloppy seconds. Just look what you’ve turned Faye into. She was meant to be so much more than she is. I f*ckin’ hate you, and I always will. The Kings hate you. We’re going to destroy everything you’ve built.”