Reign of Wrath (Dirty Broken Savages #3)(60)

It’s loud as fuck, and I hit the brakes, burning a little rubber as I bring us to a stop on the side of the road. The car Gage is driving is right behind us, and they stop too.

River and I pile out of the car, and when the other’s join us, we all head down the embankment to see if the job is done.

I can tell River wants to run along, but she takes it slowly, picking her way down the rocky slope. We make it down to where the SUV ended up, upside down and already smoking from the back.

Perfect. That means the drugs will be destroyed.

“Knox,” Gage says, and his voice seems loud in the quiet after the crash. “Make sure he’s dead.”

I nod and step closer to the vehicle. Before I even get to the door, the passenger side door is kicked open, and gunfire rings out.

“Fuck!” I hear Ash yell, and we dive for cover. Luckily, there are a shit ton of trees down here, so we have places to hide.

Dammit. This isn’t a part of the plan. The driver was supposed to die in the crash. We have to make sure he’s dead and doesn’t leave the scene, but we can’t shoot him. This whole thing has to look like an accident. Like he lost control up on these winding roads and died in the car crash, so there can’t be a fucking bullet hole in his head.

I can’t see the others or River, but I know what the new plan has to be. We have to keep this guy from escaping.

“Gage!” I call out, pitching my voice loud. “Sound off!”

“Here!” Gage calls back, sounding like he’s a little ways away. In the brush, I hear a stumble of footsteps, and then I see the driver. He’s walking through the trees with his gun out, head turning from side to side every time he hears a sound.

“Knox!” That’s Ash’s voice, from a little bit behind where I am. The driver swivels in that direction, and I hear him curse very softly. He walks in a slow circle, like he’s not sure which way to turn, and that’s exactly what I want.

He starts backing up, moving back toward the crash site. Then someone, probably Priest or River judging by the direction, snaps a heavy branch. That spooks the runner, and he whips back around, raising his gun.

He’s facing away from me now, and that’s all I need.

I run full tilt, bum rushing the guy. He hears me before I reach him and whirls around, managing to fire off a bullet before I tackle him to the ground.

“Shit,” he hisses, trying to fight me off. I’ve got size on my side though, and it’s not hard to keep him pinned down while he bucks and lashes out at me. His gun goes flying away, and he beats at me with his hands before I get mine around his head.

With a swift twist, I snap his neck, giving him an injury that could appear to have come from the crash if anyone gets nosy.

His body goes limp under me, and I let out a slow breath. Now that the job is done, my arm throbs a little, and I notice the bullet he fired off grazed me. But it’s fine. Probably won’t even need stitches.

I get up and start hauling the body back to the burning SUV and stuff him inside. I take a little time to arrange it where it would have been after the crash, and then nod, stepping back and closing the door.

It’s starting to burn more now, black smoke reaching up to the darkening sky.

There are footsteps behind me, but I recognize them immediately. The others coming out of the trees and coming to join me. We fall back enough that we’re not in danger and watch the SUV burn.

The sight of it speaks to the feral, psychotic part of my soul that always screams out for more when it comes to shit like this. More chaos, more chase, more death, more violence. I like watching the flickering flames of the car as it burns. Staring into the heat of it all and listening to the snap and crackle and groan as the fire eats away at the SUV. I spare a thought that maybe I don’t work with fire enough. It’s chaos and violence, the most bright, wild, and beautiful thing there is.

Then I look over at River, standing just a little ways away from me. I look at her blue eyes, shining in the firelight, and I have to admit I was wrong.

That’s the most beautiful, wild thing there is.





24





River





We leave the smoldering wreckage behind, going back to the cars so we can drive away. We collect our shit from the cabin and ditch the car we bought to start driving back to Detroit.

It’s late by this time, but we don’t want to waste any more time before getting back. No one brings it up, but there’s an unspoken agreement that we’ll just head back now.

“Make sure you’ve got everything,” Ash says as we load up the car. “We’re not coming back.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Priest says dryly, and we all laugh at the little joke. They’re rare from Priest, but becoming a more frequent thing, which I like.

As we pile in and start driving away from the cabin, I think about what just happened. The chase, the fire, the way Knox took out the driver before he could get away. It was all so fucking satisfying, like checking another thing off the list.

When I had my list of six names, I was focused on avenging Hannah. I’m still focused on that now, but I’m aware of the broader implications of what I’m doing too. This isn’t just about picking off some assholes who hurt me. I’m tearing down Julian’s whole operation, which will help everyone who’s ever suffered at his hands. Killing those drug dealers the other day felt good too.