Dare To Run (The Sons of Steel Row #1)

by Jen McLaughlin

“What do you . . .?” I curled my hand that wasn’t holding the gun into a fist, unable to believe what I was hearing. “You hired him.”

  It wasn’t a question. Not really.

  “I did.” Chris laughed again, walking closer. His steps were slow. Unhurried. Steady. “Oh, right. Surprise. Your brother isn’t trying to kill you. I am.”

  My stomach rolled into a tight ball. A bird flew by the window, singing a cheerful song, and I wanted to fucking shoot it. Because the one man I’d trusted was going to be the one man who brought me down. He knew all my secrets. Knew saving Heidi hadn’t been an act of kindness. He knew.

  And if he’d found Heidi . . . Please, no.

  But he couldn’t see my fear. Couldn’t see me panic. I uncurled my fist, one finger at a time, and forced myself to relax. “So all that shit about Scotty?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral. “You made it up?”

  “Yeah.” He leaned against the wall, crossing his ankles and looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world—even though he’d just blown mine to pieces. “Scotty has no idea what’s going on, and it’ll stay that way.”

  I swallowed hard, my stomach still threatening to eject its contents, and tried to figure out the big picture. If Chris had been plotting to kill me along—and he clearly had—then why were we standing here, shooting the shit? Why wasn’t I lying on the floor with a bullet in my brain? “Why?”

  “The original plan was to convince you to kill your brother. I would, of course, be there with you. The second you pulled the trigger, I’d pull mine. I’d go back to Tate, tell him you were working with the police and killed your own brother in cold blood before I could stop it. I’d be the hero. And you’d be dead, like you should have been long ago.”

  “Wow.” I swallowed hard. “That’s pretty fucking cold, man.”

  Chris lifted a shoulder. “It never should’ve been you.”

  “What shouldn’t have been me?” I slowly rotated a little to the left. “The—?”

  “Don’t even think about moving another inch,” he snapped. “I know all your tricks, brother.”

  “Brother.” I snorted, rage finally taking over the shock that had punched me in the throat. “Fuck you. You’re not my brother.”

  “Ouch. That almost hurts.” Chris stared down at Heidi’s purse, a smirk taking over his face. My other gun sat on the table behind him. “You shouldn’t have gotten promoted, or even gotten in the gang. If I’d known then that you’d swoop in and take my position from me, I’d have shot you as a kid.”

  I forced myself to smirk. “As if you could. You never could beat me.”

  Chris’s face flushed, and he stepped closer, anger and jealousy coming off him in thick, tangible waves. It made me wonder how I’d missed it before—the jealousy. “Funny, because I’m winning now. When my original plan didn’t work quickly enough, I had to come up with a new one. I couldn’t risk you talking it out with Scotty and realizing it was me who wanted you dead.”

  I refused to ask him what his new plan was. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “I fail to see how that means you’re winning.”

  “That’s because you didn’t even see the fourth guy come in.”

  Fourth guy? Shit. I clenched my jaw, knowing the answer to my question but playing along anyway. “Where is he?”

  “He was retrieving something for me while Phil distracted you with the pretty view of Boston you’ve got there.” Chris cocked his head. “Bring her out, Tom.”

  I stiffened, knowing what I was going to see and hating it. Hating that it had come to this. The second I’d found out it was Chris, not Scotty, who wanted me dead, I’d known how this would end. He knew too much.

  I should have run with her last night. Should have run, to keep her safe.

  I’d do anything to keep her safe, damn it.

  And Chris knew it.

  The man I’d let live the other night came out of the bedroom, one arm clenched around Heidi’s throat way too tightly, and the other holding a gun to her head. She had both hands wrapped around the man’s forearms, and stumbled forward as he nudged her with his knee. He laughed and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Easy. Wouldn’t want you to get hurt . . . yet. Not before we finish what we started the other night.”

  “My, my.” Chris grinned and dusted his hands off. I knew that grin all too well. It was the one he’d always worn right before he did something that would get him, and me, in trouble. “Welcome to the party, doll. Good of you to join us. Please contain yourself, and save the begging for your lives for later.”

  She glanced at me, then back at Chris. Her lip was swollen, and blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth. They’d hit her. “Go to hell,” she snarled. “I don’t beg.”

  “Let go of her right now,” I said, my tone deceptively quiet. Rage hit me hard, slamming into my chest and stealing my breath away. “And I’ll let you—oh, who the hell am I kidding? I’ll still fucking kill you.”

  I swung my gun toward the man holding Heidi, but Chris sprang into action. I pointed my gun at him immediately, ready to find out who the hell could shoot the fastest, but he didn’t threaten me. No, he pointed his gun at her. “Easy. If you shoot me now, I’ll still fire as I go down. And so will Tom. And let’s not forget the gun held to your head by dear old Phil . . .”

  I blinked. Blood ran into my eyes, stinging, blurring my vision even more. “I don’t give a damn. It’ll be worth it.”

  “You might not give a damn about yourself.” Chris stepped closer to Heidi. “But you care about her. You care about her so much that you’d die to keep her safe, and we both know it.”

  I didn’t look at her. I couldn’t afford to. “You’re wrong. She’s nothing to me.”

  “Oh?” He tsked. “Tom. Go ahead and taste the goods, since he doesn’t give a shit.”

  “Gladly.” He lowered his hand and cupped Heidi’s breast, squeezing cruelly. “I’ve been waiting a long damn—”

  Heidi squirmed, struggling to get free. Her hair fell in front of her face, obscuring her. “Get your hands off me.”

  The nausea hit me even harder. And the rage . . . oh fuck, the rage. I tried to keep my cool, but it was impossible with that little shit threatening my woman. I stepped forward, but the man behind me clocked me on the head. “Don’t move again,” he warned, “or I’ll shoot you in the leg.”

  I’d forgotten all about that little shit. I’d been too busy watching Tom asking to be killed. Slowly. “Touch her again, and I’ll cut your hands off.”

  Tom grinned and squeezed her breast again. “It’ll be worth it. These are some fine tits. I’ll—”

  That was it. He was dead.

  “Enough, Tom.” Chris flexed his jaw, looking uncomfortable for the first time since he’d announced his betrayal, and headed across the room. “That’s no way to treat a lady.”

  Heidi lifted her chin, those blue eyes of hers blazing with so much strength and courage that I wanted to cross the room and kiss her . . . before hiding her. “As if you know how to treat one?”

  “Oh, but I do.” Chris caressed her chin, and Heidi flinched away. His back was to me, which was a bold move on his part. Cocky, too. Like always. “It should have been me who saved you that night. God knows he doesn’t know what to do with a woman like you. If he did, you wouldn’t be here right now.”

  “Go to hell,” she snapped, spitting in his face.

  Chris laughed and swiped his forearm across his cheek. “I gotta say, I love that feisty spirit of yours. It would be so much fun to break it . . .”

  I swallowed back the curses trying to escape. “Touch her, and I’ll kill you so slowly you’ll be crying for your ma like you did that time you fell out of the tree.”

  Chris snorted. “As if you could.” Then, to Heidi, “Easy, doll. I’m not gonna hurt you. Just your lover . . . as long as he’s a good boy and does what I say.”

  She glanced at me. She looked terrified now.

  Because they’d threatened me?

&
nbsp; No one was watching me besides the man behind me, so I took a calculated risk. They hadn’t killed me yet, so Chris obviously had some elaborate plan B. Something that would make it look as if he had nothing to do with this mess. And Heidi was part of it . . .

  Just like I was.

  Slowly, I turned my gun and aimed. The man behind me didn’t even notice. I took a deep breath and steadied my hand. I couldn’t be even a fraction of an inch off, or Heidi would die. Inhale. Exhale. Boom. I squeezed the trigger, and Tom stood there for a second, not moving, before the gaping hole in his head spurted blood.

  Heidi screamed and covered her ears, and Tom collapsed back into my bedroom. For a second, time held still. No one moved. Not even Chris. “Heidi! Run!”

  Then everything exploded, because Heidi ran for the door. Chris chased her, and I whirled to fight the man behind me, who still stared at his dead friend stupidly. Lifting my gun, I squeezed the trigger—and nothing happened. “Shit.”

  The click of the empty gun firing jerked the fucker out of his trance, and he snapped to attention. I tossed the useless gun aside, cursing Chris for giving me a gun without a full mag and myself for not taking the time to reload. Phil clocked me in the temple with his gun . . .

  And the world blackened.

  When I came to again, blinking against the pain wrecking my head, Phil held a gun to Heidi’s head and Chris stood over me, arms crossed. Heidi held herself stiffly, her gaze locked on me intently, as if she was terrified I might not wake up at all. It probably would have been better if I hadn’t.

  Whatever these guys had planned for us . . . it wouldn’t be good.

  When Chris saw me come to, he straightened and smiled. “Ah . . . Sleeping Beauty awakens.”

  Heidi sagged against Phil, her pale face gaining a little bit more color. But not enough. I rose onto my elbows, taking in the scene. The three dead bodies hadn’t been moved, but there was a chair sitting next to me. And my gun was still on the table by the door. It was almost in reach, too. “You don’t have to do this, Chris.”

  “Ah, but I do.” He smiled a chilling smile. “If you want something, you have to take it. You can’t wait for someone to give it to you. It’s the only way to get what you want out of this miserable life. You taught me that.”

  “Bullshit,” I snapped. “You want something, you need to earn it.”

  “Nah. It’s more fun to take it.” Chris pointed his gun at Heidi. She glared back at him. “And now, I’m gonna take it from you. And you’re gonna give it to me.”

  I sat up and pressed a hand to my throbbing head. Chris frowned, watching me for any signs of a threat. He kept his gun pointed at Heidi, and so did Phil. “What’s the plan here? How are you hoping to pull this off?”

  “The job should’ve been mine, Lucas. I was here, putting in the time, earning it. But then you waltz back in, after years away, and steal my promotion. So you need to die. With you gone, I’ll finally get the position I should have gotten all along.”

  I laughed and ran my tongue over my split, dry lips. All I could taste was blood, but I didn’t give a damn. “The hell you will. Scotty will, dumbass. He’s my brother, and I’m not gonna shoot him like you’d hoped.”

  A crazy light lit his brown eyes. “You don’t need to anymore.” Chris walked around Heidi and Phil, looking completely evil. He didn’t even look like the boy I’d grown up with anymore. I didn’t know this man. Not anymore. “You’re going to walk over to that table, real slow, and sign this will that I so kindly typed up and had the notary stamp. It says that you’re leaving everything to me—your blood brother—including your position. Heidi will witness the transaction, sign it, and then . . . well, you know what comes next. You fought off Bitter Hill as long as you could, but in the end . . . you failed. With your endorsement from beyond the grave, Tate will have to give me the job.”

  I looked at the chair he’d set up. Sure enough, there was a pen and a piece of paper, too. “Not gonna happen. I’m not signing anything.”

  “Yeah, you will.” He stopped next to Heidi. “You’ll do it, or I’ll kill her, right here. Right now. In front of you. And you know I will, too. But if you do it . . . she lives.”

  “Let her go first. She can sign it and leave,” I said quickly. “Then I’ll do it.”

  “Yeah . . . not a chance.” Chris snorted. “I’m not an idiot. You just want her gone so you can kill us both without risking her life.”

  “You’re wrong.” I struggled to my feet. Chris watched me closely but didn’t tell me to stay on the floor. “I don’t want to kill you at all. Why do you think you’re still alive?”

  He laughed. “Because I’m the one with all the guns.”

  “Keep telling yourself that,” I said, forcing a smirk even though it hurt like hell. “I don’t want to kill you. I didn’t even want the job. As a matter of fact, you can have it. No killing necessary. Just let us go, and you’ll never hear from us again. We’ll leave Boston. You’ll live the life you think you want so badly.”

  “I’m not the one whose life is in danger.” Chris straightened. His confident smile wavered. “It’s over. I’ve won.”

  “Am I dead?”

  Chris’s jaw tightened. “No.”

  “Then it’s not fucking over.” I held my hands up and took another step. I was one step closer to my gun now. One step closer to getting Heidi and me out of this mess alive. “But it doesn’t have to end that way. Just let us go. Let us run.”

  “What? You’d give it all up, all that power, to be normal? Scrambling around, trying to make ends meet, poor and powerless and alone? Go back to the way you grew up?” He gestured toward Heidi with his gun. “Live a normal, boring life?”

  I curled my hands into balls. Heidi watched me closely, one eye swollen shut, and blood still trickling from the cut by her mouth. Tears ran down her face, and she’d never looked more terrified than she did now. Because of me. I had to fix this.

  And for the first time, I knew without a doubt what my answer would be.

  “Yes. I would run away from here forever, so long as I was with her, and we’d never look back.” I locked eyes with Heidi. “I’d live any kind of life to be with this woman, and be the luckiest bastard alive, poor or not, if she’d have me.”

  CHAPTER 28

  HEIDI

  I swallowed past the aching lump in my throat. He’d said those words so passionately, so realistically, that for a second . . . I believed him. But I was so conflicted. I’d asked him to leave with me numerous times, and each time he’d rejected the idea. It had to be a ploy, to throw Chris off-balance, to give Lucas an opportunity to attack.

  Chris laughed. “Damn. Most guys come out of lockup mean sons of bitches. But not you. Look at you, a pussy-whipped little bitch.”

  Lucas cracked his knuckles, his face flushing with anger. The muscle in his jaw ticked, his telltale sign of being pissed off. For once, it wasn’t directed at me. “Call it what you want. All that matters is that neither of us has to do something we’ll regret.”

  “Nah.” Chris shook his head. “I’m not buying it.”

  Just like I didn’t buy that if Lucas signed the papers, and I witnessed them, I’d walk out of here without another scratch. We were both dead, unless Lucas did the killing first. But even after all this, and after seeing the lengths Chris had gone to . . . Lucas hadn’t shot him. I was sure he could’ve. But he hadn’t.

  He was looking for a way to end this that didn’t involve Chris never seeing the light of day again. When he’d been on the floor earlier, lying motionless and pale, I’d gone through an emotional roller coaster of grief and fear. And when I’d thought he might be dead . . . I’d died.

  The pain and fear had crept into my heart, grabbed hold, and hadn’t let go.

  Which was exactly why his words hurt so much.

  I wanted them to be true. I wanted him to want me. Need me. Love me. But I just couldn’t believe him. Even last night, when he’d pulled me into his arms in bed, he’d wa
rned me not to read into it too much. I’d listened. I wouldn’t stop now.

  “It’s the truth. Right, Heidi?” He held my stare before slowly looking to the left. I believed he was telling me to dodge left when he made his move . . . and hoped to hell that I was right. We couldn’t afford any miscalculations right now. “Weren’t we just talking about how we wanted to get out of here, make the first left we found, and keep driving?”

  While I didn’t think his plan could possibly work, it wouldn’t stop me from trying to help him in any way possible. Licking my sore, raw lips, I nodded. “Yeah. It’s true. We were talking about it last night. We were gonna run for it this morning. Start over.”

  Phil’s arm tightened on my throat. “Bullshit. It’s a trick. He’s going to kill us, just like he killed them. Who’d walk away from this? The Sons own this town and now Lucas is up there at the top.”

  “Shut up,” Chris growled. “I didn’t ask for your opinion, nor will I ever ask for your opinion.”

  “No.” Phil shook his head, swinging the gun from my temple to Lucas. “No. If you won’t kill him, I will. I won’t let him get away with—”

  No, no, no, no.

  I kicked backward, knowing Phil was distracted, and that it was now or never. When he grunted and loosened his grip, I threw myself to the left, like Lucas had wanted. Gunshots boomed over me, and I had no idea who shot whom, or who missed whom, or if Lucas was still alive. I rolled to my knees, my ears ringing, and lifted my head in time to see Phil lunge for me. I cried out and scrambled to my feet. The second I steadied myself and turned around, another gunshot boomed. Phil froze, arm extended toward me. I stumbled back, sure he was going to grab me.

  But he made a gurgling sound, spat out blood, and hit the floor. I covered my mouth, watching as his eyes glazed over and all signs of life left him. I couldn’t look away. I had no idea if Lucas was dead or alive, or if Chris was about to kill us both, but I couldn’t look away. No way. I’d just watched a man’s soul leave his body.

  How had my life come to this?