Riley caught sight of him as he grappled with another man, their fight pushing them out of the shadows into the centre of the room. Riley started to move towards his brother just as he seemed to get the upper hand.
Stuart kicked his assailant, sending him tumbling backwards into the crates, causing them to collapse around him.
“Stuart!” Riley shouted, his voice carrying a warning that came too late.
Stuart turned, a look of surprise crossing his face as a second man stepped out of the shadows and pulled the trigger of the gun he held raised in front of him. Stuart’s body jerked and he started to drop towards the ground.
Riley didn’t think as he lifted his own gun and fired one shot that found its home in the head of the man who had just shot his brother.
Stuart didn’t move and the pit of Riley’s stomach twisted painfully as the world seemed to slow to a crawl.
Something barrelled into his body, driving the air from Riley’s lungs as the force of the blow took him to the ground. His gun skittered across the ground as Marcus punched him, the surprise giving him an edge.
But it wasn’t enough and Riley defended against the body blows easily, his anger and concern over his brother making him vicious as he fought back.
Marcus grunted in pain as Riley jabbed his elbow up into the other man’s face, the sound of bone crunching beneath the blow filling Riley with a satisfaction he didn’t think was possible.
He rolled away and hopped to his feet, watching Marcus climb unsteadily to his feet, the blood from his broken nose streaming down his face.
“What kind of man can’t protect the woman he loves and gets his brother killed?” Marcus sneered, wiping the back of his hand across his face, smearing his blood down his chin.
Riley fought to keep his temper in check. Allowing his anger to rule his head wouldn’t help.
Marcus lunged towards him again and Riley caught his head beneath his arm, bringing his knee up into Marcus’ chest and stomach over and over until he dropped to the ground on his hands and knees. Riley stood over him, watching him fight for breath as he coughed and spluttered.
“What are you waiting for? You’ve wanted me dead from the moment you found out about me,” Marcus said, his voice hoarse with pain.
It would be easy to put an end to him, after all the pain and anguish he’d caused Holly and her family. It hit him then, if he killed him he’d be taking away Holly’s chance to confront him, her chance to find out the true reason behind everything he’d done to her and her father.
“Killing you now, Marcus, is too good for you. After everything you’ve done to Holly you need to suffer, and me putting you out of your misery is too easy.”
Marcus tilted his head up, the look in his eyes one of pure hatred.
“I’ve always known you were weak…”
He lunged upwards from the ground, wrapping one arm around Riley’s waist as he jabbed his fist up into his stomach.
The pain surprised Riley. He’d been punched in the stomach before and it’d never felt like this. He shoved back away from Marcus, knocking him to the floor as he stumbled away and stared down at the dark stain spreading across the pale shirt he wore.
It wasn’t possible.
Riley glanced up at Marcus as he advanced on him once more, the knife still clutched in his hand, the blade covered in his wine-dark blood.
An anguished scream split the air, drawing Riley’s attention away from Marcus and the knife. He had just enough time to catch a glimpse of Holly’s frightened face before she raised the gun and started to fire on Marcus.
The sound was deafening and the world slowed to a crawl around him once more as Riley’s knees buckled beneath him and he dropped to the hard concrete floor.
She’d promised him! Promised she’d stay outside where she was safer, away from Marcus.
Riley’s thoughts were sluggish and his ears rang with the echoing remnant sounds of the gunshots.
His gaze fell on the gun he’d dropped when Marcus had first tackled him to the ground. Holly’s frightened screams filled his ears once more and Riley fought to clear the fog from his head and focus in on her struggling against Marcus.
“Holly!” His voice sounded hoarse and pathetic to his own ears.
Pain twisted in his stomach as Marcus drew back with the butt of the gun he’d wrested from Holly’s grip and cracked it down against her cheek. She dropped against him, her body limp as he started dragging her backwards in the direction she’d come from.
It was too much. He’d failed Stuart; he couldn’t allow Marcus to take Holly, too.
Riley crawled across the floor and grabbed his gun as Anderson and his men burst into the centre of the warehouse. He had only a moment to acknowledge the blood that dripped down Anderson’s face before he pushed up onto his feet and started after Marcus and Holly.
“Stuart’s hurt!” he shouted back over his shoulder as he ran.
Pain burned in his gut and the warmth of his blood seeped out against his shirt, causing it to stick to his skin uncomfortably. But it didn’t matter.
The image of Marcus hitting her and Holly falling into his arms raced around in his mind, driving him forward.
Emerging from between the crates, Riley caught himself before he tripped over the dead body of one of the guards Anderson had left on the front door. The sound of the door to the warehouse clanging shut told Riley that Marcus hadn’t gotten too far ahead of him.
Pushing open the door, the sunlight momentarily blinded Riley as he raced out and paused to search the area. Riley spotted the black SUV as Marcus revved the engine and the tyres spun, kicking dust up around it as it leapt forward.
Levelling the gun, Riley focussed down the barrel, the pain fading into the background of his mind as he squeezed the trigger. The bullets tore through the tyres, causing the truck to waver back and forth, but it wasn’t enough to force Marcus to stop.
Smoke poured up from the back of the SUV and Riley swore under his breath as he fought to think of something he could do to stop Marcus from taking Holly with him.
Riley’s heart stopped dead in his chest as the sound of two gunshots rang out and the SUV veered across the road towards the edge of the dock.
He watched it pick up speed and launch itself over the curb and down into the black water.
“Holly!”
She was the only thought in his head as he ran towards the water’s edge. Without thinking, he jumped from the dock. The icy water sent a shockwave through his body and, without thinking, he opened his mouth, swallowing down several mouthfuls of foul tasting sea water.
Kicking to the surface, he scanned the area before beginning to swim towards the rapidly sinking car. Reaching the trunk of the SUV, Riley tugged it open and climbed over the edge.
“Holly!” He called to her as she fought to free herself from the seatbelt that held her in place.
“Riley, it’s stuck!” She struggled against the belt once more and Riley lowered himself down towards her, the water outside the car making it creak as it started to sink faster with his weight added to the mix.
Marcus lay slumped over on top of her, blocking her from reaching the release.
Pushing Marcus aside, Riley watched his eyes shift as he started to regain consciousness. Reaching down the side of her, he fumbled in the water, searching for the release mechanism. The car creaked again and water started to trickle in through the rear door he’d just climbed through.
His fingers slid across the release button and Riley rammed down hard enough to free the belt. Holly climbed from the seat as the car dipped lower and the water started to pour into the car.
Hoisting her upwards, Riley pushed her up towards the exit he’d created, forcing her to fight through the torrential cascade of water entering the car.
Riley followed her up, the vacuum created by the car almost strong enough to stop them from swimming to the surface of the murky water.
Breaking through, Holly spluttered and choked in Ril
ey’s grip as he towed her towards the edge of the dock and helped her to climb out.
Hoisting himself up over the edge was harder, the pain in his gut making him gasp as he collapsed onto the dusty ground. The sound of sirens split the air and it took him a moment to realise the area was crawling with cops.
“Riley, can you hear me?” Holly’s voice filtered down to him and he stared up into her frightened grey eyes.
“I’m here, love. Don’t worry.”
She swallowed back a sob and pressed her hand against the wound on his abdomen, causing him to wince.
“Over here!”
Riley reached up to cup her bruised cheek as she spoke to someone just beyond his field of vision. Anger sparked in his veins once more as he traced the outline of the mark Marcus had left her with.
“I’m sorry, Holly,” he said, drawing her back to look at him.
“What for?”
“I didn’t protect you the way I should have. I wasn’t there when you needed me.”
“You saved me…”
“I love you.” Riley fought to sit up, the pain making him lose his breath.
“Don’t move, they’ll look after you.”
With a shake of his head he pushed up onto his knees as the paramedics reached his side, wheeling a stretcher between them.
“No, I need to find out how Stuart is… He wasn’t moving and…”
The world ran in sickening streamers that made Riley grab onto the side of the stretcher.
“Mr Reynolds, we need to get you into the ambulance, you need to stop fighting us.”
Riley shook his head again and started to take a step towards the warehouse. A sharp scratch against his arm irritated him and he swiped it away before the world went dark and he sank into the murky depths.
Chapter 30
Sitting next to the bed, Holly stared up at the machines. The incessant beeping was giving her a headache.
“How’s your mom?”
The sudden sound of Riley’s voice filling the room made her jump. Squeezing his hand, she glanced down at him, her eyes automatically filling with tears.
“She’s shaken up but she’ll be fine. I’m not sure how she’ll ever get over the death of my dad.”
Riley nodded. “How long have you been here?”
“Long enough to panic every time your heart rate changes,” she said.
Riley grinned and winced as he pushed up in the hospital bed.
“Do you have any pain? I can get…”
He cut her off with a shake of his head. “No, I’m fine, it’s the bed.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s bloody uncomfortable. I feel like a part of my back has melted into its surface.”
Holly smiled and leaned over him, her mouth finding his, her kiss soft. She wanted to kiss him harder but she held back, afraid she might hurt him.
Riley chuckled, the sound reverberating up through her body where she touched him.
“I should get stabbed more often,” he mumbled against her lips.
Holly jerked away and shot him an angry look.
“Don’t even joke about it. Watching Marcus sink that knife into you…” She trailed off, her mind easily conjuring the terrifying image.
Riley reached up, his hand sliding up her cheek and into her hair, gently tugging her back down towards him.
“Holly, I’m fine, it was nothing…”
“It wasn’t nothing. They said you lost a lot of blood because you came after me. You could have died and then what would I have done?”
Riley tugged her down, effectively silencing her with a long and lingering kiss that left her breathless.
“Well, I’m glad to see you were concerned about me.”
The sound of Stuart’s voice made Holly smile and fight against Riley’s grip.
She pushed up but Riley kept a hold of her, forcing her to sit on the side of the bed next to him as he shot his brother a look of irritation.
“So you survived, then?”
“Yeah, a through and through on my shoulder. I’m going to need some physical therapy to get it back to where it should be but considering where the bullet should have gone, I’ll take it.”
“That’ll teach you to take your eye off the ball,” Riley said, his tone light but Holly could see the tightening around his eyes and she knew the guilt he carried over Stuart’s injury.
“If you hadn’t…”
Riley laughed. “If I hadn’t warned you, you’d have heard him coming up behind you.”
“Not these guys, Riley, they were specially trained.”
“Where the hell did Marcus get guys like that?”
“I don’t think he did. When they pulled him out of the water and he laid eyes on the one that survived, he started babbling to Felder about wanting to cut a deal and that he couldn’t put him in the same prison as George’s hit man,” Holly said, interlacing her fingers with Riley.
“Marcus survived?” Riley said, surprise colouring his voice.
Holly swallowed hard and nodded, remembering the moment he’d popped up near the dock edge.
“Holly, it’s fine—he’s not here, you’re safe,” Riley said, cupping her face gently. She closed her eyes and let him hold her tightly as she waited for the feeling of fear to slowly dissipate.
“Griffin is gone. I tried to contact him after everything that happened but according to the electronic message, his number is no longer in use.”
“He didn’t leave any forwarding information?”
“Nothing. It’s like he was never even here. I’m sure when he needs something, he’ll be back,” Stuart said, his voice filled with an edge of disapproval.
Holly held her tongue. Griffin was a wild card but she knew his heart was in the right place.
As though he could sense her discomfort over the conversation, Riley changed the subject.
“How did they get Marcus out?”
“They pulled him out of the water right after they knocked you out.”
“Why the hell did they knock me out?” Riley said, his voice filled with indignation that made Holly smile.
“They had no choice. You tried to fight them off and they had to get you to the hospital.”
Riley started to grumble beneath his breath and Holly couldn’t stop the bubble of laughter that escaped her.
“Oh, so you think that’s funny, do you?” Riley said, the look in his eyes making Holly’s breath catch in the back of her throat.
“I’ll leave you both to it…” Stuart said, awkwardly clearing his throat as he headed out the door.
“I told you to stay in the car…” Riley said.
“And when I watched the two hit men go into the warehouse, I couldn’t just sit in the car and wait for them to kill you. I needed to warn you.”
“You could have been killed, Holly. I don’t want you to ever risk your life like that again—not for me, not for anyone.”
“But I wasn’t killed…”
“You could have been. How the hell did you force him to crash the car into the dock?”
“I shot him with the gun I found in Stuart’s glove compartment.”
Riley stared at her, the look on his face a mix of incredulity and shock.
“Don’t look so surprised. I told you I could handle a gun.”
“Holly McCombe, you’re the most reckless, beautiful, and courageous woman I’ve ever met and I love you. I don’t want to ever be without you…”
“Then don’t…”
Riley didn’t give her the chance to finish the sentence, his lips cutting off her words as he wrapped his arms around her and drew her against him. And Holly knew in that moment he would never let her go, as he sealed his promise with a kiss.
Breaker’s Point Sinner
Book Three
Chapter 1
Griffin gritted his teeth as the cell phone on the passenger seat vibrated for the third time, the incessant buzzing sound causing him to grip the steering wheel tight
enough to turn his knuckles white.
He jerked the wheel, and the tyres spun on the loose gravel that covered the parking lot of the dive bar where Spike had said to meet. The neon lights of the sign over the door of Holey Moley's blinked on and off as Griffin rolled the car to a halt outside the main door.
Peering out through the windshield, he noted the cracked glass of the front window that sat behind warped iron bars and the general run-down appearance of the building and let out a sigh. Trust Spike to find the grungiest place on earth to lay low from the reporters.
Reaching over to the passenger seat, Griffin scooped up the phone and swiped his thumb across the screen. It instantly came to life in his hand, the list of missed calls almost enough to make him feel special and important. But if there was one thing Griffin didn't want, it was to feel in demand. Especially not by his brothers.
He scrolled through the list, quickly counting up the number of missed calls from his older brothers Riley and Stuart. Twenty-eight.
Griffin let out a low whistle, a bittersweet smile twisting his lips.
Whatever was going on in Breaker's Point, contacting him meant that they were clearly desperate. Staring down at the screen, he contemplated pressing the call button. It would be so easy to just return their calls; part of him knew he should at least listen to the numerous voicemail messages they had left for him.
Griffin swiped his thumb to the left, quickly deleting the missed call listings in his cell phone history. As he did so, a knot of tension seemed to loosen in his gut.
It served them right, anyway. When he'd asked them for help, they'd both been only too happy to turn him down. And now they had the cheek to request his help in return? They'd clearly come off their meds.
The vibrating sound began once more and Griffin jumped, the phone dropping from his hand and slamming against the steering wheel as it bounced onto the floor of the car.
“Shit!” he muttered beneath his breath as he scrambled beneath the steering column to retrieve it. Grabbing it, he glanced at the screen and quickly answered the call, pressing the speaker button.
Breaker's Point Bad Boy Billionaires Boxset Page 34