A small one, sure, but he’d take what he could get.
He’d have to. Jake heard the door to the motel room cracking open just as he pulled himself up. He forced himself through the small opening. He hooked his arm around Verity’s and started running the second his feet hit the pavement.
They almost made it to the entrance of the alleyway when they heard a loud crack and the first bullet whizzed by their heads.
Damn it.
Jake jerked Verity hard to the side and they all took shelter behind a dumpster. He’d hoped they would have enough time to escape before the Norteños thought to cut off the back passageway.
Jake eased around the side of the dumpster and let off a couple of shots. It was enough to make the four guys at the far end dive for cover. That gave him enough time to turn around and check out their escape route.
It was unblocked…for the moment. But that wasn’t going to last long. It was only a matter of time before they were flanked on both sides.
Jake turned to Verity. “You need to go now.”
She just stared at him with wide eyes.
“Verity,” he said again. “Run like hell, and don’t look back.”
She shook her head. “I-I’m not going anywhere without you.”
“This is your only chance,” he said. “Bowie and I will stay behind and cover you. You keep running until you find a place to hide.”
“And then what?” She grabbed on to his arm.
“Then you stay there until this is all over.”
Her fingers dug into him a little tighter. “Until you find me, you mean?”
“We don’t have time, Verity,” he said firmly. “Go.”
She looked up at him with her big dark eyes for another second before nodding. “O-okay,” she said.
Jake swallowed past the lump in his throat. Damn his soft heart. He’d been in worse situations, but never before had he felt like he had so much to lose.
He forced himself to look away as he counted.
“One. Two. Three.”
He and Bowie leaned out and let out a shower of cover fire. When Jake glanced behind him a few seconds later, Verity was gone.
He could only pray that she would take his words to heart and hide until the dust had settled, because what came next wasn’t going to be pretty.
Jake looked over at Bowie. “How much ammo do you have left?”
“One more clip.”
The same as him. It wasn’t enough. Not to hold off a whole army of gang members. And he doubted that they could count on the Augustville PD for backup. They’d probably have to wait for a SWAT team from a larger city to arrive before engaging. Which meant they were on their own.
Judging by the heavy look on his friend’s face, Bowie had come to the same conclusion.
Another few shots pinged off the walls next to them, these coming from the other end of the alley. That was it. They were boxed in. There was no escape.
There were only two choices, give up and throw themselves on the mercy of a gang of ruthless murderers, or keep the fight going as long as possible and give Verity more time to escape.
“Sorry it came to this,” Jake said, resting his back against the filthy metal trash bin as more shots echoed down the alleyway.
“No apologies,” Bowie said, ejecting his spent clip and loading in the next. “We’ll go as long as we can.”
Jake nodded. If they had to go out, they’d go out firing. “You ready?”
“Always,” Bowie answered.
“On three,” Jake said, readying himself to swing out into the line of fire. “One. Two. Th—”
The loud roar of an engine being gunned filled the air before he could finish the count. It was followed a half-second later by a sickening crunch. Screams mixed with the squeal of tires as a banged up old four-door pulled up alongside the dumpster.
Jake looked up to see Verity crouched down low behind the steering wheel as she threw open the door.
“Well, come on, boys,” she shouted, jumping into the back seat. “Cavalry’s here.”
Jake didn’t have to be told twice. He dove, head first, across the front seat of the car, even as gunshots ricocheted off the hood. Bowie came in close behind him, and threw the car into reverse the second he had the wheel.
The tires billowed clouds of black smoke as they tore out of the alleyway.
Jake waited until they were out on the road and away from the steady hail of gunfire before swiveling around in his seat. He couldn’t remember a time he’d been more relieved to see anyone in his life…or so livid.
“You were supposed to run,” he said.
“I did,” she shot back. “I ran right over to this car and took it.”
Jake narrowed his eyes. “I told you to hide until this was all over.”
“Yeah,” she said with a laugh. “Like that was going to happen.”
"Well, I’m not too proud to say thank you,” Bowie said.
"You're welcome," Verity said with a self-satisfied smile. It didn’t last long.
A second later, the thundering rumble of a powerful engine sounded behind them.
Jake looked through the dusty back window to see a huge black SUV rounding the corner of the motel. It didn’t take long for it to start gaining on them fast.
Bowie must have seen it too, because he slammed the accelerator all the way down to the floorboard. Their old car sped up, but not enough. It was just no match for the newer SUV.
It was only a matter of time before the other vehicle caught up with them, which meant they didn’t have long to figure out what they were going to do when it did.
***
Crap.
It was just her luck that the only car she’d been able to find with the keys left inside turned out to be a clunker.
In her defense, it wasn’t as though she had all that many to choose from. The streets were all but empty when she’d fled the alleyway. Everyone must have run for cover the second the shots started. Verity knew that Jake wanted her to run too, but there was no way she was going to leave him and Bowie behind to die.
And for a second, she’d actually believed that she’d saved them, but the giant black SUV on their tail told a different story.
She’d only delayed their fate for a couple of minutes. There was no way this rusted bag of bolts was going to outrun that beast.
The only thing she couldn’t figure out was why they were being given the chance to try. Surely, there was enough firepower stockpiled in that other car to blow them clear off the road.
But they weren’t.
There wasn’t so much as a single shot.
Verity could only think of one reason why—someone inside was telling them not to fire.
And, other than the two guys in the car with her now, there was only one other person in this whole area who cared if she lived or died.
“Damn it, Verity. Get down,” Jake called out as she swiveled around fully on the back seat to get a better look through the back window.
Her heart plummeted instantly. The other car was practically on top of them now. She could see straight through their windshield…and directly into her brother’s eyes.
There was no doubt that Roman saw her too. His brows pulled together. The line of his mouth hardened.
“I said, get down,” Jake shouted. He grasped her by the shoulders and forced her away from the window. “Don’t you know they’ll shoot you if you give them the chance?”
But they wouldn’t. That was the thing. Deep down, she knew Roman wouldn’t kill her.
Jake and Bowie—now, that was another story. Verity didn’t doubt for a second that Roman would let them die. Hell, he might even pull the trigger himself if it meant saving his own neck.
A moment later, her suspicions were confirmed when a loud crunching sound filled the air. The car rocked hard to the side. Bowie had to use all his strength to keep them on the blacktop.
“They’re trying to run us off the road,” he said through gritted tee
th.
Verity couldn’t let that happen.
If Roman wanted her, fine, but she wasn’t about to give him a shot at Jake and Bowie.
She glanced out the front window. There was a sharp curve in the road ahead.
A plan quickly came together in her mind. It wasn’t ideal, and Jake wasn’t going to like it, but it would have to do. There was no other choice.
“Hey, Bowie,” she said, leaning forward. “Do you think you can shake them off our tail long enough to get to that turn up ahead.”
“Yeah, I think so,” he said, cocking his head slightly to the side. “Why?”
“Because I think I’ve come up with a way to buy you guys a little more time.”
Bowie looked up at her in the rearview mirror. The look in his eyes bordered on caring.
“You sure about this?” he asked.
Verity nodded. “Yeah.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Jake demanded. Verity could see the storm clouds forming on his brow out of the corner of her eye. “Sure about what?”
She didn’t get a chance to answer. Her hands flew out to brace herself as Bowie hit the brakes hard, forcing Roman’s SUV to swerve onto the gravel shoulder to avoid crashing straight into them.
It was all the window Bowie needed. He punched the accelerator hard, wresting everything he could out of the little engine before Roman’s driver could recover.
It worked. They made it around the turn in the road before the SUV. Bowie started to slam on the brakes but Verity stopped him.
“Just slow down,” she said.
Their crappy car was going to need all the forward momentum it could get if the guys had any chance of getting out of here.
“No,” Jake screamed as she threw open the door.
She wished she had more time to explain, to apologize, to make him understand, but as it was, she didn’t have another second.
Verity threw herself out of the car just as Jake lunged across the back seat toward her.
For a brief moment, she floated in the air, but in the next breath she slammed hard into the pavement. Her elbows and knees were scraped raw as she tumbled against the asphalt.
Verity opened her eyes as soon as she came to a rest. A cacophony of sounds mixed in her ears—squealing brakes as Roman’s SUV came to a stop just inches away from her head, the roar of Bowie gunning the car down the road, and Jake’s shouts as he disappeared around the corner.
***
“What the hell are you doing?” Jake demanded as Bowie tore down the two-lane road out of town. “Turn the car around. Go back for her.”
He couldn’t see Verity any longer out the back window, not since they’d rounded the bend, but for some reason Jake still couldn’t turn around in his seat.
That wasn’t true. He knew the reason.
The second he did he would rip his friend to pieces for letting her go.
“You know I can’t do that,” Bowie said. His voice was low, almost apologetic.
Burning rage, hotter than Jake had ever felt before, began to boil in his blood. His hand slid down to the butt of his gun.
“Turn around, before I stop this car myself.”
Jake had never threatened one of his brothers in his life, but right now fear and fury had taken over. He didn’t want to believe that he would hurt his friend, but right now he wasn’t entirely sure what he was capable of.
Bowie, on the other hand, seemed to have more faith in him. He slid a glance his way, but didn’t take his foot off the pedal.
“I mean it.” Jake tightened his grip on his weapon. “I’m not willing to let her die.”
“Neither am I,” Bowie said, turning his head. The look in his eye was firm but honest.
“Then why the hell did you let her jump out of the damned car?”
“Calm down and think, Jake,” Bowie said. “Roman was in that SUV. He’s not going to kill his sister, but he would have killed us.”
“I don’t give a damn what happens to me,” Jake shouted.
“But Verity does,” Bowie shot back. “And not just because she’s in love with your sorry ass. She’s smart enough to know that either way Roman would be dragging her back to Silas. If we didn’t escape there wouldn’t be anyone there to save her.”
Jake narrowed his eyes. He drew in a shaky breath, and then another one.
Damn it, Bowie was right.
Roman had already shown that he wasn’t willing to kill Verity. If that had been his plan he would have just driven over her body instead of stopping for her. But Silas…he wouldn’t be so sentimental.
He’d execute her the first chance he got.
“We have to get to the farmhouse before Roman then,” Jake said, slowly turning around in his seat.
“We’re already on our way,” Bowie replied.
***
Verity didn’t say a word as she stared at her brother from the back seat of his massive SUV. She hadn’t needed his whispered threat to keep her mouth shut when he’d picked her up from the middle of the road and hauled her back into the car. Being trapped in a SUV with a couple of heavily armed thugs didn’t naturally put her in the most talkative mood.
Instead, she sat and stewed in stony silence.
Every now and again, Roman would turn around and shoot her a quick glance, but mostly he kept his back to her. If Verity didn’t know better, she would almost believe that he was ashamed to face her.
Of course, that shame didn’t run deep enough to stop the car and let her out. There was no doubt that he was taking her back to his boss at the farmhouse.
The man that had just sent men out to kill her.
Verity could only pray that Jake and Bowie could get help before Silas got to finish the job himself.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. There was something else she could do.
Verity reached into her pocket and pressed the power button on her phone. She didn’t dare pull it out into the open where anyone could see it, but Jake had said that just having it on when she passed a cell tower would be enough to alert the feds to her location. Well, with any luck, someone from the FBI was paying attention.
At least that’s what she hoped as they drove past the spot where she and Jake had parked and been shot at just the other day. A little farther down the road, the SUV pulled into the steep, dirt drive that led down to the house.
Roman stayed in his seat as the driver and the two men next to her got out. He waited until the car doors had closed before he turned toward her.
She’d been preparing herself for this moment the whole way over, steeling herself to face her brother’s frustration and anger, readying herself to throw them right back in his face. What she hadn’t expected was the sadness and regret that swirled in his eyes.
“God damn it, Verity. It wasn’t supposed to end up this way,” he said. “What the hell were you thinking coming out here with Jake Thorne?”
“What were you thinking selling stolen art and heroin?” she shot back.
Roman’s jaw started to twitch. He wasn’t used to his little sister talking back to him. Not at all.
“The same thing I’ve always thought about—making enough money to take care of both of us,” he said.
“By getting involved in a major criminal enterprise?”
“You were never supposed to know about the drugs,” Roman explained. “This was supposed to be the last big haul. We were going to sell off the last of the crap we’ve been smuggling back home—all the opium, all the artifacts. All you had to do was come out when you were told, tell a few buyers that the artifacts were legit, and we all would have had our big payday.”
“No amount of money is worth what you’ve been doing,” Verity said, leaning forward. She reached out to wrap her hand around his shoulder, to show him that she still cared, but Roman pulled back before she could.
“You didn’t seem to mind when you were cashing the checks that sent you through school.”
“That’s because I had no idea where th
e money was coming from.”
“Didn’t you, Verity?” Roman asked, his brows pulling together. “You were always the smart one in the family. There’s no way you could have really believed that I could send you to a Big Ten University on a soldier’s salary.”
Verity’s stiffened. How dare he try to put this on her.
“I never asked you for that, Roman,” she said. “I would have found a way to put myself through school. Just like I found a way to get through everything else after mom and dad died.”
“How? By rolling over and begging for the charity of relatives that could barely stand us?” Roman’s lip curled up in disgust. “Don’t you see we were better than that, Verity? That we deserved more? If this had just gone off like it was supposed to we would’ve never had to work another day in our lives.”
Verity leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“If you think that’s what I dream about then you don’t know a damned thing about me, brother.”
Her gutsy attitude was put to the test a second later when the front door of the farmhouse swung open, and a broad-shouldered man stepped out. He was flanked on either side by two men that were just as big and scary looking as he was.
Verity didn’t need to ask his name. She knew instantly.
This was John Silas. And he was headed straight for her.
“Yeah, well if you want either one of us to live to see tomorrow, I’d rethink those dreams of yours, and follow my lead,” Roman said in a hush.
A second later the door at her side was thrown open and Verity found herself staring into a pair of ruthlessly calculating grey eyes.
“Hello, Miss Green,” he said, his voice every bit as cold as his stare. “I have to say, you look surprisingly good for a dead woman.”
Chapter Thirteen
Verity instinctually moved away from the man standing outside her open door. It was one thing acting tough while standing up to her brother, but one look from this guy had her stomach flopping around like a landed fish. She scooted back in her seat until her spine was flat against the opposite door.
Jake: The Sinner Saints #3 Page 15