by Jami Gray
She’d have to jump. She hoped they were so caught up in their pissing contest they wouldn’t hear her land. Then she hoped the other side wouldn’t crumble out from under her. Wrong time to be careful.
With a running start, she blew out a breath and sprung into the air. Her heels hit the other side with a dull thump, followed by a sharp crack as the wood under her feet gave way. Shit, shit, shit! She threw her weight forward, landed on her hip, and then rolled to her feet. There was no way Greer missed that, which meant Vex didn’t have time to waste. Pushing pain aside, she rushed across the room and peeked through the doorway. Relief hit when Math’s assumption proved correct. The doorway dropped her behind Greer’s line of sight. That was the good news. The bad news? To get to them, Vex would have to navigate around the precarious floor, which left her exposed.
From her position she could see the gun Greer had dug into Mandy’s side. The way she kept the doctor in front of her meant Math didn’t have a clear shot. Which left it up to Vex to get him one.
Inching out, she did her best to stay quiet. She used the debris and shadows to camouflage her movements as she began working her way closer. Leaving her questionable protection, she moved into the room. Sweat coated her spine and her nerves vibrated like an over-tightened wire. Her clear view of Greer meant if Greer turned, just the tiniest bit, she’d see Vex. Her heartbeat filled her ears, making it hard to catch the back and forth between Greer and Math. Creeping closer, she eased into a crouch and shifted her grip on her knife. Throwing it was out. Too risky for a throw. Better to go with a blitz attack.
Her choice was made when Greer shoved Mandy aside and lifted her hand, gun aimed at Math. Two shots rang out, so close together they blended into one. The doctor stumbled forward, perilously close to the ragged edge of the floor. Ignoring Greer, Vex lunged for Mandy. She caught the doc’s wrist, and yanked her forward, hissing, ‘Run!’ She propelled the older woman away from Greer.
Vex turned just as a weight slammed into her back, driving her face down. She crashed into the floor, her chest compressing, knocking the air out of her lungs. She managed to keep hold of her knife even as the skin of her knuckles tore away. A hand grabbed her hair, jerking her neck back painfully. Greer’s snarling face filled Vex’s vision. Training and instinct had Vex slamming her blade back, driving it into whatever she could hit. Repeatedly.
Greer screeched and ripped her hand free, taking some of Vex’s hair with her. As she tried to get away from Vex’s knife, she shifted her weight. Taking advantage, Vex shoved up and twisted, forcing Greer’s weight off. Going from hands and knees to a crouch, she pivoted and barely had time to block a vicious kick. The bone-jarring impact sent Vex tumbling back on her ass. She scrambled to her feet, only to stop as the floor behind her began to give way.
In front of her Greer rolled to her feet, teeth bared, blood spreading beneath her shoulder, and cocked her leg back. Something heavy landed nearby, causing the floor to quake. Vex had no time to worry about it as she braced for Greer’s unavoidable kick. An angry roar sounded and then Math ploughed into Greer, forcing her away from Vex.
There was no chance to enjoy her rescue, because the floor under Vex decided it had enough. For the second time that night, she was airborne.
Chapter 23
Driven by rage and a decade’s old need for vengeance, the world around Math narrowed down to one thing—ending Greer. He rode the arrogant bitch to the floor, his hands wrapping around her neck. Violent satisfaction coursed through him as his grip tightened. Finally, fucking finally, he held his long-awaited dream in his brutal grip.
‘Math!’
The frantic sound of his name in Vex’s voice snapped his head around. His heart seized. The boards under her were splintering, cracks running like fault lines, gaining speed. In less than a heartbeat, his priorities shifted. He slammed Greer’s head into the floor, barely registering her body going limp. Letting go of sure revenge, he dove forward. ‘Vex!’
The last of the boards fell away, leaving her windmilling and teetering over empty air. He skidded the last few inches on his stomach and reached out. His palm hit her wrist and their hands locked. The abrupt drop of her body weight shot agony through his shoulders. Desperate not to follow her into the hole, he dug the toes of his boots in, finding crevices. Ignoring the warning groans from the remaining boards, including those directly under him, he looked down into her pale face as she swung in the air. ‘Hey, babe. Don’t let go.’
‘Not planning on it.’ Her voice was light, but her hands curled tight around his wrists. ‘Going to hang around a while.’
He gritted his teeth and began to inch backwards. His arms screamed. His back spasmed. Every inch a battle. Focused on Vex and pulling her up, he caught the widening of her eyes just before the sharp retort of a rifle sang out. A pained grunt and the sound of displaced air followed. Stuck holding Vex, he couldn’t see what happened.
The floor vibrated as someone rushed to his side. An arm appeared, then Mandy was there, stretched out beside him, taking hold of Vex’s arm. ‘Let me help.’
Together he and the doc managed to get Vex up, and all three cautiously backed away from the ragged edge of the hole. When they were out of harm’s way, he turned to where he left Greer only to find her gone. He stared at the now empty space, his mind skipping. ‘Where is she?’
‘I shot her.’ The shaky admission came from Mandy who was huddled next to Vex. ‘She fell out the window.’ Tears and dirt streaked her face and her glasses had a decided crooked tilt. She raised trembling hands and took them off. Only when she used her shirt to clean the lenses did he realise they were missing a side piece. She resettled the broken frame with care and met his gaze. ‘I didn’t have a choice. She was coming after you.’
Math pushed to his feet, still trying to process her answer, when Vex asked, ‘Did you hit her?’
‘Yes.’ Mandy’s response was sure.
Math went over to the window frame unable to believe it was really over.
Behind him Vex called his name. He turned back to see her struggling to her feet. She came closer, her eyes dark but steady. ‘She was hurt.’ When he simply stared at her, she clarified, ‘Greer. She had a gunshot here.’ Vex touched her chest near her shoulder. ‘She was bleeding bad.’
When Vex got within touching distance, he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her in. She put a hand to his stomach and dropped her forehead against his chest. He dropped his head over hers, closed his eyes, and breathed her in. A tremor ran through him. It had been too fucking close.
For a minute they stood there, holding each other. Finally, he loosened his hold. Vex put a couple of inches between them. ‘Math?’
‘Need to see her body.’ His voice came out hoarse.
She nodded. Together they moved to the opening. Standing on the edge, they peered down, trying to see through the foliage and shadows to the ground below. The wind had picked up and the nearby trees were in constant motion, their leaves murmuring in a soft rush. He blinked but it didn’t change the picture. ‘She’s not there.’ He stated the obvious.
‘She’s been shot twice,’ Vex murmured. ‘I’m thinking she won’t get far.’
He stood there, shocked he wasn’t filled with gut-churning anger at the idea of Greer once more being in the wind. Instead there was a giddy sense of relief, as if he just missed losing something vitally important. It was such an unexpected reaction, he had to figure out what changed, and when.
A warm hand cupped his face, turning his attention to the woman at his side. ‘You okay?’
And like that, he found both answers. Staring into her amber eyes, he couldn’t mistake the depth of emotion staring back. For him. She didn’t bother to hide it, but shared freely. It sank through his emotional numbness, and his response resonated and settled deep. He covered her hand with his, turned his head and pressed a kiss to the centre of her palm. ‘I will be.’
***
Laying on his side, head braced in one hand
, Math brushed his other over Vex’s bare skin, careful of the deep bruise spanning her hip and thigh, nudging the t-shirt she wore higher. One of his, but he liked the look of her in it better. She murmured in her sleep, but didn’t wake. Not a surprise considering they spent the last handful of hours cleaning up the mess at Stone Pen before riding hard to the farmstead outside of Pebble Creek. After he and Vex got Mandy out of the crumbling house, he let Vex take the doc back to the others while he tried to follow Greer’s trail. Despite following the blood trail indicating Greer had taken serious damage, he held on to the hope he would stumble across her corpse. Unfortunately, fate decided differently. Now it was a waiting game—would she surface, or would she do everyone a favour and crawl into a hole and die? He hoped for the second, but expected the first.
‘Hey, you.’
He lifted his gaze to find Vex watching him, her face soft. He didn’t stop stroking her, hadn’t been able to stop actually.
She lifted her hand and sank her fingers into his hair as her legs tangled with his. ‘Did you get any sleep?’
He shook his head.
She frowned. ‘What’s wrong?’
He bent down and dropped a kiss on her stomach, just above the edge of her panties. ‘Nothing.’
Her hips arched, not much, enough to let him know she wanted more. Then she tugged on his hair, forcing him to look at her. ‘Uh-huh, hotshot. That kind of answer is my thing, not yours. If we’re doing this, got to be honest.’
Amused, he slipped his hand under the t-shirt until he could tease the supple curves of her unbound tits. ‘Says who?’
Those lush lips curved. ‘Every woman ever. “Nothing” belongs to us.’ She shifted to her side to face him, mimicking his pose. Her free hand played along his scruff-covered jaw. ‘So spit it out. What’s bothering you?’
He nipped her fingers and blew out a breath. ‘Nothing’s bothering me, I’m just considering my options.’
She did a piss poor job of hiding her reaction. There was a tiny hitch in her movements and the skin around her eyes tightened in the smallest wince. ‘So you’re heading out to New Seattle in the morning?’
Okay, he deserved that, even if he didn’t like seeing it. He drew his hand out from under the shirt and caught her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. ‘Who said I’m leaving?’
‘Look, it’s no big. You made it crystal clear what you wanted.’ Her unspoken ‘and it wasn’t me’ came through loud and clear. She gave him an empty smile and tried to pull away, but he refused to let her go.
Deciding actions spoke louder than words, he bent his head and caught her mouth with his in a fierce kiss. She didn’t make him fight for it, her mouth opening, her tongue meeting his stroke for stroke. Want and need lit his body up like a fuse. Needing to feel every inch of her, he came over her, taking her to her back until he could sink against her. Her hands curled over his shoulders, dragging him close, her leg curling around his waist as he ground the aching length of his dick against the heated softness she offered.
He gave her everything, pouring his need, his frustration, his desire, hell his fucking heart and what was left of his soul, into the kiss. And she answered. Taking what he gave, giving what he demanded, leaving them both starving. He nipped her lips, then trailed a soft series of kisses along her jaw to the base of her throat. When he lifted his head he found her watching him, her normal walls shattered and gone, leaving a world of emotion in her eyes. ‘I’m not going anywhere, Vex.’
Her tongue darted out in a nervous touch against her bottom lip. ‘What about Greer?’
‘What about her? One way or the other, she’s going to show up. When she does, we’ll deal with it.’
Something fragile and bright seeped around her brittle mask. ‘We?’
‘No way in hell I’m walking away from you or that asshat brother of mine. God only knows what kind of world-ending trouble the Vultures will cause trying to take out that bitch.’ He lost the teasing tone and got serious. ‘I’m not walking away from you. I’m not ready.’
Proving she wasn’t one to shy away from the hard questions, she asked, ‘Why?’
‘I almost lost you last night.’ He cupped her face and rested his forehead against hers. ‘I can’t close my eyes without seeing it, and every time, every fucking time, my heart shatters.’ He lifted his head and laid it all out. ‘There’s not much left of it, but if you’ll settle for damaged goods, it’s yours.’
A brilliant grin broke out even as she rose to rub her nose along his, her mouth moving across his cheek until she could whisper in his ear, ‘I’ll take it, hotshot, but fair warning, I’ve got a strict no return policy.’
He turned to her and whispered, ‘Works for me,’ before sealing their deal with a hell of a lot more than a kiss.
***
‘Glad to see you listening to Mercy.’ Sprawled in a chair on the porch, Cam scooped another bite of vegetables and rice from the bowl balanced on his stomach. Early evening was setting in. Sara and Danny were tucked inside, giving the small group on the porch much-needed privacy.
‘Me too,’ Mercy agreed from her position in Havoc’s arms. The couple leaned against the porch railing.
Math sat with his feet propped on a stump serving as a stool, his arm around Vex’s shoulders while she curled next to him, slowly eating dinner. ‘Working with Reaper to take on Michael is a no-brainer.’
‘How do you figure?’ The question came from Havoc.
‘Michael’s not an easy target,’ Math said. ‘Which means Reaper’s going to need all the help he can get.’ Not to mention Math knew the upcoming confrontation between his brother and the King of the West Coast would be brutal. On both sides. Vex was right, it was time to leave the past in the past and move forward. Besides, someone needed to watch Reaper’s back. Especially now.
Cam scraped up another bite and lifted his gaze, his voice careful. ‘We pulling the Strix out of hiding?’
Math didn’t hesitate. ‘Yeah, we are.’
‘You sure that’s wise? We don’t know if Greer’s still breathing.’
‘Doesn’t matter. After last night, there’s no more hiding. If she’s alive, she knows I’m hunting her.’
‘True,’ Cam murmured. ‘I’ll reach out and start bringing our birdies back to the nest.’ He cocked an eyebrow. ‘You got any idea of where that nest is going to be?’
Math opened his mouth but didn’t get a chance to answer as the rumble of approaching bikes announced the impending arrival of Reaper, Ruin, and Charity. The three had continued on to Pebble Creek, escorting the doc and her boy to Simon. Reaper had to catch Simon up on what was happening while Ruin and Charity collected the rest of the Vulture’s stuff. The Vultures’ time in Pebble Creek had run its course.
Everyone watched three heavily loaded bikes pull into the yard and stop just shy of the porch.
Reaper stomped up the steps, exchanged a manly shoulder bump-slash-arm-shake with Havoc, a chin dip at Mercy, then a quick eye meet with Cam, Vex, and Math.
Vex waited until Reaper joined Havoc and Mercy at the railing. ‘Mandy and Drake?’
‘With Simon.’
‘How is he?’
‘Pissed,’ Ruin answered as he and Charity came up the steps. ‘But he’s dealing with it.’ He sank down on the top step, bracing his back against the post. Charity took the step below, leaning against him.
‘You ready to ride?’ Reaper asked Cam.
He licked his spoon and said, ‘Yep.’
‘Good, because we’ve got news.’ Reaper’s ominous announcement, gained everyone’s attention. ‘Dog got word to Si, bounty’s already out.’ His dark eyes shifted to Math. ‘They got names—yours, mine, Ruin, Vex, Havoc, and Mercy.’
Math shot Cam a look. ‘Guess you’re not important.’
He snorted. ‘More like they think I’m dead.’
Vex looked to Charity. ‘How’d you luck out?’
The blonde shrugged. ‘Not sure, but I’ll take it.’
Math l
ooked at Reaper. ‘So what’s our next move?’
‘Our?’
‘Yeah, our.’
Reaper’s gaze drifted to Vex and came back to Math. ‘That enough reason for you to see this through?’
Math’s automatic reflex to rip into his brother loomed. He choked it down. Getting along with Reaper was going to take practice. Lots of practice. He tightened his hold on Vex. ‘More than enough.’ Holding Reaper’s dark gaze, he took the first step forward. ‘But it’s not the only reason.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Yeah,’ he returned softly. ‘Taking on Michael is going to be fucking brutal, brother.’ In more ways than one, since no-one could gut you faster than family, or in this case, the man you once considered a brother. The history between Reaper and Michael ran deep, and the scars it created were still causing pain. Since now wasn’t the time to get into it, he shifted the conversation. ‘So, where are we going?’
A muscle worked in Reaper’s jaw as he stared at Math. Finally he answered, ‘We’re getting out of Michael’s reach.’
His tone didn’t bode well. There was only one place Michael couldn’t touch and it was the last place Math thought Reaper would choose considering how ugly things could get. ‘You’ve got to be shitting me.’
There was nothing happy in Reaper’s grin, in fact it was more a bearing of teeth. ‘I wouldn’t shit you, you’re my favourite turd. Time to strengthen our fucking alliances.’
‘Oh shit.’ The echoing sentiment came from Charity. ‘We’re going to Lilith’s.’
Thanks for reading Caught in the Aftermath. I hope you enjoyed it.
Reviews can help readers find books, and I am grateful for all honest reviews. Thank you for taking the time to let others know what you’ve read, and what you thought.
You’ve just read a book in my Fate’s Vultures series. the other books in this series are Lying In Ruins and Beg For Mercy.
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