by Naomi West
Carter pushed Saxton down to his knees in the center of the dark mark and pointed the gun at his head again. “Boy, this feels familiar. Hmm. Can’t think of why…”
Saxton gritted his teeth. “Enough with the games, Carter. I know you killed Liam.”
“Oh right.” Carter chuckled. “I almost forgot. Liam. He was a friend of yours, wasn’t he?”
“My second in command.”
“Aww, I bet that hurt to lose someone so close,” Carter mocked.
“What would you know about close? Look how you treat your own sister. You scum. I hope no one is stupid enough to get close to you. You’d just use them.”
“Well, sure. That’s all people are good for. You’re all just pawns in my game. And Liam got a little too close to me.”
Saxton harrumphed. “Is that why you killed him? He could have turned you in or something? Taken your business? What? I’d love to know your reason for shooting someone in cold blood like that.”
“Oh, Sammy, I thought you knew. Liam was a little too close. In more ways than one. He was fucking my old lady, planning to take my spot. Doesn’t that sound like the nice guy you knew?”
“Like you would care if someone was screwing your woman. I’m sure you ran around on her.”
“It’s my business to. But it’s hers to keep her legs closed. Besides, it wasn’t so much that as his plans to take me out and take over the Crows.”
Saxton shook his head. “There’s no way Liam wanted that. He loved being a Jagged Soul.”
“Well, maybe you didn’t know him so well after all. Seems like maybe he just wanted to be in charge. Maybe he even wanted to run your little biker club.”
None of this sounded like the Liam he knew. Maybe he’d screwed Carter’s girl. Any of his guys might do something like that. Hell, Saxton might even do something like that if the timing and mood were right. But to take over a gang like the Cruel Crows? Or to have aspirations to take over the Jagged Souls? No. Liam had been like a brother. Never once had he shown any hint of jealousy or anything close to wanting to be in charge. He was happy to take commands. Happy to go about doing his own thing and not be responsible for a huge group.
One time, Saxton had put him in charge of a project, so that he oversaw a group of ten of their guys. By the time the job was done, Liam had been relieved. He’d told Saxton that ordering those guys around all the time was stressful and he didn’t know how Saxton did it. He didn’t mind being second because it meant he only had to do what Saxton said, he didn’t have to decide what was to be done.
This was probably one of Carter’s tactics. Get Saxton upset and mad so he would react and say something or do something stupid. Well, it wasn’t going to work. He knew Liam and Carter hadn’t. He’d stand by that.
“Seems to me,” Saxton said, “I do remember something about him screwing your woman. Something about her being so skanky and nasty, he was going to give her back to you gladly.”
Carter slammed the gun into the back of Saxton’s head. It sent a spike of pain through his skull, then throbbed hotly.
“Good thing I took Liam out then. He even begged for his life, the sad little fucker. All sniveling like, ‘Please, please, don’t kill me, please!’ It was pathetic.”
There was no way that was true, either. He’d seen Liam take hits to the jaw and not flinch or even respond. He’d seen him have a gun pointed at him and roll his eyes. Liam had been tough. And he’d never have begged someone like Carter for anything. Even his own life.
“So you got Liam. What’s your beef with me?” Saxton asked.
“I don’t like people who ask too many questions or know too many things. And you do both. If you would have let it go and forgotten about Liam, everything would have been fine. But no. You couldn’t let it go. Had to keep searching, had to keep poking around where you don’t belong. You barked up the wrong tree. The Crows stay out of the spotlight for a reason. We take out anyone who threatens to shine the light on us. And besides, if you’re banging my sister, I don’t need her telling you extra insider information. She’s been on close watch as it is. One little toe out of line and I have someone on standby to take her and the kid out. And she just so happened to stick her whole foot out of line when she hooked up with you and tried to protect you.”
“She has nothing to do with any of this,” Saxton said. He had to make sure that if Carter killed him, Sara and Ian would be let go safely. “Leave her and her son alone. She’s loyal to you. Trust me. She left me because I wanted to come after you.”
“I don’t buy that for a second. She practically wet her panties trying to get me to let you go.”
“Well, it’s true. That’s why she came home in the middle of the night with Ian and without protection. I let her go off because she threatened to have me locked up if I hurt you.”
Carter burst out laughing. “My little sister. My true defender. I guess I didn’t give her enough credit. It’ll be a shame to kill her. If she would have been willing to work for me, she could have been my second. Maybe the only person I’d ever trust to do that. And with her kid as a constant bargaining chip, I could have kept her in line. But she thought she was too good for that.” He laughed once again. “Then didn’t she go off and sell herself to you anyway. That little whore. Maybe I’ll find out what she’s worth before I slit her throat.”
Saxton pulled his elbow back and connected with Carter’s knee. It wasn’t a strong move, but it got his point across. Carter took a step back and returned with another slam of his gun into Saxton’s head.
“You don’t like me insulting your girl? So sorry.”
“You are the sickest fuck I’ve ever met,” Saxton said. “I can’t wait to take you out.”
“And you really think you’re in a position to do that?”
“Oh, you have no idea what position I’m in.”
Saxton smiled at the reflection in the dusty glass and waited.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sara breathed heavily, but forced her mind to clear. This was no time to let her emotions get in the way or let her thoughts be cloudy. Saxton was there. He’d come to save them. From the moment she heard his voice, she’d been overcome with excitement and relief. He’d come despite the things she’d said to him. He’d put himself in danger to rescue her and Ian.
She wondered if he had set up the car alarm thing. It had been nothing much when she heard the first alarm go off. But then there was a second, a third, a fourth, and soon too many to count. Someone was out there setting them off. And now she thought she knew why. They were causing a distraction so that Saxton could break in and find her.
Her heart flooded with feelings for him. She wanted him, she loved him, she was never so happy to be forgiven in all her life. She’d never threaten him again or say something stupid. She’d never do anything that might send him away from her.
Now that she knew he was here, she’d do whatever it took to keep Carter from killing him. She might have been loyal to Carter once, but her loyalty and love would never belong to him again. Not after he took her and held her here, and more importantly, not after he took Ian and held him and pointed a gun at him. She would never forgive her brother for doing that to his own nephew.
She’d watched in horror as Saxton had a gun held to his head and Carter put him a choke hold. She thought of Carter’s knife and how this might be the time to use it. But everything had happened so fast and by the time she thought through it enough to act, Carter was pulling Saxton from the room.
Sara watched Saxton as long as she could, holding his gaze and trying to tell him in her expression that she loved him. The door closed and her throat tightened. She might never see him again. Saxton could already be dead. The only thing keeping her going was the fact that she hadn’t heard a shot. Yet. It could come at any time and she was listening for it.
After the door closed, she waited to hear the bolt slide to lock them in. But it didn’t happen. Had she just not heard it or had Saxton done something? W
as he still finding ways to save her?
She listened for the footsteps to fade, but with the car alarms still going off, it was impossible to hear anything outside her small cell. She waited for what felt like ages, but was likely only a few minutes. She had to wait until Carter and Saxton were out of sight before making a move.
When she thought she’d waited long enough, Sara took a step toward the door. She knew what she had to do.
She turned the knob and pushed very gently. If anyone was out there, she didn’t want to catch their attention by making a noise or too big of a motion. She pushed the door open a small crack, just to see if she could. When the door opened at her touch, she gasped.
“What Mommy? Can we get out?” Ian asked.
She held her finger to her mouth and whispered, “Stay here, understand? No matter what, do not leave this room.”
He nodded and his eyes grew wide as she pushed the door open enough to slip out.
“Mommy!” he whispered.
She put her head back in the room. “Shh. It’s okay. I’ll be right back and we’ll get out. I have to help Saxton.”
“Don’t leave me here alone.”
“It’ll just be a few minutes.”
“I’ll come with you.” He got to his feet. “I can help.”
“Ian, no. Sit down and wait for me or Saxton to come back and get you. Do. Not. Leave. This. Room.”
He sat down hard and stuck out his lip. “Fine.”
But his pouty lip quickly turned to real tears. Sara dashed back inside and wrapped her arms around him. Then she felt his bound hands and realized she’d never cut him loose.
She closed the door behind her and reached up to retrieve the knife from its spot under her bra. It was warm in her hand and she closed her fingers around the handle. She used it to free him and rubbed at the place on his wrist where the ropes had pressed into him and left red marks. What a jerk Carter was. Ian had a rash there and everything. Totally unnecessary. Like a child was going to do anything.
“It’ll be okay, I promise,” she said. “Do you think I’d leave you here like this if I wasn’t sure it would be okay? I want to protect you more than anything.”
Ian sniffled and nodded.
“Stay in here and don’t make a sound, okay?”
He nodded again and watched her sadly as she went back to the door and slipped out again, closing it behind her. She kept the knife at her side, tight in her hand.
She wasn’t sure where Saxton and Carter had gone, but when she looked around, a door at the end of the hall was open. She walked toward it and heard Carter and Saxton’s voice coming from the bottom of the stairs, barely audible over the still echoing car alarms. Why didn’t someone turn them off already?
She stepped carefully onto the first step, worried it might creak and give her away. It didn’t and suddenly she was glad no one had turned off the alarms. They hide the sound of her feet hitting the wood.
She could see Carter and kept her gaze on him, ready to move if he turned toward her. She’d have to lunge forward at him or duck his gun if he did turn to her. But she managed to make it to the bottom of the stairs without being heard or alerting him.
Now what? Saxton was on the ground, kneeling in front of Carter. Carter still had his gun pressed against Saxton’s head, and it sounded like he was taunting him.
She had the knife and Carter didn’t know she was there. All she had to do was cut him, get him to drop the gun, and Saxton would be free. She had one chance. If she missed or messed it up, she’d be in further danger and so would Saxton.
She took a step closer and raised her hand with the knife. Then she caught Saxton’s reflection in a dingy mirror off to the side of the room. She couldn’t make out much, but she saw the glimmer in his eyes as he saw her and met her gaze.
Carter had said something about her, but she’d missed it. She’d been so concentrated on what she had to do that until Carter said, “You don’t like me in insulting your girl? So sorry,” she hadn’t paid much attention.
Saxton said, “You are the sickest fuck I’ve ever met. I can’t wait to take you out.”
“And you really think you’re in a position to do that?” Carter asked.
“Oh, you have no idea what position I’m in.”
Saxton smiled at her in the reflection in the mirror, and she knew that was her sign. He wanted her to be the one to take him out. She was what had him in the position to do anything. She was saving him now.
Sara stepped forward and made a slash down. The knife’s blade sunk into Carter’s shoulder muscle. She pulled down and the blade’s tip cut into his skin, leaving a bright red gash that quickly began to bleed.
Carter hollered and spun around to see her. “You bitch.”
Saxton lunged forward, still on his knees, and yanked the gun free from Carter’s hand. He got to his feet and pointed the gun at Carter.
Carter held his hand to his wound. Blood ran down his back and arm, making a puddle of fresh dots on the floor where there was already a dark red stain.
“I should’ve killed you when I had the chance,” Carter said to Saxton. “I should have known you’d be nothing but trouble. I’ll shoot you just like I shot your pathetic friend, Liam.”
A loud crack of a sound tore through the space. She wasn’t sure what she had heard or what happened. Carter fell to the ground, screaming.
Saxton stood over him, still pointing the gun. Sara saw a place on Carter’s leg that was red with blood. Saxton had shot him in the leg.
And now he pulled back the slide on the gun to load the next bullet. Saxton pointed the gun at Carter’s head.
“No! Wait!” Sara ran to Saxton and put her hand on his arm.
Saxton gave her a wild look of exasperation.
“He’s not worth it, Saxton.”
“Worth it? He killed Liam, he kidnapped and threatened you and Ian, and I have no doubt he would have killed you.”
“I know. But there are so many of his gang members around. They’ll come after you if you kill him. They’ll turn you in or something. Saxton, please. Don’t kill him.”
“I have to. You know that. I have to avenge Liam’s death.”
“And then how I avenge your death?”
“You won’t.”
Carter moaned and grabbed his leg and shoulder. Sara couldn’t deny that she liked seeing him weak like that. In a position of zero authority, at the mercy of Saxton. It was far better than the usual, which was Carter ordering everyone around and taking control of everything. But she couldn’t stop picturing Saxton behind bars, or worse, shot or stabbed by some Cruel Crow as payback for killing Carter. And surely, one or the other would happen if he killed Carter now.
“Please.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “I can’t bear the thought of something happening to you. I don’t want to be without you. And what if they come after me, too? What if they think I’m involved somehow?”
Saxton’s glared faltered and she swallowed hard. Was she getting across to him? Did he care enough about her safety to not kill Carter and possibly put her in danger? Saxton took another swallow and stepped back.
He closed his eyes briefly, pinched the bridge of his nose, then gave Carter a hard kick in the ribs. Carter groaned and curled around the pain.
“Go get Ian,” Saxton said to Sara.
She took off up the stairs, Saxton’s footsteps echoing right behind her.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sara glanced back several times to make sure Saxton was still following her. He might change his mind and go back and kill Carter after all. They reached the top of the stairs and she bolted to the room they’d been held in. She flung open the door and saw Ian huddled in the corner, looking afraid.
The moment he saw her, Ian jumped to his feet and ran to her, throwing his arms around her legs. “Are we safe now?”
“Almost,” Saxton said. “We still have to get out of here alive, without any of the Cruel Crows coming after us.”
They turned to leave the room, but a large figure stood in their way. “Not so fast.”
Sara didn’t recognize the man. She didn’t know if Saxton knew him or not. But he didn’t waste any time on introductions. Saxton’s fist connected with the man’s jaw.
The man took a step back, which was a mistake because it gave Saxton enough room to lift his leg and kick the guy square in the knee. The man crumbled to the ground, holding his leg.
Saxton turned to Sara. “This way.”
They ran to the back of the building, away from the front where the majority of the windows were. It grew darker, but hopefully that would help hide them.