“I’ll go first,” Joaquin volunteers, eager to prove he’s one of us even though he doesn’t need to.
I clap him on the back. “Go.” We move as a unit toward the basement, barely ten feet from the front door.
Joaquin wraps his hand around the doorknob and twists just as the door behind us smacks open and bullets start to fly again.
“Down,” I shout and tap Joaquin’s shoulder. Shades and Coop are at the rear, returning fire. It sounds like a fucking warzone as the rest of us head downstairs, knowing Wild Man and Preacher will fill in for us.
The sound of glass breaking at the bottom of the stairs stops me, but Joaquin forges ahead without stopping.
“Hey motherfucker,” he shouts and ducks as one bullet flies in his direction.
Joaquin laughs. “Oh, you’re gonna pay for that.”
I crouch down from my spot on the stairs and take stock of the scene below. Kelsey is curling into an even tighter ball in one corner, and on the opposite side of the basement is McKenna. Hector is using her as a shield, which means I don’t have a clear shot. Goddammit.
“Let her go, Hector!”
His gaze swings to mine, and he smirks, squeezing the arm curving around McKenna’s throat.
“You giving me what I want then, Ace? In exchange for the lives of these bitches?”
“Not on your life, asshole.”
McKenna shrieks as his grip tightens harder, and he yanks her back, nearly off her feet. He’s tugging her closer to the corner when her body goes slack.
“Get up, you dumb bitch!” Hector freaks out now because he’s fully exposed, but I don’t put it past him to shoot her out of pure frustration.
“Now,” he growls and yanks her arm to make her stand up.
Gunfire sounds above, and Kelsey squeals in fear, body trembling as Joaquin goes to her, soothes her, and pulls her up to her feet.
“It’s all right, Kels, you’re all right.”
Coop’s unmistakable voice rings out. “Fuck, I’m hit!” In the next second, a barrage of gunfire goes off, the smell of gunpowder filling the air even down to the basement.
“You’re in a losing battle, Hector. Let her go, and I might let you live.”
“Fuck you, Ace.” He raises his gun and lets off two shots that miss me by inches, dragging McKenna to her feet by her hair.
“You’re a dead man,” Joaquin shouts from his spot on the floor near Kelsey. He lets off a shot that grazes Hector’s leg, which buckles almost immediately.
McKenna takes advantage of the moment and runs to her sister, her terrified gaze finding mine. “There’s a door,” she shouts over the gunfire, and when I tear my eyes away from her, all I fucking see is Hector’s ass in the air as he crawls out of a small wooden flap.
“A goddamn doggy door? Did he really just escape through a fucking doggy door?”
Joaquin laughs. “You know we have to send him a big ass bag of kibble, don’t you?”
A reluctant smile crosses my face, and I point my thumb upstairs to where the gunfire has finally stopped.
“Stay with the girls while we check out things up here.”
Joaquin smiles and wraps an arm around Kelsey and McKenna. “All right ladies, who needs a boo-boo kissed?”
A watery laugh spills from Kelsey’s mouth, and she rolls her eyes, which are still full of worry. “Check on Coop. Please.”
I nod and make my way upstairs and look at the carnage in the living room. Two bodies in one corner, a third on the recliner, and one in the doorway. Coop and Shades are in the kitchen, using a shit-ton of paper towels to stop his bleeding.
“Shit, Coop.”
He looks up with a grin. “It’s nothing, a through and through. Guess all that eating out saved my life. Went straight to my love handle.”
He pinches some skin that’s nowhere near a love handle and smirks. “A few stitches, and I’ll be good to go. Kelsey?”
“Scared shitless, but she’s okay.”
Coop nods, his gaze deadly serious. “Hector?”
“Motherfucker crawled through a goddamn doggy door like the punk ass bitch he is.”
Shades wraps an arm around Coop. “We have time to get Hector,” he says and starts moving Coop toward the back door. “I count six dead Iron Kings in this house, which is what I call a damn good day.”
“Good point. Let’s get Coop to Nova and see if the girls need any medical help. Then we need to get the fuck out of here. Fast.”
Chapter Thirty-One
McKenna
Holy crap, I’m alive! That’s the only thought in my head for the first five minutes after Hector escapes and Ace leaves the basement.
My heart races like a galloping horse and no amount of deep breathing will slow it down. Not even Joaquin’s flirtatious words help.
I’m alive, all because of Ace and the Reckless Souls. They came for us at great risk to themselves, and I can’t help the immense sense of gratitude that fills me to the brim.