Ride or Die (Rejects Paradise 4)

Silence follows, and minutes slowly tick by. “I can wait all fucking night, baby girl.”

Shiiiiit.

He leans back against his Veneno, knowing damn well that I’m not the reason I can't walk out that door, but he's fucking stubborn, and I don't doubt that he'll stand by his word. I guess it's a matter of who tires of this bullshit game first.

It's impossible to tear my eyes away from him, watching as he paces back and forth, then leans back against the car. It quickly becomes a torturous routine. He'll call out, daring someone to come out and face him. He'll call for me to call off this bullshit, and then he'll pace, run his hands through his hair in frustration, and then lean, only to start all over again.

An hour quickly turns into two and then to three before Russo finally emerges from somewhere deep in the den with Snake by his side. All the other Wolves quickly got bored with the rich kid outside. One by one, they left the windows in favor of drinking out the bar. Until, eventually, I was left standing here alone to watch the guy I'm madly in love with offering himself up like a fucking buffet.

By the time Russo and Snake step into my side, my nerves are at their peak.

Snake steps in far too close, pressing his arm up against mine and leaning into the window to see Colton standing out in the dark. He shakes his head, more than annoyed by his presence. “This has gone on long enough,” he growls, his voice low and spiteful as he slips his hand behind his back and pulls out a gun. “I'll get rid of him.”

Fear surges through me as he pushes away from me and starts striding toward the door, then without thinking, I sprint after him. There’s no way in hell this motherfucker is going anywhere near Colton with a gun. I’d sooner die.

In the blink of an eye, I fly in front of him, and before he has a chance to pull himself up, I grab his shoulders and slam my fist into his stomach as hard as I possibly can. Snake doubles over in pain, struggling to catch a breath, and as he goes down, I rip the gun from his hands and jam it up against his temple. For a moment, I forgot about the gun I stole from Leon, already tucked in the waistband of my skirt. That would have been easier, but this way, he’s left without a weapon to fight back.

That’s two for two. Maybe these dickheads will quickly learn not to mess with me. Though, they’re all a bit dense for that.

Snake goes impossibly still, knowing I’m more than capable of pulling this trigger after the bullshit these guys pulled in that back alleyway. “If you even think of stepping out of this fucking den and going anywhere near Colton, I swear to you, I’ll fucking end you right now. Trust me, you don’t want to push me on this, not where he’s concerned.”

Snake’s jaw clenches, and he glances back at Russo, probably wondering if he can disarm me quicker than I can pull the trigger. Russo meets my eye, narrowing his own, considering the situation.

“I swear,” I tell him, not above begging. “I’ll tell you anything you need to know or do anything you want me to do, just spare him. Let me send him away.”

Russo clenches his jaw, still considering me and making the seconds tick by painfully slow. “Okay,” he finally says, seeing something in me that he likes. “You have ten minutes with the boy. Snake goes with you. A second longer and Snake will put a bullet through his head. Is that understood?”

I swallow hard past the lump in my throat and nod before shoving the gun back into Snake’s chest and turning on my heel, terrified of how the next ten minutes are going to go.Chapter 5Taking a breath, I push through the massive metal door of the Wolf Den and watch as Colton’s head snaps up. He takes me in with wide eyes, almost as though he doesn’t believe what he’s seeing. Darkness covers Blaxlands Grove but, I could make out the concern in his eyes from a mile away.

He lets out a heavy sigh and pushes off the side of his car, desperate to get to me as the relief washes over him. “Fuck Jade, you—” He pulls himself up, his eyes snapping to the door as Snake follows me out. “Jade?” he questions, his voice low and full of warning as he continues to move toward me, now at a cautious creep. “What the fuck is going on?”

Knowing Snake won’t attempt to do anything until my ten minutes is up, I make my way toward Colton. The second he can, he pulls me into his arms and instantly starts dragging me toward his car. “No, stop,” I tell him, trying to pull back. “You can’t be here.”