Landon and Caleb roared, rushing at Harry again, snarling and yanking at their binds as I screamed and cursed at him. But he just laughed, checking the barrels of his shotgun again before closing it up and grinning wickedly. He turned to Caleb and Landon—the two men I’d never seen coming who I’d fallen completely in love with—and narrowed his eyes.
“Time to say goodbye, douchebags.”
I screamed, lunging out of my chair. But the man standing next to me just hissed, grabbing me by the hair and shoved me down to the ground. Harry chuckled, ignoring the chaos of my screams and Landon and Caleb fighting to break free as he leveled the gun. Through the tears, my eyes landed on my bag again.
And suddenly, it was all crystal clear.
I lunged, grabbing for the gun from the pile of stuff at the guy’s feet. He turned arching a brow before he chuckled.
“You need your makeup, sweetheart?”
My hand shoved into the bag, pushing past the makeup kit, past my sunglasses, past my wallet.
My jaw tightened, and when my fingers brushed the side pocket, my pulse jumped.
I shook my head, my fingers curling around what I’d been looking for as I looked up in the sneering, cruel, murderous face of the man holding me by the hair.
I’d been slapped around before. I’d been hit, and treated like shit before too. But you know what’d changed since then?
Me.
I’d rebuilt myself. I’d gotten stronger. I’d learned to fight back. And that final push of strength had come from the two men standing in front of me about to die. And maybe that’s what pushed me over.
Because I’d done one other thing since Nick had treated me like his personal punching bag.
…I’d learn to shoot.
“What, you need your fucking lip balm or some shit, bitch?”
The metal was cold in my fingers, and when I looked up, suddenly, the roaring of my pulse went away. The yelling of the men around me silenced. I took a deep breath.
“No,” I hissed, my fingers tightening.
“Just this.”
My arm moved in slow motion, yanking the gun from its hidden holster as I jerked my hand from the bag. The man’s brows shot up, and he looked like he was about to yell as he let go of my hair and reached for his own gun.
I was faster.
The gun thundered in my hand, shockwaves rippling up my arm as fire exploded from the barrel. The man grunted, staggering backwards holding his chest before he toppled to the ground.
Yeah, that’s pretty much when all hell broke loose.
I whirled faster than I’d ever have thought I could move or react, my fingers squeezing the trigger again on instinct as I blasted the guy to the other side of me through the leg. The rest of the room erupted, screaming as they rushed for me, turning away from Landon and Caleb for a second. And that was all the time they needed.
With a roar, the both of them yanked down, hard, muscles rippling and bunching as the metal piping above them creaked, bent, shuddered, and then wrenched free. And suddenly, they were moving.
Landon lunged into the guy right next to him, bashing him to the ground while Caleb smashed another one face-first into a wall. He yanked the gun out of the guy’s hand as he fell, whirling and dropping to one knee as he started firing. Landon did the same with the gun from the guy he’d tackled, and I screamed as I dove for cover behind a concrete pillar.
There was a screeching sound, and suddenly, the big roll-up door to the warehouse buckled and wrenched inward, shattering as the headlights came barreling through it. The big pickup truck screeched to a skidding stop, and suddenly, gunfire filled the room.
Ryker leaned out of the driver’s side window, his jaw tight as he fired off round after round. Axe, Stone, and a blond guy that looked like a linebacker jumped from the truck bed, charging into the warehouse with guns raised and firing. I screamed, throwing myself to the ground and covering my head as the sound of men yelling and guns blasting filled the empty warehouse, until suddenly, it all went quiet.
Hand grabbed me up from the ground, and I hissed as I whirled, yanking my gun up before—
“Kennedy!”
I froze, blinking, trembling as my eyes focused on Caleb, and next to him, Landon.
And just like that, I shattered
I sobbed, the gun clattering from my hand as I threw myself into their arms. Big, powerful hands held me tight, stroking me while they nuzzled into my neck and kissed my cheeks. I shook, the sudden rush of adrenaline now leaving me weak and unsteady.
“Hey, hey,” Landon soothed, stroking my back. “We’ve got you, angel. We’ve got you.”
I held them tight, like I never wanted to let them go, breathing in the scent of them and losing myself in their embrace. It felt like they held me for hours, just rocking me and kissing my forehead, before finally, I pulled back.