“Goin’ to take more than I thought to bring him down,” Malakai says, bringing a cigarette to his lips and inhaling deeply.

Laughter can be heard coming from the cabin, laughter from the girls who have taken their party inside after Charlie told us her story. Well, part of her story. She’s leaving things out which Malakai seems to think is perfectly fucking fine. I don’t agree; I think we need to know everything to be able to do this properly, but I’ll bring it up with him later.

“Too right,” Maverick agrees. “Think we gotta come in from a different angle with this one. Charlie was smart, doin’ what she did. For a girl on her own, it was her only choice, and she made the right one.”

“Yeah,” Mason agrees, “but goin’ to the cops is out for us, so is takin’ somethin’ that size on ourselves. We’ll never be able to bring down somethin’ so huge. Not without gettin’ killed.”

“So, what are our options?” Boston mutters, puffing on another cigarette.

“I think we get someone else to do the dirty work for us,” I say, staring at Malakai.

He narrows his eyes. “I’m interested. Go on.”

“People like that got a lot of fuckin’ enemies. Cartel. Mafia. You name it. There are plenty of people that want them gone. All we have to do is set it up, be fuckin’ smart about it, and let them take each other out.”

“How the fuck do we get someone with that high power to get involved?” Maverick grunts. “Never goin’ to work.”

I glare at him. “When you know people, and you’re smart, you just set shit up, make it look like the other end is startin’ a war. We know enough about Benjamin and the show he’s runnin’, and so does Charlie—she also knows names, and people. We dig deep, set it up so it looks like he’s messin’ with their shit, we get information, we basically lead them right to him.”

“Hmmm, can be done, but we don’t have the time it takes to get that kind of information. Won’t be long until he’s on our tail. We need to act fast,” Malakai says, rubbing a hand down his face.

He’s tired.

We all are.

But we also know we don’t have what it takes to fucking bring down something that size. Not without being smart. We’re risking our whole club moving in and trying to take them on. Even if we bring in other chapters, it’ll start a war we might not be able to finish.

“What are our options then?” Mason asks. “Can’t be riskin’ the club, but we don’t have much time to prepare somethin’.”

“Could use Charlie ...”

All of us look over to Boston, who is still hanging onto that cigarette. He studies us all.

“He sees Charlie, he’ll kill Charlie,” I growl. “End of story. It’s not goin’ to happen.”

“He’s right,” Malakai mutters. “Can’t risk her. Not fair.”

“Then we’re back to square fuckin’ one,” Maverick grunts.

“We got prospects. Ones that nobody knows belong to us,” I say, getting fucking frustrated. We might not have much time, but my idea is the best fucking idea. “We can send them in to stir up shit. One to Benjamin, one to another big operation. All we need is a bit of information to cross, for them to fuck up a shipment and put it on the wrong turf ...”

“That’s an idea,” Malakai says. “If we can find out where a shipment is headed, and have it redirected to the other’s turf, it’ll cause a war without us havin’ to do a fuckin’ thing.”

“They don’t run around announcin’ where they’re sendin’ shipments, boss,” Mason growls. “They’re not goin’ to trust some fuckin’ newcomer with that kind of information.”

“Then we fuckin’ take one of theirs,” Malakai says. “Koda is right; Charlie knows names, we just need to get hold of someone, make them tell us what we fuckin’ need, and set it up. It can be done. It’s fuckin’ risky, but it can be done.”

“I think you’re settin’ yourself up for big fuckin’ failure,” Mason adds, shaking his head.

“What other fuckin’ options are there?” I bark. “Outside of us gettin’ killed. This man is goin’ to figure out we’ve got Charlie and he’ll be after us. We don’t have much time for anythin’. Right now we’ll be workin’ on keepin’ club members out of his fuckin’ way. He’ll have eyes on us. So, we can’t be fuckin’ around with shit. We need someone else in there.”

“So you’re goin’ to try and fuckin’ snatch someone from two very fuckin’ dangerous groups and hope one of them is goin’ to do as you tell them?” Mason roars back.

“If Charlie knows someone we can fuckin’ blackmail, then yeah, that’s exactly what we’re hopin’.”

“All right,” Malakai barks. “Enough. Fuckin’ enough. I need to think on this. Tonight is not the fuckin’ night to be doin’ this. You hear me? I’m goin’ inside, because at least those fuckin’ women know how to have a good time.”

He stands and leaves. A few minutes later, everyone else does, too. I sit at the fire, panting, my fists clenched. Fuck me. This is going to end fucking bad. I can feel it in my bones, and yet I don’t know how the fuck to go about it. Charlie could die. Members from this club could die. But all I wanna see is that motherfucker die a slow and painful death.

The world needs to be rid of him.

I stand after ten or so minutes, taking a deep breath, and walk inside the cabin. The moment I step through the door, I know something is wrong. Malakai and Maverick are having a heated discussion, waving a phone around. I take a step in and see Charlie rushing right toward me, only she’s not watching where she’s going. She’s running, her face pale, and she’s coming right at me.

My arms go up automatically and she slams into me so hard I’m forced to take two steps back to stop myself falling over. For a few seconds I focus on stopping myself from going ass over head, and then I pay attention to the girl clinging onto me. Her fingers are curled so tightly in my shirt her fists are white. She isn’t looking at me, her forehead is pressed to my chest and her body is dead still.

“Hey,” I say, hands moving to her arms and squeezing a little.

I don’t know what to fucking do right now.

She’s as stiff as a board.

“Koda,” she whispers. “I can’t let you go.”

Her fingers are locked into my shirt. So tight. And I know what she means. I know because I’ve felt that kind of fear in my life before, the fear that locks down your whole body and makes you seize up. You can’t free yourself from it—hell, you can’t even get your mind to work. Whatever just happened, she’s terrified.

I don’t make her move.

I just look up and say to Malakai, “What the fuck happened?”

He holds up a purple, sparkly phone. “Someone got hold of her number and has been ringin’. She didn’t think anythin’ of it, we didn’t fuckin’ think to take her phone. Started ringin’ again before, private number. She answered it, tried to hear who was on the other end ...”

“Fuck,” I say, my voice low. “Fuck.”

“Yeah, phones can be tracked. All she had to do was answer.”

“We gotta get the fuck outta here,” I growl, grabbing Charlie’s arms and pushing her back until she’s standing on her feet.

“Yeah, we gotta move. Now. Fuckin’ right now,” Maverick growls. “Can’t go back to the club, need another secure location.”

“My ranch!” Scarlett pipes up. “Right down the back is an old cabin; two, I think. They must have been the original dwellings before the main house was built. I know the man who leases my house keeps them in good order, but nobody has been in them a while. Hell, I don’t even know if they’ve got power, but they’re right down the back of my property, near the stream.”

Malakai nods. “Might be the only option we have. Any other way into your ranch that doesn’t involve goin’ down the main stretch?”

Scarlett nods. “There’s an access road down the back. I’ll have to call to find out exactly where it is, and I’ll have to get the key to the cabins ...”

“Can we trust the people you’re leasin’ the house to?” Maverick asks her.

“They never said a word when you were all there when I was in danger ...”

Malakai exhales. “She’s right about that, never said a word, never interfered. Right now, it’s the best we’ve fuckin’ got. We gotta go, and we gotta go now.”

“Charlie,” I growl, forcing her to look up at me. Her eyes are scared, full of a fear I’m all too familiar with. “We gotta get out of here. Get what you need. Two minutes. We roll.”

She nods. “I’m ... I’m sorry ... I didn’t ...”

“No time for that. Get what you need.”

Everyone moves with lightning speed. I pull out my gun from my bag, shoving it into my jeans, and all the other guys do the same. Within five minutes, we’re ready to go and the fire is put out. We’ll leave the tents and everything. It won’t go anywhere. We switch the lights out and step out in front of the cabin. It’s dark, and it’s going to be a fucking rough journey down to the road. It’s only short, but in the dark, it could be dangerous. We have flashlights, and I take the lead. I know the path well.

Charlie is behind me with Malakai behind her.

We move as quickly as we can.

We’re only about ten minutes into the journey when I see it. The faintest flash of light. It comes from about a hundred yards ahead. Not enough to be a headlight, we’re likely not close enough to the road, but enough to be a flashlight. Someone is on this path.

“Lights out. Now.”

I hiss the words, and in seconds, the lights are out.

“Nobody move.”

“What is it?” Malakai orders. “What the fuck do you see?”

“Look ahead.”

I can’t see who’s looking and who isn’t, but the light can be seen again, flashing aimlessly around. Someone is close; whoever was tracking her phone wasn’t far away. That’s not a good fucking sign. Maybe they didn’t need the call after all. Maybe all they needed was her number. I have no fucking idea how many there are, or what we’re about to be up against.

“Get the girls off the track, behind a tree, now,” I order in a hissed voice.

“You heard him, girls, move,” Maverick orders, using the light on his phone and holding it low.

He gathers the girls.

“Koda,” Charlie whispers, and I feel her fingers tug on my jacket.

“Go. Don’t make a sound.”

“But ...”

“Charlie. Go.”

She does as she’s asked, following Maverick off the track. I don’t know where he takes them, but a few minutes later, he’s back. We all huddle as close as we can. “Only advantage we have right now is that they haven’t seen us yet,” I say, my voice low.

“I think we let them go past,” Mason murmurs. “When they’re gone, we keep movin’.”

“No,” Malakai growls. “Fuckin’ no. I want to get my hands on whoever is comin’ up this track. Be the key to gettin’ in.”

“Malakai is right,” I agree. “We have the advantage of a sneak attack.”

“And if there’s a fuckin’ bunch of them?” Boston growls. “Then what?”

“Unlikely, if there was, they’d be comin’ in loud and proud. Only saw one flashlight, which makes me think someone is tryin’ to get hold of Charlie before Benjamin does. Someone wants that money,” I tell them, voice low.

“Koda is right,” Maverick says. “If it was Benjamin, he would have been smarter about it. Someone has done their own trackin’. Someone who knows her, possibly through him, someone on his team. Someone steppin’ out to find her before anyone else. Money does that shit to people.”

“Right, so we wait and fuckin’ take whoever comes past down?” Mason hisses.

“That’s right,” Malakai confirms. “Separate either side of the trail. And wait. Use force if you have to. I want whoever is fuckin’ out there, but I want them alive.”

“Clear, Boss.”

We all separate, me going to squat down beside a large bush. I can’t hear the girls, which is good. Too dangerous for them and we can’t have anyone blowing this cover. This is the only chance we might have at getting our hands on someone we can send on the inside. Adrenaline courses through my veins and my hand clenches around my gun.

Fucking prick.

We’ll take him down, one way or a-fucking-nother.

The flashlight comes closer, and two voices can be heard. Male. Two is dealable. They’re speaking softly to one another, and it’s hard to make out the words. They obviously got a location from the phone but are trying to navigate up there. It won’t be easy, and that, once again, works in our favor. I hold my gun up, eyes focused, ears sharp.

I won’t fucking hesitate.

The light gets closer, and the voices get clearer. The sounds of boots crunching are close, really fucking close. They’re nearly on top of us.

“Fuck me,” a voice says. “They are fucking hiding her well. How long does this fucking path go on?”

“Who fucking cares?” the other voice growls. “We’re going to fucking take her and get that money. Couldn’t give a fuck what we have to do to get there.”

“And if there’s fucking loads of protection up here? What then? We get our heads fucking blown off?”

“There won’t be loads of protection. This place is protection enough. Whoever has her was fucking stupid enough to leave her phone on her.”

“Wrong.”

I recognize Malakai’s voice. It’s sharp, hard, and angry. “She most certainly does have protection, and you stupid fuckers are goin’ to wish you didn’t step foot on my land.”

Gun fire.

It echoes loud and angry across the quiet night. Fuck.

They’re shooting. Without question.

They’re armed.

I stand, flicking on my flashlight, and aiming my gun straight toward two big, very fucking angry men. One spins around, raising his gun and aiming. I move quickly, dropping down just as the gun fires. Pain burns through my bicep as the bullet hits my arm. I roar in pain—it’s like fucking fire and it fucking burns. I raise my gun, but the guys are quicker.

Malakai pops two shots into one man’s kneecaps, dropping him with an agonized roar. Maverick points his gun at the other one who has it raised. “Drop it, or I’ll blow your fuckin’ head off.”

The man looks around and then lowers his gun, muttering a fuck as his friends bellows in pain. I clutch my arm, panting in agony as blood fills my hand.

“Koda, you hit?” Malakai barks in my direction.

“Yeah. All good. Arm.”

“Secure these fuckers and let’s get the fuck out of here before anyone else shows up.”

Boston pulls out a rope that he must have packed on our rush out and jerks the man’s hands behind his back, tying them so tightly he hisses and mutters a few curses. Mason deals with the man on the ground, putting a boot into his kneecaps twice before tying him. The man roars louder, rolling around in the dirt.

“Get up, fucker, or I’ll leave you out here for the wild animals,” Mason hisses.

The man gets up, bellowing in pain, blood pouring from his legs. Mason and Boston roughly stand him between them and Maverick grabs the other man, shoving him a few times before yelling out to the girls. A flashlight comes on, and a minute later, they appear.

Charlie rushes over. “You’re shot.”

“I’m fine,” I growl, the pain making my body break out into a cold sweat.

“Let me help you.”

“I said I’m fuckin’ fine,” I bellow.

“God, you’re such an asshole. Malakai, give me the gun, I’m going to shoot him again.”

“Enough,” Malakai growls. “Koda, you good, brother?”

“Fine,” I grunt out.

“Let’s move.”

Charlie flashes her light at me. “I’m walking behind you in case you pass out. Argue with me, I’ll punch you right in the arm and give you something to cry about.”

Fucking hard bitch.

Fucking beautiful hard bitch.

“Watch it, Charlie,” I pant.

“Move, Dakoda.”

I move, because I need to get this fucking arm sorted. One agonizing step at a time, we shuffle down a path that usually takes half an hour. It takes us nearly two. By the time we’re at the bottom, I’m sweating and shaking. Charlie is close behind me. “You OK?” she asks, her voice genuine.

It’s gone beyond me to argue with her.

“Nah.”

“Malakai, how many trucks do we have?” she asks.

“Two. Enough to get us all in. We’re goin’ to leave the other trucks here. In case they’re bein’ tracked.”

“Good idea,” Maverick mutters. “I’m throwin’ these fuckers in the tray.”

“Maverick?” Charlie says, dropping the tailgate as he shoves the bound man toward it.

“Yeah?”

“Make sure you drive wild. Make them suffer for shooting Koda.”

I look at her, and her eyes meet mine.

Then she’s gone.

Fuck me.

Girl is fuckin’ growin’ on me.

God dammit.

~*~*~*~