Johnny marshaled mafia resources like a five-star general, loaded everyone up and headed for the substation. For a guy with no college education, Johnny was smart when it came to the logistics of managing an operation. He communicated the plan and doled out assignments with barely a pause. Margaret and Sarah were to hang back, find a good vantage point, and provide cover if things went bad. Margaret was certain things were going to go bad. Dragonfly was staffed with former soldiers who were trained to a strict discipline. They didn’t make mistakes.

Moments after the men converged on the substation, things got ugly. Seeing a glint of what could only be the scope of another sniper’s rifle, Margaret took aim and squeezed off a shot. A body immediately fell from the tree, rifle in hand. Though she couldn’t see it with her own eyes she knew the large man probably was Durand and most likely had her bullet hole through his eye. She’d shot fellow snipers before. When they lifted their rifle to take a shot, sometimes the sun caught in their scope. Aiming for the reflection often ensure a head shot, if the angle was correct, it went right through their scope. It’s why some prominent Middle Eastern generals wore an eye patch.

Sarah’s hand flew to her earpiece, “It was another sniper. We got him. Be careful, Johnny.”

“Good looking out, Doll.”

Fuck. Her own sister was taking credit for her kill. That shit was not cool. She ignored Sarah shouting words of caution in her mic to her big gangster and scouted around for other possible targets. Everything looked clear.

As her eagle eye rolled over their guys, she saw Dark. He had a big 45 semi-automatic in his hand. The dude was definitely old school. A 9mm would have been her weapon of choice for an operation like this if she’d been permitted to be boots on the ground.

She watched him jerk his chin at Darkness and Charlie. Both men moved forward, flanking him. God, he looked fantastic. Her body warmed as she thought about all the sexy things he’d done the night before. Dark was something special, even she could see it. The way he’d taken his time making love to her, and put her needs first was a rarity. The man might be rough and tumble but he had a goodness about him that was hard to miss.

It bothered her that he was standing out in the open, where anyone could take a shot at him. Gripping her rifle, she decided to make sure this battle went his way today. No matter what, she’d see he and his son got clear of this mess; the mess that resulted from her being rescued.

Margaret squinted her eye behind the sights of her rifle. Several men pulled the huge metal cover off the obscured utility hole. Two of the gangsters made their way down into the underground unit. Margaret’s eagle eye caught flashes of gunfire coming from the depths of the hole.

“Back the fuck up, Johnny,” Sarah’s rough words sounded through the comm unit, parroting what she was thinking about Dark creeping up too close. Margaret didn’t think he’d appreciate a woman making demands so publicly, so she held her tongue.

The two men who went down eased backed back up the steps with their hands up. This shit was going sideways fast. Gripping her rifle, she prepared to pretend to be Sarah one more time.

Don Carlo emerged with a man standing behind him. One gigantic hand was wrapped around the don’s throat, as his captor used him as a human shield. Jerking to attention behind the scope, Margaret recognized the man immediately. He was one of Dragonfly’s henchmen, Gunther to be exact. Images flashed through her mind of all the abusive shit he’d done to her over the last few months. Naturally, Jet was there as well, with a stupid leering grin stamped on his ignorant face. God, how she hated those two. On the other side of Gunter, a guy from their Austin office nervously gripped his handgun. Taking aim, she shot the one on the right at the same time her sister shot the one on the left, dropping the men on either side of the two entwined men.

She immediately knew they were both jostling to get an aim on Gunther, who was still using Don Carlo for cover. Meanwhile, all hell broke loose. There were men jumping out of vehicles and more pouring from the underground utility unit. Someone tossed a grenade under a vehicle. In the ensuing ruckus, she saw a circle of men surrounding Dark, his son, and Charlie. Shifting her rifle from Gunther, she picked off several, as the bikers shot the place up. The moment Dark was no longer pinned down, she swung back over to Gunther, who was dragging Don Carlo towards a vehicle. Cursing under her breath, she finally got the angle she needed and squeezed off a kill shot. She watched with satisfaction as Gunther dropped trying to pull the don down with him.

The older gangster stepped forward, breaking the man’s hold. With his chin held high, he limped with dignity over to his son. The old man was lucky to be alive.

By that time, Johnny and Dark’s combined forces had cleared the field. The scene below sent a wave of nausea rumbling up her gut. She hadn’t seen so much bloodshed since being on active duty. There were at least a couple of dozen men down and blood stained the pavement. She watched Sarah drop down and get picked up by Johnny and his father.

Jumping down from her clandestine perch, Margaret wondered if anyone would even remember to pick her up. It wouldn’t be the first time she got left behind, she thought wryly. Pacing for a few minutes, she was relieved when Dark pulled up in his pick-up truck. Jumping in, she murmured sincerely, “Thanks for remembering me.”

“Ain’t nobody here gonna forget about you. You don’t even have to worry about shit like that anymore.”

“Maybe my brain knows that, but I’m not feeling it.”

“You’re coming to stay with me until we get that fat fucker in charge of Dragonfly. I’m not taking any chances with my new guardian angel.”

Sliding her sniper rifle between her legs, she rested the butt of the rifle on the floorboard. Her skin felt strange and prickly. Shifting in her seat, she avoided looking at Dark. Feeling antsy and unable to calm down after a mission, had never happened before. Unsure where it was coming from, she almost felt like she’d missed something important. All the blood had been shocking, even for someone used to military duty.

“Out with it, sweetness. What’s botherin’ you?”

“I haven’t seen anything like that in a while. Being a sniper, you probably think I’m used to seeing blood. I’m used to lone missions involving one or two targets, not the total throwdown that happened just now.”

“I’m with you on that one, Marge. We sometimes have conflicts with rival MC’s and things can get pretty messy, but nothing like what we saw today. Thanks for covering my six, by the way.”

“No problem.”

“You never did say yes or no to staying with me.”

“You didn’t phrase it was a question, so I didn’t think the situation required a response.”

“You’re good with it?”

“I’m thrilled to get an invite from you. You might need to give me a day or two to get my head straight though.”

“We’ll hang out, shoot some pool, and wait for word from Johnny and Don Carlo. I promise there won’t be any pressure to do anything you don’t want to do.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it. The sex is still on, I hope.”

Casting a sideways glance in her direction, the corners of his mouth tipped slightly. “Whatever you need, sweetness, as long as all the sex is with me.”

“What are the rules?”

“What rules?”

“The rules for being at your place. Some directions and guidelines for staying at your MC would be nice.”

Sighing, he responded grudgingly, “The women wearing black leather vests rule the roost, ‘cause they’re old ladies. The rest of the women are sweet butts who just hang around trading chores for a place to stay. The brothers kind of share them. Since you’re with me, ain’t nobody gonna mess with you and the old ladies will be real sweet to you. I’d appreciate it if you were respectful in return. If any of the brothers step over the line with you, let me know. Don’t allow anyone into my personal space. It’s just you and me.”

“Well, that sounds simple enough.”

“It ain’t, trust me on that.”