Page 106 of Ruger's Rage
"That's the plan."
We move out, heading north toward Cooper's Ridge.
In the rearview mirror, the club grows smaller, brothers posted at every entrance with orders to shoot any unfamiliar faces on sight.
Tildie sits beside me in my truck, silent but alert, her hand occasionally brushing against her concealed weapon as if assuring herself it's still there.
In the backseat, Kinsey stares out the window, her expression unreadable. "You ready for this?" I ask her. "Going against your own father?"
Her eyes meet mine in the mirror. "He stopped being my father the moment he put his hands on me. Family doesn't do that."
I nod, thinking of Striker, of the night I exiled him for hurting Ellie. "No, they don't."
The hunting cabin comes into view after twenty minutes of driving, a small structure nestled among dense pines.
Lights burn in the windows, and two vehicles are parked outside—a black SUV and a sleek Mercedes that screams money.
"Marco's car," Tildie confirms, "He's here."
I pull over half a mile back, cutting the engine.
Ounce's truck and Bloodhound's Jeep stop behind us.
"Remember the plan," I tell her, taking her hand. "You don't move until I give the signal. You stay in the truck until we clear the perimeter. Then you approach from the front, draw him out while we take position."
She nods, squeezing my hand. "I remember."
I cup her face, pressing my forehead to hers. "I love you. Don't forget that."
"I love you too." She kisses me quickly. "Now go get this son of a bitch so we can go home."
I step out of the truck, joining my brothers as they gather weapons from their vehicles.
"Maddox, you circle east. Ounce, take west. Bloodhound, you're with me." I check my own weapon. "Marco's mine, but Striker belongs to all of us. No one takes a kill shot on him without my say-so."
They nod, faces grim in the moonlight.
"What about me?" Kinsey asks.
"You stay with Tildie. Keep her safe if anything goes wrong."
She doesn't argue, moving to join Tildie in the truck.
"Let's move," I order, and my brothers disappear into the trees surrounding the cabin.
This ends tonight, one way or another.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Tildie
The truck cab feels like a cage as I watch Ruger and his brothers disappear into the darkness.
I clutch the gun in my lap, oddly comforting.
Marco made sure I knew how to shoot—said a woman should know how to protect herself.
Ironic that I might use those skills against him.
