“Why?” Aubrey yelled. “Gunrunning not paying well anymore?”
“I’d guess,” Smoke said, his stance relaxed but gun straight out at Gerry, “that he’s had some trouble contacting his people in Germany for those guns. That’s why he wants the money. He’s got an arsenal stored up and nowhere to move it. So, he has to get in good graces elsewhere.”
Jordan laughed. “If you haven’t heard,boss, Wittesburg is dead. His lieutenants were smeared on the Autobahn. There’s no one interested in taking over his position, not with theBundesnachrichtendienstbreathing down their neck.”
“Bless you,” Marcus mumbled.
Chase kicked his leg.
It was damn weird to see my friends holding rifles on someone. These were the guys who rescued kittens from a wall.
Then again, the two of them would probably defend MC, Proust, and Pollux with those rifles if they had to.
Don’t fuck with the kittens.
Gerry was staring at Jordan and realization slid over his face. “You worthless bag of shit! Who are you? Who do you work for?” The gun moved to train on the undercover agent.
Mistake.
His eyes moved with the gun and I saw the chance to grab Carly away from him. I took it.
Who the hell had I become?
Darting away from Noah, I rushed at Carly, who had watched for a sign that someone was going to help her. I grabbed her arm and sped past Gerry, desperately trying to curve away.
Another body flew into me, and I heard two guns go off at the same time. The body that had crashed into me let out a grunt and fell to the ground, covering us.
I pushed up and Austin, stunned, rolled off me.
“Uncle Austin!” Carly yelled.
He coughed and stared up at the sky. “Ouch.”
“You’re bleeding!” she cried.
The shirt he was wearing was torn and there was a tear in the skin. He lolled his head to the side and grinned. “It’s just a flesh wound.” He coughed again. “Do me a favor and see if the Kevlar held up?”
“Oh, my God, he shot you,” I hissed. I rolled Austin up on his side, and in the firelight, I could see the gleam of a bullet stuck in the weave. I let him roll back down. “You beautiful man. I’m going to kill you.”
“Just kiss me instead.”
Slamming my mouth over his, I kissed him with all I had.
He broke off and coughed again, but smirked. “That’s definitely going to leave a bruise.”
Aubrey scrambled over and grabbed her daughter and engulfed her in a smothering hug with Devon in her other arm. She leaned down and kissed Austin on his forehead. “Never do anything that stupid again.”
“Not planning on it.”
Gerry was screaming as Smoke slapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. “No, no! You assholes! No! I worked too hard!”
Jordan rolled him to his back and Gerry let out a wail of pain and looked in the shadows behind him. “You shot me in the ass!Who the hell are you?”
Nelson stepped out the shadows and shrugged. “Of course, I did. I’m Nelson Fucking Powers.”
Uriah
“Careful,” Aubrey said, holdingAustin’s elbow as he sat at the table.
