Chapter 7 #2
She wished he’d let her in when she’d offered to help. That he would have said, yes, of course I’ll work with you. You’d be an asset to us.
Instead, he’d been happy to see her sidelined. So she’d taken a page from his playbook and started her own operation. Which had brought her here.
Diana nibbled the inside of her lip as she circled around the groups of people. She almost wished Teddy had come, despite the awkwardness of having to refuse his romantic overtures. At least he knew people, and he could introduce her.
She grabbed a drink from the cooler and found a place to stand so she could watch the shooting. Men eyed her, some leered, but she couldn’t bring herself to give any of them encouragement. There were a few hours to go before the event was over, and she wasn’t that desperate to talk to people yet.
She would pick a group soon, introduce herself, strike up a conversation. But first she wanted to observe.
Just then, a tall man in dark clothes moved through the crowd, a rifle slung over his broad shoulder, his dark hair silvered in the afternoon sun peeking through the clouds.
Diana’s heart skipped as a shiver skated down her spine. She straightened, staring. There was no way that confident swagger belonged to who she thought it did. It was simply another tall, commanding man with the kind of presence that tickled her senses.
He reached a knot of camo-clad men and started talking. She crept around the crowd, trying to get closer without being seen. She had to know. Because it could not be Alex Bishop standing with those men, acting like he belonged. Laughing like they were old pals.
When the guy next to him clapped him on the back, he turned, laughing, his features fully exposed.
She couldn’t contain her gasp. It was too noisy for anyone to notice, but she clamped her lips shut anyway and ducked into the crowd. Her heart tripped and stumbled before racing to catch up.
How the hell was he here? What was he doing? Had he been ordered to start surveilling the militia up close? She didn’t believe for a second that he’d joined them, but stranger things had happened. Never assume you knew a man.
Never assume.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
She put a hand to her chest, forced herself to breathe deep. To think.
This was a disaster. An absolute disaster.
Alex was here. If he saw her, he could expose her. People who joined the militia came from all walks of life, including law enforcement, but she was new and she didn’t know many people. She hadn’t proven herself. A word from him and she could be frozen out.
Or worse.
Diana shuddered. She had to stay far away from him. She couldn’t let him see her. If she stayed on the perimeter, avoided the men he was with, she should be okay. But how was that going to help her get invited to the next gathering?
She stalked toward her car. If she could sit and think by herself for a few minutes, she’d come up with a solution. She had to.
“Hey, hey, lookie here, Jeff. It’s that cunt from The Dawg.”
Diana crashed to a halt. There were three of them dressed in camo, smirking at her. They had pistols at their sides and AR-15s slung across their chests. Recognition slammed her. The man glaring at her the hardest was the one she’d dropped to the floor.
“I think I owe you something, bitch,” he grated.
Diana lifted her chin, her hand straying toward her pistol. “Do you really?”
“Oh yeah, sure do.” He nodded toward her hand. “You shoot me, Jeff’s going to shoot you.”
“But you’d still be dead.” She smiled though her heart throbbed a million miles an hour.
“Maybe, or maybe you aren’t good enough to hit me before I take you down. Most people aren’t that great a shot.”
“I am. You want to try?”
He hesitated. She didn’t draw because there were three of them and they were armed to the teeth. Drawing was a sure way to get shot. But if he thought she might, she could use that hesitation to return to the gathering.
“You’re a mouthy bitch, you know that?”
Fuck you. That’s what she wanted to say, but she didn’t. She was outnumbered and in unfamiliar surroundings.
“If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I better get back to the gathering.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder, backing up as she went.
The smirks didn’t change, and her pulse dialed higher.
She was just about to turn and sprint when her body collided with a solid form. Before she could step away, two rough hands grabbed her arms, squeezing hard.
Then a sweaty cheek pressed against hers before a rough voice spoke in her ear. “Go ahead and scream. Nobody’s coming to save you.”
Diana swallowed as she sorted through a deck of options in her head.
Nothing was good. Nothing was going to work if these pricks took her farther from the gathering.
There were four of them that she knew of.
They were armed and smug, certain of their power and willing to do whatever it took to punish her.
Screaming was still the best option, no matter what the Neanderthal holding her said. That and fighting dirty.
She had to act.
Three, two…
The click of a pistol being cocked penetrated her brain, stopped the internal countdown. And then a hard, growly, beautiful voice said, “Boys, this one’s mine.”