Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
WREN
Jagger slowly lowers me to the ground, then nudges me behind him, so he’s blocking me completely. My guys shift slightly, letting Jagger move in line with them as he pulls a gun out that’s been tucked in the back of his pants.
They’re in a standoff against Ivan’s men, except we are outnumbered at least two-to-one. I cling to the back of Jagger’s shirt as I peek out between him and Dex, fear coiling in my stomach. How the hell were we going to get out of this?
“Well, well,” Ivan says in his thick Russian accent. “Fancy running into you here,” he says when his eyes find mine. Then they look to Jagger, and a small frown pinches his brow. “Maybe I won’t have to leave empty-handed after all.”
He grins, beckoning me forward. “Come now, and I won’t harm the others.”
For a second, I consider it, but before I can offer myself up, Jagger spins around and wraps his arms around me, trapping my arms at my side as he hugs me, like he refuses to let me go.
“You’re leaving me no choice here,” Ivan says with the same annoying sigh that Robert did when he was annoyed.
“Why do you even still want me?” I yell back, frustrated by the situation. “Why come all the way here for me? I’m not gonna be some perfect docile wife to you. I’ll fight you every moment of every day!”
I watch as he seems to grow amused by my rant. He even chuckles when I’m done, shaking his head. “My dear girl, how naive you truly are. I didn’t come here for you.” I frown in confusion. “I came here to tie up a loose end. However, it seems you’ve already taken care of that for me.”
Loose end? What is he talking about?
“You came here to kill Robert,” Elias says, putting the pieces together, his gun aimed right at Ivan. “Why?”
Ivan sighs before answering. “He’s outgrown his usefulness. Besides… he’s grown too big.”
“And you wanted to take out the competition,” Elias finishes for him.
“I had hoped to use Wren to control him, but this situation works much better for me.”
“Just let us go,” I beg, unsure how else to end this standoff.
“I already told you what I want.”
I struggle against Jagger’s tight hold as tears start to well in my eyes. “Please, let me go, it’s the only way to save you all.”
“Not happening,” Sly calls over his shoulder at me. “No way are we handing you over, angel,” Pete confirms.
“I’d rather die than let him take you,” Elias says firmly.
“That can be arranged,” Ivan says with a smirk.
“No!” I yell in fear, not wanting any of my guys to get hurt. Movement above catches my attention, and I look up as something comes flying over the fence and lands on the pavement between us.
Smoke quickly starts to pour from it, and I just stare in confusion. Is that a smoke bomb? Where the hell did it come from? Several of us glance in the direction it came from just as the fence appears to burst open and dozens of men dressed in black tactical gear start pouring in.
“Go!” Ivan yells as he and his men turn and instantly start running, their guns still aimed at us as they move, leaving us trapped between them and the new threat.
I look back at the men entering and see a large SWAT plastered across their vests.
Dios mio! The feds are here!
They’re entering slightly behind us, and we spin around to face them, having nowhere to run unless we want to follow Ivan. Within moments, we’re in a whole new standoff, but with the feds this time. The whole thing happens in mere seconds.
And our weapons won’t have any effect on the feds since they're fully decked out in protective gear.
“Drop your weapons!” one of them yells. The guys hesitate, glancing at one another quickly, and the man yells again. “I said drop your weapons!”
Elias nods once, then gently tosses his gun to the ground in front of him and raises his hands in surrender.
Sly, Dex, and Pete do the same. Jagger, who’s still holding me against him, still has the gun in one hand, so he half releases me so he can toss it on the ground.
Now free, my arms instinctively come up to encircle his waist, before he holds me close again.
The others all have their hands raised as we watch the feds with worry. I cough as the smoke from the grenade starts to fill the area.
“You two,” the agent says, nudging his gun in our direction, “hands up!”
Fear fills me, making me cling tighter to Jagger. I feel like the moment I let go is the moment I lose them all forever. We’ll be sent to separate prisons, and I’ll never see them again.
“They didn’t do anything wrong!” I yell at the agents. “They were framed!”
“If that’s true, we’ll figure it all out, but right now you need to raise your hands and let us take you all into our custody.”
Tears spill over my cheeks, maybe from the smoke, probably from the realization that these are my final moments with them.
I tilt my chin up and tell my guys loudly, “I love you guys. No matter what happens, wherever they take us, just know I’ll never stop thinking about you and trying to get back to you. ”
The words barely leave my lips before one of the agents shifts his stance, eyes narrowing on Dex.
“On the ground!” he barks.
Dex stiffens at the tone. I feel Jagger tense too. Dex’s jaw flexes, and I see his raised hands clench into fists.
The smoke keeps thickening, stinging my throat and blurring my vision, but I can still see the way Dex’s shoulders square. Like he’s getting ready to charge.
A murmur runs through the SWAT line.
“That’s the Berserker,” one of them mutters. If the agents have seen the guys’ files, they must know about Dex’s time as an underground cage fighter. Did they see him as the biggest threat here? I wasn’t sure if he was; all my guys seem equally capable of destruction.
The second the word hits the air, several rifles jerk toward Dex, safety clicks echoing. Dex growls in anger as his arms start to lower, and even from here, I can see his eyes start to shift to that hazy look he gets when he’s in one of his rages.
Being a former Fed, Elias must see the agent’s intention before the rest of us fully understand. His eyes go wide. “Don’t—” he starts.
The agent doesn’t listen. His finger tightens on the trigger.
Elias throws himself sideways, shoving Dex back with both hands as the gunshot explodes through the smoke. The bullet slams into Elias’s shoulder, the force of it twisting him midair. He crashes straight into Dex, who drops with him, half catching him before they both hit the ground.
“Elias!” I scream, trying to push away from Jagger. I reach for him, ready to throw myself at his side, but Jagger’s arms lock around me, holding me tight against his chest. I struggle anyway, my voice cracking. “Let me go! Elias!”
Chaos erupts instantly as the smoke starts to move in around us.
Dex curls over Elias, shielding him from the raised rifles in front of us.
Sly and Pete move in, forming a wall between us and the agents who shout orders through the thickening smoke.
Safeties click. The air fills with coughing and confusion.
The smoke makes everything blur, shapes smearing and shifting in unpredictable currents.
Jagger holds me tighter, trying to keep me from running into gunfire. I open my mouth to scream for Elias again, but a sharp sting hits the side of my neck. I gasp, reaching up instinctively, but my fingers are already going numb. My breath catches, my cry dying in my throat.
Jagger jerks against me, his body going rigid. His embrace falters for the first time, muscles locking before they start to give out.
I try to call his name, but there's no sound.
My vision narrows. My limbs turn heavy as the world tilts. Unfamiliar hands grab me, dragging me backward into the smoke.
Jagger collapses to his knees beside me, reaching out even as his body fails him.
The last thing I see before the darkness floods in is his hand stretching toward mine… and the smoke swallowing us both.