Chapter Sixteen #3
Knuckles gave a crisp, satisfied nod. “Exactly. He’ll be fine.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “You up for this?”
I scowled at him. “Am I up for it? What the fuck kind of question is that?” I snagged the gun Hawk handed me from Knight’s office safe. “Don’t even think about trying to keep me out of this fuckin’ fight.” I checked the mag before heading out of the clubhouse and to my bike.
The wind was out of the southwest, and it carried the smell of rain and smoke. We headed out, the roar of the bikes deafening in the late afternoon.
Fire Lookout had been abandoned for years.
Last time I’d been to the place, it doubled as a hunting cabin.
But the closer we got, the more the world seemed to catch fire.
The closer we got, the thicker the smoke.
Best I could figure, Brett must have started the burn around midday.
The wind ran hard along the ridges and I could see the line of flames crawling along the tree line.
It was almost pretty, if you didn’t have someone on the other side.
We took the bikes as far as we could, but the fire was running hard up the slope.
Branches smacked my helmet and rocks slid, making the bike fishtail sometimes, but none of it fazed me.
I felt a driving need to get to Juniper.
Wind shifted, and with it came the crack and thud of gunfire.
Not a warning shot, either. Someone was fighting for real.
I ditched the bike and started running while the others fanned out behind me.
I didn’t even attempt to be quiet in my haste.
The lookout tower sat at the top of the ridge, overlooking the valley.
It wasn’t so much a tower as an old ranger station high enough to see several hundred miles worth of tree line.
Now, heat and smoke poured in around it.
I saw broken glass and a blood smear across the door.
Someone screamed, sounding wild and more than a little pissed-off.
Inside, Brett had Juniper cornered against the wall, blood streaking from a gash on her forehead.
She was on her feet, though. I’d expected fear or pleading but she was smiling at him, mouth full of blood and defiance.
“Fuck you, Brett!” she spat out. “I hope you fucking rot in hell!”
He looked rattled, sweat running down his face.
Juniper stood facing him, her chin in the air, spitting fire at him with her gaze.
Brett heard my approach and swung the gun my way, and I read the desperate, cornered, look on his face as a man pulling out the last tricks in his book. I put myself in front of Juniper.
“You want her?” Brett said. “You’re welcome to her. She was never worth this much trouble.”
“Then why burn her life down?” I was buying time. Getting closer. “Why bring her here?”
Brett’s mouth twisted. “Because she owed me. Because nobody says no to me. She can come with me or die here with you.”
Juniper lunged, slamming a length of broken wood into the bastard’s knee, and he dropped with a shriek. I kicked the gun out of his hand, sent it spinning across the floor, then grabbed Juniper and hauled her up and to the side.
“Let’s go,” I grunted. The room started filling with smoke as the fire overtook the old, sturdy structure. Flames licked across the rafters from the north side until one wooden truss caught fire overhead.
Brett charged us with a battle yell, lunging with each hobbling stride, face wild and red.
He dove for Juniper, hands out in claws.
Juniper used his momentum against him, grabbing the collar of his jacket and shoving him into the bare two-by-four wall support next to her.
There was a sickening crunch and Brett dropped like a stone, his skull caved in at one temple.
Blood leaked from his nose, but Brett didn’t move.
Juniper watched him go down without a word. The fire framed her face like a Goddamned halo and I found myself wanting to stop and worship her. Instead, I tucked her against my side and ran for the exit.
We made it before the danger from structure fire got too great, but we hadn’t gone a hundred feet before the whole thing exploded, knocking us off our feet with the concussion, and sending debris peppering into us.
We ran as far as we could, sweat mingling with ash over our skin.
I didn’t let her slow until I knew she’d reached the end of her endurance, catching her when she stumbled.
We were both breathing heavily. Juniper lay limp in my arms, but looking up at me with tired, pain-filled eyes. “You all right?” I asked, my voice raw, my breath growing heavy with exertion on my already damaged lungs.
She looked up at me, eyes bright from the fight. “I will be.”
I studied her for a long moment, expecting to see grief or horror that she’d killed a man. “I promised you’d never be the one to kill Brett,” I said, pulling her to me and burying my face in her neck. “I’m sorry I didn’t keep that promise.”
She met my gaze with a soft one of her own. “I’m not sorry. It’s only fitting he got taken down by a woman. I regret nothing.”