Chapter 19 #3
Aleksei and Petrit are in the car ahead of us, their taillights a steady red glow in the darkness. But these new vehicles are coming up fast. Way too fucking fast and even Chantal picks up on it.
“Lochlan?” She shifts in her seat, glancing behind us. “What’s going on?”
“Don’t know,” I answer. My glare hardens as I look in the rearview mirror. “Sit tight, alright?”
I press down on the gas and speed up, but the mystery cars are having none of it. They rev their engines and pull up on our left, gunning it fast enough to box us in and cut us off.
“Fuck!” I growl, swerving the car. “Hold on, Chantal. This is about to get—”
The SUV behind us slams into our bumper before I can finish the sentence.
Chantal screams as the car lurches forward and the tires skid across the asphalt. I fight to keep control, but another hit from the side sends us spinning toward the trees and metal barrier lining the road.
The car clips the barrier, then we’re flipping over several times and slamming down into a ditch.
The crash is so intense that, for seconds to come, my ears ring with the sounds of clanging metal and shattering glass.
The world spins around me, body strapped against the driver seat, ’til we smash into the ground and I see double.
It’s difficult to say how much time passes, but the next time I open my eyes, the airbag has exploded in my face. Blood drips into my eyes from a gash on my brow, and the sharp crack of gunfire fills the air.
FUCK!
We’re being attacked!
I snap into action, even as disoriented and banged up as I am. My fingers fumble with the seatbelt as my gaze sweeps over to an unconscious Chantal slumped in the seat next to me.
“Chantal!” I yell desperately. My heart’s pounding as I finally free myself and stretch over to undo her seatbelt next. “Chantal!”
The car is completely totaled—roof caved in, windows blown out, the stench of gasoline thick in the air.
Chantal’s head is tilted onto her shoulder, her long braids half covering her face. She’s got a nasty gash at her temple and her left arm is bent at an angle that makes panic spread through me.
I’m caught between rescuing her and fighting back against whoever the fuck’s run us off the road and opened fire.
Aleksei and Petrit must be battling it out with them. As I’m able to remove Chantal’s seatbelt, I make out sounds of Petrit’s voice as he yells at whoever’s attacking us.
“Chantal,” I say, voice edgy with panic. I’ve leaned over and taken her face into my hands, trying to ease her awake. “Wake up, brat. Open your eyes and tell me you’re alright. Come on—”
Her eyelids flutter weakly. A low moan escapes her lips.
“Loch...” she slurs, brows knitted. “What... hurts...”
“I know it hurts. Don’t move, alright? Stay put and stay awake. I’m getting you help as soon as I get us to safety.”
More gunfire explodes outside.
I whip my head toward the blown-out window. To the left, Aleksei and Petrit have taken cover behind their car, returning fire at the group of men on the opposite side of the road.
There’s no time to waste. Nobody fucks with me like this and gets away with it.
Rage surges through me as I kick out the remains of the driver’s side window. Dragging myself through to the other side, I withdraw my gun and take cover at the front of the vehicle.
I’m still disoriented and out of it from the crash, but I’m also on a rampage to get revenge.
That’s when I go still as I realize who the fuck’s attacked us. I recognize the familiar faces as men I once fought alongside.
Ronan and his buttonmen in the flesh.
My baby brother’s finally caught on. He’s not only finally solved the puzzle, he’s managed to track me and my guys down.
The man who stole my birthright. Who killed my son in cold blood.
The rage I felt a second ago multiplies by one hundred. I black out as my thirst for revenge crashes over me and consumes me whole.
I release a loud, primal howl as I pop out from behind the car and openly return fire. It’s all been exposed. No use pretending I’m dead any longer.
But if my brother wants to fight, then let’s fucking fight. I’ll die tonight if it means taking him and the others out with me.
The look on his face when our eyes meet is priceless.
It’s shock at seeing the dead risen. Then it’s outright fury as he realizes it’s true—his own brother has waged war against him all along.
My brother is so caught up in the moment, it takes his right-hand man, Killian, shoving him down to narrowly avoid my bullets. They take cover as I fire off like a madman without a care about what the hell happens to me.
“LOCH!” Aleksei roars from where he’s crouched behind the SUV he was riding in with Petrit. “GET DOWN! WE ARE OUTNUMBERED!”
“You want a fucking fight, baby brother!?” I roar, ignoring the Russian’s warning. “Then let’s fight! Don’t retreat now!”
One of Ronan’s men takes aim and fires back, more bullets whizzing the air. None of which hit me as I nab two of his men and send them tumbling to the ground.
I’m only getting started as me and my two guys give Ronan and his men a run for their money.
Soon we’re trading bullets from behind our vehicles, poking out long enough to squeeze our triggers and then shrinking back to avoid our enemy’s fire.
“Come out, come out, baby brother!” I call out boldly. “You’ve finally got me where you want me! So come face me like a man!”
A bullet rips through my shoulder and sends me staggering back. The pain’s burning hot and burrows deep into my joint. I manage to stay on my feet, gritting my teeth and clutching my gun tighter.
But I’m not the only one who’s caught a stray.
Petrit releases a howl of agony as his shoe explodes in a burst of blood and his knees hit the ground. He’s been shot in the foot. Aleksei quickly grabs him by the back of his shirt collar and wrenches him behind the other vehicle.
“We are outnumbered,” he rumbles. “We have to go!”
But I’m so laser focused on getting my revenge he goes ignored. My shoulder’s dripping blood, and I’m blocking out the pain as I lean forward and fire off more shots.
Still so fucking stubborn. Still so blinded by hate I don’t care what it costs me.
“You fucking traitor!” Ronan roars. He pops out and fires at me, then ducks back down.
I’m up again, aiming right back at him. “Funny you say that, baby brother, when you’re wearing my crown! How’s Eddie doing?”
“You don’t know what really happened!”
“I KNOW EVERYTHING!” I bellow, quickly replacing one mag for another. I lift my pistol to spray more bullets, then wind up knocked off my feet as they get me first.
A bullet slices into my gut as I’m sent flying backward. I crash down to the asphalt as fiery pain erupts from my stomach and dizziness rolls over me.
I’m barely able to stay conscious as I lay on the ground and urge myself to get the fuck back up.
Aleksei’s covering me, now the lone holdout against Ronan and his men.
But it’s the sharp, high-pitched screech that really stands out among the carnage.
“LOCHLAN!” Chantal screams.
I grit my teeth and force myself to sit up. “Chantal, stay where you are!”
The pain is a true test of inner strength. Pushing through it has me sweating bullets as my legs shake, but I rise to my feet and tighten my grip on the gun.
I look over at the cracked windshield of our totaled car, and my gaze meets Chantal’s. Her eyes are wide and glassy, her round face frozen in terror. Blood dribbles down her cheek, and she’s still stuck in the front seat, obviously in desperate need of medical attention.
Suddenly the moment feels like it’s slowed up. Time has grinded to a halt as it dawns on me what I’ve done.
…how I’ve put her in danger. I’ve put her life at risk, chasing my revenge.
The crash was even my fault. If I had never had her with me tonight, then she’d be safe and sound.
I did this to her.
I dragged her into my war for revenge, and then I’ve selfishly kept her convincing myself I could somehow have both.
How much more am I willing to put her through? Hasn’t she suffered enough?
She’s now in the middle of a gunfight, where she could easily catch a stray and wind up even more injured than she already is; she could wind up dead, and it would be my fucking fault.
“HOLD UP!” I roar, voice tearing from how loud I am. “I SAID HOLD UP! STOP FUCKING SHOOTING!”
The gunshots taper off. Silence descends, broken only by distant sirens and the hiss of busted radiators.
Ronan steps out from behind his SUV, gun still drawn. Killian and Sean flank him, along with a handful of other Callahan soldiers.
I stagger toward the passenger door where Chantal’s trapped inside. Everybody’s still watching me as I wrench it open with a loud, heavy creak that demonstrates how mangled the car is.
“Lochlan,” she breathes, confused.
“C’mon, brat,” I say quietly enough only she can hear. “It’s time…”
She still doesn’t understand what’s going on as I gently guide her out of the seat. I’m leaking blood, barely able to stand as I help her do so. My arm slides around her waist, and together we turn toward my brother and his men.
“Truce,” I grunt. “I need you to take her.”
Ronan’s features screw up in immediate suspicion. “What?”
“Chantal needs a hospital. She’s got nothing to do with our shit. She’s a civilian caught in the crossfire. Take her. She’s free to go.”
A couple seconds go by where Ronan doesn’t budge and neither do his men. They’re still eyeing me as if unsure what to make of the proposal.
From their perspective, it could be a trap.
“She’s badly injured!” I shout impatiently. “Look at her! Take her and get her to a fucking hospital! Your wife would want you to! You hear those sirens in the distance? We need to get the fuck outta here. All of us. You and me… we’ll finish this another time.”
“Lochlan,” Chantal murmurs.
“Shhh, brat. Just… go, alright? Please.”
Tears fill Chantal’s eyes as I give her a nudge toward Ronan and his men.
Killian and Sean glance over at their warlord for guidance. My baby brother’s face is tight with fury, though he gives a stiff, reluctant nod.
Killian steps forward and takes hold of Chantal to guide her toward one of their cars. She throws an uncertain glance over her shoulder at me as if wanting to protest.
I simply stare back, nodding at her to let her know it’s alright. It’s what’s for the best. I can’t do it anymore, keeping her captive and destroying her life.
…not if I really care about her in the way I’ve come to.
Then I turn away from the carnage and stagger over to the SUV Aleksei and Petrit were in.
Aleksei keeps his gun pointed at the others as Ronan and his guys watch us with dark, angry glares. The tension is so damn thick it’s felt in every breath drawn.
“What now?” the Russian enforcer asks once we’re inside the car.
“Drive,” I answer. “This is far from over.”
But as we take off and Ronan and his men do the same, fleeing the scene moments before emergency responders finally arrive, I’m more preoccupied by what I lost.
Not the fight or even being wounded in battle, my gut burning and bleeding.
I’m thinking about Chantal and how tonight was probably the last time we’ll ever see each other.