Chapter 28
Bonnie tried hard to focus on Addie. She was telling a rock-climbing story. One that Bonnie absolutely should be listening to, just like the other women.
But it was hard to concentrate when the guys were huddled around the gym’s front desk, talking about the remaining criminals who needed to be found and detained.
Not just talking about them. Studying profiles and photos. Talking about possible hiding places. Well, a hiding place for Monty… The rest had most likely hightailed it out of Amber Ridge.
The gym blinds were down, and pizza and drinks littered the tables, but none of that lightened her mood.
It had been five days since Indie was shot. Her sister was still in the hospital, mostly for observation because of the pregnancy. Indie had people with her. Colt. Holden. Clara. But their absence tonight felt big and heavy.
Bonnie wished she’d been able to visit her sister every day, but with Monty still out there, evasion was necessary.
Plus, there was no way she wanted to bring danger to her sister’s doorstep again.
The only reason they were at the gym tonight was because Zane needed to talk to the guys, and he didn’t want to bring anyone to the cabin and risk the location.
When she couldn’t hold off any longer, she glanced over at the men. They were still huddled over the desk, looking at mug shots. Of course, Bonnie could be over there if she wanted. All the women could.
She didn’t want to. Plus, Zane would report back. And unlike the men, she didn’t have a military background, so what would she do with the information anyway?
“Bonnie.”
She looked back at Addie. The rest of the women were talking amongst themselves now, but Addie only had eyes for her.
The other woman’s gaze was soft but also concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Just worried.” Big truck-load levels of worried.
Addie glanced at the men, then back to her. “There are only three guys left and we don’t know if they’re all in Amber Ridge or some have left. That means it’s possibly Monty against all of them.”
Looking at the powerful men who, between them, had decades of tactical training and military experience, most would agree that the odds were in their favor. But Zane knew Monty best—and Zane was worried. That made Bonnie worried.
She nodded anyway. “How’s Noah been?”
“It feels like we only just recovered from everything that happened at the park, and now we have this. Even though he won’t admit it, it’s been a lot for him. And he’s worried about Indie, as we all are. But I just keep reassuring him that she’ll be okay. And we’ll get through this.”
Bonnie touched Addie’s arm. “I’m glad he has you.”
“And I’m glad he has you back.”
“I don’t know about that. I got Indie shot.” Shit. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
“No, you didn’t. You didn’t ask someone to shoot at you. And it was Indie’s choice to push you out of the way. I doubt she regrets saving you.”
She wasn’t sure she believed that. Saving Bonnie had probably been a reflex when Indie more than likely wished she’d protected her baby.
But the baby was safe and healthy. Bonnie just needed to keep reminding herself of that.
Footsteps sounded, then Noah was behind Addie, touching her back. “Hey. Ready to go?”
She rose. “Finished?”
“For tonight.”
He sounded tired. But then, they all did. Even with the state police in town helping with this whole mess, it didn’t feel like enough.
Noah glanced at her. “You okay, Bon?”
“Mm-hmm.” She reached out and squeezed his hand.
As everyone said their goodbyes and filtered out of the gym, Bonnie moved over to Zane. His hand immediately slipped around her waist and tugged her closer, but he was still looking at the photos.
She frowned down at the three mug shots. A bald man with tattoos down his neck. A dark-haired guy with an eyebrow ring.
She frowned at the third picture. “That’s Monty.” She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she did.
“Yeah. My dad and his mother were siblings. They’ve both passed now but they look similar, so we look similar.”
That was it. He looked like Zane. But he also didn’t. The difference was in the eyes. Monty’s were flat and hollow, like they were completely devoid of warmth.
Zane was everything Monty wasn’t. Good. Warm. Kind.
Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “You know what I was thinking?”
“That we should get the hell out of this town and disappear?”
“No. That we’ve been dating all this time and we’ve never gone a round in the ring together.”
A ghost of a smile curved his lips. “You want to get in the ring?”
“With you? Absolutely.” She grinned before stepping out of his arms and crossing to the octagonal ring. Without a word, she slipped off her shoes, pulled off her sweatshirt, and held out her hands. “Glove me.”
Humor danced in his eyes. But he grabbed two pairs of gloves from the equipment box. She barely held in the shudder as he strapped the gloves onto her hands. There was something so sexy about having a man—no, not a man, Zane—getting her ready to step into the ring.
When he had his gloves on, they both slipped into the ring.
“Ready?” he asked, the humor still there.
She lifted her gloved hands and softened her knees into a fighting stance. “Do you find something funny, Zane Merrick?”
“Of course not. I know better than to underestimate a beautiful woman wearing gloves.”
“Damn straight.” She danced forward and threw her first punch.
Zane dodged it with practiced ease. “That was good.”
She lifted a brow. “Surprised?”
“By you? Always.”
She grinned before throwing two more punches, followed by an uppercut.
Zane blocked all of them with his gloves but did look at least a bit impressed. “Who taught you this?”
She moved around him, staying light on her feet. “I told you. I did mixed martial arts when I left Amber Ridge. I had a lot of emotions to work through. I got kind of good.”
“Are you telling me you could wrestle me to the floor right now?”
“Hot, right?”
He didn’t even crack a smile, but the intensity in his eyes almost made her lose her breath.
“You haven’t thrown a punch yet,” she said, jabbing at his chest.
He absorbed the jab and threw a right hook, but it was more of a tap to her shoulder.
She lifted a brow. “You can do better than that.”
He smiled, then threw an almost playful hook that grazed her chin.
God, she loved that smile. “You might not be treating me like a real threat, but don’t think that means I’m gonna go easy on you.” She threw two jabs, both dodged by him, followed by a hard and fast kick to his thigh.
He caught her leg and spun her so her back was pressed to his front, her leg still in his hold. Then his mouth touched her ear as he whispered, “That was good, Bon. But you give yourself away with your eyes.”
“I do not!”
“You’re too open.” He kissed her ear. “Want a break?”
“No.” Hell no. She threw a hard elbow to his gut. No reaction from him. No grunt or hunching. But still, he released her.
She lifted her hands to protect her face and danced around him.
He threw another playful punch, and as he did, she ducked and slipped under his arm, going to his back.
She kicked at the back of his knee, but as if he had eyes in the back of his head, he moved.
And the second she was thrown off balance, his strong arm wrapped around her waist and they fell to the floor, his back hitting it first before he rolled them and pinned her down.
“Gotcha.” He grinned.
“I like it when you do that.”
“Beat you?”
“Smile.”
His smile softened, and he lowered his head and kissed her. A gentle kiss. Almost like he was scared to hurt her. His tongue slipped between her lips to taste her.
Too soon, he lifted his head and sighed. “We should go.”
“We should.” They needed to get back to the cabin. It was safe there. But right now, she didn’t want to move a muscle.
Zane started to rise and, as he did, she swung a leg around and got him on his back and quickly straddled him.
Her smile widened. “I win.” She lowered her head, hovering her mouth over his. “Now, we can go.”
He chuckled, and the sound was exactly what she’d been hoping to achieve.
When they stepped out of The Pit, the smile slipped from Zane’s face as reality slammed back into him. He scanned the street, searching for danger. For any signs of Monty.
His hand hovered over the Glock in his concealed holster as Bonnie exited the gym after him.
He locked the doors quickly. He didn’t like being out of the safe house.
But he’d needed to meet the guys and hadn’t wanted to take anyone to the cabin.
He trusted Bonnie’s family, but the fewer people who knew about it, the better.
And less chance for someone to follow a car there.
He slipped a hand to the small of Bonnie’s back and led her to his car, the night looking quiet.
When they were both in the vehicle, he glanced over at Bonnie to see her smiling.
It didn’t quite reach her eyes though. She’d been doing that a lot this last week.
Trying to be okay for him. Probably because he was doing a shit job at pretending nothing was wrong.
It was. As long as Monty was on the loose, nothing was okay.
“Have you heard from Stetson since the gym closed?” Bonnie asked, as he pulled onto the street.
They’d had to close the gym since the inmate escape. Most businesses had closed, actually. “A couple of texts here and there. I’m still paying him, so he’s probably enjoying his days off.”
She chuckled. “At least someone’s happy.”
He frowned into the rearview mirror before taking a right turn. “I don’t like that all this stuff with Monty has made us stop looking for the person who assaulted and harassed you.”
“Me neither. But maybe this has been a big enough distraction that they’ve dropped their vendetta against me.”
That would be too easy. Anyone who went so far as to cut the head off a fucking mouse and send it to her in a pizza box wouldn’t back off because of a distraction. The second this was over, Zane was shifting his attention back to finding the person.
He turned left, eyes narrowing on a car behind them. The same car that had been behind them since leaving The Pit.
He took another right.
A couple seconds later, the car appeared in his rearview mirror.
Bonnie frowned. “This isn’t the way back.”
“I need you to stay calm, okay?”
Immediately, she straightened. “Why?”
“We have a tail.”
“What?”
She was about to turn to look behind her, but he grabbed her arm. “Don’t. He’s keeping his distance right now. We don’t want that to change.”
He hit a key on his wheel and used the car Bluetooth to make a call.
Jesse answered immediately. “Everything okay?”
“I’m heading to the sheriff’s station. I have a tail.”
Jesse cursed. “What are the details?”
“Gray Charger. Tinted windows. About three hundred feet behind us.”
“Heading to the station now.” He ended the call.
“Zane.” Concern tinged Bonnie’s voice. And he fucking hated it. “Do you think it’s him?”
“More than likely. I need you to open the glove box for me.”
She did.
“At the back there’s a small pistol and a pocketknife. Put the pocketknife in your back pocket and just hold on to the pistol.”
Bonnie grabbed both and did as he said. But he didn’t miss the shake in her fingers. Fuck, he hated that she was with him.
Suddenly, the tail sped up.
Zane cursed, his own engine roaring as he pressed his foot to the floor.
He took a hard left. Bonnie gasped, and he grabbed her arm to keep her from hitting her side window.
“Hold on.” He forced the car faster, surging forward.
Bonnie twisted to look behind them. This time he didn’t stop her. “Shit. They’re getting close, Zane.”
He swerved to the other lane, overtaking a truck. Horns blared from oncoming traffic. Bonnie cried out, but he pulled back into their lane before a collision.
He took another right, but the tail stuck.
Fuck.
“If they box us in,” Zane said, words loud and hard, “shoot first, ask questions later. Got it?”
He shot her a glance to see a jerky nod.
Tires squealed as he cut into a small alley.
He looked at her again. She was pale. Too fucking pale. “You okay?”
“I’m scared for us.”
“We’re almost at the station.”
He pulled back onto the main street.
He checked the rearview mirror, then cursed before shouting, “Duck!”
“What—”
He shoved her head down as bullets peppered the glass at the back of the car.
Bonnie screamed.
He cursed again when the pop of a tire sounded.
Come on! Two more turns and he’d be there.
Bonnie sat up and twisted to look behind them. He’d just taken the first turn and pressed his foot back to the gas when they came out of nowhere—two cars, from streets on either side of them, perfectly timed.
Zane didn’t have time to do anything but place a hand on her chest.
“Watch out!”
The cars hit them hard.
Metal shattered. Glass burst around them, and he hit the deployed airbag hard before he jerked sideways.
His head snapped back once, twice. There was a flash of pain behind his eyes. The last thing he saw was Bonnie’s head crash against the side glass, then his world went black.