Page 148 of Live for Me

And it was followed up with no reaction at all from the man who was hiding. Jersey stood perfectly upright in disbelief himself.

“Did you…miss?” I asked and almost choked on that attempt not to laugh. “Might be losing a step in your advanced age, man. Want me to do it?”

“I haven’t lost shit,” he hissed. “I just look before I take those steps these days, slick.”

“So, what? You missedon purpose?” I asked and absolutely laughed that time.

That laugh gave us away, and the gunfire started again with tiny chunks of the wood siding flying as they hit the shed next to us.

“Just get down before you get dead,” he snapped. “I don’t want to have to explain to Memphis that we both made it in and back out alright just for me to have to break you face as soon as we were safe.”

“She does love my face.”

“Kid. I swear to god.”

He waited for their shooting to die down another time. At this point, we were all pinned down right where we were again with Kyle watching from the house to prevent them from moving and them knowing where we were to keep us from moving.

“I need constant cover fire,” Jersey said. “I’m just going to rush him. We can get in to the garage from that side. We’ll still have to deal with the other two if we don’t spot them on the way in. But we just need to get ours out before the house collapses.”

He waited for Kyle’s rifle to make itself known again before he just stepped out from behind the shed like he didn’t have a care in the world. I jumped out to fall in step right behind him. Memphis might not forgive him if he actually busted my face, but she would absolutely hate me if I let that giant asshole get killed out here tonight.

New Jersey had the man in front of us gunned down before he ever saw either of us coming. And instinct dropped us both into atake fucking covercrouch at the sound of another unexpected rifle shot from the house. The body that thudded to the ground behind us had both of us instantly a little more concerned about who we might be up against if neither of us realized he was there. Jersey offered a gracious head nod toward whichever second story window Kyle had decided to call home.

“One left out here somewhere,” he said. “Everybody needs to be aware of that when we’re trying to get back out.”

CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

utah

“Have to get Kyle down quick,” Jersey said as soon as we made it through the garage and to the door that would lead us into the kitchen. “He’s already been up there too long.”

Somehow, the house being on fire had settled in the back of my mind as a secondary issue to just getting the murderous crowd around Indy taking care of. Kyle had been upstairs all that time keeping an eye on the two of us with smoke rising from the fire that had nearly engulfed the first floor.

Said fire had taken over the doorway that would get us from the kitchen to the rest of the house. We both moved for the dining table that sat off to the side at the same time. Jersey grabbed one end and I the other. We flipped it and forced it through the doorway with the tabletop down so we could get across the fire like crossing a bridge.

Dandy met us on the other side of the table in an instant and I could feel New Jersey’s anxiety level hit the fucking roof at the sight of the dog without Kyle.

“Where is he?” he asked…the dog?

Just for that dog to blow my fucking mind when it took New Jersey’s shirt sleeve in its mouth and started to actually lead the fucking way. Everybody jumped when Indy popped up right beside us in the doorway of Memphis’ bedroom.

“Fucking hell,” Jersey hissed. “You about got shot.”

“Oh, um. This might not be the best time, but guys, this is Nevada,” Indy said.

“Shit,” came out of my mouth involuntarily when I forced my body past Jersey to be able to stand between him and the other two as Nevada stepped into sight through the smoke.

“Why is she alive?” Jersey asked. “Toss her in the fire.”

“Maybe just go get your friend,” I said and tried to keep pushing him to just follow the fucking dog. “Why is the dog the only other creature in this house making any sense right now?”

I could hear Kyle coughing in the distance so at least the man was still alive. And it was enough to actually draw Jersey’s attention back to that task.

“You two problems,” I said and pointed back and forth between Indy and Nevada. “With me.”

I turned back for the kitchen just to watch part of the ceiling collapse into the fire and block every bit of that path back out of the house.

“Hoss,” Indy said from behind me while I looked from window to window trying to decide our next best option. He handed me the radio for my ear and it went straight into my ear without another word.

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