Page 55 of Sniper

Ethan vibrated with anger, but he had a choice to make, make her suffer or make her his.

“So that’s it,” I said. “You’re not gonna fight? You’re just giving up and going back?”

Ethan howled at those words. “Don’t be a poor sport, she’s saving your life.” He removed my gun from the holster.“Just so you don’t go getting any dumb fuckin’ ideas. Go!” He gave me a shove, but the asshole was a pipsqueak, and I didn’t move an inch.

I stood taller and walked towards Katey, debating whether I could scoop her up into my arms and run before Ethan squeezed off a bullet. Katey shook her head as if she knew what I was thinking, but her blue eyes never met mine. She ignored me like I didn’t fuckin’ exist, when she had just told Ethan she loved me. “Katey,” I whispered.

She walked past me, and I was frozen, unsure what to do. She was giving herself up for me, which didn’t sit right with me. I hated this shit.

Suddenly, two gunshots rang out and I spun around as one of the bullets grazed my right arm. Warm blood oozed down my bicep, but my focus was on her. “Katey!”

But there was no need to worry about her because she stood over Ethan’s lifeless body with the gun I gifted her, clutched in her hands. “Katey.” I went to her and put my hands to her shoulders.

She gasped and spun, the gun aimed at me. Realizing, she lowered her aim and gasped. “Sniper, are you okay?” Her blue eyes scanned my face and then my chest and stomach before she spotted the red staining my white t-shirt. “You got shot.”

“It’s just a flesh wound,” I brushed it off.

She glared at me. “Flesh wounds can still get infected. Come on.” She pulled me forward, but I tugged her back. “What?”

I turned to Ethan’s body. His eyes were wide open and a large, red stain bloomed from his chest. “You killed him.”

“I did,” she replied, her voice shaky with unshed tears.

“I knew you could do it.” I damn well knew she could, hell I told her she could. “And you did.”

She managed a grin that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

I wrapped my non-injured arm around her. “You’re in shock right now. Let’s get you back home.” Because that’s what the clubhouse was, for both of us.

Even if she hadn’t realized it yet.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Katey

Sniper got shot and it was all my fault. That thought roared through my veins as I pulled a t-shirt out of my bag, tore it into two pieces and tightened it around his arm. He was mostly right, it was a little deeper than he thought, but it wouldn’t leave any significant damage once it was fixed up. His arm was flung around me while I walked us back to his bike. “Shit, I’m sorry,” I whispered as I shoved one bag into the side storage area and put the backpack on.

“Stop apologizing,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m fine.”

“You’re shot,” I snapped and checked his wound again. “Can you even maneuver this thing?” I motioned to the motorcycle, angry and annoyed and filled with guilt.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

“You said that already.” I handed him the helmet and he shook his head. “Put it on.” His green gaze pierced my determined armor.

“Fine.” The ride back to Steel City was too short for me to get my emotions under control. Ethan shot him, goddammit. I should’ve known better than to trust him and the minute I walked past Sniper I should have shot him. I planned to but Ethan drew his weapon faster.

Only because I didn’t want Sniper to do anything to stop me.

I knew if he had an inkling of what I was thinking, he would’ve intervened in some way and this was my battle. Not his. Guilt pressed down on my chest so heavy I was sure it would suffocate me. Blood dripped through the makeshift bandage onto my forearm, a clear reminder of how much my presence in his life had made things worse. For him and his club. I should have felt a sense of relief now that Ethan was dead, but that relief never came. I knew I wasn’t free yet, not while the men he worked for were still alive.

As we pulled into the Steel Demons clubhouse, I put together a plan of action that started with the wound on Sniper’s arm. The bullet had sliced through the skin, as far as I could tell it had missed the tendons and only grazed the muscles, which meant he should be just fine.

The motorcycle came to a stop and the next few minutes passed in a blur. “What the fuck were you thinking?” Diesel shouted seconds after the front door smacked open and what felt like one hundred bikers tumbled out.

“I found her,” he answered, a hint of amusement mixed in with his anguish.

“You could have also found her with one of us with you, asshole.” Rebel gently moved me out of the way and hooked Sniper’s arm over his shoulder to help him inside. “You got her, and you got a bullet for being a dumbass.”

---