Page 48 of Ruthless Reign

“They want you scared,” Doc said, standing next to us. “I tried to talk reason into them, but they’re too pissed about everything. They want you to back down. They want you to step aside.”

Footsteps sounded from the woods to our right, and I grabbed my gun, holding it up just in case it was one of the traitors. When Selene appeared with her rifle in one hand, I lowered my pistol and took a deep breath.

“There’s ten of them, from what I can tell,” she said, “and another five guarding the house. We can surround it, take them out, and get inside.”

Thor nodded and kissed the side of her head.

“Alba and Julia?” I asked.

Selene took a deep breath and glanced at Thor. “We should move.”

That did nothing to alleviate my wrath. Whatever was going on in there would make me murderous, even more than I already was.

“Titan, take your guys around the house. Bring down anyone wearing a Hell’s Knights cut.” He nodded and stalked off to bark commands. “Copter, your guys are with me. We’re going in. Don’t kill any Roses if you can help it. You know how we handle traitors.”

A bullet to the head would be too clean, too easy. No, I would string them up by their insides and let them rot for days before I finally gave them release.

“You got it.” Copter turned to head toward his guys, currently parking their bikes behind the rest of the Madison Roses.

With KC at my side and the rest of my brothers behind us, we stalked the rest of the way to the house, aiming at the three Knights standing outside. I didn’t think, just reacted, firing at their heads, so they dropped to the ground. I stormed up the porch stairs and shot another Knight who tried to stop me. He managed to get off a round that clipped me in the shoulder, a fiery brand shooting down that side of my body, but I didn’t stop. Fueled by vengeance and the weight of this sudden affection for my wife, I entered my house like a demon, like I had the entire world behind me.

The scene inside would haunt me forever. Alba and Julia were on their knees with Stallion standing behind them. Reaper had been unbuttoning his pants when we walked in, and now stood with his fingers on his zipper, staring at us with that disgusting grin on his face.

Chaos erupted so fast, I could barely keep up with it. KC reacted first, firing at Reaper and hitting him in the leg. He went down as Stallion aimed at Julia’s head, but I was quicker. I hit him in the shoulder, knocking him back, making his gun go off straight at me instead. The bullet grazed my arm, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t care. I had to get to my wife.

Her wide, terrified eyes met mine, and she sobbed, maybe in relief, maybe in terror, and I rushed forward. More Knightscame around the corner, their guns raised, and I shifted to the side, nearly missing the rain of bullets that tore up my dining room and kitchen. KC ducked to the ground, hiding behind a side table as bits of drywall and furniture sprayed through the air.

Shattered glass rang out, and I winced as shards of the window hit me in the face, but the Knights tumbled over each other as Thor and Selene hit them from the outside. It cleared the way enough for KC, Leo, and me to rush into the living room and shoot the remaining Knights, huddled together in my hallway.

The rest of my brothers raided the house, Hollywood and Wheels taking off upstairs to make sure it was empty, and the sounds of “All clear” outside told me Titan had managed to get rid of anyone hiding in the woods.

Switch and Castor grabbed Stallion and hauled him upright while four of my other brothers detained Reaper and Lunchbox, but I couldn’t worry about that. The only thing I wanted, the only thing I needed, was my wife.

I rushed to her side and pulled the rag from her mouth before cutting the zip tie from her wrists.

“Roman,” she said on a cry, wrapping her arms around my neck. I lifted her with an arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders, holding her close to me while I sat on the couch so I could assess the damage.

“It’s all right, little wife,” I cooed, kissing her temple, her hair, her face, any skin I could touch. I needed to ground myself in her safety as much as she needed to know she was safe. “I’ve got you. Are you hurt?”

She trembled so hard, she couldn’t talk, only shook her head and sobbed. KC grabbed Alba and took her to the kitchen, likely to do the same thing I was doing with my old lady. And when Leo kneeled in front of us to put a hand on his sister, it tookeverything in me not to growl at him to get the fuck away. But he loved her, too, and he was her family, her blood.

“Mia sorella,”he said. “Tell me you’re okay. Tell me you’re not hurt.”

“Thank you for coming for me,” she managed to say. “Thank you for saving me.”

“I’ll always come for you,” I said, holding her tighter.

“This is a fucking mess,” Thor said, drawing my attention when he came into the room. “I’ll get the cleanup crew working on it, but Bear…you can’t stay here. There’s blood everywhere.”

“Come to my house,” Leo said, rising again. “There’s extra space, and we’ll need to talk about what to do next.”

I nodded and tried to stand with my wife, but in the wake of the attack, my wounds had caught up to me and I groaned before plopping back down on the couch again.

“You’re hurt,” Julia said, finally glancing up at me with red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks. “Oh my God. Help him!”

“Shh,” I said, pressing a tender kiss to her lips. “I’m okay. It’s just a scratch.”

It was a lot more than that. A bullet had gone through my shoulder and out the other side. Another had nearly hit me in the chest, making a huge gash that would likely need stitches. And my leg ached, meaning I’d at least been grazed in the thigh if not outright shot.

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