Page 114 of Dublin Beast

Kieran’s voice crackles in my ear through the comms in my helmet. “Backyards are clear on Green and Birch. Nothing.”

“I’ve got nothing either,” I grit out. “Keep going.”

It’s getting darker by the minute. Soon the streetlights and house lights will be the only way to see anything. I’m torn about that. The cover of night will be better for her but worse for us.

I glare into the shadows, the houses crowding in tighter, offering up nothing. We fly past trimmed hedges and wheelie bins, barking dogs, and the low hum of suburbia rising from the shock of our presence.

And then?—

Gunfire.

Two, maybe three shots, sharp and close—just a few streets over.

Brendan swears and I throttle down hard, the engine screaming as I surge forward, wind slapping at my face,rageboiling through my blood.

“Who’s got her?” I snarl.“Talk to me!”

I take the turn so fast my boot kisses pavement, and the world narrows to a single, burning thought:

I’m coming, trouble.

Hold on.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE

Harper

I’m hiding behind a compost bin in someone’s backyard, praying to every god I’ve never believed in.

The pain in my leg is sharp and pulsing—somewhere between a twist and a deep bruise from when I tripped scaling the fence and slammed into the edge of the raised flower bed.

I can’t run anymore.

The cold earth soaks through my jeans, and the sharp scent of fertilizer and wet leaves clings to my skin. I’ve got Eddie’s gun gripped so tight my fingers are going numb, and my breath is loud—too loud—in my ears.

A minute ago, I fired two shots to back down Eddie’s men, and I don’t know if that was smart or suicidal. It gave me a little space, but it won’t hold them off forever.

And now I have two less bullets.

They’re out there. Ihearthem in the darkness. Their boots crunch over the brittle, November grass as muttered curses edge closer.

I’m shaking, scared that if I move even an inch, they’ll hear. My body aches—from fear, the fall, adrenaline—it’s impossible to know. My arms are sore from climbing, my knee is swelling, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to get up when they find me.

And theywillfind me.

I shiver. My shirt is still soaked through with Eddie’s blood. It was warm when I jumped off the balcony but is icy against my skin now.

I press my back to the bin and blink hard at the shadows all around me.Don’t cry. Don’t give up. Not yet.

He could still find me.Please, Bryan. Please find me.

And then—I hear it.

The deep, rolling thunder of motorcycle engines. They’re loud and close. And there are a lot of them.

My breath hitches.

It’s him. It has to be him. Bryan… and the Devils.

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