Page 121 of Ryder

“But killin’ you both will hurt your woman. That is before I fuck her stupid, then pass her around to some of my friends before I bury her, too. You’ll all be together, which is kinda nice of me, considerin’.”

Sick fuck.

“What you really want is for me to suffer,” I say. “But my son doesn’t deserve this. Deep down you know that. If you have any decency left inside you, you’ll leave him alone.”

“You think you’re runnin’ this show now?” Jarrell points the gun at me, getting more agitated by the minute.

“It’ll only be a matter of time before the MC find me, we both know that. Crystal would have already sounded the alarm. She’s not stupid, and there’s no doubt she would’ve tried to call me again. You’d be better off dumpin’ us and makin’ a run for it. The MC is comin’, no matter what you do. They’re probably surrounding us as we speak.”

He turns to look around, and I want to knock the gun from his hands but it’s too risky. Not with Ade in the car. We need to get out, and I’ll take the first opportunity I have.

It crosses my mind that if I do get shot, that leaves him alone with Ade, and that is not an option.

If I’ve ever believed in a higher power, now is the time I pray. I need a fucking miracle. Or the MC to get here pronto.

“Shut the fuck up!” Jarrell bellows.

“Daddy?” Aidan calls.Fuck.He’s being so quiet that it’s easy to forget that he’s even back there. I don’t want him to witness any more trauma, but this could be a way to get my gun.

I hold my hands out, palms facing him. “I need to get my kid.”

“Daddy, I need to pee,” Aidan whines.

I use my eyes to plead with the maniac next to me, giving him a muted glance. I want him to feel bad, and he's already questioning if he can hurt a child. Somewhere, somehow, I’m hoping that he’s got a conscience after all.

“Kid has to pee,” I interject. “Gonna let me get out?”

“If you pull a fast one?—”

“Won’t be doin’ that.” I don’t say anything about being unarmed; it might make him realize he hasn’t checked me for weapons. “Just need to get my kid outside.”

“Go slowly.” Jarrell jerks the gun, motioning to the back.

I continue to keep my eyes downcast, holding my hands out in surrender. “Gonna go nice and slow. I just want to hold my kid.”

“Any last words while you’re at it?” he sneers.

I want to tell him I’m happy I took Jimmy’s life. That I reveled in it. If I could do it all over again, I would. Except I’d take my time. Drag out his pain, really make him suffer. That would give me an immense amount of satisfaction. I know Ikilled him far too fast, and I regret that. After what he did to my baby, there was no going back.

I shake my head.

“Nothin’? That’s a pity.”

I give him a chin lift. “What were you in for?”

“Some dumb fuckin’ bitch accused me of rape. Spent eight years locked up. Not like that stupid slut didn’t deserve it.” Jarrell has the audacity to smirk.

I want to carve his eyeballs out of his sockets.

“You sound like a real stand-up guy,” I say. I reach for the door handle. “Lettin’ myself out now.”

“Keep your hands where I can see ’em!”

I wave my hands at him once I kick the door open, my heart racing so hard in my chest it might just jump on out.

I don’t know why he doesn’t follow me out. Instead, he stays in the driver's seat — which is not what I wanted. I wanted him to come around to my side of the truck so I had a few precious seconds to reach for my gun before he could see. Now I won’t be able to do that. Then again, once I get Ade out of the truck, surely he’ll get out himself. He’s either very fucking cocky and thinks we won’t try and run, or he really is fucked up.

My hand is on the handle of Aidan’s door and I pull it open, reaching for him as my eyes meet our captors. It’s then Jarrell decides to reach for his door handle, eyes still on me, and I have a two second window if I’m gonna pull this off. I unbuckle Aidan’s seatbelt as he reaches for me, then the asswipe is out of the truck, running around the front to our side. I reach under the seat, pulling my semi-automatic into my grip and flicking the safety off. “Cover your ears,” I warn Aidan, pushing him farther back along the backseat, covering him with my body as I face the door. And I’m firing.

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