Page 122 of Ryder

Two consecutive bullets hit Jarrell in the shoulder, the gun falling from his hand. The shock on his face is enough to make me smile, but I’m not out of the woods yet.

I fire again, and this time it hits him in the throat. Blood splatters everywhere as his hands clutch his throat.

“Stay here,” I tell Aidan. “Don’t come out till Daddy comes back.”

I don’t take my eyes off Jarrell, but I can hear my child’s cries. I can’t let him see me do this, and hopefully my body covered up most of what I just did.

I step out of the truck, slamming the door behind me. I kick Jarrell’s gun away, just in case he has a second wind, but judging by the way he drops to his knees, his eyes bulging out of their sockets, he won’t be getting up anytime soon.

Then I hear it; the sound of straight pipes. A lot of straight pipes.

I hold my gun at his head as he gasps for air, blood escaping from the giant hole in his neck. “Any last words?” I sneer.

He opens his mouth, but no sound comes out.

“This isn’t just for me, or my son. It’s for my wife, who your brother tried to fuck up. I hope you join him in hell, because there ain’t no place for you on earth anymore.” I aim it at his head and pull the trigger.

I close my eyes as he falls backward, landing at a weird angle on the ground. And it’s over. I pick up the gun he dropped, checking to see if it’s loaded, which it is. I switch the safety on, shoving it into the back of my jeans.

Then I turn toward the truck, reaching for the door as I swing it open. My child is curled up in a ball, with his little headset on, singing one of his favorite tunes. That right there breaks my heart. He fucking did this.

I pull him into my arms and his eyes shoot open. “Daddy!” I hug him tight, pulling his earphones off.

“It’s over.”

“I’m scared,” he stammers.

“Nothin’ to be scared about. The bad man is gone, okay? The club are here. Can you hear the engines?”

He nods, and I close my eyes as I hold him to my chest. I kiss his head. “I’ll never let anythin’ hurt you. Nobody will ever hurt you,” I tell him over and over.

He’s shaking, but his tears have stopped.

A few seconds later, the passenger door is opening and I’m staring at Harlem. “Holy shit,” he says. “Anybody else here we need to worry about?”

I shake my head. “Only one, behind me, and he’s dealt with.”

He nods. “Got it. Crystal’s in Casey’s truck, they’re comin’ now.” Before I have the chance to ask how that happened, he goes on. “Couldn’t stop ’em. They came with Pipes.”

I swallow hard. “Need to take him away so he doesn’t see what’s behind me.”

Harlem nods.

I pull Ade back. “You’re gonna go with Uncle Harlem to see Mommy while Daddy takes care of things here, okay?”

He nods. My little guy, always trying to be brave. I scoot him over towards Harlem who scoops him up into his arms. “Hey, bud. Mommy’s right behind us in your aunt’s truck,” I hear him say. “I bet you were a big brave boy for Daddy, weren’t you?”

I don’t hear Aidan’s reply, because behind me there’s a commotion. As I turn, I see Rock, Hawk, Riot, Bronco, Priest and Nevada all assessing the scene behind me, guns drawn.

“Fuck,” Riot says. “That looks exactly like?—”

“Jimmy,” I finish. “It’s his twin brother.”

“Holy shit,” from Nevada.

“He carjacked me. Wanted revenge for what I did to his brother.”

Hawk gives me a chin lift. “You had a piece on you?”

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