Page 81 of Nitro

“No fucking clue.” I shake my head. “Where the fuck is Tucker?”

“There’s no trace of him. Let me see if he ever responded to my text.” Scar hands the binoculars back to me. He pulls his phone out. Nothing.

“Hey! Over here!” Tucker pops up from behind some bushes halfway between us and the cabin.

“What the fuck is he doing?” I ask.

“Bait.”

“That kid’s got balls.”

“Let’s make sure he keeps them.” Scar motions for me to circle around through the trees. “We need to get behind the cabin.”

“Talon and Reaper are already there. I say we take Polson out as soon as he opens the door.”

“He’s not going to do it. He’s too much of a pussy to confront us directly. There’s no way he’ll risk his own ass.”

We watch as Tucker holds his hands up. He walks toward the door. “I just want to talk to you.”

“He’s going to get himself killed.” Scar shakes his head.

“But look, he’s distracting Polson.”

“Did you see movement in the kitchen?” Scar grabs the binoculars to look. “I thought I saw something.”

“Let’s go around the back.”

“You go. I’m not going to let this prospect get killed. He’s a fucking fool, but he’s got what it takes to be part of the club.”

“No common sense and a death wish?” I ask sarcastically.

“Exactly.” Scar smirks.

I shake my head as I weave through the trees. When I get to the other side of the cabin, Reaper and Talon aren’t there.

“Where the hell are they?” I whisper under my breath.

A shadow passes across the kitchen window. Someone’s inside. I run up to the log wall and keep my body clear of the windows. Searching for how they got in, I find a door cracked open. I carefully push it in enough to see inside. Reaper and Talon are crouched behind the kitchen counter. They glance back at me and motion for me to join them. I slide through the door, then crabwalk across the tile.

Polson’s standing by the front door. It’s still closed, so he has to shout to be heard outside. “Who the fuck are you? One of those biker thugs? Tell Nitro I’m getting my wife back. We’re going to make things work.”

Reaper shoots a questioning glance at me. I shake my head no because there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell she’s going back to him. Maybe she told him that so he wouldn’t kill her. I don’t know her reasoning or if she even said that to him, but it doesn’t matter. That shit isn’t happening as long as I’m still alive.

I try to get a bead on Polson. He’s flapping around like a goddamn chicken, spouting all kinds of bullshit. The interesting thing is that he hasn’t tried to shoot Tucker. Polson’s got a gun, but has he ever actually shot someone? A lot of people think they can do it when the time comes, but taking a life isn’t a small thing. I’ve done it plenty of times to people who deserved to die. My guess is that Polson’s never shot it outside of a nice, air-conditioned shooting range.

I consider the possibility that Polson won’t shoot me if I pop up and nail him first. He’ll be too surprised to act quickly. Even if he does manage to get a shot off, his aim won’t be good if he’s got his back to me and has to turn around.

As I peek over the counter, Holly’s head turns toward me. Her eyes go huge for a second before she’s able to get her reaction under control. She glances from me to Polson and then back again. I know she’s asking me to shoot him, but I can’t fuck this up. Normally, I’d be reckless and just take the fucking shot. But I’ve seen that approach fail. I can’t screw this up. Her life depends on it. Mine too, but I don’t care as much about that. She’s my main focus. She’s my everything. If she dies, I die.

A fist-sized rock crashes through the front window. Polson ducks, holding his hands over his head, cowering like a little bitch. He doesn’t even try to shoot Tucker. I knew he was a pussy. This is it. It’s a calculated risk, but I’m taking it.

I jump out from behind the counter, but Polson happens to turn toward me at the same time.

“What the fuck?” He whips his pistol up, training it on me.

“Nitro, no!” Holly screams.

“Put the gun down.” I point my gun at his evil, twisted heart.

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