Page 49 of Rattler's Revelation
“Yesss,” she says, her teeth chattering with fear.
They used a rough rope to bind her hands to a hoop attached to the top of the pole. Her feet are similarly bound at the ankles. Rather than waste time untying the knots, I reach into my boot to yank out a blade. I slash the ropes and hand her the knife. “Get under the car and don’t hesitate to slash at anyone who tries to drag you out. What’s your name?”
“Dinara,” she sniffles.
“Okay, Dinara. I’ll come and get you when it’s safe. Don’t come out for anyone but me or someone wearing a leather vest, okay?”
She nods.
I cover her with my body as we race to my car. I crouch beside the car and wait for her to shimmy under. Taking a few minutes, I glance around the compound. Several of Wade’s men lay bleeding on the ground. Those still standing have taken defensive positions behind buildings and other objects as they scan the rocky area above the compound. I hear the roar of several motorcycles and know the cavalry is on the way. Rather than wait for them, I dash toward the building with bars on the windows. Bianca is inside, and I need to get to her.
Before I reach the door, Randy steps in front of me. My heart sinks when I see him raising a gun and firing. I jerk around and spot Billy on the ground behind me.
“Thanks,” I say when Randy lowers his gun.
“My pleasure,” Randy says. “We need to find the women.”
“I think they’re in here,” I say, kicking open the door and spinning away in case there is a trigger-happy guard inside. When no one shoots, I draw my weapon and rush inside. Randyis on my heels. The scene inside has me rocking back on my heels. “What the hell?”
“We could use some help,” Bianca says, gasping for air. She has her arm around the windpipe of a man as she and the other girls hold him prisoner. The man is spitting mad as he desperately tries to break free from their hold. “The keys are on the table.”
Randy grabs the guy and slams him to the floor, where he cuffs him. I rush to the table to snag the keys so I can open the cages and release the women. “Get down on the ground,” I order them. “You could get hit by a stray bullet. The battle outside isn’t over yet. So you need to stay in here.” Once I’ve unlocked all the doors, I turn in time to catch Bianca, who jumps into my arms.
“You came for us,” she says as she sobs.
“Of course we did,” I say, pulling back to stare into her beautiful face. Bianca’s body slams into mine when Randy traps Bianca between us. He shifts so he’s looking at me, and he mouths the words ‘I’m sorry’ before cupping the back of my head and planting a kiss on my lips.
“I should have known you’d turn into a fucking queer,” a voice snarls behind me. I stiffen and glance behind me to see Wade staggering through the door. “You couldn’t grow up to be anything else, not after what I did to you. How do you like his tight little ass? Although it isn’t as little as it used to be, is it? You fucking set me up. I may have lost everything, but I’m going to make sure you lose everything first.” I can’t reach my gun in time, so I stand between him and Bianca as I brace myself for the shot as Wade raises his weapon.
The gunshot rings out, but I don’t feel any pain. Instead, I watch Wade fall to the floor in a heap. I stare at the piece of garbage on the floor before looking outside for the shooter. However, the doorway is empty.
“Jesus, Bianca, what did you do?’ Randy asks, drawing my attention back to the two people I love the most. I take a step back and realize Bianca is holding my pistol. She must have pulled it from the waistband of my jeans and used it to shoot Wade.
“God, that felt good,” Bianca says. She looks at me as she hands the gun back. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to kill him.”
“As long as he’s dead, I don’t care,” I say, grinning as I take the gun away from her.
“I think the fighting is over,” Randy says, and I realize that the shooting has stopped.
“Let me go make sure,” I say, leaving Randy to protect Bianca while I move to the open door. Outside, I see Taylor and Puma standing nearby. “Finished?” I ask.
“Yeah, if the girls are inside,” Puma says with a nod toward me.
“They are. Wade’s inside. He’s dead.”
“Walt is dead, too,” Puma says.
“How did he escape?” I ask.
“Fucking, Jasmine,” Puma says with disgust. “Gramps found her locked in a cell when I asked him to check on how our prisoner escaped. Chill has some ideas on how to deal with her.”
That’s when I remember Dinara. Rushing forward, I kneel and peer under the car. “Dinara, you can come out now.”
The girl slides out from under the car, much to the surprise of Puma and Taylor. I hear a scream and turn around in time to see a pretty blonde throw herself into Taylor’s arms. He hugs her tight and buries his face in her hair. I’m guessing that is his Christine. Randy has an arm around Bianca as they walk toward us. Randy stops long enough to say something to Taylor before the two men shake hands. Bianca asks Randy a question. He leans over to whisper something to her. She snaps her eyes to me and then back to Randy. Randy shrugs.
“I see you made your choice,” Puma says when they reach us.
“I did. It was the only choice I could make,” Randy says, staring at me with longing and love.
