Page 5 of Viper's Salvation
"I'm so sorry," I whisper, gripping her hands tightly. "Kelly, I'm so, so sorry."
She shakes her head fiercely. "Not now. We'll talk later, when we're safe."
Blade checks around the corner. "We're clear to the gate. Once we're through, the bikes are about a quarter mile down the road. We run straight there, no stopping. Understand?"
We both nod, and then we're moving again, sprinting across the open ground toward the gate. My lungs burn, and my legs feel like they might give out at any moment, but the sight of freedom just ahead keeps me going.
An explosion rocks the compound behind us, and I risk a glance back. The building where I was held is now engulfed in flames, thick black smoke billowing into the morning sky. Somewhere in that chaos is Viper, the biker with the intense eyes who killed Mike without hesitation, who looked at me like he could see straight through to my soul.
We reach the gate, and Blade ushers us through, keeping his weapon trained on the compound. "Almost there," he says. "Just a little further."
My mind races as we run down the road. Outlaw Order? Kelly seems to trust them, but they’re the Vultures’ enemies. Dangerous bikers, criminals, vigilantes. The kind of men I would have crossed the street to avoid before all this.
But they came for us. For Kelly. For me. And Viper...
"There!" Kelly points ahead to where several motorcycles are partially hidden among the trees.
As we reach them, I finally allow myself to believe we might actually escape. Blade guides us to a spot between the bikes, checking around us before lowering his weapon.
"We wait here for the others," he says, eyes constantly scanning our surroundings. "They shouldn't be far behind."
Kelly sinks to the ground, exhaustion finally catching up with her. I join her, wincing as my battered body protests the movement. For a moment, we just sit there, breathing, existing, free.
"How did you find them?" I finally ask, nodding toward Blade who stands guard a few feet away.
Kelly's expression softens.
"I didn't. He found me." She glances at Blade with something I haven't seen in her eyes before. "I was running, barefoot in a wedding dress, and he just... appeared. Like some dark guardian angel."
I take her hand, squeezing gently. "I thought you were dead," I admit, my voice breaking. "When you ran and they couldn't find you... Mike was so angry. I thought for sure they'd caught you and..."
"I wanted to come back for you," she whispers fiercely. "The moment I reached safety, I wanted to turn around. But Blade wouldn't let me. He said it would be suicide."
"He was right." I look at the biker standing guard, reassessing him. "They all came for me because of you?"
Kelly nods. "The whole club. When I told them about you, about the compound..."
"Thank you," I say, my throat tight with emotion. "For not giving up on me."
She looks at me like I've said something absurd. "You're my sister. I'd never give up on you." Her expression hardens. "Even when you were being an idiot about the Vultures MC."
I flinch, the guilt washing over me anew. "I really thought they were legitimate. That Daniel was—"
"A good guy?" she finishes, her tone gentler than I deserve. "I know. You wanted to believe someone finally saw value in us. In you." She squeezes my hand. "But Amy, we've always had value. Even when nobody else could see it."
Tears spill down my cheeks, stinging where they touch my cuts. "I put you in danger. I practically delivered you to them."
"Look at you. You took beatings meant for me. And you always made sure I got the better food, the safer assignments." She touches my bruised face gently. "I saw what you did, Amy. All of it."
Another explosion from the compound interrupts us, larger than the first. Blade tenses, his hand going to his weapon.
"That wasn't planned," he mutters, more to himself than to us.
"What's happening in there?" I ask, pushing myself to my feet despite the pain.
Blade's expression is grim. "War."
Kelly stands beside me, her arm slipping around my waist to support me. "Will they be okay?" she asks Blade.
