Page 199 of Where Broken Wings Fly

“If you dare to step foot in Briar Valley or threaten my girl again, this will be your fate, you son of a fucking bitch. Listen well.”

The blast of a shot nearly bursts my eardrums. I scream out, clutching my head. The fired bullet slices through the air and sails straight into Mason’s left-hand bodyguard.

It suckers him in the stomach, and he falls, tumbling backwards down the porch steps to hit the ground with a thud. His wails reverberate around us, and he tries to stem the bleeding from his torso with two red-stained hands.

“Does that hurt, you bastard?” Killian hisses.

Mason and his one remaining crony take a step back. I don’t think either of them expected our defiance. The brute on Mason’s right side rests a hand on his weapon.

“Your girl?” Mr Sanchez utters.

“Damn fucking straight, she is. You won’t ever touch her again. Show your face in Briar Valley and I’ll take great pleasure in killing you myself.”

“You think I’m afraid of some stupid British cunt?”

Killian’s laugh is hard as nails. “You should be.”

“I have the resources to wipe this place off the face of the earth. Don’t think that I won’t do it. I want my wife and daughter back. Now.”

“They don’t belong to you anymore,” Zach speaks up. “Willow is ours.”

“Don’t you know who I am?” Mr Sanchez blusters. “No? You will soon enough. I’ll burn your pathetic town to the ground to take them back if I have to.”

Movement in the nearby tree line catches my eye. There’s a flash of clothing and dark hair, then long legs racing across the clearing to reach us. Ryder moves fast, closely flanked by his uncle.

They’re at the bottom of the porch steps before Mason can register them, both of their hunting rifles raised. The pair slowly advance up the stairs to bring our intruders into point blank range.

“Don’t move,” Albie warns, the barrel of his gun nudging Mason’s head. “I’ll blow your goddamn brains out and ensure the police never find your body.”

“Friends of yours, Mrs Sanchez?” Mason laughs.

Ryder’s teeth are bared, his gun in place. “You’re both trespassing. Leave our property or say your goodbyes. Choose.”

“You folk have real balls,” Mason replies, despite the gun at his head. “I think I like it out here. It’ll make demolishing your land even more satisfying.”

“I’ll die before letting you demolish my land.” Lola has stepped forward and narrows her eyes on him. “Clear out. Final warning. We are permitted to use force.”

I almost sag from a wave of relief as Rachel and Miranda desperately wave at us from across the clearing. Between them, sobbing and wide-eyed, Arianna is sucking her thumb. Harold stands at her side, his rifle tucked away.

He found her.

She’s safe.

“Get these sons of a bitches off my land,” Killian barks. “Show your faces again and I’ll put bullets in them. Welcome to Briar fucking Valley.”

Ryder and Albie grab their targets and walk them away from the cabin, smashing their rifles into their heads to drive the threat home. Mason doesn’t give a fuck. He’s still laughing under his breath at the whole thing.

“This isn’t over, Willow!” he yells back.

The phone is still clenched in Killian’s hand. Mr Sanchez’s voice crackles back to life, his amused cackle setting off explosions of pain in my head. It’s too much to bear.

“Hell of a show. Pack your things, wife. I’m coming for you.”

Silencing his rambling, Killian drops the phone and swiftly crushes it beneath his boot with a loud crunch. I gawk down at the shards of smashed plastic and glass. Mr Sanchez’s threat is still ringing in my ears.

“Ryder,” Lola shouts. “Get this snivelling weasel off my lawn!”

With Mason escorted back into the passenger seat of his SUV, parked in Lola’s garden and ruining her flowerbeds, Ryder returns for the final asshole. Killian has to assist, the pair of them dragging his semi-conscious hide to the car.

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