Page 32 of Double the Dilemma

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Razor bolted upright at the sound on his door, instinctively reaching for his gun on the nightstand, even as Karissa was already rolling from the bed to land in a crouch on the other side. “Get your asses up and downstairs,” Fury barked through the door. “We got a problem.” Then there was only the sound of retreating footsteps as Razor hurried to put on his clothes and cut. He glanced over at Karissa, whose hair was tousled and her face flushed from sleep, even as her eyes were sharp and focused as she pulled on her clothes.

“What the hell do you think is going on?” Karissa asked huskily before clearing her throat as they headed for the door.

“No idea, but for Fury to be telling us to get up, it can’t be good,” he replied grimly. Before he opened the door, he turned, ripped open the top drawer of the desk and pulled out the gun he stashed there on the underside of the desk. He handed it to Karissa without a word, and she gave him a grateful smile as she took it, checked that it was loaded, and put it in her waistband.

They hurried out of the room and down the stairs. When they reached the common room, Razor looked around and spotted everyone on the front porch. They hurried out, and it was then he realized two things.

One, all of his brothers had their guns drawn, pointing toward something on the road. Two, when he stepped forward, he stiffened when he saw that not only was Tom on his knees with his hands tied behind his back, but behind him were a group of eight men, all wearing cuts that declared them as the Predators MC, and they were all heavily armed. What was more surprising, however, was Karissa’s loud curse and then her shoving past him.

He grabbed her arm and hauled her back. “What the hell is going on?” he barked, looking around at his brothers who were all watching the other men with hard eyes, ready to fire at any moment.

“Razor, let me go,” Karissa hissed at him. “They’re here for me.”

He startled at her words. “What the hell do you mean, they’re here for you?” he demanded, looking down at her with a frown.

Before she could answer, a deep voice said, “Exactly as she said. So I suggest you let her go, or we’re going to have a problem.” His tone had been calm, but Razor felt a shiver move down his spine. This man was dangerous. He turned and stared at the man behind Tom. The man held his gaze with cool dark eyes, his hand still rock steady on the gun pointed at Tom’s head.

“She’s not going anywhere,” Savage said coldly.

“Oh jeez,” Karissa muttered.

“Xena,” the man said, looking straight at Karissa. Razor let out a low snarl, not liking this one bit. How did this guy know Karissa? Why was he calling her Xena? And more importantly, what did he want from her?

“What the fuck do you want?” Savage barked. “You’re damn lucky I’m even giving you the courtesy of talking and not shooting you.”

“Oh my God,” Karissa barked, shoving away from Razor, who tried again to grab her. She stepped out of reach and glared at him. “Razor, you said you wanted me to trust you, and now it’s your turn to do the same,” she snapped at him. Razor glared at her, pissed she was throwing his words back at him. Karissa turned and said to Savage, “Tell everyone to lower their weapons. They’re friendlies.”

“Certainly don’t look friendly to me,” Rogue said dangerously. “Or did you miss the part where they currently have a gun to our Prospect’s head?”

Karissa huffed and hollered to the other man, “Stop being an idiot and let the kid go. Then we can talk this out like reasonable adults.”

“But shooting people is so much more fun,” the man deadpanned, pressing the gun tighter to Tom’s head.

The tension ratcheted up and Razor brought his gun up too. “Karissa, what the fuck is going on?” he demanded, turning to look at her.

“I’d like to fucking know too,” Savage snarled.

“What’s going on is that you’re all acting like a bunch of assholes. Would you all just stand down and I’ll tell you? The last thing I need is to be shot by someone when I have bigger shit to worry about,” she replied.

“Not until they lower their guns and let Tom go,” Fury told her.

“We won’t be lowering ours until we know Xena is safe and here of her own free will,” the man replied evenly.

“Why the hell is he calling you Xena?” Razor asked Karissa.

She didn’t answer him. “I’m about to put a bullet in some male asses myself,” she snapped. “Zeus, if you don’t put that gun down and let the kid go, I’ll be the one shooting you, and we both know I won’t miss. Savage, tell everyone else to put their guns down and then I’ll explain. And if none of you do, I’ll be forced to get mean, and we all know that would not be pretty.”

“Only if you tell me you’re alright,” the man, Zeus, said.

Karissa gave him an exasperated look. “I spent the night being sexed into a coma, so what do you think?” she said drily. “Need me to show you the bruises on my hips and handprints on my ass to prove it?”

The man’s expression never changed, but he did sigh and lower his gun, causing the other men to as well. “You always were a sassy bitch, Xena,” he grumbled. He looked at Savage. “We’ll put away our weapons, and then I want some answers.” Savage said nothing, and no one moved until he nodded stiffly. Razor lowered his gun along with the rest of his brothers, but he was more confused and pissed than ever before. Zeus grabbed Tom by the arm, stood him up, purposely keeping him in front of him as he cut off the zip-tie around his wrists, and then shoved him forward. Tom stumbled slightly, but walked stiffly away. His eyes were cold and angry, and Razor figured that it was taking a lot of his self-control to not turn around and take a swing at the other man.

“Finally,” Karissa sighed. “Now, can we all play nice while I explain and then apologize? Or is that too much to ask?”

“Of course not,” Esme’s voice said loudly behind them, and Fury let out a curse as he spun around, as did Karissa. Esme stood behind them all with Royal, Harlow, Scarlett, Wren, and Win, and they were all looking at the newcomers with interest. Especially Wren and Win, and the wicked glint in their eyes made Razor wary. “Gentlemen, come on in,” Esme called.

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