Page 62 of Rooster

The others joined in, making it a full-on brawl. It was intense. The enforcer was on me like white on rice, hammering me with one blow after the next, but I held my ground. I took him punch for punch until Wrath came up and put his gun at the asshole’s temple, causing everything to still.

His brothers were going for their weapons when a round of gunfire exploded at our feet, causing all of us to withdraw and cease fighting. Disheveled and bloody, we all glanced up on the school roof and found Cotton and Grant staring down at us. Cotton still had his rifle aimed at the Reapers when he growled, “That’s enough.”

“Bunch of fucking pussies,” the enforcer barked. “You’re lucky I didn’t fucking kill each and every one of you.”

“I said that’s enough!” Cotton was his typical controlled self when he ordered, “Get your shit and get the fuck out of here.”

I could tell by looking at him that Cotton was on the brink, and I was right there with him. These assholes had crossed a line, but we weren’t in position to let our tempers get the best of us. We had a business deal to complete, and like it or not, it had to be done. That didn’t mean Cotton was going to take anymore bullshit off this asshole.

He was done.

A red dot from Cotton’s AR flickered on the enforcer’s chest as Cotton warned, “’Cause the next time I shoot, it won’t be at your fucking feet.”

“You got it, boss.”

With a sinister smile on his face, the enforcer gave the other three a nod, signaling them to get the crates from the back of my SUV. They didn’t even bother to open them and check them out. Instead, they just picked them up and carried them over to the trunk of their car.

Once everything was loaded, the enforcer stepped over to me and handed me an envelope. “Until next time.”

“There won’t be a next time,” Cotton announced.

“The fuck?”

“You heard me.” Cotton showed no emotion as he told him, “Tell Bauco that he’ll have to get his goods elsewhere.”

“You don’t want to do that.”

“It’s done.”

“This isn’t over.”

“Oh, it was over the second you started running your fucking mouth.”

The enforcer glared at him, then shook his head and started over to his Camaro. He was about to get inside when he stopped and looked up at Cotton. “I hope you know, you and your boys are as good as dead.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Cotton lifted his rifle and pulled the trigger, shooting the Reaper’s enforcer right in the head. The second his body hit the ground, a fury of gunfire erupted around us, and chaos ensued.

We darted behind my SUV and used it for cover as we returned fire. Cotton and Grant continued to shoot overhead, and it wasn’t long before the man next to the first car had been taken out. I was doing my damnedest to do the same with the men in the second car when I heard Chains shout, “Fuck.”

A hard thud followed, and I quickly turned to see him on the ground with blood rushing from his throat. He was clutching his neck, trying in vain to stop the bleeding, and I had no idea what to do to help him. Guilt washed over me as I quickly ripped the sleeve from my t-shirt and pressed it against the wound. “I got ya. I’m right here. I need you to hold on.”

“It’s bad,” he muttered.

“Nah, it’s just a graze,” I lied. “I’m sorry, brother. This shit’s on me. I shouldn’t have lost my cool. It’s my fault...”

“No,” he mumbled. “Not... on... you.”

His eyelids started to grow heavy, and I knew we were losing him. With bullets still flying overhead, Q knelt beside me and said, “He’s right. Those assholes came here looking for a fight, and they found it.”

“But...”

“I mean it, brother. It’s on all of us.” Q glanced down at Chains as he said, “We need to get him to Doc.”

“We don’t have that kind of time.”

The words had barely left my mouth when the shooting suddenly stopped, and silence fell over us. I could hear my brother’s footsteps as they trudged through the gravel, and as soon as they approached, Torch grimaced and asked, “How bad is it?”

“It’s pretty fucking bad,” I answered. “He’s lost a lot of blood.”

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