Page 51 of Archer (Dirty Misfits MC 3)
And to my horror, I watched Josie dash back into the club.
“No!” I exclaimed breathlessly.
I sprinted over to the group of girls as a woman with dark skin, black hair, and bright blue eyes started addressing the small group of girls that hadn’t followed Josie back into the club.
And when I came to a grinding halt, my question fell breathlessly from my lips.
“What the fuck is going on?”
The black-haired girl looked me up and down. “And who the fuck are you?”
I drew in a deep breath, trying to settle my heart rate. Damn it, I needed to do more cardio.
“I’m Archer. Where’s Josie?”
The girl gawked. “Oh, shit. She was talkin’ ‘bout having to call you or some shit. She just ran back inside for some dude.”
“Cole?”
She nodded. “Yeah, that was the name. The three of you related or some shit?”
I cleared my throat. “Or some shit. What are you guys doing out here?”
She snickered. “Trying to outrun the gunfire.”
I paused. “Wait, shots were popped off?”
The girl held out her hand. “I’m Summer. I’ve worked here with Josie for a couple of years or so now.”
I shook her hand. “Nice to meet you. Any idea where Josie was going when she rushed back in?”
She shrugged. “My guess? The dressing room. She’s a smart girl, so she’s probably rifling through our shit to find a weapon.”
One of the other girls spoke up. “Wait, she’s doing what?”
Summer shot her a look before she turned her attention back to me. “Anyway, yeah, there were gunshots. I heard Josie yelling for help down one of the hallways and some asshole had her pinned to the wall. He was, literally, damn near ready to rape the poor girl. I tackled him to the ground and we fought the guys off to get out here.”
My vision dripped with red, but I was still impressed. “Are any of you hurt? Is Josie hurt?”
Summer giggled. “She’ll have a fuckin’ bruise the size of Texas around her neck tomorrow, but other than that we’re good.”
Relief washed through my veins. “Don’t go back inside. I’m going to go find Cole and Josie and get them out—”
The vibrating against my thigh stopped me in my tracks and I ripped out my phone. And I didn’t even have to look at it to know who was calling me.
“Josie! Where are you?” I asked.
She sniffled and cleared her throat. “In the dressing room. I got a baseball bat and I’m about to go find Cole. He’s in rough shape.”
I turned my back on the girls. “Don’t you dare. I’m here. I’ll take care of it.”
She paused. “Wait, you’re what?”
Summer talked over my shoulder. “Ya man’s out back with us, pretty girl! Come get ‘im!”
But she wouldn’t relent. “I have to find Cole. He didn’t leave me behind. He was the reason Summer and I were able to escape. He started firing shots. For all I know, he’s hurt somewhere.”
I growled as I charged the back door. “Then let me find him. Josie, this isn’t the time to play hero. These men will rape you and kill you without a second thought. You’ve already figured that out twice. Can’t you just listen for once and not try to get yourself killed? Doesn’t how I feel mean anything to you?”
That got her attention. “Promise me you’ll find Cole.”
I reached for the doorknob of the door. “I promise. Now, get your ass back out—”
Just as I went to open the door, a body tumbled through the doorway. Cole thudded loudly at my feet and the girls scrambled to get him up out of the muddy waters he fell face first into.
“What was that?” Josie asked.
I bent down and helped them heave Cole to his feet. “We’ve got Cole. He stumbled out back.”
“Josie. Where are you?” Cole murmured.
I shoved my shoulder into his chest and held him up in his feet. “She’s fine. She’s coming out back right now. Aren’t you, Josie?”
Something clattered on her end of the line. “I’m coming now! How badly is he hurt?”
“Get out here and find out for yourself. Quickly. If you’re not out here in two minutes, I’m coming in for you.”
She hung up the phone on me and I slid mine into my back pocket. I pulled Cole away from the door and slumped him against the outside brick wall, keeping my ears trained for any footsteps or gunfire heading in our direction. Cole looked pretty beat up, and his nose was definitely broken. But other than some superficial cuts and battle bruises on his knuckles, he looked fine.
“Hey, Cole. You know where you are?” I asked.
He slowly looked up at me and growled. “In the fucking lion’s den.”
I patted his cheek. “You did good. You did very, very good.”
“Cole!” Josie exclaimed as she burst through the door.
I whipped around to face her and held out my arms. She rushed into them, but she didn’t hug me for long before she crouched down and gasped as Cole’s face.
