Page 12 of Tanner (Dirty Misfits MC 5)
Maybe she was better off without me.
“Look out!” Summer shrieked.
A bullet whizzed by our heads and she ducked down as I skidded to a stop at the side of the clubhouse. I dropped it to the ground and practically threw Summer over my shoulder, our helmets still on our heads. Gunshots rang out and bullets zoomed past us so closely that I felt their wind rushing against my leather jacket.
Then, we burst through the doors of the clubhouse to see Archer and Finn pointing guns at us.
“Oh, my God!” Summer exclaimed.
I practically tossed her to Finn. “Get her into my room back there and lock her in.”
Finn turned toward the hallway. “Will do.”
“What?” Summer asked. “You’re not locking me anywhere, you son of a—”
And just before she was done cursing me up and down, another bullet ricocheted toward me and shattered the window from which it entered.
Before it grazed my calf.
Six
Summer
Everything felt like one big blur as the guy holding me essentially dropped me into a closet. He ripped my helmet off my head, told me to stay put, and closed the door, leaving me in total and complete darkness. I curled my knees to my chest as gunfire rang out around us. Windows cracked and shattered; wood splintered and chipped. And as I buried my face into my knees, all I thought about was how lucky we were that Cheyenne wasn’t here to witness any of this.
I have to get back to my daughter.
When a pause in the firefight came, I eased the closet door open. I crawled on my hands and knees, keeping myself as silent as possible as I felt my way around the room. I slammed my fingers into a couple of rough corners and I felt one of my knuckles bleeding. But when I found the door, I stood to my feet and cracked it open.
And watched while men kept pulling guns and ammunition out of the closet right in front of my room.
“Cole, I’m glad you’re here,” Tanner said.
He tossed the other guy a gun before closing the closet.
“Where do you need me?” he asked.
Tanner didn’t even take in a breath to answer before a thunderous outcry of bullets rained down upon where we were, and the guys scrambled. I dropped to my knees and covered my head, trying my best not to cry out in horror. And once the bullets stopped again, I scrambled out of the room and threw open the door to their gun cabinet.
Before grabbing the only one I was familiar with.
“Bingo,” I whispered.
I checked to make sure the shotgun was loaded, then I picked up some more ammunition and stuffed it into my bra. I walked silently down the hallway, listening as heavy footfalls from the guys gave away their positions. Idiots. At least I had learned a thing or two from my father before he became such a drunk that no one recognized him.
He always talked about his tactical days in the Navy before alcohol became his life.
I paused and pressed myself into a corner as footsteps rushed around the outside of… well, wherever the hell we were. I drew in a deep breath through my nose and cocked the shotgun, ready to aim it at anyone who pissed me off. I had to get to my daughter. I had to get us somewhere safe.
I also had to call the veterinary office and tell them I couldn’t start tomorrow.
And I prayed they didn’t fire me if I placed that phone call.
And while I was scared for my life, it didn’t shock me that Tanner was right in the middle of this bullshit. I hadn’t witnessed the crowd he ran with firsthand while we were in high school, but even then, he was a jacket-wearing bad boy that all of the girls wanted to be around.
Only now, I was smack in the middle of it.
And it didn’t feel like things would ever let up.
“Jesus, there you are,” Tanner whispered as he grabbed my wrist. “Come on. We have to get out of here.”
I wanted to ask him why. I wanted to yell at him for getting me into this mess. I wanted to beat against his forearm and tell him that this was the exact reason why I didn’t want him meeting our daughter, because trouble followed him everywhere and she’d only get caught in the crossfire.
“Stay behind me,” Tanner murmured.
And all I could do was nod as we made our way for the front door
A window shattered to my left and I clapped my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out. Tears of fear sprang to my eyes, but I batted them away like I did back at The Body Shop. I stayed behind Tanner as he pointed his gun out one of the windows and popped off a couple of shots, and I heard two men curse to themselves before something dropped against the porch.
