Chapter Thirty-Nine
The bang that resonated inside the small barn drew the attention of all the men. Some came running from outside, waving their large guns around like a war was about to begin.
I gasped, realizing that I was still breathing.
Simon, on the other hand, had dropped to the floor and was writhing in pain, holding the bullet wound in his shoulder.
“Run!” I heard a voice scream, it was deep and familiar.
I didn’t wait to look around, thinking that the boys had already figured out what was going on and had come for me.
“Grab the girl!” Isiah yelled, striking my body into action.
I ran, ignoring the awkward way I moved due to my hands still being held behind my back. The door was only a few feet away, and I had no idea who was in this barn shooting, only that someone was on my side and was trying to help me escape.
A man stepped out in front of me but before he could lift his gun, I drove my shoulder into his chest, throwing him off his feet. I stumbled a little, smashing into the wall before I righted myself and slipped out the doorway, running full speed toward the forest. It was my escape. My breathing was heavy, and my throat ached as my legs pumped furiously across the grass field.
“Freeze or I shoot him!” Isiah called from behind me.
The threat didn’t make sense at first.
“Run Hadley!”
The voice, much clearer now, made me stumble to a halt just feet from the edge of safety.
“No,” I whispered, turning slowly. “Slider, no.” I gasped as I spotted him on his knees at the doorway, Isiah’s gun pressed to the back of his head.
“I’ll kill him,” Isiah warned loudly just as Simon stumbled into view.
Blood dripped from the bullet wound, and his face was screwed up in fury. He raised his good arm, using the butt of his gun to smash across Slider’s face, sending him sprawling across the ground.
“No!” I cried, scrambling across the wet grass. I tripped and fell. Looking up, I saw Simon rear his foot back, slamming it into Slider’s stomach, not once but twice, as I screamed at him to stop. I finally found my footing, tears streaked down my face as I hurried back toward the barn. The pain in my wrists was a dull ache compared to the hell my heart was feeling.
Two men pulled a crumpled Slider back inside the barn, tossing him like a rag doll onto the dirty floor. I dropped to my knees beside him, my tears dripping on his chest.
“What were you thinking, you idiot,” I whispered, wishing I could reach out and touch him or comfort him.
He coughed out a painful laugh. “Saw the Feds at the clubhouse and hid outside. When I saw him leave with you, I followed.”
His face was pale, and it seemed as though he was struggling to breathe.
“You could have been killed.”
“Gonna die anyway,” he muttered, his eyes staring into mine like he could already see the angels coming.
“Don’t say that,” I scolded.
He shook his head. “Doctor confirmed it. He said a few months, maybe a year at best.” His eyes glazed. “That’s not the life I want to live, Hadley. Confined to a bed as my family watches me wither away to nothing.” He gathered his body, moving his hands underneath him and pushing himself to his feet. I tried to help but it was no use, he was determined to hold his own. His legs shook with the effort it took just to stand, and I wondered how he’d followed us this far without coming off his bike again.
“Brothers by Blood,” Isiah mused, his glare turning toward Simon, who was slumped against the side of the barn. “Care to inform me why he is here?”
Realization hit me.
Not only did they not know that he was undercover with the FBI, but they had no idea of my link with the Brothers.
“Hadley is an Old Lady,” Slider told him casually.
Isiah studied me. “Funny, I thought you were his wife.”