Terrified, she watched as Jax fired several more rounds at the driver of the other vehicle before bringing his gun around and pointing it directly behind them.
With two precise shots, he took out both the driver and the passenger, their SUV wobbling this way and that before losing complete control and heading off the road and into a cluster of trees.
One down, one to go.
Poppy sat back up, determined to help in any way she could. But Jax had other plans.
“Stay down.” He practically shoved her head down between her legs.
“I thought you wanted me to help shoot!” she yelled back.
“At the assholes behind us, yeah. Can’t risk you hitting me while trying to take out this guy.”
He had a point, but damn. She hated that he was taking on all the risks.
“Hold on!”
The warning came half a second before the remaining SUV slammed into Jax’s car again. This time when it did, it’s front-end caught the corner of Jax’s, sending them onto the road’s graveled shoulder.
“Fucking hell!” Jax fumed. “That’s it. I’m ending this right fucking now.”
With no other choice but to sit and watch, Poppy kept the gun in her hand with her finger off the trigger, praying Jax could somehow get the upper hand.
Her prayers were answered with his very next shot. One that took out the vehicle’s front right tire, causing the boxy vehicle to screech out of control.
Cutting them off in a near-miss, she watched in horror as the SUV hit the grass, shot down the slight decline, and began to roll. Over and over, the hunk of metal flipped multiple times before coming to a sudden stop on the driver’s side.
Slamming the breaks, Jax pulled his own car over before popping his seatbelt loose and shoving at his mangled door. It took him two hard shoves and several kicks of his boot before the door finally began to open.
The loud, unsettling sound of metal screeching filled the suddenly still air as Jax pushed the door open just enough to slide through.
“Stay here!” His sharp tone brooked argument.
And then he was gone.
Poppy’s heart was pounding so hard she thought it might fly right out of her chest. Keeping her eyes glued onto Jax, she found his stance strong. His stride purposeful.
With his arms stretched tightly in front of him and his gun pointed at the mangled SUV’s busted driver’s side window, Jax approached the overturned vehicle.
She held her breath and waited.
Please don’t let him get hurt.
More than anything, she wanted to jump out of the car and go to him. To stand by his side in case something happened, and he needed her help.
But Jax had toldher to stay in the car, and as useless as it made her feel, that’s exactly what she intended to do. After all,hewas the trained former SEAL. She was just a nurse with a gun.
Poppy’s right knee bounced with nervous energy as Jax reached his destination. Bending over at the waist, he leaned his head to the side while doing a clean sweep of the SUV’s interior.
Even from here she could see the exact moment when the muscles in his shoulders relaxed. Lowering his weapon, Jax straightened his spine and headed back through the grass to where she waited.
“Is he—”
“Dead?” Jax squeezed himself back into the car. “Yeah. They both are.”
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he tapped the screen a few times before bringing it to his ear. A tense silence filled the car’s interior as he waited for the person on the other end to answer.
“It’s me,” Jax greeted whoever it was he’d called. “We have a situation.”