Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 138274 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138274 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
The window went down and—
“What the fuck,” Z breathed.
Butch smiled from behind the wheel. “Hop in. I gotchu.”
Even though it was the middle of a skirmish, Zsadist looked around. “How in the hell did you do this?”
“Hey, I used to work homicide for them, remember?” The cop nodded to the empty seat next to him. “I broke into the impound, got two, and L.W. and Shuli are being put into the other. But we gotta blow right now.”
Zsadist shook his head. “You got it, Detective.”
* * *
Shuli knew he was losing blood, but he was still with it enough to know that he was somehow, inexplicably… in the back of a Caldwell Police Department patrol car. The blue lights were a dead giveaway. Well, that and it had showed up at the worst possible time.
The confusing part? For some reason, on the far side of the mesh that separated them from the front seat of the vehicle… it seemed like Rhage was behind the wheel.
But he couldn’t worry about all that.
Summoning his flagging energy, he forced his head out of its awkward lean against the door that had been shut on him. Next to him on the bench seat, L.W. was crammed into the space that barely fit Shuli. The male had his knees up around his earlobes, and he was breathing too hard for how much he wasn’t moving.
“What the hell is wrong with you!” Shuli hollered at the guy.
Up front, Rhage looked into the rear view mirror with a start. “Everything okay back there, boys?”
“No!” Shuli punched L.W.’s upper arm—okay, it was more like a pat with his knuckles, but whatever. “You weren’t supposed to come back for me!”
L.W. looked over with half-mast eyes. “Can we not do this right now?”
“I am so pissed off—”
“You wouldn’t be alive right now without me, so relax—”
“I was supposed to save you!” Shuli tried to lower his voice as his heart rate got erratic against his ribs. “Jesus Christ, you are such a hardheaded asshole—”
“I wasn’t leaving you to die—”
“—that you can’t listen to someone else—”
“—and right now, I am seriously—”
“—and take care of yourself.”
“—rethinking that decision.”
As their argument came to a pause for respiration, the patrol car blew through a red light, and Shuli glared out the window, watching the blue flashes strobe the buildings. As they went by Bathe, he shook his head.
What was next, he blew up his own house?
The soft chuckle from up front brought his head back around—which was a mistake as the pounding between his ears flared to an eye-bulging degree.
“You two,” Rhage murmured with a sentimental smile. “You remind me of good times.”
Shuli glanced at L.W. Who popped a brow.
The Brother continued. “And I’m glad you both got out okay. I’ve gotten caught in a tight crack like that before.” Those brilliant blue eyes focused on Shuli. “And of course he was going back for you.”
“No offense, but that makes no sense.” Shuli pushed himself up a little higher on the seat. “Plus he doesn’t even like me.”
“This is true,” L.W. piped in.
Shuli nodded at the guy. “Right? I mean, shit, if you’re going to risk your own life, at least do it for someone who matters to you.”
Rhage shook his head and hit the gas as the light turned green. “It’s in his DNA. He’s not going to leave anybody behind. You did the right thing, though, Shuli. Protecting the King or the heir apparent above all else is the correct impulse.”
L.W. laughed a little and motioned at Shuli. “This guy. He runs right into the line of fire—down that corridor. Did you see that hall?”
Rhage shook his head. “Not yet. Payne and I are going back to deconstruct the scene.”
“Fucking nuts. Steel-lined, nowhere to go, funneling right out into what was an ambush. It was suicidal.”
Holding up his forefinger, Shuli countered, “I’m not interested in killing myself. Just to be clear.”
“You could have stayed and defended our position right beside me.”
“And tell me, how would that have worked for us as a stream of lessers entered that open area? You think they were just going to take a load off while you breached the door?”
“It didn’t take me long!”
“It could have. We didn’t know what was going to happen—”
“Because you decided to be a hero.”
“Oh, so that’s why you came after me?” Shuli rolled his eyes. “A crown isn’t enough, you need a Superman cape, too?”
“Are you really still arguing with me?”
“Well, someone’s gotta stand up to your ass. Everybody else thinks you shit rainbows—”
The crack of laughter from the front shut down the second wave of bitey-face, and what do you know. As Shuli glanced at L.W. with annoyance, the heir to the throne looked back at him with a similar set of pursed lips.
But neither of them was going to tell the Brother to quit it with the giggles.