only chance is to run for the woods. I’ll keep them busy while you get free.”
I tried to concentrate, but my mind was fuzzy with fear. Or adrenaline. If I left him, he’d die. I looked frantically around. “There has to be another gun around here.”
Aiden reached in his boot and drew out a nine-millimeter. “Here. Take this and go.”
A Lorde’s member slid around the back side of the garage, gun out. I reacted instantly, lifting the gun and squeezing the trigger. The bullets hit him in the shoulder and the leg, and he went down with a harsh cry.
Melvin shook wildly next to me and buried his face in his hands. “I’m just a chemist. That’s all.”
Aiden leaned his head back, his body one long line of tension. “You know how to shoot?”
I breathed out, trying to keep in the moment and not freak out. “I’ve been stalked by a psychopath most of my life. Yeah. I know how to shoot.”
His grin was short and unexpected. “Should’ve guessed that.” Then he turned and fired rapidly.
“We’re outnumbered,” I hissed. “Should we run for the woods?”
“Yes.” Melvin levered up.
In that moment, I decided to do my job. Kind of. Well, not really. I pointed the gun at Melvin’s forehead. “Where’s the lab, asshole?”
Melvin blinked rapidly. “Kill me, and you’ll never find it. My people have orders to destroy the entire facility if I don’t show back up.” He tried to cringe away from the gun, but I kept it pressed against his skin. “Go ahead. Kill me and you’ll never find any of it.”
I blinked at looked at Aiden. “Do you know where his lab is?”
Aiden shook his head. “No clue.”
Did I believe him?
A body came around the back again, and Aiden pivoted, shooting quickly.
More shots volleyed from the other side.
“We have to run,” I said, grabbing his arm, keeping my weapon up and ready to shoot.
Something crashed through the woods.
“You’ll never make it,” Melvin said, blowing out a snot bubble. “You’ve turned against your club, Devlin. They’re going to kill you. Keep me alive, get us out of here together, and I’ll cut you in on the rest of the drugs. I’ll take you right to my hidden lab, now that the power is back on.”
A helicopter suddenly careened into place above us, and the sound of sirens pummeled off the mountains. Hope filled me. “Thelma, Georgina, and Pauley got to help.”
A motorcycle roared to life on the other side of the garage.
Aiden stood, angling to the side. “There’s a back road. Spider is on the run.”
Red and blue swirled through the misty rain.
Melvin bunched his legs to run, and Aiden grabbed him by the neck and threw him face first into the metal wall. Blood spurted in a dark arc. Melvin slumped to the ground, not moving.
“He’ll be okay,” Aiden said, looking around. “It’s fine. Point your gun down now.”
“I have to know, Aiden,” I said, letting the rain pummel me at this point. “Why did you do this? Why save me?”
He scouted the area, his gaze alert. “I promised you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. Asked you to trust me. That matters, Angel.”
His words warmed my chilled body, but what the hell? I mean, just what the hell? Why did he have to be a criminal? There was a good guy in there. “Come in with me. Let me find you a deal. You just saved me, and we can use that.” I was almost pleading, but who cared?
He flicked his head, and rain sprayed off his thick hair. “It’s too late for that.”
Guys with guns came out of the forest in several directions, all wearing combat gear and carrying heavy weapons. God. They wouldn’t shoot Aiden, would they? I tried to angle slightly in front of him, and he shoved me to the side, covering me with his body. My strength was no match with his. Not even close. His muscles vibrated down his back and side.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” I warned him. Seeing him get shot would destroy me.
The oncoming force wore jackets ranging from DEA to ATF to FBI. The local cops came from the front, their sirens so loud I winced. There was a quick skirmish on the other side of the garage, but soon the gunfire abated.
How had this force been amassed so quickly? Even if the ladies had found a phone right away, there was no way. “What is going on?” I asked.
One guy with a buzzcut and scarred jaw,