Give Me War - Kate McCarthy Page 0,21

Mitch.

“No, I’m not putting her on the phone. You heard her speak. She’s fine.”

“Mitch!” I cry out.

“I’m hanging up now,” Renny tells him.

“Don’t come!” I shout at my brother-in-law, knowing I’m just the bait. They want the Valentines out of the picture, and there’s only one way that could happen. “Please don’t come for me! Don’t!”

“You heard her,” Renny says and hangs up, tucking the device away.

Another vibration fills the room, only this time it’s not coming from Renny’s back pocket. The sound increases, louder and louder, until I feel it in the walls.

Foreboding travels down my spine.

“What’s that?” I ask, even though I’m pretty sure I know.

Kermit growls out in pain as he struggles slowly to his feet. I train my gun on his left leg this time. “That,” he says, a malevolent smirk lining his lips as he turns his gaze to Renny, “is Grudge.”

Renny pales before my eyes. “What the fuck is he doing here?”

“The meeting.”

He shakes his head. “The meet isn’t here. This is the safe house.”

“That’s what you think.” His smirk only gets wider. “Rat.”

Renny seems to freeze in place. Not a single muscle moves as the vibrations turn from a steady buzz into a thundering roar.

Rat?

His eyes close briefly before he opens them again. “How much do they know?”

“Enough.”

“How much?” Renny roars.

“Everything. This ain’t no safe house, and those Valentines ain’t stupid. Grudge said those fuckers would figure out where we stashed her.” His lips peel back in a sneer. “Gonna take all of ya out in one hit, startin’ with you.”

I suck in a breath. Oh shit.

“Gotta say,” Kermit adds, not done. “I didn’t want to believe all the shit Grudge was tellin’ me because you were my brother, but my eyes are now open.” The biker jerks his head at me. “You wanted that bitch armed. You basically put your gun right in front of her face, practically beggin’ her to snatch it up, thinkin’ it wouldn’t blow your cover. But I ain’t ever seen you be that careless before. You just ain’t careless. Until now. You’re a dirty fuckin’ snitch, Lorenzo Rossi, and you’re as good as dead.”

Kermit’s revelation knocks the wind right out of me.

My gaze turns to Renny.

His eyes meet mine. “We need to get out of here.”

He’s on me in two quick strides, taking the gun from my hand. He did it before I could blink. He did it in such a way that I knew he could have done it earlier had he wanted to. He was just humouring me.

I thought I had control of this situation, but it turns out I’ve been kidding myself.

Renny swings the gun toward Kermit and fires off a single shot. Blood sprays out from the biker’s forehead as he slams back against the open door before dropping to the floor, dead. Bile rises and snags in my throat.

“What the fuck?” I bleat, trying to come to terms with the knowledge that Renny is not who I thought he was. Not by half. “You’re a federal agent.”

He tucks the gun in the back of his jeans, not answering, and tugs his phone free once again. I watch as he goes to his recent calls and hits dial on the number at the top of the list. Putting the phone to his ear, he waits for an answer, then speaks. “Stay away if you want her to survive the day, Valentine.”

He ends the call and the thundering roar of motorcycles has reached the house. The noise vibrates through the floor.

Renny snatches my hand and I’m yanked out of the room and down a hall.

“Wait.” I jerk back against his hold. “What about Angel?”

There’s a slight hitch in his step, barely there and gone. It’s something small and yet something that feels big, something I don’t have time to ponder as he answers me. “Angel is a Viper. She can handle herself.”

“She told me there’s going to be war.”

He shoots me a glare over his shoulder as I’m dragged along behind him. “They want the Valentine’s outta their hair.”

“I know that already,” I snap, tetchy with fear.

“They’re done with business gettin’ shut down. They want to take out all three. Mitch. Travis. Jared. They think it’ll send a big message. Don’t matter to them who they have to go through to get ‘em.”

My stomach churns. I’m collateral damage. “Me.”

“You.”

We reach the end of the hall. It opens up into an open living space and kitchen. There’s a lot of pine, giving off an eighties