Fuck. The guy wouldn’t accidentally miss if he pulled the trigger this close, and these guys don’t look like they give more than one warning shot.
“It’s fine,” I say, hoping to calm Wyatt, but even I hear the waver in my voice. I’m practically shaking all over, adrenaline coursing through me with a healthy dose of unease picking at me. Five minutes ago, I was praising the fact that Wyatt, Stone, and Lucas had come into my life. But I wasn’t in danger before them, was I? Now look what they dragged me into.
Maybe a boring life is better than a fear-filled one.
“That’s right,” the guy says, voice suspiciously soft. “It’s fine. Now, I just need you to show me wherever this thing is that I need.”
“What thing?”
He grins, and this time, he bares his teeth. “Are you expecting me to believe you guys are just out here for a walk...with a shovel?”
“You never know what you might want to dig up,” I say, my hands turning to fists at my sides. My father’s words echo through me. No one but a Wilder deserves to find the treasure. No one but a Wilder.
“Don’t play me, Dakota,” the guy says, trailing his knuckles down my cheeks once again. His voice is laced with irritation this time. The veins on his neck stick out as his jaw tightens. He’s slowly losing patience, and we definitely don’t want that.
Think, think…
“She needs incentive, boss,” one of his goons says.
Tattooed guy in front of me cocks his head. “Do you need incentive?”
“Need incentive for what? I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
“Dad,” Stone growls, shooting a look toward his father.
“Shut up,” Lance spits. He watches the situation with a devilish grin, eyes gleaming.
The rich fuckers have congregated behind the thugs now. This is what Stone meant when he said his father was in over his head, I’m sure of it. What he failed to explain was that his father was also trying to help them at the same time too. I guess that’s what people like the Jacobs are all about. Saving their own asses.
Wow, I’m so fucking naive. I might as well be holding a sign that says, Use me because I’m fucking oblivious.
The leader nods, and my stomach clenches. The thug next to Wyatt moves forward. Anticipating his move, Wyatt ducks in under the butt of his gun and slams his shoulder into the guy’s midsection. The goon growls, an angry red spreading over his cheeks. They wrestle to the ground, each punching the other. Stone and Lucas move to help their friend, but the other guy with the gun pushes the barrel to my forehead. “Move and she dies.”
The metal is warm, and I close my eyes, my heart in my throat. The guys freeze right where they are. My heart gallops in my chest as the two guys wrestling on the desert floor beat each other to a pulp. Wyatt moves with a barbaric intensity that curls my toes. He’s like a monster, giving as good as he gets. The leader watches on in approval, not jumping in to stop the flying fists and kicks or trying to end it sooner than it should.
It isn’t until Wyatt’s opponent pulls out a knife that I freak out. “No!”
It’s too late. He stabs Wyatt in the side. When Wyatt slumps forward, he throws his body off him and gets to his feet, dusting the dirt off his clothes. Wyatt moans like a wounded animal, holding his hand over his fresh wound. Blood seeps through his fingers, soaking his shirt. The circle grows and grows.
Panic sets in. I run over to Wyatt. “Shit. Shit. Are you okay?”
He grins, showing off blood-stained teeth. “Don’t tell them where it is,” he says through clenched teeth. “Don’t do it.”
The same guy he wrestled with yanks me back by the hair. Pain flares over my scalp. He wipes at his nose, blood smearing across his knuckles as I struggle against his hold.
“Hey, hey,” the leader says, throwing the guy’s hands off me. I stumble back, and he catches me. He roams his gaze over my head before running his hands down my curls. “I read somewhere that curls were a sign of an angelic nature.”
“The Wilder girl is a savage,” Lance barks from behind us.
The leader’s face melts. A cruel smile tilts his lips before he turns, punching Lance in the face with a sickening crunch. “Where I come from, we treat women