Jake: The Sinner Saints #3 (17 page)

It took Verity a few moments to catch her breath and recover enough to crane her head up and look him in the eye.

“Now that was one hell of a convincing argument,” she said with a soft laugh.

He shot her the world’s sexiest smile as he rose to his feet. “I can be very persuasive.”

Verity slid the rest of the way down the bed, until she was seated on the edge. She reached out for the buckle of Jake’s belt.

“And what do you think you’re doing?” he asked as she started to undo the clasp.

“Well, you had the chance to present your case. I figured it was only fair to let me have a try.” She shot him a teasing look as she freed the front of his pants and slid her hand inside. “Unless, of course, you have an objection.”

Dark passion filled his gaze as he looked down at her. “None at all.”

Chapter Twelve

Jake’s head popped up from the pillow the second he heard the scratching at the door. He hadn’t been asleep—not really. Sure, he may have dozed off a couple of times in the last hour, but who could blame him? His mind was calm, his body was satisfied, and Verity was curled up, warm and snug, at his side. He couldn’t have asked for anything else.

Except to be left in peace.

But that wasn’t going to happen.

He knew instantly it wasn’t Bowie outside his door this time. The person clawing at the lock had none of his skill or subtlety. And it sure as hell wasn’t housekeeping.

That left only one other option.

Jake rolled Verity over on her side as he grabbed for his gun on the nightstand. She roused instantly, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Get on the floor," he whispered to her, pressing a finger to his lips. “And no matter what, stay down.”

Verity’s gaze flashed from his gun to the door and back again. Her eyes went wide with fear, but she nodded and did as he said, disappearing over the far side of the bed. He heard her fumbling down there, probably pulling on her pants.

Wise move. Once he had taken care of whoever was coming through that door, they were going to have to get out of there…and fast.

Jake stood up from the bed and took a long, silent step toward the door. He pressed his back against the wall, just out of swinging range, and waited.

Fortunately, the son of a bitch outside didn’t keep him waiting long. A few seconds later, the bolt slid back and the door violently swung open, crashing just centimeters from where Jake stood.

The first shot came not even half a second later. The gunman didn’t even wait until he’d entered the room. He’d just fired blind, the bullet hitting halfway up the wall above the far bed.

Amateur.

Jake hadn’t expected anything less. Silas wasn’t about to send anyone who could be traced back to him out into such a public setting to do his dirty work. He needed someone without direct ties to him, someone expendable, even if that person shot first and thought second. This Norteño thug would have suited his needs perfectly.

Silas probably hadn’t even told the poor bastard about the kind of man he’d been sent to kill. It was almost enough to make Jake feel sorry for the guy.

Almost.

Jake, on the other hand, didn’t have any problem being patient. He waited the extra half-second for the gunman’s arm to make it through the doorway, then snapped out his hand. His fingers wrapped around the other man’s wrist and jerked up.

Another shot rang out just as the delicate bones snapped under Jake’s hold. The bullet buried deep into the mattress, sending up a spray of white fluff that suspended in the air above the bed like snow.

The man howled out in pain, but held tight to his weapon. Jake gave his arm a hard tug, knocking the man off balance and forcing him down on his knees. Once there, Jake drove his hand down hard, shattering what was left of his wrist. A second later, Jake snatched the gun from his limp, useless fingers.

He glared down at the man. There was no use asking who sent him, but there were plenty of other questions Jake wanted the answers to.

“Who told you where to find us?” Jake demanded.

The man didn’t answer. His face was quickly turning white as he quaked in pain. By the looks of it, he was barely able to drag in a breath.

Damn it. He’d overdone it. The trauma of his injury was sending him into shock.

Information gathering had never been Jake’s strong point. He’d always left that part up to his good friend, Rhys. That man could make anyone talk.

Jake, on the other hand, was much better at busting heads. Which meant that answers would have to wait. He couldn’t waste his time waiting for the attacker to come around. The most important thing was getting Verity out of this compromised motel, and into someplace safe.

He snatched his own pants off the floor and called out to Verity as he pulled them on.

“Come on,” he said, quickly sliding into his boots. “We need to go now.”

Verity’s face popped up on the other side of the bed, but she didn’t stand. She looked terrified, even more rattled than she had in his truck yesterday. Her wide eyes stared at her attacker kneeling on the ground.

“What about him?” she asked.

It was easy to see she was still afraid the man was a threat, so Jake reached out with the tip of his boot, and tapped him on the shoulder. The man didn’t let out so much as a whimper as he crumpled the rest of the way down to the floor.

“Someone will come looking for him eventually,” Jake said, putting out his hand. “That’s why we need to go now.”

Verity nodded and raised herself up on shaky legs.

Damn, he hated seeing her like this. She could barely even make her way over to him without leaning on the bed.

Something deep inside himself wanted to console her, tell her that everything was going to be all right, that they were going to be fine. But Jake knew he couldn’t make that promise. Not yet. Not when he still needed to come up with a plan to get them out of this mess.

Jake waited until Verity was at his side before starting for the half-open door.

“We need to get Bowie,” he started. “After that we’ll—”

The words died in Jake’s throat the moment he stepped out into the sunshine. It didn’t look like they’d be going anywhere. At least, not through the front door.

The motel parking lot that had been all but empty the last few days was anything but now. There were two cars blocking the entrance and exits, one parked next to his truck, and another next to Bowie’s.

Shit.

It seemed that Silas hadn’t underestimated him after all.

Jake didn’t take the time to scan for familiar faces, but he could see at a glance that all of the vehicles were full. And by the looks of it, they weren’t too happy to see someone other than their friend walking out of the room.

Jake yanked Verity back inside just as car doors started to open. He threw the bolt, then went over to the closest bed. In one move, he picked up the heavy mattress and propped it up against the door.

“Is that going to stop them?” Verity asked with a shaky voice behind him.

“No,” Jake answered honestly as he grasped her arm and pulled her deep into the room. “But with any luck it will slow them down a little.”

Bullets started hitting the door the moment his mouth had closed, as if to punctuate his words. Jake shoved Verity into the bathroom, praying no stray bullets found their way through before he could get her out of there.

He grabbed a towel hanging by the sink, wrapped it around his hand and stepped into the tub. One quick punch was all it took to shatter the frosted window that led out to the alley. He wiped away the rest of the shards with the towel.

“You’re going to have to jump down,” he said, lifting Verity up so she could shimmy through the opening.

“No, she won’t,” he heard a familiar voice calling out from the other side. “I’ll catch her.”

Bowie.

He should have known that his friend would jump into action the second he heard gunfire. Something close to relief rushed through Jake. Alone, he didn’t stand much of a chance against such steep odds, but with all three of them together, there was a chance.

A small one, sure, but he’d take what he could get.

He’d have to. Jake heard the door to the motel room cracking open just as he pulled himself up. He forced himself through the small opening. He hooked his arm around Verity’s and started running the second his feet hit the pavement.

They almost made it to the entrance of the alleyway when they heard a loud crack and the first bullet whizzed by their heads.

Damn it.

Jake jerked Verity hard to the side and they all took shelter behind a dumpster. He’d hoped they would have enough time to escape before the Norteños thought to cut off the back passageway.

Jake eased around the side of the dumpster and let off a couple of shots. It was enough to make the four guys at the far end dive for cover. That gave him enough time to turn around and check out their escape route.

It was unblocked…for the moment. But that wasn’t going to last long. It was only a matter of time before they were flanked on both sides.

Jake turned to Verity. “You need to go now.”

She just stared at him with wide eyes.

“Verity,” he said again. “Run like hell, and don’t look back.”

She shook her head. “I-I’m not going anywhere without you.”

“This is your only chance,” he said. “Bowie and I will stay behind and cover you. You keep running until you find a place to hide.”

“And then what?” She grabbed on to his arm.

“Then you stay there until this is all over.”

Her fingers dug into him a little tighter. “Until you find me, you mean?”

“We don’t have time, Verity,” he said firmly. “Go.”

She looked up at him with her big dark eyes for another second before nodding. “O-okay,” she said.

Jake swallowed past the lump in his throat. Damn his soft heart. He’d been in worse situations, but never before had he felt like he had so much to lose.

He forced himself to look away as he counted.

“One. Two. Three.”

He and Bowie leaned out and let out a shower of cover fire. When Jake glanced behind him a few seconds later, Verity was gone.

He could only pray that she would take his words to heart and hide until the dust had settled, because what came next wasn’t going to be pretty.

Jake looked over at Bowie. “How much ammo do you have left?”

“One more clip.”

The same as him. It wasn’t enough. Not to hold off a whole army of gang members. And he doubted that they could count on the Augustville PD for backup. They’d probably have to wait for a SWAT team from a larger city to arrive before engaging. Which meant they were on their own.

Judging by the heavy look on his friend’s face, Bowie had come to the same conclusion.

Another few shots pinged off the walls next to them, these coming from the other end of the alley. That was it. They were boxed in. There was no escape.

There were only two choices, give up and throw themselves on the mercy of a gang of ruthless murderers, or keep the fight going as long as possible and give Verity more time to escape.

“Sorry it came to this,” Jake said, resting his back against the filthy metal trash bin as more shots echoed down the alleyway.

“No apologies,” Bowie said, ejecting his spent clip and loading in the next. “We’ll go as long as we can.”

Jake nodded. If they had to go out, they’d go out firing. “You ready?”

“Always,” Bowie answered.

“On three,” Jake said, readying himself to swing out into the line of fire. “One. Two. Th—”

The loud roar of an engine being gunned filled the air before he could finish the count. It was followed a half-second later by a sickening crunch. Screams mixed with the squeal of tires as a banged up old four-door pulled up alongside the dumpster.

Jake looked up to see Verity crouched down low behind the steering wheel as she threw open the door.

“Well, come on, boys,” she shouted, jumping into the back seat. “Cavalry’s here.”

Jake didn’t have to be told twice. He dove, head first, across the front seat of the car, even as gunshots ricocheted off the hood. Bowie came in close behind him, and threw the car into reverse the second he had the wheel.

The tires billowed clouds of black smoke as they tore out of the alleyway.

Jake waited until they were out on the road and away from the steady hail of gunfire before swiveling around in his seat. He couldn’t remember a time he’d been more relieved to see anyone in his life…or so livid.

“You were supposed to run,” he said.

“I did,” she shot back. “I ran right over to this car and took it.”

Jake narrowed his eyes. “I told you to hide until this was all over.”

“Yeah,” she said with a laugh. “Like
that
was going to happen.”

"Well, I’m not too proud to say thank you,” Bowie said.

"You're welcome," Verity said with a self-satisfied smile. It didn’t last long.

A second later, the thundering rumble of a powerful engine sounded behind them.

Jake looked through the dusty back window to see a huge black SUV rounding the corner of the motel. It didn’t take long for it to start gaining on them fast.

Bowie must have seen it too, because he slammed the accelerator all the way down to the floorboard. Their old car sped up, but not enough. It was just no match for the newer SUV.

It was only a matter of time before the other vehicle caught up with them, which meant they didn’t have long to figure out what they were going to do when it did.

***

Crap.