Chapter Thirty-Seven

Rocky

Why couldn't he focus? He'd done similar missions with the guys more times than he could count, but this one somehow felt different and it seemed to be throwing Rocky off balance.

He stood behind Blade, ready to have the other man's back in case things went south. They'd blocked all points of escape, so hopefully they'd be able to get this done quick and easy but none of them were willing to assume Drake would give up just because he'd been caught. In fact, something in Rocky was screaming that Drake was dangerous and would put up a bigger fight than anyone knew. Rocky didn't think he was the only one with that feeling. He was pretty sure that was why they were taking their time now, hoping the sheriff arrived sooner rather than later.

Just as Blade raised his fist ready to rap it against the door, Aiden's voice came through the comms. "What are you doing here, Drake?"

Every muscle in Rocky's body tightened, as every man surrounding him stared in shock for just a moment. In a second, every one of his brothers was at Rocky's side rushing for their bikes.

Rocky was listening for any new words from Aiden as he straddled his bike and the engine roared to life. "What does that have to do with why you're here?"

Rocky couldn't hear the replies but every time his boy spoke it meant he was okay, so Rocky kept listening and kept praying. They were across town, and even at high speeds it would take them a bit to reach Aiden. Rocky's stomach clenched, fear making him ill, as he wondered if he'd be too late, that he'd lose his boy because he couldn't protect him.

The road blurred beneath him as Rocky drove at speeds that he knew would be considered reckless if any cop caught him, but facing his own injury or death didn't hold near the power to cripple him in fear as just the thought of one hair on Aiden's head being harmed. So, rather than slow to a more reasonable pace he pushed his bike to its limits, getting every ounce of speed he could out of it.

Occasionally Aiden's voice would come through but Rocky wasn't paying as much attention to the words as to the tone of Aiden's voice. If his voice was calm then Rocky could believe that he was safe.

Rocky jerked and almost crashed his bike into a tree when he heard Aiden shout through the comms, then a gunshot rang out through the listening device, and Rocky's heart stopped beating for a few beats, before racing like mad. Rocky tried not to let his fear take over, he tried not to think the worst, but when Aiden didn't say anything after that shot, a tear slipped from Rocky's eye, barely landing on his cheek before being blown away by the wind.

Aiden

Aiden watched as if the world were in slow motion as the gun in Drake's hand was aimed straight at his head, and the safety flipped off. A million thoughts crossed his mind in that short span of time, but the strongest and loudest of all those thoughts were of Rocky. There was no way Aiden was going to let this man hurt Rocky this way. No way was he going to just sit there and let it happen.

Fear coursed through Aiden's veins. It was the anger, though, that took the lead. How dare this man think he had the right to destroy another person that way. Aiden was under no illusions. If something happened to him, he knew that Rocky would never recover. Not after Seth. It had honestly been a miracle that Rocky had even wanted to try loving someone again.

As Aiden considered everything Rocky had been through, and all the possible futures he'd have if Drake was successful, all that anger inside Aiden turned to rage. Not for himself, but for the man he loved. So, with every ounce of rage inside him fueling his movements, Aiden leapt from his chair and straight for his assailant.

Aiden couldn't allow doubt to take over, so he didn't think about how much height and weight the other man had over him. He didn't consider the differences in their physical strength. Aiden grabbed the gun with one hand, pushing it up as his opposite shoulder plowed into Drake's stomach.

The gun fired into the air as the two men hit the ground. Drake's shock didn't last long however, before he was fighting back. Drake gripped the wrist Aiden was using to hold the gun so tightly Aiden was sure something would snap. He didn't have time to focus on that though, he wrapped his other hand over the barrel of the gun and turned it at the same time as he tried to kick out with his knee. He was aiming for the other man's junk but landed his knee just right of his intended target. The blow still seemed to be effective, though, since the breath left Drake in a whoosh and his legs raised to protect the injured area.

Unfortunately for Aiden, the other man did not loosen his grip on the weapon. Thinking of possibly using the shock factor to get the weapon away, Aiden tightened his hold on the gun and rolled his entire body until he forced Drake to release it. As he rolled, another shot rang out.