Chapter Twenty-Two

Ronin couldn’t think about anything else except getting to Keres. When he got her back, he was going to spank her ass until it hurt to sit down. How dare she put herself in danger. How dare she leave him. How dare she mouth the words “I love you” and then let herself get taken.

She was in so much trouble.

He no longer shied away from his feelings for her. If she was brave enough to say she loved him and let herself be captured in a misguided thought of self-sacrifice, then he sure as shit was brave enough to love her back. Throttling forward, he sped up, anxious to save Keres.

The notion that he could lose her left him cold. Even the thought of her being hurt pained him. He had to save her. There was no other option.

They’d only been riding for about twenty minutes when they suddenly saw Davorin’s black SUV convoy stalled on the road. Even with the bike’s engine roaring in his ear, the sound of gunshots was undeniable. That didn’t stop him, though. Ghost pointed with his fingers, indicating they needed to separate. Giving him a thumbs-up of acknowledgement, Ronin broke away and headed to the right and Ghost continued to attack from the back.

Ronin stayed low as gunfire pinged against his front fender. Slipping one of his guns out of side holster, he returned fire. The parked SUV had a door open, and he saw Keres’s red hair as she popped up to shoot. Relief hit him hard. She was alive and giving hell. Love surged through him, as well as pride. She wasn’t some fragile princess who couldn’t take care of herself. She was his equal in every sense, and he would never give her up.

As soon as they killed the rest of these fucking Deathmen assholes.

For the next few minutes, he concentrated on doing just that. Not wanting to waste time by stopping, he shifted his leg and laid his bike down on its side. Metal skidded across the old concrete road, sending sparks flying around. The distraction allowed him to roll free and go on the surprise attack, popping up and firing in rapid secession. He ran to one of the SUVs and peeked around until he saw Keres. His only goal was to get to her.

Ghost laid down gunfire, giving him cover as he ran to where Keres was hunkered down. Just as he came around the car, she swung her gun his way, then immediately pulled it up.

“Damn it, Ronin, I almost shot you!”

He scrambled over to her and pulled her in his arms, hugging her tightly. “Don’t do that again, you hear me?”

“I was protecting everyon e— ”

He kissed her to shut her up. He didn’t care about saving anyone, he only cared about her. When he lifted his head, he leaned his forehead against hers.

“You’re my old lady,” he said roughly. “Hear me? You’re mine, Keres.”

“Are you mine?” she asked.

“Until the day I die.”

She grabbed his hair. “You better not die today.”

He smiled, kissed her again, and then they focused back on taking out the few remaining Deathmen. Ghost herded the men. Between him and Ronin, they killed the last one. Keres walked up to them, a gun in each hand.

“I’ll call Brim,” Ghost said. “Get clean-up here. Thank fucking God we’re still on the back roads.”

After he walked away, Ronin pulled Keres into his body.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

She smiled at him. “I’m sure the adrenaline crash is going to knock me out, but right now I’m steady on my feet.”

“Did you shoot Davorin?”

“No, I blew sarin powder into his face,” she replied. “Mocked him as he died. It was … cathartic.”

“Sarin?” He blinked. “Is that a joke?”

“Nope. Took him a few minutes.” She explained what had happened in the SUV. Watching Davorin slowly die. Killing the guard and the driver. “I have no remorse for that.”

“I would hope not. Your life verses theirs is a no-brainer.”

“That means you’re stuck with me,” she said.

Ronin ran the back of his knuckles over her cheek. “I’m more than okay with that. But were you exposed to the sarin poison? Do we need to get you t o— ”

She placed a finger on his lips, shutting him up. “I’m fine. I stayed away from his body. Make sure your men are safe when they handle him.”

He nodded that he heard her. “Where the fuck did you get sarin?”

Keres held up her hand, showing the ring. “Hidden compartment. Darby had four of these. One had tetrodotoxin, which I used on Peterson. One had GHB which I used to roofie Sapphira Todd. Sarin was in this ring and the one in my pocket contains anthrax.”

“Jesus,” he muttered. “Now I know not to piss you off.”

She grinned as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

“Reinforcements are on their way,” Ghost said as he walked over to them. “The sheriff knows, as well. He said he’ll keep any traffic off this road until we give him the ‘all clear.’”

“Thanks, man,” Ronin said.

“Anytime, brother.”

As Ghost walked over to Davorin’s car, Ronin gave an ear-piercing whistle. “Don’t touch Davorin. He died by sarin poisoning.”

Ghost frowned. “Are you shitting me?”

“Serious as a heart attack.”

“It says something that I’m not even blinking at this,” he said and pulled out his phone. “Hazmat it is.”

Ronin wrapped his arms around Keres.

“I love you,” he said. “More than my life. More than I love the Death Riders. I will love you until I take my last breath, and then I’ll love you into the next life.”

“I don’t know when or how it happened, but I love you too.”

“I guess we’re perfect for each other.”

She grinned. “I guess so.”