Chapter Nineteen

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Slade cursed when Sonny's bullet tore through a part of the rope. One more shot like that, and the colonel could fall straight into the creek. The fall might not kill him, but with his hands tied, he wouldn't be able to swim his way to the banks. He could drown before someone could get to him.

"Why punish Rosa?" Slade called out. "Nash, Jericho, and I are the ones you really want."

"And Caroline and Marise," Sonny snapped. "Let's not forget them. Bitches, I'm surrounded by bitches." He threw a glance down at Stephanie, whose head had lolled to the side. "This one here at least paid me for putting up with her bitch ways."

"She hired you to kill Hutton?" Slade asked.

He saw Jericho inch out from the tree and knew he needed to keep Sonny's attention on him. Jericho was going to try for that rope.

"Actually, Julian did," Sonny admitted. "We had some mutual acquaintances in common."

Drug supplying friends, no doubt. Slade recalled the background check on Julian and those associates.

"Then, when Julian got himself killed, the bitch here asked me to clean up her mess," Sonny concluded. "That included drugging her old man so he wouldn't know the shit he'd seen go down in her office."

So, that was one thing confirmed. Rosa had been drugged, and Stephanie had been the one to put Sonny up to it.

"A mess Stephanie made by murdering her lover when he threatened to tell all about their affair," Slade threw out there. He wanted to hear Sonny spell it out. Wanted to know what the woman had hired him to do.

Sonny didn't answer that, but a flash of anger went through his eyes. "You're awfully damn chatty. Is it because you think I'll forget about Caroline and Marise? Well, I won't. All of you will pay for what you did to Bodie and me."

Slade was sure he got his own flash of anger. "And who pays for what you did to my mother? You killed her. Right here. You. Killed. Her."

No way for Slade to hold back the anger so he just let it fly, and apparently, he was giving off enough sparks of fury to keep Sonny's attention. Good. Because Jericho reached out, grabbed the rope and ducked back behind cover while he started hauling up Rosa.

It took everything inside Slade to stay put, to not rush over to help. If he did that, Sonny would just shoot at him, and Slade wouldn't have a clear shot to return fire. Not without risking hitting Stephanie. Maybe once Jericho had his hands free, he'd be able to give Sonny a dose of his slingshot.

"Sonofabitch," Sonny snarled when he saw what was happening with Jericho. He turned, adjusting his aim toward Jericho.

Slade did something about that.

He fired a shot at Sonny's leg.

The man howled in rage and pain when the bullet slammed into his shin, but he still moved damn fast. He scuttled back behind the tree, dragging Stephanie along with him.

Slade continued shooting at the tree, keeping his shots low, so he wouldn't hit anything vital on Stephanie. Still, it was a risk if Sonny threw her down or let her fall. Then, she could be killed, but at the moment, Slade wasn't going to focus on that. No, Sonny was his target.

The gunfire gave Jericho some precious seconds to get Rosa to the top of the bluff. The colonel had some cuts and bruises on his face, but at least he was alive.

Jericho immediately hunched down and started untying the rope harness. He was still in the process of freeing the colonel.

When all hell broke loose.

Sonny charged out from the tree, and he didn't have his human shield with him. He'd no doubt ditched her so he could run fast and hard. So, he had his hands free to kill.

Jericho reacted, turning and readying his gun. Slade pivoted, too, and did the same.

But they were both too late.

Sonny grabbed Rosa, putting him in a chokehold and shoving the barrel of his gun against the colonel's head. Rosa didn't struggle. Didn't try to break free. Probably because he couldn't. Rosa was still in the rope harness and his hands were still tied.

Hell.

Sonny had a bargaining tool, and unlike Stephanie, Slade very much cared what happened to this particular human shield.

"This dog and pony show ends now," Sonny growled. "Either Marise and Caroline come out from hiding or else I start putting bullets in Rosa. I'll start with his arm and just keep shooting until the bitches and my sons all come out and face me."

Sonny had spat out the word, sons, as if it were the worst sort of profanity. That made a compliment to Slade because he didn't want this piece of shit feeling any kind of connection with them. That connection ended when he murdered their mother.

"On the count of three," Sonny went on while Slade was ready to make his move. He was going to have to tackle Sonny and pray that Rosa didn't get shot in the process. "Come out or I fire the first shot. One, two…"

Marise stepped out from the tree.

Shit.

She actually stepped out.

"This is not getting down or staying behind cover," Slade managed to say through clenched teeth.

"I'm not going to hide while Sonny kills the colonel or you," she said, not going toward him. Probably because she knew Slade would shove her behind him to keep her out of the line of fire.

Instead, she walked straight toward Sonny.

"A brave bitch," Sonny mocked.

"A bitch with a stick," Marise countered, and she lifted the tree limb she had been holding next to her leg.

Using it like a javelin, she hurled it at Sonny.

Slade charged forward. So did Nash, Caroline, and Jericho. All converging on Sonny. All trying to stop someone other than Sonny from being killed.

Marise's limb smacked up against the side of Sonny's arm. It probably hadn't hurt him that much. Not physically anyway. But it was like igniting a keg of ready to blow explosives.

"You bitch!" Sonny yelled.

Sonny shoved Rosa toward the edge of the bluff. Clearly, ready to push him over the side. Marise reached out, catching onto the colonel's arm. Trying to stop him from falling.

But she failed.

Slade was still a few feet away when Sonny gave Rosa and Marise a fierce shove sending them over the bluff.

His heart stopped. It just stopped. And in that moment, no hellish memories of war and battle were as bad as this.

Nothing was as bad as losing Marise.

That's why Slade had to do something, and he had to do it now.

Knowing that Jericho and Nash would do their best to cover him, Slade ran to the side of the bluff. Sonny then darted back behind the tree, grabbing Stephanie again and hauling her to her feet. He was struggling with her, though and having trouble balancing with his injured leg. Slade figured that was the only reason Sonny didn't try to gun him now.

"You can either try to save the bitch and the colonel or kill me. Your choice," Sonny taunted.

"Kill him," Slade heard someone shout.

Marise.

Slade glanced over the bluff and saw her. He saw her. Alive. She was holding onto Rosa's harness.

"Kill him," Marise repeated. "I saved myself."

Yes, she had, but for how long? That rope had been damaged with Sonny's bullet, and Slade wasn't sure how long it would hold.

Sonny cursed and started shooting. At Slade. Slade dived to the side, and Nash pushed Caroline behind cover. Jericho whipped out his slingshot, and in a lightning-fast move, he hurled a rock at Sonny's head.

The man shouted in pain again. And he dropped Stephanie. Not his gun, though. Sonny held onto that, brought it up, and took aim at Slade.

But Slade was lightning fast, too. Ditto for Nash.

All three of them fired, their shots slamming into Sonny's body at the same time.

"Die, you sonofabitch," Slade snarled.

And that's exactly what he did.

Sonny McKenna didn't draw another breath. Didn't manage to speak or even blink.

He was dead.

Slade didn't take even a second to celebrate. Neither did Nash and Jericho. They all hurried to the edge of the bluff, and Slade caught onto the rope below the frayed part. And he started hauling up Marise and Rosa.

His brothers helped, both catching onto the rope as well. One final heave, and Rosa and Marise were dragged to the top. To safety. And with the relief flooding through him, Slade took hold of Marise and pulled her into his arms.

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