Once they’re all gone, I grab my bag from my desk and lock up the class. I can’t wait to tell Evan that I was offered the full-time teaching position. I knew there was a good chance I would get the job, but with teaching, you never know if you will be passed up for someone with more experience. Lucky for me, my summer of teaching paid off, and I now have a full-time job and my own classroom teaching third graders starting in two short weeks.

Making my way across the lot to my car, my cell phone rings from my bag. I stop and dig it out, smiling huge when I see Evan is calling. “Hey,” I answer, then frown when I hear shuffling and muffled voices that I can’t make out coming from the other end. “Evan?” I call, gaining no answer in return. My hand that is wrapped around the phone clenches and my vision clouds when someone roars, “You motherfuckers are dead!”

Running for my car, I swing the door open and get in. As soon as the car is started, the phone connects to the Bluetooth and the sound off muffled voices fills the quiet space. “What do I do? What do I do?” I whisper to myself, as I put my car in drive. I don’t want to hang up the call, but I need to call the police. I really need to know where to send the police.

“Fuck you, Wes,” I make out through the garbled mess of rustling and stifled voices. Praying that my assumption is right and that they are at the bike shop I pull over to the side of the road. Picking up my cell phone I look at the screen, knowing there has to be a way to connect more than one call. Finding the feature I’m looking for, I put the call from Evan on hold and dial 911.

“911, what’s your emergency?” a man answers.

“My fiancé called me on accident,” I get out through pants, while my hands shake franticly.

“Ma’am, this is 911—”

“I know that!” I cut him off, shrieking into the car. “He called me on accident, but I think he’s in trouble. You have to help.”

“Okay, calm down and tell me what you heard.”

“I couldn’t make out much, but I heard my brother-in-law’s name and someone saying something about people dying. I think they are at the Broken Eagles’ bike repair shop,” I say, listening to him type. “His call is still on hold. Can I join your call with his?”

“Do that now, honey,” he says, so I press the button to connect the two calls and as soon as I do, two gunshots go off, one right after another.

“Oh, God.” I put my car in drive, needing to get to Evan, not hearing anything else the dispatcher says. As soon as I arrive, I see the whole place surrounded by cop cars. Spotting Uncle Nico, I get out, leaving the car on and the door open. I rush to where he’s standing, ignoring the officers yelling at me to get back into my car.

“June,” Uncle Nico says, as soon as he sees me running toward him.

“What’s going on? Is Evan okay?”

“Honey, you need to get back into your car.”

“Tell me now!” I scream, and his face softens. Taking my hand, he leads me to one of the squad cars, settles me in the backseat, and then gets down on his haunches in front of me.

“It’s not safe right now,” he says, gently wiping my face that I hadn’t even realized is soaked with tears.

“Tell me what’s going on. Please tell me that Evan is okay,” I whisper, feeling more tears track down my cheeks.

“We know there are at least two armed suspects inside the building. Right now, that’s all the information we have.”

“I heard gunshots,” I say in a panic, wondering if Evan’s been shot, if one of those shots was aimed at him.

“I need you to take some deep breaths and wait here while I talk to my men. Can you do that for me?”

Covering my face, I nod and start to pray.

Chapter 15

Evan

The beast within me has awoken and is out for vengeance. Seeing blood seeping out of the wound in Harlen’s shoulder, I move without thought from my kneeling position and tackle Jordan to the ground, with my shoulder in his stomach. On impact, his gun flies out of his hand and skids across the floor.

I knew something was up when I pulled up to the shop and found the place empty. There is always at least one guy working on a car or bike in the middle of the day, even during lunchtime. When I walked through the compound in search of everyone and entered the common room, the sight that greeted me sent chills down my spine. I didn’t have time to think or make a phone call. I barely had time to hit Call on my last call and shove my cell in my back pocket before Jordan and one other man that were holding the guys at gunpoint spotted me.

“Motherfucker,” I snarl, getting my hands around Jordan’s throat. As I watch his face turn purple and his body jerk, I register the sound of fighting breaking out around me. Jordan’s fingers rip at my hands.

“Don’t kill him,” someone says. But it’s too late. Watching his eyes start to slide closed, I feel his pulse beneath my fingers slow and I add more pressure. “Evan.” I hear my name through the fog, but my vision has tunneled with one goal in mind. Getting tackled from the side, I roar, fighting back with everything in me, but then a sharp pain hits my skull and everything goes black.

My eyes squeeze tight and my hands move to my head, putting pressure on my skull, which feels like it’s been cracked open. “What the fuck?” I hiss in pain.

“Oh, God,” I hear June whimper, as her weight settles deeper into my side and her arm wraps over my waist. Holding her to me, I breathe through the pain in my head and freeze when memories of what happened come back to me full-force. “The guys? Harlen?” I try to sit up, but her small body holds me to the bed.