Shattered (Dividing Line #5) (36 page)

He was so intent on catching his quarry that he failed to notice the figures hiding in the shadows that surrounded his three mercenaries. While Alex, Col and Robbie ran on ahead, the first the hired help knew of any danger was when Frankie lunged at them with his axe, swinging it wildly. There was a loud resounding crack as it met the man’s ribs. Mikey, Paul and Jamesie shot the other two, the silencers muffling the shots. Jez turned and aimed at Robbie, who was straggling behind Alex and Col. He fired and Robbie was knocked onto his front where he fell, unmoving.

“Quick, outside before the MC crew gets here,” said Mikey. “Frankie, you can take your trophies when the job’s done.”

“Aye, alright,” he said, reluctantly lowering the weapon and following the others outside.

CHAPTER 36

“There they are,” said Riley, pointing to the group of motorcycles in the distance. “There’s no way we can catch up with them in this thing.”

Dane had the accelerator to the floor but it still wasn’t enough to gain on the powerful bikes. They watched as the group wound is way up the track leading to the farm, praying they got there in time to help.

“I recognise the lead bike covered in diamantes. It’s Venom,” said Dane.

“Not that mental bitch again.”

“She’s the one to look out for, out of all of them.”

Riley could only watch helplessly as the bikes rolled to a halt at the gates and the seven riders jumped off and scattered themselves through the estate.

Mikey and Jez were crouched together behind a tractor, watching the seven patches run through the outbuildings. Battler and Bruiser had hidden themselves in a barn while Frankie and his men watched from the cowshed to their left.

“It fucking stinks in here,” said Frankie, face screwed up with disgust. He was most particular about his grooming, he despised dirt or grime of any kind, unless it was blood. He didn’t mind getting splattered with that. “I’ll have to burn this suit, I’ll never get rid of the smell. Dirty bastard cows.”

The roar of shotguns from inside the barn opposite disturbed the stillness. They all waited expectantly until Battler and Bruiser emerged from the stables, guns at the ready, sweeping the area, looking for more intruders. Battler held up his hand with two figures raised, indicating that was how many patches they’d just eradicated.

“Battler, behind you,” called out Mikey.

The brothers threw themselves back into the building just as a tall man with a big beard shot at them. Mikey and Jez returned fire, their bullets striking the man in the chest and he fell. Just as they started to climb out from behind their hiding place there was the crack of a bullet, which narrowly missed Jez’s head and they ducked back down.

“Shit, it’s going to turn into a shoot-out,” said Mikey, reloading his gun.

“There’s four more,” replied Jez, turning to see Frankie and his men firing at someone crouching behind a broken down car. From his position he couldn’t fire at the figure without sticking his head out.

“This is all going tits-up,” said Jez, having to shout over the retort of guns.

The dairy was huge, dark and filled with junk and to Alex’s frustration what he had thought would be an easy kill had turned into a game of cat and mouse. He and Col crept through the gloom, listening to the sound of gunshots outside. Too late he’d realised he’d walked into a trap and it had been a sobering shock when he’d glanced over his shoulder to see no one but Col behind him. However he did have more back-up coming. Ryan and Rachel couldn’t escape them all.

They swung their guns left and right. Both sides of the huge building were lined with empty metal cattle pens, each one a possible hiding place. He nodded to Col to take the right side while he took the left.

As Col disappeared behind a heap of rickety furniture, detritus from the main house, Alex paused to listen, certain he heard breathing to his left behind a clapped-out Range Rover. He raced round the vehicle, gun at the ready, to find precisely nothing. He looked around him, puzzled, certain he’d heard something.

As he whipped back round he came face to face with the barrel of a gun. He would have been dead if a yell and an almighty crash behind them hadn’t distracted the shooter. Alex ducked to the side and the shot missed him by inches. The noise in the confined space was deafening and Alex crouched down behind the Range Rover, ears ringing, as Ryan continued to fire at him.

Col knew his boss was being shot at but he didn’t care. All he could think about were his brothers. The Laws had already murdered Gavin and judging by Andy’s absence he was pretty sure they’d forced him to make that phone call then killed him too. At least Jason and Harry were safe. Now all he cared about was revenge. Alex was tied up with Ryan, so he would find Rachel and make her pay for his brothers’ deaths.

However someone had got to her first. He could hear the struggle and he found her engaged in a physical fight with Venom. He smiled. Finally it seemed Rachel had met her match because Venom fought with the same power she did. He just stood back and watched in fascination. They both fought like men, delivering hard punches, Rachel driving her fist up into Venom’s gut, who released a gasp and staggered back, kicking Rachel in the chest when she tried to follow up the blow. Venom managed to get one hand around Rachel’s neck and ground her palm against the scar. The pain made Rachel grimace and she released a strangled cry. Venom kicked her legs out from under her and she fell back to the floor, clawing at Venom’s hand but, despite her best efforts, Venom refused to relinquish her grip.

Col moved out of his hiding place to watch Rachel slowly being strangled to death and took aim at her head.

When Rachel saw Col her eyes widened and she reacted quickly. She brought up her leg, knocking Venom sideways and she rolled out of the way just as Col fired, the bullet slamming into the floor where she had lain just a moment before.

Holding a hand to her sore neck, Rachel ran into a pen.

Great,
Col thought
. She’s trapped.

He found the gun she’d dropped lying on the floor and kicked it away. He nodded at Venom and they both approached the pen, weapons at the ready. As Col laid his hand on the metal door of the pen he was seized by an acute ache and his body started to twitch and jerk out of his control. His stunned brain just managed to register Rachel crouched in the pen, her taser pressed to the metal gate before he toppled over, violently spasming.

Keeping low, Rachel rushed out of the pen and smacked into Venom and the two women fell. Rachel managed to get on top of her and punched her in the face as hard as she could. The woman just grinned, revealing a gap where her two front teeth used to be before driving her fist into the side of Rachel’s head. She was knocked sideways, temporarily dazed and Venom took the opportunity to kick her hard in the ribs. Rachel released a groan as the assault continued, Venom’s foot bouncing off her back. She could hear the frantic report of gunfire somewhere behind her and she feared for Ryan.

The thought of her husband gave her the impetus she needed to get up off the floor and away from the savage assault. She rolled out of Venom’s reach, sprang to her feet, snatched up a large piece of broken wood and whacked her round the face with it. Blood exploded from Venom’s mouth and she fell to her knees, backing up when Rachel advanced on her with the weapon. Venom’s eyes were alight with a mania that reminded her of Alex.

“You won’t kill me,” said Venom, blood and saliva dripping from her lips in thick strings.

“Give me one reason why not.”

“I’m your husband’s sister.”

Rachel hesitated, the wood still clutched in her hand. “Lexie?”

Venom spat the blood out and shook her head. “No. Jules.”

Rachel studied her with a confused frown. She’d never heard that name before. “You’re lying,” she said, raising the wood over her head, ready to bring down on the top of her skull.

“Are you willing to take that chance?”

“Yes,” said Rachel, slamming the wood down as hard as she could. But before she made contact something ran into her, knocking her off-balance and she missed.

Injured and bleeding badly from the mouth, Venom scrambled to her feet and rushed for the exit at the rear of the building.

Rachel found herself face down on the floor with a suffocating weight on top of her.

“You killed my brothers you fucking bitch, I’ll kill you.”

His hands went around her throat but Col was still dazed from the taser and when she flung herself onto her side he simply toppled off her. Finally she spied the gun that she’d dropped and ran for it, snatching it up just as Col rose and she let off a shot. It hit him in the stomach and he crumpled to the floor.

Without pausing for breath she ran to where she thought Ryan was, the fact that the gunshots had ceased scaring her. She raced round a pile of junk just in time to see Ryan and Alex throw down their now-empty guns and charge at each other.

Because of the shoot-out Dane and Riley found themselves unable to get out of the car at the gate so they were forced to drive the Land Rover straight into one of the outbuildings. The four patch members had firmly entrenched themselves and Mikey and the others were finding it impossible to shift them.

“I need to get on a roof,” said Riley. “Did you get the weapon I asked for?”

Dane nodded and reached into the backseat to pull back a blanket, revealing a sniper rifle.

“Beautiful,” he smiled, snatching it up and jumping out of the car.

Riley snuck inside the main house, which was in desperate need of repair, and rushed up the stairs, lithely jumping over the holes in the steps. He climbed out of one of the bedroom windows and hauled himself onto the roof. The slates were in a fragile state and he had to make his way carefully, lying down slowly, distributing his weight evenly. From up here he had an excellent view of two of the patches. He took aim, two sprays of blood through the scope and they were down. He took aim at the third who had heard the shots but had no idea from where they’d come. He was crawling along the ground on his belly in an attempt to change hiding places but as Riley was above him he couldn’t escape the devastating volley and he was hit twice in the head. However the fourth was shielded by a heap of old metal.

“Shit. Dane, I can reach the fourth one,” he said into the Bluetooth kit in his ear.

Dane ran back to the Land Rover, jumped in, pulled on his seat belt, started the engine and hit the accelerator. The vehicle sped out of the building, across the muddy yard and ploughed straight into the fourth patch, crushing him beneath the heavy wheels.

“Shut your whining, dickhead,” he called to Jasper in the back, who sounded to be crying. “Can you see anymore from up there?” Dane said into his Bluetooth headpiece.

“Nope. It’s all clear. I’m coming down.”

Dane jumped out of the van. “You can come out now lads,” he called. As they came out from behind their hiding places he grinned. “You may say thank you.”

“Yeah, thanks,” said Mikey, aching all over.

Battler and Bruiser exited the barn and checked all the bodies to make sure they were no longer a threat.

“I stink of shit,” said Frankie, sniffing the lapel of his jacket. “It’s your fault you bastards,” he yelled, kicking at the dead body sticking out from under the wheels of the Land Rover.

“Where’s Ryan and Rachel?” said Riley, jogging towards them, sniper rifle slung across his back.

Without another word the nine men ran into the dairy.

Rachel could only watch as Ryan and Alex clashed with tremendous force, delivering powerful punches that would have physically devastated lesser men. She couldn’t even attempt to intervene, knowing if she tried she would be obliterated. All she could do was watch with the gun in her hand and wait for an opportunity to shoot Alex without hitting her husband but she knew Ryan wouldn’t want that. He had to kill him himself or he would never be satisfied.

She was forced to leap out of the way when Ryan was thrown halfway across the room but before she could run to his side he was back on his feet.

“No,” he shouted at her when she raised the gun at Alex.

Reluctantly she lowered the weapon, wishing he’d let her shoot him and end this now. Either way Alex wasn’t getting out of this alive. Even if he did manage to overpower Ryan she would kill him.

Ryan rushed Alex, driving his fist up into his stomach and folding him in half. But Alex wrapped his arms around Ryan’s waist, picked him up and slammed him back against the wall. Ryan brought both fists down on Alex’s back, making a loud hollow thud and Rachel saw Alex grimace with pain but he didn’t let it stop him as he punched Ryan twice rapidly in the ribs. Ryan managed to throw him off but Alex came straight back at him, swinging his big fists at Ryan’s face, who managed to avoid all the blows but one, which snapped his head back. Alex pummelled him in the stomach and ribs, putting every ounce of his strength from those powerful shoulders into it, driving the air from Ryan’s body. One more punch to his face put him on his back.

“No Rachel,” Ryan yelled when she raised the gun again.

He picked himself up off the floor, eyes growing heavy with pain and fatigue.

“She’s going to watch me kill you,” goaded Alex. “Then I’ll cut her throat wide open, I’ll take her head right off but not before I’ve fucked her like the whore she is.”

Ryan finally let go of the burning rage inside him that he’d been so tightly controlling. It erupted out of him, drawing a roar of rage from his throat, banishing the pain and tiredness, adrenaline flooding every muscle. He rushed at Alex, throwing his fists at him so fast he was helpless to stop them, every impact, every broken bone only fuelling the fire, giving him more strength and Alex crumpled beneath the savage assault.

With another bellow of rage, Ryan picked him up bodily and lifted him in the air in an awesome display of strength that caused Rachel’s jaw to drop open. Ryan flung him to the floor and Alex landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him. Before he could rise Ryan’s booted foot came down hard on his neck. Alex’s eyes lit up with panic and his hands went to his throat. Rachel surmised his windpipe must have been damaged because he didn’t seem able to take in any air.