Stripped Bounty (22 page)

B
adger approached
the side door of the old warehouse on Lower Buckeye Road with the leather duffel hanging from his grip. He had his 9mm on his hip, and his .22 Smith and Wesson at his ankle. But neither mattered because they’d for sure be relieving him of weapons as soon as he crossed the threshold. Unless he got lucky and no one was there to greet him, which wasn’t likely.

Deuce was parked down the street in his truck, engine running and Wolf had headed to the service dock around the back, seeking an alternative way inside. He was supposed to text Badger when he’d gained entry to the building, but Badger had yet to hear from him.

Badger’s skin itched in anticipation of the confrontation ahead as he took a final drag of his cigarette before dropping it to the sidewalk and smashing it beneath his boot. Waiting… Waiting. He blew out an exasperated breath and stretched his neck from side to side, trying to relieve some of the tension in it. Normally he was good at waiting. The many stakeouts he’d been on as a bounty hunter had taught him patience. But in this case? The wait was about to make him lose his everloving mind.

His woman was in there, goddammit.

Three minutes—which felt like three hours—later, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Grabbing the device, he checked the screen. The little “thumb’s up” emoticon made him shake his head. Wolf was inside. Badger drew in a deep breath and let it out. It was time to crash the party.

Badger pulled open the front door and stepped inside the dark, wide-open space to the welcoming committee.

“Ah, my friend. You’re a few minutes late.” Alvaro stood with his arms crossed in front of him and to his right, was one of his boys, 9mm tight in the dude’s grip and right where Badger could see it. Alvaro tipped his head toward the bodyguard. “Luis just wagered that you weren’t coming. I won.”

Fuuuuck!
Badger cleared his throat and braced himself.

* * *

R
osie swallowed
, still trying to gain her bearings. With a groan, she snaked out her tongue and licked over the open cut on her bottom lip. She winced at the sting. The sonofabitch had hit her hard, and way too many times. Her ears were still ringing and her cheek throbbed in time with her heart.

After he’d got done working her over, likely because she probably tired him out since she hadn’t shut her mouth, he stalked out of the room—one of his little bitches in tow. Good. Fuck him. Apparently he hadn’t expected her to be so resilient. Maybe his Puerto Rican ass hadn’t gone head to head with a half-Italian, half-Puerto Rican girl before. He could mark that off his bucket list and maybe learn a lesson from it.

Nothing and no one shut Rosie up. Not when she had a point to make. There hadn’t been anyone strong enough, and Alvaro was no exception.

Except Badger—he’d been the exception to every rule in her world.

Fuck, she’d give anything to see him one more time. Or maybe not be so stupid and run off to try and reason with a crazy motherfucker? Yeah, that might’ve been a good option. She needed a do-over—a reset button. Either would be fan-fucking-tastic. Rosie groaned, pulling against the tape around her wrists again, but no closer to loosening it.

She glanced over to the doorway. Alvaro’s other bitch was still there, all calm, cool and collected. Standing at attention clad in a black suit, white shirt, and black tie. The other jackoff was dressed the same. A matching set. How very
Men in Black
of them.

Rosie laughed, uncaring if the asshole heard her. She was quite possibly losing her mind, or maybe Alvaro had knocked a screw loose because there was nothing funny about this situation. Then again, she always did resort to sarcastic humor in major times of stress. She’d had to; it was what made life bearable.

He watched her in silence. Rosie tilted her head to the side and cracked her neck and repeated the motion in the other direction. “I need to pee.”

No answer.

She didn’t have to really, she was just hoping that maybe he’d take mercy on her and give her an opportunity to get away. “Okay then. So should I just go in my pants?”

Still, nothing. And his stare didn’t waver, either.

Rosie frowned, but then, appearing out of nowhere, Wolf was there. Right behind her babysitter. She blinked, unsure if she was hallucinating…that was until Wolf cracked the guy on the back of the head with something and he went down like a sack of potatoes. Rosie opened her mouth to say something and Wolf placed his fingertip to his lips in signal for her to be quiet. She nodded and Wolf stepped over the knocked-out Alvaro wannabe and straight to her.

Sweet Jesus, she’d never been so happy to see someone in her entire freaking life! In spite of her excitement she managed to lower her voice. “That was fucking awesome. What did you hit him with?”

Wolf pinched her chin between his finger and thumb and looked over her face. “Badger is going to flip the fuck out when he sees you. Fucking hell, are you okay?” he whispered.

“Yeah, sort of. Just hurry and get me untaped.”

“You got it.” Wolf moved behind her and cut the tape off her wrists and then came back around to her front.

Finally free, Rosie flexed her hands and rolled her wrists, trying to get the feeling to come back in them. She bent down to one leg and started on the tape there as Wolf cut the tape off the other.

A flash of movement from the corner of her eye caught Rosie’s attention, and she glanced up to find the goon had regained consciousness and had a gun pointed in their direction. “Wolf! Look out!”

As the fucker pulled the trigger, and the loud pop echoed through the room, everything went into slow motion. Rosie was shoved backward, toppling to her side. Eyes wide, she watched as Wolf fired off two shots as he attempted to rise to his full height, and the bullet that’d been meant for her, hit him. He stumbled backward but held his footing until his feet tangled on a broken chair and he tipped backward, landing on his back on the floor, his head cracking hard on the concrete.

With his eyes closed, arms splayed out at his sides, he was not moving.

This wasn’t happening.

This
could not
be happening.

Panic climbed up Rosie’s throat and belted out of her in the form of one word. “
Wollfff!
”

B
adger had been completely disarmed
when the shots rang out and the sound of Rosie screaming Wolf’s name echoed from somewhere in the building. Alvaro’s eyes went wide and he immediately turned and ran, yelling over his shoulder to his man, Luis, to take care of Badger.

With less than a second to move before the bodyguard turned from where he’d been securing Badger’s weapons to draw his own gun and come at him, Badger didn’t waste time thinking, he just acted. He dropped the bag and launched into a full run at the guy. Luis raised his weapon to Badger’s face and Badger gripped the man’s wrist, shoving his hand to the side just as he pulled the trigger.

The loud blast so close to Badger’s ear set a piercing ringing off in his head. Ignoring it, Badger continued forward, struggling to hold the man’s arm above his head to keep the weapon away, until their combined weight and Badger’s momentum, took them both to the ground.

As they slammed hard onto the concrete, the wind was knocked out of Badger and he let out a loud groan. Luis’s gun skittered away from them. Just what Badger had been hoping for. Doing his best to shake off the ringing in his ears and the pain in his ribs, Badger rolled to his feet, prepared to do what he had to in order to take this fucker down and find Rosie.

Badger turned, and—
Fuck!
—ducked as the guard swung a metal pipe at his head. Badger came up with a hard punch to the guy’s midsection and followed with one to his face. Luis stumbled backward and Badger followed, tackling him to the ground again. As they rolled, the guy ended up on top, straddling Badger and then landed a hard fist into Badger’s cheek. Badger’s head jerked to the side as the pain from the blow radiated along the side of his head and down his neck, and then the guy hit him again—

Fucking sonofabitch!

Badger bucked his hips, trying to knock Luis off before finally grabbing him by the lapels of his suit jacket. Badger yanked him forward and head butted him in the nose. Blood exploded in an arc as the bodyguard flew backward off Badger and stumbled to his feet.

Before Badger could get up off the ground, the dude was coming back at him, blood running from his nose and down his chin. Luis said something Badger could barely make out thanks to the high-pitched note playing in his head. He could’ve asked him to repeat himself, but instead, raised his leg and kicked him in the stomach.

The guy shuffled backward, giving Badger the precious seconds he needed to get to his feet. Badger had no idea if Wolf and Rosie were okay, and if she screamed again, he was going to lose his fucking mind. He needed to finish this and get to them both. With the coppery taste of blood in his mouth, Badger gritted his teeth as he raised his fists and stalked after his opponent. “Come on, motherfucker. Let’s go!”

Luis waved him forward and when Badger swung, the guy blocked it, and slammed Badger in the ribs. He doubled over, but as he did, he pressed into Luis, planting his shoulder in his stomach and gripped him tight around the waist. Badger took a few hits to his kidneys until he finally spun and shoved Luis away.

The guy stumbled back and crash landed over a table with junk littering the top of it. Badger dove over the table, gaining the upper hand and slammed the guy in the nose again before cracking him across the jaw. As Luis groaned and tried to gain purchase on Badger’s shirt, and throat, Badger gripped him by the hair and slammed his head down on the concrete, once, twice…before Luis got lucky and finally landed a punch to the side of Badger’s head.

Badger let out a yell as the ringing in his eardrum kicked in again and he flew to the side. Laying there, he spotted his 9mm on the ground. No shit. Lady luck was smiling? The table Luis had knocked over was the one he’d placed Badger’s weapons on. In the blink of an eye, Badger had the gun in his hand.

He turned just as Luis grabbed him by the shoulder, and fired, point blank into the bodyguard’s stomach.

Badger froze, ready to shoot again as a look of shock blanketed Luis’s features. The man glanced down to where the muzzle of the gun still pointed. Blood oozed quickly from the wound, around the singed fabric from the blast, spreading wide on his white dress shirt.

The fucker hadn’t expected that.

After crawling backward a few feet, Badger got to his feet, and Luis fell to his knees, hand covering the wound, eyes still wide with disbelief before falling to his side on the cold concrete floor. He holstered his gun and turned away from the dying man.

Badger didn’t need to watch any longer, he had a brother and his woman to get to.

After finding the leather bag, he weaved around several old shipping crates and various debris, in the direction Alvaro had gone in. He spit out a mouthful of blood and swiped his wrist across his lips as he listened for voices or noise of any kind. Though he’d weathered a few hard hits, his wounds were all superficial—he’d survive. Badger just prayed the same would be true for all of them when this was over.

It wasn’t until he rounded a corner and found a long corridor lined with offices—or something of the like—that he could finally hear her. The ringing in his ears was still there, but that mouth of hers…Jesus, he loved it and hated it. Potent enough to break through any brain-screeching noise, he was damn sure. The woman lacked an off-switch when she was pissed. But at that moment, it was the best fucking sound in the world.

Badger slowed his steps and pressed his shoulder to the wall, gun at the ready as he passed several closed doors. Each office had a tall but narrow window. Glancing in each, he noticed some empty, some cluttered with old office furniture, trash, and boxes. Badger heard her again and moved farther down the hall.

Tamping down the desperation rising inside him to run to her, or yell her name, Badger drew in a deep breath and focused on keeping his steps light as he approached the doorway to the office she was in. With his back pressed against the wall just before the door, he listened, trying to get a feel for what awaited him.

“You cold-hearted fucking monster! Say something!” She let out a frustrated growl and Badger’s lips twitched with a grin. “Such a badass with your gun to my head, right? I have no weapon. It’s not like I can do anything, so just let me go back to the other room and see if he’s okay! You can even come with me.”

Holy shit, Badger loved this woman. He realized she was talking about Wolf, which didn’t bode well, and likely she’d heard the gunshots ring out from the other part of the warehouse. She was probably terrified Badger had been on the receiving end of those bullets, but she didn’t sound terrified. No, she sounded pissed and she was still calling out the scene for him…just in case. Just in case he was coming to get her.

Alvaro wasn’t saying anything. The man was smart but insane, and was probably patiently waiting for whoever survived the fight to show their face. Badger bet the guy had laid odds on his boy coming out on top. Too bad, so sad. The better man had won and Alvaro was about to find that out.

Shifting his grip on his weapon, Badger drew in a deep breath. He only had the 9mm. His .22 had been left downstairs, and he was likely insane for even going this route, but fuck it. Go big and badass or go home. With his gun, upside down in his grip and held out to one side, bag held out to the other, Badger pivoted and stepped in front of the open doorway of the room. “Honey, I’m home.”

Alvaro jerked Rosie closer to him, the muzzle of his gun pressed to her temple. “Ah, my friend. I see you’ve been victorious.”

He caught Rosie’s gaze, pleading with her with his eyes to follow his lead. She raised one single brow and then blinked. Yeah, totally fucking loved her. He focused on Alvaro again and kept his tone even. “Yeah well, you underestimated me, apparently. Now, let her go, Alvaro. I have your money. Even trade, remember?”

Alvaro smiled. “You and your partner seem to have taken both of my men. Not very even in my book, my friend. Though—” Alvaro jerked his chin, “—by the looks of him in the other room, we’re almost even.”

“Let’s not play games, Alvaro. I’ll give you the advantage.” Badger had no idea where Wolf was…or if he was still breathing.
Motherfucking-cocksucking
-
sonofabitch!
Knowing he could do nothing to help his brother, he swallowed the rage that threatened to emerge and focused on Rosie…and made his next move.

Badger squatted, slowly, and placed his gun on the ground. Reasoning with an insane person was, well…insane, but Badger was banking on the guy being focused on the cash, even if only long enough for Badger to get Rosie safe. He stood again and held the bag out in front of him. “You wanted your money. I got it for you. Give me the girl.”

“It makes no difference to me if you have no weapon. The money is good. Thank you. However, I certainly will enjoy listening to you scream as you watch her brains spill out of her pretty skull.” He smoothed his free hand over the side of Rosie’s head and looked back to Badger. “Toss the bag to me, my friend.”

Badger looked at Rosie again, her eyes flared and he blinked, willing her to trust him. There was no fucking way in hell he was going to let that threat come to fruition. The temptation to keep the dealer talking, until he talked himself in a circle was huge, but Badger had a feeling, going that route would only fan the flames of madness already licking at Alvaro’s heels. “I know you’re a man of your word, Alvaro.”

He swung the bag backward and then tossed it to the left and deliberately short of where Alvaro stood. It landed with a thud, and as Alvaro took a step to move toward it, Rosie yanked herself away from him.

Badger charged for Alvaro. “Rosie! Run!”

“
Noooo
!” Alvaro turned to grab for Rosie. He caught her shirt, but she slipped free and kept moving.

“Go! Deuce is outside!” Badger got to Alvaro, tackling him to the ground, praying he’d lose his grip on the gun. As he rolled with the dealer, struggling for the upper hand, he caught a glimpse of Rosie running out of the room. Thank fuck!

A hard punch to the neck caught Badger’s attention and his eyes went wide as a yell burst out of him. Goddammit, that fucking hurt! He grabbed Alvaro by the throat with both hands, and squeezed. It took a moment for Badger to realize the numb, cool feeling he felt on his shoulder, far too close to his neck, damn near in his neck…was a knife. The wetness he felt was blood.

Motherfucker had stabbed him and was coming back for another slice.

R
osie ran
out of the room Alvaro had brought her into after Wolf had shot his bodyguard. Much needed oxygen had filled her lungs the moment Badger had stepped into the doorway as relief spilled through her like a cool drink. Finally, she could breathe again. Her man was okay, thank God.

But Wolf had been shot and Rosie needed to see if he was okay, and somehow find a way out. Before she made it into the office where Wolf still laid, a loud yell that sounded a whole lot like a growl, reached her ears. She skidded to a halt.
Oh God!
That was Badger, she knew it was. What the hell was she doing? No matter what he told her to do, she couldn’t just leave. She would not just leave Wolf and she sure as hell wasn’t going to leave Badger.

Jesus Christ, this was insane. Continuing forward, she moved into the room and straight for Wolf.
God, Wolf
… Rosie swallowed the wave of emotion threatening to spill out of her. She bent to her knees at his side. “Wolf?” She cupped his warm cheek then slid her fingers to his neck.

His pulse hammered hard against her fingertips, and Rosie had to bite back her cry of relief. Scanning down his body, she noticed there was no blood, but there was a bullet hole, the fabric of his navy blue Henley frayed where it’d entered. She tugged his shirt up.

Vest! Holy fucking hell—he was wearing what she assumed was a bulletproof vest. Thank God. Rosie hoped like hell Badger had one on, too. Glancing back to his face, Rosie shook his shoulder. “Wolf? Wake up.”

Nothing. What the hell? Rosie slid her fingers behind his head and when they met with wetness, she realized why. The fear was back, racing through her veins, making her skin itch. He’d cracked his head, apparently hard enough he was bleeding. And he was out cold. None of that was good. Goddammit…

Rosie turned and glanced around the room as the sound of something crashing to the ground echoed from the other office.
Oh God, think
! Before panic took over completely, Rosie scanned the room, searching for a gun, any fucking gun.

The
Men in Black
ass-kissing bodyguard’s dead body was just inside the doorway to the left—the gun he’d shot Wolf with still locked in the grip of his right hand. And she planned to leave that gun right where it was. She looked back to Wolf and then past his body to where his weapon lay. Leaning over him, she wrapped her fingers around the butt of his gun. “Need to borrow this, honey. Promise I’ll give it back, though.”

Rosie stood and ran back toward the room Badger was in, but slowed as she got closer. The grunts, groans, and random crashes coming from the room made her flinch. God help her, Badger was going to be furious that she’d come back for him. Fuck it, he could be mad all he wanted, punish her for it, too. She’d take it, with a smile no less, because that would mean he’d be alive to deliver the ass whooping.

Drawing in a deep breath, Rosie blew it out slowly as she crouched low to the ground and peered around the doorframe.

Badger was on his feet, left hand clasped to the left side of his neck where it met his shoulder—fingers coated with blood. His blood.
Oh God!
Too much blood!

Rosie sucked in a breath, almost choking on her own saliva. She was ready to scream his name but somehow got control of herself and bit down on her tongue when Badger swung at Alvaro, landing a punch with his right fist and knocking the bastard back a few steps.

Alvaro came right back at him though, swinging a small knife near Badger’s midsection. Badger managed to knock his arm away and countered by tackling the guy using his sheer mass and brute strength. When they landed both men groaned and Rosie cringed, but spotted the knife as it skidded across the floor. Thank God!