Under Fire (Winged Enemy MC Romance) by Olivia Ruin Page A

again.
    “We’re all going to come back to the club headquarters, every single one of us, and then we are going to formulate our plan of attack. This sick son of a bitch is going to pay for messing with the Winged Enemy!”
    Another cheer, and then motorcycle after motorcycle began to kick to life. The air filled with revving engines as a dozen bikers got ready to declare their freedom from tyranny.
    I got into my car. I had a choice to make.
    Do I go to the headquarters and raise a big stink, and try to get everyone to turn on Kat? That might backfire. I had been around for a few weeks longer than her, but she had history with the gang and I was still an outsider. Judging from Jed’s reaction I doubt that it would be so easy to convince them that she was most likely the killer. Logic paled in comparison to the importance of human interactions when most people made decisions.
    Uneasy with my choice, I let myself trail off behind the others, and then turned off. I drove back to my apartment, aware that I could be making a huge mistake.
    I need to finally report what’s going on here. I’ll do that in the morning and then I’ll request backup. Arnold’s going to tear me a new asshole when he finds out that I’ve been silent through all this crap, but better late than never.
    I checked the time as I fell into bed. Two thirty AM. It felt later, with all that had happened that day. My hand felt like a lump of coal, a painful, throbbing mess. I’d have to get it looked at in the morning as well.
    My thoughts ran in circles as I drifted off to sleep.

ASSASSIN
    A soft click penetrated my dreams. I lay there with my eyes closed, and felt even wearier than when I first hit head to pillow. It seemed like only a second ago.
    I raised my head to look at the clock. Four. Why the hell am I awake?
    A slight noise out in the front room caught my attention.
    Is that Jed? Did he come to find me when I didn’t show up at the headquarters?
    I felt touched before the thought had time to get picked apart by my analytical mind, busily working away even as my conscious thoughts crawled at a snail’s pace.
    Jed had never snuck into my apartment before. It wasn’t his style. And he especially wouldn’t try to make as little noise as possible once he was inside. My hackles raised as my thoughts grew cleaner and clearer.
    Guided by instinct, I slid out of the bed on the side further from the bedroom door. I winced as the bed sheets rasped across my skin in what felt like an avalanche of sound to my ears. I lay flat on the floor, breathing as quietly and shallow as possible in order to not make any noise.
    Light filtered in through the blinds from the street outside, but I hoped it wasn’t enough for the intruder to really see what they were doing. I could sense a presence in the doorway and tensed, although I didn’t dare move a muscle.
    Pew. Pew. Pew.
    A silenced gun. I hadn’t heard one of those for a while. I crawled down to the corner of the bed and peered around, head close to the floor. Booted feet stood there, peering over the bed. I gathered my legs under myself and when the attacker went to flip the covers back I shouted and sprang forward.
    “Ahh!” I hoped the noise and sudden flurry would take the assassin by surprise.
    I flailed with my arms as I lunged forward, and I lucked out when my broken right hand made contact with the gun and knocked it loose.
    “Fuck!” I screamed. I had forgotten how bad my hand was, but hurting it worse now was better than getting shot. I engaged in a furious battle with the attacker, struggling to find purchase as I scrabbled at their eyes.
    A hard shove sent me backwards, and instead of reaching down to try and find their gun, the shadowy figure jumped backwards and ran out the bedroom door.
    By the time I got to my feet and followed, the front door of the apartment had banged open against the wall and the figure was a blur in the darkness as it ran out of the light.
    I stood in the hallway