WRAITH (Iron Kings MC, #1)

falling back as he fought to catch his breath.
A sinking feeling settled in the pit of my stomach when he tumbled like a rag doll. He hit the ground hard and lay there unmoving. Was he dead? A hit like that to the throat? It was more than a little possible, wasn’t it?
Finn blocked a hefty punch from the right a split second later, twisting the next guy’s arm brutally and making him cry out as something broke. Snarling, he held onto it and hammered into the guy’s gut several times over until the guy was doubling over. He kneed him in the face and then delivered a nasty chop to his neck that had him hitting the ground at his feet.
With the final and third one, he shoved a hand into his chest with such force that it sent the guy careening back, losing his balance, and crashing to the ground on his back.
I couldn’t believe Finn had managed to deal out so much damage with only one working arm.
He spun so he was finally facing me head-on again.
There was blood all over his face. His left arm was hanging askew. And he was limping as he stalked over to the truck. But he wasn’t showing an ounce of pain on his face. All I could see was rage burning in his gaze.
It took a moment as he made his way over to me, but his expression slowly softened as he took me in.
I realized for the first time with all the craziness that I’d been seeing that the banging on the window had stopped. I looked out to see that Knox was no longer there. As I scanned the area, I saw that he wasn’t anywhere. He’d gone.
A familiar thunder sounded.
Motorcycles!
There was no way they could be Iron Kings. They couldn’t have covered the distance in the time since my dad had relayed his warning earlier.
They had to be Knox’s reinforcements.
There was no way Finn could take on any more of them while he was in such a state.
I pushed open the driver’s door and called out, “Come on! Let’s get out of here!”
He nodded and hurried to the truck. “You’re gonna have to drive, until I fix my arm.”
“Okay,” I said, jumping out of the truck and holding the door open for him as he reached me.
He hopped in easier than I would’ve thought possible with his dislocated shoulder.
Despite an agitated grunt from him, I helped him to put his seatbelt on.
Then I ran around to the driver’s side and climbed in.
My eyes strayed to his shoulder worriedly. “I can help you fix it back into place right now. You must be in so much pain.”
“Ashley, no. Focus. Drive like hell.”
“Fine,” I muttered, starting the truck. “But we’re stopping as soon as we can.”
He smiled wearily and sank back against the seat. “You’ve got it, little warrior.”

11
~Wraith~
 
“HERE GOES NOTHING.”
I stabbed at the activation command on my phone app and waited with bated breath.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, the thing went live, sizzling with electricity. The entirety of the two-story log cabin set into the mountains was now surrounded by an active electric fence. The voltage was high enough to do some real damage. It was the first line of defense in a complex chain of security procedures I’d reactivated the moment I’d settled Ashley into a room at the new safehouse.
I’d also set charges along the front lawn, which would go off at the touch of a button.
There was also the over-watch position on the roof, ready at a moment’s notice.
And, if all else failed, there was an escape tunnel that ran underneath the house, leading out to a secluded area where a getaway vehicle sat in a small garage waiting and gassed-up.
I made my way up the porch steps, back into the lodge.
I headed to the kitchen and pulled a bottle of bourbon from the cupboard, screwing off the cap and taking a big swig as I settled myself onto a bar stool at the island.
And then my phone rang.
I eyed the call display and rolled my eyes.
He certainly took his fucking time.
I picked up quickly, barking urgently down the line, “Is it done?”
“Wow. No heartfelt greeting? No small talk?”
Still joking around at the most inopportune times. Some things never changed. “Jesse,” I pressed.
“It’s done,” he confirmed. “I thought we had an agreement about you holding off? Cleaning up so many bodies in such a short amount of time isn’t easy, Finn. Take it down a notch, yeah?”
“Believe me, none of this was my plan.”
He sighed heavily. “I know. I’m sorry it’s going down this way for you.” There was a long pause, a shared silence where we both felt the weight of his words. He was no stranger to the fallout of dealing so much death. After leaving the Special Forces, he’d suffered from a nasty case of PTSD, only just managing to white-knuckle his way through it.
“Is the girl doing all right?”
I nodded to myself, smiling like a fool, as I told him, “She’s something else. A tough little thing.”
“Like that, is it?”
I took another swig of bourbon. “Lock it up.”
“I’ve just never heard that tone of voice from you when you’re talking about anyone.”
Was I that obvious with it? Damn. I’d put so much effort into denying that I felt anything for Ashley when I was around her that the strain of it was clearly taking its toll, the truth of it leaking out against my will.
“I’m her protection detail. Her father’s trusting me to safeguard her, not to fuck around with her. He’s my oldest friend.”
“I get that, but from what you’ve told me since all this started, it wouldn’t be just fucking. You care about her a great deal.”
“I’m just doing my job,” I said, much more comfortable with my denial than admitting to what he was accusing me of.
“If it was just a job, things would’ve gone down a lot differently. I saw what you did