Page 39 of Stryker's Ruin

He raises his arm and points the gun in his hand at me and fires. Another weapon goes off as I’m being dragged backward.

CHAPTER 23

Stryker

Instinct takes over when I see Garvey’s weapon. Raising my own, I take out Garvey as his weapon goes off, exploding Nico’s head. Out of the corner of my eye I see Jeri go down as well. Diego nods as I drop to my knees beside my girl.

“Keep your eyes closed, babe. Do not open your eyes. I’m here. I got you.” I pull off my shirt and gently wipe her face.

I feel my teammates surround me as more vehicles screech to a halt. A hand settles on my shoulder and my father speaks. “Take care of your woman. I’ve got this.”

He turns to the two men jumping from separate cars. “Vince, Anlon, what the hell are you doing? You can no longer control your families?”

He waves his hand over the two bodies. “These two didn’t want peace. They wanted war, to kill or be killed. Well, they got their wish. They killed each other in broad daylight in a public place. Are you trying to bring every federal agency down on all of us?

“Anlon, now you are left to deal with the investigation into Garvey’s sex trafficking, the little girls he stole and murdered.

“Vince, did you know that Nico was creating drugs and testing them on people he kidnapped? Torturing and murdering them? The cops know.

“All these two saw was the glory, excitement.

“And you two old fools, have you forgotten the bodies of loved ones you held as they bled out? The women and the children who have died over the years?

“Both of you have more than enough in your coffers to support your families legitimately for five generations. You don’t need the vile things your grandsons were into.

“This is your chance to stop this now. Make peace here. Now. Walk away. Neither of your families are in the same marketplace as the other. Let your future generations live in peace. Grow old with your children and grandchildren.

“Or are you both so eager for your own demise? There are much bigger, more dangerous families out there. They will let you eat at each other until you’re both weak and then they will step in and take over.”

“My granddaughter,” Vince says.

“What granddaughter?” Sean questions. “I’ve never heard you speak of a granddaughter. Only grandsons.”

“That’s her on the ground.”

Sean folds an arm over his chest and rubs his chin with his other hand. “Whose child is she? I’ve never heard her name mentioned in conjunction with your sons.”

I refuse to control my rage any longer. Standing with her cradled to my chest I face the old man. “You, the head of your family, abandoned her, a child. Isolated her and held her captive. You treated her like nothing, bartered her for power.

“Make no mistake. This woman is mine. If you try to take her from me, if you embrace this war, be prepared. I’ll see both of your empires burnt to the ground. There will be no survivors.”

“Who the hell do you think you are talking to me like that,” Vince exclaims. “You’re nothing but a hired bodyguard.”

“Anlon, my friend. I thought you’d been introduced,” Sean says a touch of steel in his voice.

I sense my father’s men and my teammates circle behind us.

“Forgive my manners,” Sean continues in a too soft voice. “This is Stryker McLean. As you know, the McLean clan is vast in numbers, both here and at home in Ireland. We heard one of our own was taking the vows of marriage and we came to help celebrate. Is there a problem?”

Vince turns white and immediately backs down. His family was almost annihilated once before by mine. He has even less resources to fight should a new war against them ensue.

The sound of sirens echoes in the distance. “Gentlemen. I believe we should all leave the area and let our distinguished police department do their job. It’s a shame that the cameras were down for maintenance. But it is obvious it was a personal dispute that ended in them taking each other’s lives,” Sean comments.

I bundle my love into my arms and climb in the back of the SUV.

“Stryker?” she whispers.

“It’s over love. I’m taking you home to get cleaned up and then we’ll get married.”