Damaged and the Outlaw (Damaged #4)

The one thing Stinky taught me was patience. Maybe it was because he was dead inside, but the bastard had more patience than anyone I ever met. We spent long stakeouts in a car where Stinky ate baloney sandwiches and listened to baseball on the radio. To avoid going insane from boredom, I learned patience and it made me a better man. It also made me a better killer.

Shutting the door on Raven, my biggest concern was returning to her. The best way to keep her safe was to stop thinking about Raven. Focus on the perfect shot. That was where patience came in.

When I built the cabin, I made sure to sit it on top of a sizable crawl space with an entry point near the closet. Dropping into the hole, I took my rifle and wormed my way towards the shooter.

Testing for resistance, the bastard continued shooting then paused to look for movement. When I reached the front of the cabin, the shooter poked his head out to study the area. I sensed he was considering escalating the attack, but was afraid to come out in the open. An amateur had come to take out Outlaw and would pay with his life.

The guy didn’t have the balls to attack. He fired a few more times and waited. I waited too. My rifle held steady as I slowed my breathing. I was in no hurry. Raven was safe in the closet. I’d stop the shooter before he ever got within feet of her. I just needed to be patient. If I fired too early and missed, he would know my spot and everything would get more complicated.

Twice, I had decent shots. They weren’t sure things, so I waited. I wanted the first shot to be the last. I also wanted to ensure the idiot didn’t have backup.

He didn’t come out of his hiding spot for a long time and I knew what he was thinking. It had been too easy. Had we died immediately? Were we lying in wait? If he came out of his spot too early, would he end up dead? What if we had called for help and he was wasting time? He finally decided he had to make a move.

I made mine too and took the shot as soon as he stepped out from behind the tree. As soon as he went down, I crawled out from under the cabin and hurried to his lifeless body. Kicking him over, I didn’t recognize the guy. Based on the tats on his arms, he did time in prison. His ID said he was from Arizona. The Devils’ patience was up, but they sent an amateur to do the job.

Returning to the cabin, I thought about the recent reports of a suspicious man stalking my hangouts. Twice, security interrupted someone breaking into my apartment. Both times, the guy got away. He’d obvious tracked me out here and found a perfect spot to do his dirty work. No one would have thought to come looking for me and Raven for days.

I texted a quick message to Judd before reaching the closet. Never did I worry Raven wouldn’t be waiting for me. She was smart enough to know when to obey. Just as I expected, she sat on the ground, still holding the gun. She looked like a fallen angel when the light hit her, but I knew she would have used the gun if I had been anyone else.

“You still sticking with me?” I asked, holding out a hand.

Eyes tired and afraid, Raven took my hand and stood up. “Till the end,” she said, grabbing onto me. “He didn’t take you.”

“Never,” I said, kissing her head as she clung to me.

“Who was it? A local guy or someone from the Devils?”

“An out of town guy sent by the club. Judd is on his way with a clean up crew. I don’t know if they’ll be able to get here if that asshole’s car is blocking the road. I assume he didn’t walk all the way out here.”

Raven finally released me and we walked into the family room covered with glass.

“The guy wasn’t a pro. He had a decent rifle, but didn’t take into account the thickness of the windows,” I said, grabbing a broom. “They aren’t bulletproof obviously, but I paid more to have them extra thick because of the storms. That and in case someone came shooting.”

Raven picked up a chair knocked over by the gunfire. “Did you build this cabin all by yourself?”

Frowning, I glanced at her and caught her grinning.

“Actually, I did. Every nail. Every curtain was all me.”

“Once this crap with the Devils is over with, I’d like to come out here for the weekend. It’s beautiful and quiet.”

I smiled at how damn perfect she was until she frowned at the curtains.

“I’m buying new ones.”

“We’ll see.”

Raven smiled then fell silent while studying the quiet day. I set aside the broom and walked to her.

“Is his body out there?” she asked. “I feel weird talking about curtains with a dead body not far away.”

“He would have killed us both and gone on with his life with extra cash in his pocket.”

“I know. I just feel weird.”

“Don’t think about it. When ugly shit happens, you have to push it aside and think of something else. Think of tomorrow and the next day. Down under the house, I didn’t let myself panic because I knew I was spending tonight with you. I had better things to think about. You need to do that now. Think about whether we should spend the night at your place or mine. Do you want to have dinner this weekend with Lark and Aaron? Want to go bowling afterward? Think about that and not what’s outside.”