Arianne rolled to her knees. “You want to take him out, or shall I?”
Jagger grabbed her wrist, his moment of humor forgotten. “You’re gonna stay put until Cade signals it’s clear, then I’m gonna cover you while you run for the kitchen.”
She yanked her hand away. “Typical man. You want me to stay in the kitchen while the boys watch the game. No, thank you. First, I’m not leaving my friends. And second, Leo and I have a score to settle.”
“Fuck, Arianne.” He yanked her down. “This is no time for games.”
“I’m not playing games. I’m playing to win.”
“You hiding from me, Vexy?” Leo’s voice rang out in the now silent bar. “Scared I’m gonna shoot you? I’m disappointed. It wasn’t that long ago we were in bed together and you were screaming my name.”
“Bastard.” And before Jagger could stop her, she stood.
“Get out, Leo. You don’t belong here.”
Leo sneered. “Neither do you. Once a Jack, always a Jack. No matter how many damn Sinners you sleep with.”
Enraged, Jagger pushed himself to his feet, angling his body to protect Arianne as he made a quick assessment of the situation. The Sinners caught in the center of the bar had now ringed the girls, protecting them from Leo’s men. Leo stood near the front door, flanked by Black Jacks, while a couple of bikers from Road Kill took up the rear. Cade and Zane were still hiding near the back and side exits. Leo’s bikers patrolled the perimeter of the bar, shoving stray Sinners toward the crowd in the center.
Jagger bit his lip and tasted blood. Leo stood directly across from Arianne, not even bothering to watch the civilian roundup. “What do you want, Leo?” He kept his voice low, forcing Leo to lean in, straining to hear. “Aside from a quick death, which you’re not gonna get.”
Leo shot at the mirror ball above the dance floor and it exploded into pieces, raining down on the hardwood below. “Sinners blew up our ice house. We’ve come for a little retribution. Thought we’d redecorate your bar with bullets. And while we’re here, I’ll just take Vexy home.”
“She belongs to the Sinners now.” Jagger tensed, waiting for her usual retort that she didn’t belong to anyone, but it never came. He glanced quickly to the side and saw Cade and Zane in position near the exits.
“She belongs to me.” Leo sneered. “I had her first. Or did she forget to tell you?”
Crack. Arianne fired her gun and the bullet thudded into a pillar to Leo’s left.
He startled and jumped to the side, his face twisting in anger. “Fucking bitch.” Leo roared. “Did you just fire at me? What the fuck’s happened to you?”
“I found something at the Sinner clubhouse I thought I’d lost a long time ago.” Her voice shook, and Jagger placed a hand on her arm.
“Easy, sweetheart. Room’s a powder keg waiting to explode. You kill him now, it will go off, and we don’t want to do that until we get the civilians outta here.”
“How about you get your damn hand off my arm?” Arianne grated. “I’ve always wanted to do that, and if I were aiming to kill, he’d be dead.”
Leo snapped his fingers, and one of the Jacks grabbed a tall redhead and held a gun to her temple.
“Here’s how it’s gonna be,” Leo shouted. “You got five minutes to vacate the bar before our shooting party starts. Anyone left inside will be considered fair game. Vexy comes with us or I’ll tell my brother over there to shoot the girl.”
One of Leo’s Jacks opened a side door, and Sparky tried to keep order as people ran out into the alley.
Arianne leaned in to Jagger and murmured. “Look at the Road Kill president. He’s not too happy with the new plan. I have a feeling Road Kill thought they were just coming to shoot up the bar and not off pretty girls.”
Jagger took another quick look around. The Sinners who hadn’t been rounded up were positioned near the exits and had formed a perimeter around the bar. Cade had been busy. Once they took out the exit guards, they would regain control.
“Leo’s the key,” he said. “And you’re right. Road Kill isn’t fully committed to him. You can see how they’re standing slightly apart from his Jacks and the president is hanging back near the door instead of standing by his side. He’s probably insulted Viper put Leo in command.”
“Viper will never patch them over. This is a game to him. He dangles the carrot, gets the small clubs to do his dirty work, and then takes the carrot away.”
“You need to get that message to Road Kill’s president.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “Leo’s in my way. Think you can hit his leg at this distance? I’ll go for his shoulder.”
“I’d be happier if you left the bar with everyone else.”
In a wry tone, Arianne said, “Prepare to be disappointed.”