CHAPTER4
1368 Words
The cold night air rushed against Megan’s face as she gripped the motorcycle’s handlebars. The city lights blurred past them, but she had no time to admire the view. All she could think about was escaping before her father’s men caught up.
Behind her, Ben held on tightly, his breathing uneven. She could feel the heat of his body against her back. He was hurt badly. His grip around her waist tightened as she swerved through traffic.
“Where are we going?” she shouted over the roar of the engine.
Ben groaned. “Safe house. North side. Take a left up ahead.”
Megan nodded, barely managing to avoid a car as she made the turn. The streets were busy, but not enough to lose their pursuers. She knew her father’s men would still be coming for them.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket.
She ignored it.
She didn’t need to see who it was she already knew.
Peter Braxton never let things go.
Ben let out a low hiss of pain.
“Hang on,” Megan said, glancing at him in the side mirror. His face was pale, sweat forming on his forehead.
“I’m good,” he muttered.
“You’re not,” she shot back. “Just stay awake.”
Ben chuckled weakly. “Why? You afraid I’ll die on you?”
Megan’s jaw clenched. “No. I’m afraid I’ll have to drag your dead body around, and that sounds exhausting.”
Ben smirked against her shoulder. “That’s the only reason?”
Megan didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Not now.
Not when her father wanted him dead.
A sudden flash of headlights appeared in the side mirror. Megan’s stomach twisted.
Black SUVs. Two of them.
“They found us,” she said, her grip tightening.
Ben cursed. “Faster, Meg.”
Megan pushed the bike to its limit, weaving between cars. The SUVs followed, forcing their way through traffic.
The safe house wasn’t far, but they wouldn’t make it if the men caught up.
“Hold on,” Megan warned.
“What are you”
Before Ben could finish, Megan swerved into a narrow alleyway. The bike barely fit between the brick walls, sparks flying as the side scraped against metal trash cans.
Behind them, the SUVs screeched to a stop. The alley was too tight for them to follow.
Megan didn’t slow down. She burst out onto another street, cutting across an empty parking lot before turning onto a quieter road.
“Damn,” Ben breathed. “That was insane.”
Megan exhaled sharply. “You’re welcome.”
Ben chuckled weakly, but then his body slumped slightly against her.
Megan’s heart jumped. “Ben?”
“I’m fine,” he mumbled. “Just tired.”
Megan cursed under her breath. He was losing too much blood. If they didn’t get to the safe house soon, she might actually lose him.
She turned down a deserted road, finally spotting the old warehouse Ben had mentioned. It looked abandoned rusted metal doors, broken windows, graffiti covering the walls.
Megan pulled up to the entrance, killing the engine.
She climbed off and turned to help Ben, but he was already sliding off the seat. His legs buckled, and she barely caught him before he hit the ground.
“Damn it, Ben,” she muttered, struggling to keep him upright.
He let out a weak laugh. “Told you I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding all over me,” she snapped. “That is not fine.”
Ben smirked. “Could be worse.”
Megan rolled her eyes and dragged him toward the door.
She pounded on it with her fist. “Open up!”
For a few seconds, there was nothing. Then, the door creaked open, and a tall, broad-shouldered man stood in the doorway, a gun in his hand.
His sharp eyes flicked from Megan to Ben, then back to Megan.
“Took you long enough,” he grunted, stepping aside.
Megan didn’t bother responding. She dragged Ben inside.
The safe house was an old, run-down warehouse, but it was stocked with weapons, medical supplies, and just enough comfort to make it livable. A couch sat in the middle of the room, and Megan guided Ben onto it before stepping back.
The man who had opened the door shut it behind them, locking it.
He turned to Ben. “You look like hell.”
Ben smirked weakly. “Feel worse.”
The man who Megan assumed was one of Ben’s most trusted allies grabbed a medical kit from the table. “You’re lucky I’m here.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Ben muttered, closing his eyes.
Megan stood frozen, watching as the man started treating Ben’s wound.
Her hands were still shaking. Her heart was still racing.
Her father had sent men to kill them.
There was no turning back now.
This was war.
And she was ready to fight.
Megan paced the warehouse floor, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. The adrenaline from the chase hadn’t faded. Her father had tried to kill Ben, tried to kill the man she loved.
The reality of it made her stomach twist.
Across the room, Ben winced as his friend whose name she learned was Nate worked on his wound. The man was skilled, moving with steady hands as he stitched Ben up.
“You’re lucky,” Nate muttered. “Another inch and that bullet would’ve hit the artery.”
Ben smirked. “Luck’s my middle name.”
“Bullshit,” Nate scoffed. “Your middle name is trouble.”
Megan exhaled sharply. “I’d call it stupidity.”
Ben opened one eye and smirked at her. “You love me for it, though.”
Megan didn’t answer.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
She sat down beside him, brushing sweaty hair from his forehead. “You need to rest,” she murmured.
Ben’s smirk faded. “We don’t have time for that.” He shifted, groaning slightly as he forced himself to sit up. “Your father made his move. Now it’s my turn.”
Megan’s stomach twisted. “You’re not in any condition to fight, Ben.”
“I don’t have a choice,” he said firmly. “If we don’t act first, your father will keep sending men until one of us is dead.”
Nate leaned against the table, arms crossed. “He’s not wrong. The Braxtons don’t back down. If we don’t hit back, they’ll see it as weakness.”
Megan shook her head. “And what do you think attacking him will do? He won’t stop, Ben. He won’t stop.”
Ben met her gaze, his expression dark. “Neither will I.”
Silence stretched between them.
Megan wanted to argue. She wanted to tell him there had to be another way. But deep down, she knew there wasn’t. Her father had made his choice. He had drawn the line.
And now, they had to fight.
She swallowed hard. “Then what’s the plan?”
Ben’s lips curled into a smirk. “That’s my girl.”
Nate chuckled, shaking his head. “You sure know how to pick ‘em.”
Megan rolled her eyes. “Let’s just focus on not dying.”
Ben’s smirk didn’t fade. “Agreed.”
Nate grabbed a map from the table and spread it out. “We need to be smart. We can’t take the Braxtons head-on not yet. But we can start picking apart their business, cutting off their power.”
Megan frowned. “You want to go after my father’s operations?”
Ben nodded. “We hit his shipments, his supply lines. We make it hurt.”
Megan hesitated. “That’ll only make him angrier.”
Ben’s eyes darkened. “Good.”
Megan exhaled, looking at the map. Her father’s empire was massive, but there were weak spots. She knew them.
Because she had grown up in them.
She glanced at Ben, at the fire in his eyes.
This was it.
There was no going back.
She placed her finger on the map, pointing to a location. “Start here.”
Ben’s smirk widened. “That’s my girl.”
And just like that, war had begun.
- Writer
