Free Criminal: A Bad-Boy Stepbrother Romance by Alexis Abbott, Alex Abbott

almost-glory, he got up.
His fist sent a spray of red from the one man’s face as he took
the handgun from him, a mere moment later and two shots rang out. One
man was definitely dead, or just as well as.
    Kaiden is like a wild animal; he’d become a
force of nature itself, and with a fury and rage that surpasses any
I’d seen, he lets loose a roar and comes for me.
    Comes to my rescue.
    He strikes down that piece of shit, putting another
bullet in him, then another. Kaiden isn't taking risks, not like I
did. Sympathy only put us both in danger, and he’d learned from
my flash-in-the-pan attempt to rescue us both.
    I scramble for my gun in the dark, but Kaiden, oh
Kaiden… he's wrath incarnate. He's standing up, tall and
strong, gun pointed at the once cocky Ryder.
    “You shit, you think this is ov—”
Ryder’s cocky words are silenced by the pull of Kaiden’s
trigger. The boom of the gun shot drops the man, and the insufferable
asshole is down on his back, clutching his wounded neck and screaming
in agony.
    Kaiden advances on him, gun still aimed for his head.
And he pulls the trigger again.
    “No Kaiden!” I cry, but it clicks. And no
boom follows.
    It clicks again, then again.
    “You don’t fucking touch my sister!”
Kaiden shouts, leaning to one side as the gun is now useless, but his
body is still sore and smarting from his beating. Instead of a
bullet, he plants the heel of his boot into Ryder’s face.

I don’t know where we are or how long we’ve
been driving. It’s still night, but even without the
streetlights, I can see the pain etched on Kaiden’s face. Blood
is caked beneath his nose, and he’s holding his side. His shirt
is torn in a few places, and I know I should be more concerned, but
honestly...
    That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my
life.
    It’s always been a constant thing with us. It’s
not the first time he’s kicked someone else’s ass for me,
but it might be the first time he’s been beat while doing it. I
shake my head. I know the thoughts are inappropriate, in more ways
than one, and I just try to focus on the road. It’s so quiet,
but I don’t feel safe being anywhere near Ryder.
    “We need to take you to a hospital,” I
say, but I don’t glance at him. I know a hospital is the last
place he’d want to be after a fight like that. I’m pretty
sure one of the conditions of his bail would be that he can’t
be involved with those people or alcohol or whatever anymore.
    “I’ll be fine,” he instantly
replies, though he winces a little. “I just need a place to lay
low. We should be far enough away, but if you see an all-night
pharmacy...”
    He trails off, and I nod obediently.
    “Just rest back,” I say, adrenaline still
coursing through me and making me more lead-footed than usual.
    Mile after mile of road spreads out, California
desert on all sides as I make my way west, towards our old town. It’s
not that I want to go home, but I just don’t know where else to
go, and I’m craving the comfortable, the familiar. All I have
on me is a hundred bucks in tips, and instinctively, I know there’s
no going back to our trailer.
    Ryder’ll have people looking for us, and I
glance at Kaiden.
    His eyes are shut, and though his lips are still
pulled into a sneer, he’s absolutely gorgeous. Everything about
him, even in his pain, just screams out for me.
    I lick my lips, my heart beating so loudly in my
chest.
    “You saved my life,” I murmur, not even
sure if he’ll hear me. The words hang between us, and I drink
the entire situation in, trying to cope with what just happened. I
have no idea what Ryder is capable of, but now I do, and I don’t
know what to do next.
    “Right back at you, Princess,” he says in
his gravelly husk of a voice, so raw and harsh after the night we
just had. “If you hadn’t given me the distraction, it’s
likely they would’ve just put me down on the spot before I had
a chance to turn the tables.”
    He winces again,