Free Inside Danger (Outside The Ropes Book 2) by Ashley Claudy Page A

groceries instead of a wreckage that could link us to murder.
    Murder. My mind clung to the word, taunting me. And my stomach heaved into my throat, choking me.
    Demetri scoffed as I coughed and spluttered, unable to clear my lungs and take in air.
    “Stop. Get in car. No time for that.” He pushed me away from the trunk to the passenger side door.
    My feet were moving, but I tingled with lack of air and couldn’t focus on anything around me.
    Once seated, I tried to get a grip on my breathing, but this was beyond any panic attack I’d ever had. It wasn’t physical it was mental. My body clashed with my brain, both warring for control, unable to blend together.
    Frigid night air whipped around the car through the shattered back window as Demetri sped to Rusnak’s place. The drive was short, we were less than a mile away.
    Demetri was holding his shoulder at an odd angle; he didn’t lean it back on the seat and kept it hunched forward. I scanned over him, his dark shirt was stuck to him and shredded.
    “You’ve been shot.”
    He snorted. “Yes. Not bad though.”
    I kept quiet as Demetri stopped at the guard shack and the gates to Rusnak’s slid open. After we entered, he drove off the driveway, over the grass, to a large barn by the shooting range we had been at earlier. He parked the car in the barn, getting out to open and close the doors manually by sliding them on their hinges.
    Demetri walked me to my room in the main house. “Wash up, get changed, and meet me here.” He disappeared into the room on the opposite side of the hall.
    I hung tight to my adrenaline, burring my thoughts to get through tonight, and went into my room to follow Demetri’s orders.
***
    We were in a different car, cruising down the highway. Demetri had cleaned himself up but his shoulder was still stiff, although I only noticed because I looked for it.
    “Who were they?” I asked, giving my brain an inch of room to function.
    “That’s what we find out now. I think I know.”
    I liked that he said we, it made me feel slightly stable in a very unstable situation.
    “Does it have to do with Damien?” Maybe my meeting with Miguel had been a set up.
    “Don’t think so. They knew about Anatoli’s place. I think is bad business.”
    Rusnak could be involved in all sorts of things, there was a good chance this had nothing to do with me or Gage. But, there was a chance it did. I pulled back in my thoughts, not wanting to get a head of myself.
    “How do we find out?”
    He met my eyes for a frozen moment and then said, “We talk to Ollie first.”

    The minute we turned into the warehouse district I knew we were going to that strip club. But I didn’t care. I was determined to do what I needed to do to find out what was going on.
    We walked through the back door, down the familiar hallway that pulsed with music and smelled of alcohol and bodies. Demetri led the way, confident in where he was going. He entered into the room that I had first met Nick in.
    Silas and Rusnak sat on the couch, and Gage sat on the chair opposite them. They were huddled around the low coffee table in front of them but sat up as we entered, their gaze shifting from Demetri to me.
    “Dem, you brought the girl along?” Rusnak lifted his brow with a curious smile.
    I couldn’t see Demetri’s face from my spot behind him, but he grunted and shook his head. “We had incident tonight.”
    Silas closed the dark case they had on the table, zippering it up as he slid it beside him. But Gage kept his face blank as he leaned back in the chair, splitting his attention between us.
    “Come sit, sweetheart.” Rusnak’s voice easily relit my fuse.
    “Regan,” I reminded him between clenched teeth.
    His smile spread as his eyes narrowed. “Right, Regan. Sit down.” He dropped his eyes to the spot beside him, but I stood still.
    “Get her out of here. We’ve got business to discuss.” Gage spoke up, deep voice even and low.
    “I don’t mind her staying.”