Free Welcome to Diablo Vista (Axl Dane #1) by Crow Gray Page B

his body, shaking his body like a rag doll and nearly tearing his body in two.
                  Axl grimaced as Ed hit the ground, never to get up again. Axl realized Ed may have saved his life accidentally, as he may have been in front of the window if Ed hadn't appeared. Axl took a second to snatch up Ed's pistol before crouching and approaching the window. He looked down to see Geoff, Rosita, and Trista all crouched in the large bushes under the windows. The grass out back showed that some bikers had been riding around, but none were visible. Axl jumped, landing in the bushes and then rolling to his feet. Other than a few small scratches he was unhurt.
                  “Is everyone okay?” Axl asked.
                  “Yeah,” Geoff said, the others nodding.
                  Axl held up Ed's pistol. “Who can use this?”
                  “Shit! I should have gotten my gun!” Trista exclaimed.
                  “I can use it,” said Rosita. Axl glanced at Geoff, but Geoff just shrugged. He tossed the pistol to Rosita.
                  “My car is two houses down, so follow me and I'll get us the hell out of there,” Axl said, slowly creeping along the house and staying behind the bushes. The others followed closely, and soon they reached the edge of the house. So far the fighting had been contained to the front side, with gunshots, curses and the screams of the dying echoing through the yard. Axl peeked around the corner, but it looked clear.
                  “You all go first, and I'll cover you,” Axl said, kneeling and gripping the Python with both hands. He didn't have any extra shells on him, so he had to make each shot count.
                  Trista and Geoff ran across and made it into the next yard while Rosita hesitated. “I'll go across and cover you,” she told Axl, squeezing his shoulder. He looked into her eyes and nodded. She ran across, and then Axl followed. Just as he was halfway across, a bike roared around the corner. Axl had no time to do anything other than fire, and his shot was perfect, catching the biker center mass and knocking him directly off his bike. Axl jumped over the bike as it slid near him, tearing a divot into the soft grass and black soil.
                  He joined the other three and pointed to his vehicle which was now visible in the distance. “Get over there, stay behind the houses as much as possible and move fast,” Axl said, noticing no one in the few other houses had appeared. Thankfully they must have been at work, or the houses were still unoccupied.
                  Axl had a view of the front yard of Esteban's place, and he saw many bodies along with several burning motorcycles as well as vehicles riddled with bullet holes. The front yard was a battle site littered with casualties. Axl shook his head and ran for his vehicle, reaching it without incident.
                  He unlocked it, and they climbed in, Geoff and Trista in the back and Rosita in the front with Axl. Unfortunately, just as they climbed in they were spotted. Axl spotted several of the men pointing in their direction, some from every faction. He floored it and went in the opposite direction of the gate.
                  “There's no other way out. It's a dead end!” Trista said, panicked.
                  Axl looked in the rear view mirror, watching to see if anyone followed but so far nothing. “I can't go back past them. I have a bad feeling that group is after your husband, at least some of them. The others may be after me. Either way, we need to get the hell out of town for a while.”
                  “And go where?” Rosita asked.
                  “I know a place,” Axl said. He drove off straight through a vacant lot, heading the Bronco towards the chain-link fence at full