Free Fallen-Angels by Ashlynn Monroe

Earthly one was finished.   A priest began to pray, and she wondered why
the priest hadn’t come to her cell to give her last rights, surely, the town’s
folk didn’t consider her such a demon as to begrudge her such an important
comfort.   She said her own quick prayer
and when the jailer ushered her onto the trap door she began to shake
again.   A man tried to put a bag over her
head and she pushed it away.   He tried
again and she spoke firmly.
                “No, I can
handle all of this, except for that.”
                He nodded
and backed away.   Another man came up
behind her and pulled the noose over her head.   She began to hyperventilate, losing her calm.   She closed her eyes and fought for her
control.   They could take her life, but
not her pride.
                Her eyes
flew up at a loud commotion.   The priest
stopped praying and Justice saw him take a gun out of the Bible he was
holding.   What kind of priest used his Bible
as a gun case?
                The man at
the trap-door release moved to pull it, but the priest shot him in the arm, and
he stumbled backwards and fell off the scaffolding.   The priest winked at her and dove toward her,
pulling the noose off her neck as she easily slipped her arms out of the
cuffs.   Free and uncertain, she glanced
over at her saint turned savage.   He
grabbed her arm, jumped off the scaffolding, and hit the ground on a roll.   Her body ached but at least it was still
alive to ache.  
                She caught
sight of a man in the crowd and felt her heart stop. Jeremiah hadn’t abandoned
her after all.   Another man rode up to
him on a horse as gunfire erupted, and to her absolute shock she saw that it
was Heath.   Heath pulled Jeremiah up and
the men raced off, drawing the gunfire away from her.   How had they met to join forces in her
rescue?   Her answer came as the horseless
carriage raced up to her.   The back door
opened and Purity pulled Justice and the priest, who clearly wasn’t a priest,
inside the cab.   Grace turned and smiled
at her, but her husband pushed her down for safety as he sped off in the
opposite direction of Heath and Jeremiah.   Justice hunched down with the others, still shaking from the shock of
her rescue and near death experience.   She had stared the reaper in the face and lived, forever changed.
                Eventually,
the pursuer’s gunfire died away as the horseless carriage tirelessly out ran
them. When they were clear of danger, Ricardo spoke, “We made it boys and
girls.   Justice, meet Regan, my brother.”
                “Thank you
Regan. You’re not really a priest are you?”
                “Call me a
freelancer.   I borrowed these from the
town priest. He’ll wake up with one heck of a headache. And naked.”
                “I’d scold
you, but right now I’m just glad as hell you did it.”
                They all
laughed.   Justice noticed Purity giving
Regan a very absorbed look.   She wondered
if she’d soon be having another mobster for a brother-in-law.
                Long after
dark, they pulled up to a ranch, miles from the city.   Music was playing, lights were on, and the barn
was full of people dancing.   Seeing as
she had just escaped imprisonment, it seemed a bit ballsy for Justice to attend
a square dance, but Ricardo drove around to the back of the house away from the
party.    He led them inside a cellar
where a group of men were sitting around a table playing cards, barely glancing
at her.   They all had tattoos on their
hands. They were part of The Family as well.   Justice felt instantly safe. No sheriffs here, that was certain.  
                A door
opened and Jeremiah and Heath stepped out.   Justice ran to them, hugging them both at once.  
                “How on
Earth did you two meet?”  
                “Your
friend