Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
As he drew close to his target, Gabriel kneeled behind a tree while the bright light slashed to the left and then to the right. The guard was a large brute of a man with a bald head that glistened with sweat in the light. A gun was nestled in its holster on his side, and there was the soft jingle of keys as he trudged through the old, dried leaves.
Gabriel frowned. There was a small reflection in the center of his chest, as if from glass. Likely a body camera. Lovely. That device limited his options for attack and sharply cut down Justin’s time to work.
When the guard was a half dozen steps away from Gabriel, he leaped out from his hiding place and onto his back. The guard managed a surprised yelp before Gabriel got his arm wrapped around his neck, locking in the chokehold.
The bruiser twisted and tore at Gabriel’s arm, trying desperately to pull it free, but there was no chance of it. Gabriel was willing to snap his own arm rather than release this man. He would not find Justin or uncover all his hard work.
Plus, releasing the man meant killing him, and he’d done nothing that Gabriel knew of to earn that cold fate.
For now, Gabriel was content to simply knock him unconscious.
A few muffled choking noises came from the guard as he fought for air. He gave up on trying to pull Gabriel’s arm free and stumbled over to the closest large tree. Gabriel swallowed a curse as the guard rammed his back against the tree, crushing Gabriel between his sizable girth and the hard trunk of the tree.
Gabriel hissed and clenched his teeth. Air rushed out of his lungs and pain shot through both his spine and ribs, but he refused to loosen his hold. The bastard rammed the tree twice more, but each time with a little less force.
The guard stepped forward, ready to ram the tree a fourth time, when his knees buckled. Gabriel held him upright, still blocking both the airway to his lungs and the blood to his brain. He counted to five and then released him completely, allowing the guard to fall onto his face in the dirt.
Gabriel reached out to turn him over but stopped himself at the last second. Flipping him meant exposing the body camera, and it was safer if that stayed obscured.
After one last check to make sure the man had a pulse and was breathing on his own, Gabriel rushed to where Justin was working in the tree.
“Out of time,” he softly called up to him.
“Guard?”
“Unconscious, but I’m sure he’s got friends.”
“Coming down,” Justin said, right before he adjusted his bag and descended the tree. The man moved like he was part monkey, moving from branch to branch with ease. Gabriel stepped out of the way but remained close enough to lend a hand if Justin needed it in the darkness.
When Justin was on the ground again, he smirked at Gabriel. “Any problems?”
“Just one large guard. Though I think he cracked my ribs.” Gabriel reached up and rubbed the ribs on his right. He was also pretty sure his back was bleeding from where the bark had torn through his shirt and scratched along his spine. “How are we going to keep them from investigating the woods?”
“I’ve got a plan for just that problem.”
Opening his sling bag, he pulled out two cans of beer. He handed one over to Gabriel and cracked the other one open himself. “Where’s the guard?”
Gabriel led him over to the man’s unconscious body while cracking open his own can. Just a few feet away from the guard, Justin proceeded to pour his beer all over the surrounding ground. He motioned for Gabriel to do the same.
When the cans were empty, they crushed them up a bit then dropped them in the brush. Gabriel followed his lead and then they hurried back across the woods to a nearby neighborhood where they’d parked Gabriel’s rental car.
“What was the point of the beer?” Gabriel asked when they were safely in the car and starting toward Justin’s house.
“There’s a high school less than half a mile from those woods. It would be a prime place for teenagers to sneak away, drink beer, and generally goof off,” Justin explained with a grin. “When they find the guard, they’re going to smell the beer and see the cans. They’ll think he just got jumped by some stupid, drunk kids. And it’s likely the guard isn’t going to remember much from being knocked out. The cameras should be safe for at least a few days if not longer.”
Gabriel grunted as they drove along the winding residential street. The windows were rolled down, and the cooler wind felt good through his sweaty hair. He was already looking forward to a shower and sleep.