Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 118042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
I expected it to be locked.
I was sure it would be locked, yet it opened.
I jolted with the sudden jar of the handle slamming down and the hinges swinging wide.
Double-fisting the machine gun, I ducked to the side, waiting for snipers to fire.
Silence.
No boots on the stairs.
No shouts for backup.
Chills darted down my spine.
Too easy.
Something’s not right.
Ben and Stewart careened to a stop further down the wall. Panting hard and sweat glittering in the night, they waved.
Ben hissed, “What’s going on? Why is it so quiet?”
I pressed my finger to my lips and shook my head.
Regardless if this was a trap or not…the less the snipers heard, the better.
Pointing up the stone steps, I motioned climbing.
I didn’t wait to see if they’d follow.
Slinking through the small doorway, I ordered my legs to keep going. One step in front of the other.
My mind blanked for a second. I blinked back into consciousness.
Soon I could rest.
Soon I could eat and sleep and pass out.
Soon…
The rock-hewn steps throbbed with ice, making my bare feet ache and toes go numb. I didn’t know if I shivered from cold or trembled from weakness, but I gritted my teeth and ignored everything.
Up and up the stairs went, cutting right through the middle of the wall, leading to the walkway on the top.
My breathing echoed harsh and shallow, but I kept going.
Shoes scuffed behind me.
I hoped to fuck it was Ben and Stewart and not snipers about to ambush me.
Black spots danced in my vision as I reached another door on a narrow landing. The stairs branched off to the side, leading toward yet another door that probably led to the very top.
I swayed to continue going up, but…a nudge in my belly.
A strange little insistence to go this way instead.
Swallowing hard, I rested one hand on the handle. My other wrapped around the trigger of my gun.
Sucking in a breath, I shoved the handle down and kicked the door open. With my elbow pressed against the hole in my waist, I aimed the gun into the room beyond.
Light made me wince.
My vision went hazy as I blinked away the dark and focused on an empty corridor with arrow slits and sconces. Icy wind howled and lamented through the narrow nooks, acting like blades of air.
But no guards.
What the fuck is going on?
Ben and Stewart crowded the small corridor behind me.
We all shared a worried look.
Fuck.
Had Victor already escaped?
Had he taken his guards with him?
It would explain the ghostly emptiness—
Someone cleared their throat up ahead.
I went fatally still.
No one moved.
Sighing heavily, I pointed down the corridor and fell back into a prowl. The heavy gun took the last of my reserves to hold it in position. My numb feet and whip-torn back did their best to rob me of my strength.
But no matter how my body tried to warn me to stop, I’d reached the bottom of my tolerance.
I’d been pushed into primordial extremes.
I won’t stop until he’s dead.
Creeping down the empty corridor, I hated that there was no other way out. Claustrophobia clawed. Animalistic instinct screamed to leave before it was too late.
Another door appeared up ahead.
Brighter light shone beneath it. A golden glow in the keyhole.
Shit.
Turning to face Ben and Stewart, I drew a finger across my throat.
Abort.
Turn back—
“You might as well come in, Henri.”
Motherfucker.
Snarling with loathing, I spun around and glowered at the door.
Victor’s voice appeared again through a small speaker on the corridor wall. “You’ve been on camera ever since you entered the battlements. Don’t be shy. Come in. Have a drink. You look like you could use it.”
If I opened that door, I’d die.
One hundred percent, I would die.
But…at least I could take Victor with me.
Ily would be safe.
Peter.
All the rest.
This ends tonight.
Here and now.
Eyeing up the door, I raised my gun.
“Ah, I wouldn’t fire if I were you. It’s bullet-proof. You’ll only succeed in shooting yourself.”
Oh for fuck’s sake.
I’d never despised someone as much as I did this creep.
He gave me a visceral reaction. A despicable crawling deep in my bones.
But…I also had to respect him.
I’d never met anyone as smart as him. As sly as him. As un-fucking-killable as him.
Ben and Stewart hissed at each other, their hands waving with plans.
I didn’t listen.
I didn’t try to strategize.
I would never be able to win against Victor’s games or manipulation.
I’d tried.
I’d failed.
And so…I’ll play this my way.
Without thinking, I charged the door, kicked it open, and fired.
Bullets pummelled plump purple cushions, shredded liquor bottles on a shelf, and shattered the stone walls beyond. Torn pages flew, curtains shivered, and destruction detonated in a sweeping arc as I mowed the room with bullets.
Four men pounced on me, two from each side.
One wrenched the gun out of my stupidly feeble hands, one kicked my legs out from under me, and two pressed Glocks to my temples as I crunched to my knees.