Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 248926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1245(@200wpm)___ 996(@250wpm)___ 830(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 248926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1245(@200wpm)___ 996(@250wpm)___ 830(@300wpm)
Heart-pounding, I leaned against the elevator’s walls.
Please, God.
Finally, one of the women shouted, “Why do you want the boy?!”
“Does it matter?” I yelled back, “Why do you want the boy?”
“Fela wants to protect Paolo from the Brotherhood!”
“Bullshit!” My body shook with rage. “Fela wants to use Paolo as a pawn to get me to do what he wants!”
More silence came.
I raised my eyebrows.
Wait. Right? That is why you’re taking him. . .unless. . .
A sudden realization washed over me. What if Fela didn’t know that I cared for Paolo. These women damn sure didn’t either. If they had, there would have been several quirky replies.
Was their mission really to save Paolo from the Russians?
Fela had Paolo for a long time, using him against Pavel. But there was one thing I learned about humanity, most of the time, people weren't all bad or all good, there were layers to us all.
Maybe, Fela felt guilty. Perhaps, he remembered how he had been treated by the Russians—naked, leashed, and treated like a dog.
Thoughts and possibilities spun around in my brain. Instantly, I shut them off, and returned to the true focus. In the end, it didn't matter why Black Axe grabbed Paolo. The fact was. . .they grabbed him, and I didn't like that shit at all.
Paolo is my little baby. Mine to keep safe. Mine to love.
The women continued to remain silent as if thoroughly trying to figure out what they should do next.
I inched my face out of the elevator to see what was happening in the hallway.
Oh.
My heart stopped.
Five of Valentina’s guards prowled forward in the opposite direction.
This works.
When the women leaned out, they wouldn’t see the men behind them.
But. . .what if Black Axe really came to save Paolo? Should they still die if they were trying to protect Paolo?
My stomach twisted with guilt.
Sadness rose, yet rage drowned it out.
Fuck it. Whether they came to save Paolo or not, they die.
I could feel the influence of Kaz moving through me. I could even hear his voice in my head.
“If you let them get away free, then others will know that they can take Paolo.”
Sighing, I tried to decipher if that was the truth or not, but Kaz's voice entered my head again.
“Make them an example, mysh!”
I leaned out of the hallway. “Ladies! What do you think of the exchange?!”
One woman ducked her head out, not noticing Valentina’s guards behind her. “How do we know that can we trust you?!”
Fast, a guard grabbed her by the neck and yanked her out into the hallway.
She screamed.
He kept her close and had a gun at her head.
“Don’t shoot her!” I leaned out and kept my voice low.
Not until we get the other ones.
“Let her go!” Another woman stepped out of the room’s doorway, pointing the gun at him. She put her back to me, completely focused on saving her friend.
You two must be close. Good.
Leaning further into the hallway, I aimed at the chick’s head, hurried out onto the hallway, and crept forward.
Gun in front of her, Blue rushed out with me and stayed at my side.
“Be careful, Bimpe. This could be a trap.” A third woman left the room with her Ak-47 and faced our way. “They might—”
Blue shot her. The bullet hit the woman's forehead so fast, I shivered. Blood dripped down the woman’s face as she crashed to the floor.
Two down. Three to go.
Bimpe tried to dart back in the door.
“Naw, bitch.” I pulled the trigger.
The back of her head exploded open. Blood burst. Dead, her body slammed into the wall and then slumped to a stop.
Two more.
From the room, another woman screamed in horror.
Valentina stepped out of the elevator with her gun in front of her. “This is a much better plan than giving yourself up or was it a ploy?”
"I was going to do and say anything to get him back."
"Be careful with that in the future," Valentina spoke through clenched teeth. "There would have been no way I let you go."
"Valentina—"
"If Blue brought Paolo back to my brother without you, neither would have survived."
Gritting my teeth, I gripped the gun hard. "Let's focus on this. Two women are left.” I continued forward. “Be careful. Paolo can’t get hurt.”
“No, Emily.” Valentina frowned. “You cannot get hurt.”
Valentina’s guards pointed their guns at the doorway. The other guard holding the woman, pulled her down the hall and kept her there.
The remaining women didn’t come out. Quick conversation sounded from the room. It was in a foreign language.
“Hey, ladies!” I got closer. “Let’s figure out a way for no more people to die today!”
They went silent.
Armed Black Axe men were downstairs in the vans, waiting for the women.
Additionally, Misha said Mancuso soldiers were entering the lobby. Sooner or later, new people would step into this hallway, and we would be outnumbered and shot down.