Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Who knew when she might get another one? All he needed was one look at her surroundings. That was it. One look. She just needed one good breath to sustain her, and they would come for her. She could be angry with him later. He’d sort it out, but he needed her to live.
Her lashes fluttered and then lifted. The lenses appeared blurry, but she slowly looked around her, uncaring of the two men staring back at her. Gideon ignored them as well. He filed their appearances away to take out to examine later. Right now, all that mattered was the place Rory was being held.
He could see he didn’t have much time before she collapsed again. Already her eyes were closing. The two men cursed. One slammed the hood back over her head.
“Let’s get out of here. I’m hungry. If he wants to talk to her later, if she’s still alive, he can deal with her.”
“You going to bandage those cuts?”
“Why bother?”
“The rats are going to get her.”
Gideon cursed under his breath, but he was already on the move, sending his people texts, certain he knew the vicinity. She was going to need Paul—and not just to find out whether she was a risk to the rest of his teammates.
“Let ’em. She’s not going to make it anyway.”
The voices were fading. Gideon heard the sound of a metal door clanging. He was certain now of the direction. He slid down the staircase using only the rails and hit the first floor running. The front door opened automatically for him. Javier joined him on the sidewalk, and they swerved around three people walking toward them as they raced around the corner and cut behind the building to the back alley.
“Ethan’s bringing a car. Paul’s got the equipment for everything he thinks we’ll need for her,” Javier said. “You want her back at your place or Mack’s?”
“Mine,” Gideon said decisively, without hesitation. He wasn’t going to take chances with Rory again. She was his. He was going to sort them out one way or another, even if that meant leaving his team for a while and living apart from them. Mack wouldn’t like it and neither would any of the others, but he wasn’t losing her.
They came up on the high chain-link fence blocking the way to where rows and rows of containers coming in from the sea were stored. Neither man slowed. They simply leapt over the fence and landed, still running without breaking stride. Behind them, Mack and Kane were at the fence, engaging with the guards, while Ethan, driving the car containing Paul and the medical equipment, waited for their commander to get them inside with official approval.
Running at the same pace as Gideon and Javier but on the opposite side of the guard gate were Rhianna and Brian Hutton. They also leapt over the fence and were running through the rows of containers to provide backup for Gideon and Javier. On the rooftop of the building across from them was Lucas Atherton, a member of their team considered an excellent marksman. Rose was on another rooftop with a sniper rifle covering the team from a different angle. Marc Lands, an experienced field medic, set up everything they might need to treat Rory at Gideon’s home.
Unerringly, Gideon blew past the tall rows of shipping containers and down several metal steps to a platform below another metal deck closer to the water, where containers were off-loaded from ships. Large pipes led into a building that housed huge tanks. The pipes ran in a network throughout the building, along the floor up toward the ceiling and in and out of the tanks. The warehouse was unbearably hot. Water dripped steadily from condensation that formed on a few of the pipes.
Rats scurried away as Javier and Gideon ran to the motionless woman tied to the metal chair in between two of the tanks. She was slumped over, arms strapped to the chair, open wounds sliced into them so that blood ran down the sides. Her thighs had open cuts as well. Her captors had used a knife blade to slice through her skin with thin cuts.
Gideon whipped the hood from her head. There was thick congealed blood on the back of her scalp. She didn’t open her eyes. Her breathing was shallow—too shallow. Javier cut the ties binding her ankles and wrists, and Gideon scooped her into his arms. Gideon ran with her out into the fresh air. Ethan had the car waiting, the back door open, and Gideon slid inside beside Paul. Ethan slammed the door closed and rushed around to the driver’s side, and they were away that fast.
Javier stayed with Rhianna and Brian to pick up any signs of who may have taken Rory. They left tiny cameras in several places to ensure that when someone came to check on Rory, they would know and be able to track them.