Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
At any other time, that might have gotten a laugh from more than one member of Bane. Hell, I might have even laughed myself. But not now. Not with Lemon in danger and Apple struggling so hard to keep it together.
“You know where she is precisely, Ripper?”
“Yeah. It’s a small crackerjack house near the beach. Kind of off to itself. Far as I can tell, it’s just the four of them, but I’ve had about two minutes to study the city camera feeds, so I could be wrong.”
“Thorn, I’d appreciate it if you got your people ready in case I need backup. Ripper, do you have Crush’s contact info?”
“Yeah. He and I’ve opened a loose dialogue.” The big guy shrugged. “Nothing heavy, just keeping tabs on each other.”
I didn’t like that and I’d be talking with Crush later, but I had bigger problems. I didn’t want anyone from Grim Road going in on this. They had a tendency to shoot first and consider the collateral damage later. Every single one of us, to the man, were black ops. Our specialty was killing. We were only sent in when there were no other options and there was a plausible explanation if more people died than were supposed to. While I trusted the men in my club… to a point… I wasn’t willing to risk Lemon’s safety -- or the safety of her charge -- with little to no planning. I’d be doing this myself.
“Give him the information. Tell him I said to watch. He’ll know what to do from there. Keep Wylde in the loop, too.” I turned to Apple. “You stay here until Wylde gives you instructions.”
“Where are you going?” God, the girl sounded as belligerent and demanding as Lemon. Just without the lethal bite Lemon had.
“To get your sister.”
My phone buzzed in my back pocket and I took it out, glancing at the screen. Ripper had sent details of where Lemon was being held. I knew the crappy little house. It was a place we’d had under surveillance but hadn’t pounced on yet. I guess now was the time. Only I’d be doing it myself.
Shoving my phone back in my pocket, I headed out the door and to my bike. It was less than a fifteen-minute ride back to Riviera Beach but I made it in ten. I had no doubt Lemon could take care of herself. The thing that got me was that she’d protect that girl with everything in her, even if it meant sacrificing herself. I knew it like I knew my own name. That was the problem. Which meant I had to be careful going in.
I parked my bike a few blocks away from my target. If I had the timeline anywhere close, the girls had been gone right at an hour. As I approached the house, I could hear the men arguing inside. And there were definitely more than two. Their words were indistinct, but the voices were different. I thought there might be at least four if not five men in the house.
There was a thud, then a sharp yelp from one of the men. “Fuckin’ bitch! I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you!”
“Bring it on, you son of a bitch!”
“Fuck.” I muttered the expletive. The guy meant business and so did Lemon. While I’d put her one-on-one against a man -- even a battle-seasoned one -- for a short while, there was no way she would survive four or five to one. Not waiting a moment longer, I kicked in the back door, charging the first man I saw.
Snapping his neck was easy, but I’d lost the element of surprise. Two more guys charged me, one pulling out a gun. He shot once before a third man snagged the gun from his hand.
“You want someone callin’ the fuckin’ cops? Kill the bastard, but do it quiet!”
“I’ll kill you!” Lemon shouted as she charged the third guy. Though her hands were tied together in front of her, she’d managed to score a thick wooden stick for a weapon. Looked like a chair leg or something. She swung, but I didn’t have time to see if she connected because the two other men took me down. Which was when I realized the shot the second guy had gotten off had hit my shoulder. Pain ripped through me, but I ignored it. Just like I’d been trained to do.
I fought two, then three men while Lemon swung her weapon at the fourth. With my attention divided, I took more hits than I should have. One to my wounded shoulder didn’t hurt as much as I’m sure it should have -- or would once the tissue shock wore off -- but the blow to my knee put me on the floor.
There was a shrill scream and Lemon gave a brutal yell. I could hear thuds in the background and I thought she was beating the shit out of her attacker, but that could have been wishful thinking.