Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 66977 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66977 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 335(@200wpm)___ 268(@250wpm)___ 223(@300wpm)
“Except my source can read a clock and a calendar.”
“We made it out of that shit alive!”
“Barely.” There’s a grumbled slew of curses prior to mission silence. I take his transition to a quieter status as my cue to check the position of our other team member. “Hands?”
Two blinks to indicate she has enough slack to slip out when the time is ready.
“Feet?”
Two more blinks along with a tiny paddling motion of her feet are showcased next.
“Bag time.”
She offers me two final rounds of fluttering her eyelashes before she pretends to fight the process of letting me slip the rough material over her head. Once it’s there, I hoist her up and over my shoulder, feigning annoyance about her wiggling nature for anyone who may be watching. The bright, sky blue, sweet treat covered leggings my grip clutches onto after shutting the trunk threatens to make me smile during our approach yet mission focus refuses to allow it.
Now is not the time to reflect on the fact I had Aviva buy two pairs of these – to match a pink top similar to the one Arley was photographed in – because I knew Angel Cake would actually enjoy wearing them.
And she does.
She was sassily sashaying her tight body around in them along with one of my old t-shirts this afternoon, which also made her tantrum even harder to take seriously.
Come on, now.
How do you have a straight-faced argument with someone who’s wearing smiling donuts on their ass?
Getting into the brown brick building through the rear door is an easy task thanks to the spare key – intended for the remodel crew – that I find taped to the back of the dumpster.
See my source is credible.
He also just so happens to be my father.
But that’s not something Blu needs to know.
I guide us inside, lock the door behind me, and use the light on the attacker’s phone to illuminate us a path. The long hallway that houses two customer bathrooms as well as a supply closet ends at the bar’s side opening, which also happens to be the area where the light switch is stationed. Clicking them on allows me to put the phone away and continue to carry Consuelos in a less awkward nature. While the bar is rather small – one of the reasons they’re renovating – there’s still a sizeable distance from us to the front door where they’ll be breaching. Once I’ve gently placed her down in the middle of the black stool, I give her thigh a soft pat to indicate she’s in position. She taps the heels of her brightly colored sneakers together to communicate she confirms the communication, and I proceed with my preparations.
The advantages to having Consuelos here are obvious.
She’s more than capable of defending herself.
She’s agile.
Flexible.
Has amazing response times.
She can handle firearms and is well versed in close quarter combat – with and without weaponry.
She’s exactly the type of person you want in the field having your six.
Plus, she’s not my woman.
I don’t have the weight of worry about having to keep her from getting hurt.
However, I do have to have her six.
Which means drawing fire away from her over to me since she’s not wearing a vest.
It also means avoiding firing in that direction.
Yeah, I’m an excellent marksman, but one misstep, one bumped elbow, or one poorly timed trigger pull could be the difference between a fellow agent walking out of here unscathed and having to get creative about cauterizing a wound.
It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to do that.
But much like stuffing a woman in the trunk of a car, it’s not something I’m hoping to have to do again.
Removing my CZ P10C from its holster is followed by sweeping what should be an already secure scene. Despite the fact no movement has been detected on the property, it’s still proper protocol to ensure that no one else is here.
The last thing we need is to be ambushed on our ambush.
Post traveling around the main seating area, I move to the right of the bar into another dark hallway. I flick the lights on, cautiously explore the defrosted cooler, visually survey the rather empty executive office on the opposite side and declare the entire situation to be clear out loud for both Blu and Consuelos as I re-holster my pistol.
Granting myself access to the bar from the open space near the hallway I most recently inspected is accompanied by grabbing items I’ll be using to create in the field tactical weapons needed to minimize firing Consuelos’s direction. I swipe a cocktail napkin. Scan the garnish area for the cayenne pepper I know they use for their “special” Bloody Mary recipe. Grab it and one of the Ziploc bags typically used to stash away prepped garnishes like mint. Near the dirty dishes area, I visually scour the shelves in search of the last two crucial ingredients, finding them both behind a few dry towels. Now, having worked my way to the opposite end – closer to where we first entered – I quickly get to work, measuring out the items and lining them up for easy assembly.