Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 22760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
“How long are we supposed to be out here?” the one wearing a gray suit says. “I’m not in the mood to babysit.”
“You heard Marco,” the guy in the black jacket sighs. “We’re supposed to stay here until he gives us the signal.”
“I’m really not in the mood to clean up a dead body,” Gray Suit huffs.
“Especially one the size of that guy.” Black Jacket shakes his head.
“This is stupid. He’s not going anywhere. He told Marco exactly where to find Vitaly, and he’s already dispatched the hit. What does it matter now?” Gray Suit’s walkie-talkie beeps, and he holds it up to his mouth. “Say again. Over.”
“Tell Marco we’ve got the girl. She was trying to leave, but we’ve moved her to the basement. Over.”
A mixture of panic and rage flows through my veins as I think about someone capturing Nolia. I’ve heard stories of tortures that happen in the basement and the thought of anything happening to her makes my blood run cold. I have to find her and get her the fuck out of this house of horrors.
“Where the fuck is Marco?” Black Jacket asks the question, but Gray Suit shrugs.
“How the fuck do I know? He sent us here.” He hits the button on the walkie-talkie again. “We’ll tell him. Over,” Gray Suit says and then tucks it into his belt.
“Why’d you say that?” Black Jacket asks.
“So we can be the heroes that tell him where she is. Come on, he said he was looking for her.” Gray Suit slaps him on the back, but Black Jacket is reluctant.
“If he doesn’t kill us for leaving our post,” he mumbles but ultimately follows after him.
Once they are gone, I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Just as I’m about to pull myself through the vent, my watch buzzes. Nothing on the face of the watch changes, and it’s so subtle anyone else would have missed it. But I know exactly what that means. Nolia has clicked her pen.
She’s in danger, but she’s able to communicate with me, so she’s still alive. I slide my finger across my watch and enter in a code that connects me to the pen. I send a ping back to her so the pen vibrates and tells me her location. A small area map comes up, and I can see a red dot southwest of my location. That’s where she is, and that’s where I need to go.
The sun has almost fully set, so I know I’m running out of time. I can’t do anything more to help Vitaly and Pru, but I have to get to Nolia before Marco does.
I’m able to shoulder my way through the vent and then drop down to the patio below. Thankfully I’m on the back side of the house, and it’s probably why the guards came back here to talk. There aren’t any cameras back here, so they wouldn’t get caught leaving.
In the distance are rows of shrubs that border the main house, so I crouch down next to them for cover. While I’m low to the ground, I make my way to the kitchen entrance at the back of the house. This is where they do big deliveries with steps down to the storage below. I studied the blueprints of this place before I left, so I know there’s a secret passage from the storage to the rest of the basement. They put in a lift to the upstairs kitchen, so it’s not used anymore, but it’s still there and the perfect way for me to sneak in.
Taking the gun out of my belt, I hold it in front of me as I descend the steps. There’s no going back now, as if there was even a choice.
I’m leaving here with Nolia or they’ll carry me out in a body bag. Either way, I’m not going down easily.
Chapter Fourteen
NOLIA
When I feel the pen vibrate in my hand, I stop fighting the brute that has his arms locked around me. It’s pointless. There is no way I’m going to break free of his hold. I’m only going to end up hurting myself.
Plus, I know Luca will be coming for me soon. He’s going to save me. I know that to my core. Others might think I’m crazy for believing it, but Luca is the other part of my soul. It recognized him from the beginning.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask.
What could have given me away? I thought I’d been safe since I returned. No one has given me a second glance. Or was I so distracted by Luca that I missed it? I’m clearly not as good at reading people as I thought. I’m disappointed in myself that I didn’t know my father as well as I thought. God, that freaking stings. He knows how much I adore and love Pru, and the fact that he would do this rips me apart inside.