Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 145942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 730(@200wpm)___ 584(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 730(@200wpm)___ 584(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
There’s no doubt about it—tonight we’re getting our hands dirty and I can’t fucking wait.
The drive to the school takes no time at all and by the time we’re approaching the familiar front gates, I’ve hardly had a chance to calm the wild excitement pulsing through my veins. Carver turns off his headlights, concealing us under the cover of darkness as he bypasses the school and brings the Escalade to a stop on a side street.
The guys pour out of the car, and as I go to follow Cruz out the door, Grayson reaches through from the front seat, gripping my wrists and pulling me back. “Have you got everything you need?”
My hand falls to my thigh, feeling the knife that was stashed there before we left, then I check my opposite hip for the gun that the guys insisted on. “Yep,” I tell him, nodding as I take a second to breathe and push the excitement aside. Despite what’s going to happen tonight, it’s still a life-or-death situation and we have to be cautious. “I’m ready.”
He nods and releases my wrists. “Good.”
I scoot out of the Escalade and close the door behind me, and without another word, the five of us take off toward the school. I break off with King, heading right for the front gates, while the others all split off in opposite directions, making a wide grin stretch across my face. This is going to be too good.
The main lights of the school are all out, but the pathways, front gate, and security lights are all shining brightly around the school, so we’re forced to stick to the shadows.
King and I reach the front gate and I can’t help but notice the way that his sharp gaze travels around the school, taking in our surroundings and making sure that we’re the only threats here tonight. The gates are chained and bolted just as we expected. Without hesitation, King bends down and makes a brace with his hands.
My foot slips into his hands and he catapults me up the gate. I grab hold and hoist myself over the top, dropping back to the ground with a soft thud, and not a second later, King comes down beside me with a cocky smirk playing on his lips. He winks and I roll my eyes knowing that he’s only seconds away from mentioning how he was able to get over the gate without someone else’s help, but before he can, I take off, dashing toward the massive school.
We keep close to the main building and King points out toward the student parking lot where we can see Grayson rushing across the pavement and heading toward the back of the school. I blink a few times, watching him go in amazement. “Fuck, he’s fast.”
“Mmhmm,” King murmurs, keeping his tone hushed as we reach the closest classroom. He immediately starts working the window, jimmying it open just enough for us to slip inside. “Carver and Cruz should be just getting where they’re meant—” A light flashes toward us and a devilish grin cuts across King’s face. “Uh-huh, there they are.”
I look up ahead and find Carver standing by the back entrance of the building furthest away from the gymnasium while Cruz approaches the midway point. Grayson hurries into position, and with us standing at the top of the school, we have all exits covered. We’re almost positive that Knox is staying in the gymnasium to be close to the amenities and food, but we’re not about to fuck this up by not double checking the rest of the school first.
“Let’s fucking do this shit,” I tell King, and just like that, King takes my waist and all but launches me up through the open window.
We make quick work of our search, not leaving a single classroom unchecked. The bottom floor is cleared and we meet Grayson at the stairs. Carver and Cruz take the rear stairs and as one, we make our way up to the second level.
We check all the classrooms as Carver and Cruz move further down the hall toward the staff areas and quickly disappear. Trusting them to do their thing, we finish our search, and after what feels like far too long, King, Grayson, and I finally start making the trek back to the gymnasium.
It’s late, and assuming Knox doesn’t have a whole artillery of entertainment to keep him occupied into the late hours of the night, I’m assuming that he’s already tucked himself away into his makeshift bed, probably spooning a fucking basketball.
The gymnasium has three exits. Two that lead out into the world and one internal exit that leads toward the locker room, so the boys and I cover the external ones. I stick with Grayson as King rushes around the outside of the building.
There’s a heavy chain sitting on the floor by the door and I meet Grayson’s stare, a devilish smirk cutting across my face as Grayson holds back a grin of his own. “Ready for this?”