Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
The phone rang.
My finger was so sweaty, it slid across the screen in my desperation to answer it. “Dad?”
“I deployed my guys.” I heard the sound of walking. Doors slamming. “I’m on my way.”
“You’re coming?”
“Of course, sweetheart.” He pulled the phone away and spoke to the driver. “Get around them. Come on.” He came back to the phone. “Where are you in the house?”
“In the bedroom. Axel closed a wall, said it’s bulletproof.”
“Good. Do you have a weapon?”
“A pistol.”
“Do you see anything bigger?”
“I—I don’t know. This is what he handed me.”
“Sweetheart, you need to be quiet and just wait.”
“Axel is out there by himself…”
My father didn’t have anything to say to that.
“He should have hidden in here with me.”
“If he did that, he would be leading them right to you. If he’s what they want, they’ll take him and leave you be.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks.
“It’s exactly what I would have wanted him to do.”
I sat there and breathed into the phone, alternating between sobs and quiet cries, and then painful silence.
My dad stayed on the phone with me. “You’re going to be alright, sweetheart.”
“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about him.”
Chapter 19
Axel
I stopped by my study and popped my earbuds into my ear. I called Aldo, and he answered right away.
“Sir, are you alright?”
“Are the cameras working?” The safe room had access to hidden cameras positioned throughout the house. The visibility was poor, because the cameras were inside statues and paintings, not always at eye level, to make their presence less obvious.
“The regular security cameras have been destroyed. They shot at them as soon as they came in.”
“And the others?” I opened one of the drawers and pulled out a knife before I dropped it into my pocket.
“They remain intact.” His voice was audible because the safe room was soundproof. The obnoxious alarm was no longer blaring. “Most of them are on the second floor, but they’re coming to the third.”
“Can you turn off the alarm?”
“I assumed you wanted it on.”
“It’s not like the police are coming. My guys are on the way. What’s outside?”
“They have a couple armored trucks. They’re prepared for visitors.”
“Can you figure out who’s in charge?”
“No,” Aldo answered. “They all look like soldiers.”
“So whoever this is doesn’t do his own dirty work.”
“Looks like that way.”
“Aldo, I need you to guide me. I’ve got to clear out these assholes and keep them away from Scarlett.”
“I’ll do the best I can,” he said. “They reached the top of the stairs. Half are turning left. Half are turning right.”
“How many?”
“Three on the left. Two on the right.”
I moved to the door and stood against the wall. “I’m in the study.”
“Yes, I can see you. They’re heavily armored, so I don’t think that rifle will do much.”
“Thanks for the tip.” I put down the rifle and pulled out the knife.
“One of them is about to enter the study.”
The knob turned quietly and then he flung the door open, giving a sweep of the room with his rifle. When he spotted me, there was an instant of recognition, but I pushed his barrel to the ceiling and twisted the gun before he could pull the trigger. The knife went straight into his neck, and he stumbled forward.
I caught him, getting blood all over me, but I stopped his body from making a loud thud against the hardwood floor.
“One of them is approaching the bedroom. The other is in the guest bedroom.”
I moved into the hallway and snuck up on him from behind. My arm circled his neck, and I stabbed the knife through the plates of his armor before he could release a scream. I caught his body and steadied it before it fell, but I didn’t have time to hide his corpse because the other one was coming out of the guest room.
There were ten feet between us, so a stealth attack wouldn’t work.
He raised his gun and pointed it at me.
Bullets sprayed the wall as I dodged away. The sound of firing bullets echoed in the hallway, and I knew Scarlett could hear that loud and clear. I got behind a pillar just in time, and the stone took the brunt of the damage, while I slipped into a guest bedroom. Underneath the bed, a rifle was strapped in place. I grabbed it just before the guy walked in with his muzzle pointed at me.
I fired first, spraying him with bullets until he stumbled sideways from the momentum. But he was still alive because he fired his gun at me underneath the bed.
I jumped over the mattress and landed on top of him, knocking the gun away before he could squeeze the trigger again. My fist hit the front of his helmet and shattered it before I shoved the knife right through his neck.
He went still, choking for seconds, and then died.