Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39161 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39161 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
One of the attackers turned to when the big guy yelled, aimed, and shot. I jumped as brain, blood, and bone splattered over the dirt road. Chris gave a terrified yell at the same time everyone else screamed, but didn’t move to get out from under the dead guard. I saw Andrea huddling at the front of the bus next to the tire. She screamed, covering her head with her hands and tucking herself into a ball.
During the chaos, all I could do was sit there and gape at everything happening. It was like I was frozen to the spot. My limbs were heavy and everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. I shook my head, trying to clear it and get my wits back.
“I said get down on the ground! All of you!” This guy spoke unaccented English, unlike the others who seemed to only speak Spanish. He was the one who seemed to be calling the shots. He had a confident stature, straight-backed and unflinching in the face of the chaos he caused. His jet-black hair provided a stark contrast to his icy blue eyes that were scanning the area for any signs of rebellion. A thin line of sweat trickled down his temple, but he made no move to wipe it away. In his hand was a semi-automatic, the sight of which sent chills down my spine.
No one defied him, myself included. I stayed put, my hands out in front of me, shaking like a leaf. A frightened whimper left me and when the guy turned my way, I ducked, keeping my hands up and prayed he wasn’t looking to kill us all. Didn’t these types of things usually end up making ransom demands? We were being kidnapped. Right?
“Muévelos a todos aquí. Mantenlos a todos juntos.” He gestured to all of us in a sweeping gesture with his arm. I thought he said he wanted us all in the same area. Kind of like he was corralling us to better keep us contained.
Andrea still huddled in front of the bus, visibly trembling, a look of abject terror on her face. Chris was still underneath his dead security detail. The gun the guard had dropped when he fell lay next to him, well within Chris’s reach. I thought Chris might reach for it, but he didn’t even try to move. For a moment, I was afraid he might be dead. Of the fifteen in our group, five had been killed. Much as I thought he was a creep, I didn’t want him dead.
There were seven men around us, all of them armed with automatic rifles. All of them pointed at us. Someone pulled Andrea up by her hair from where she huddled at the front of the bus and tossed her in our direction. She stumbled and fell before crawling the five or six feet to me where I huddled. I reached for her, pulling her to me and wrapping my arms around her while she sobbed, as terrified as I was.
The conversation among our attackers was a cacophony of rapid-fire Spanish. They were obviously arguing, but my brain couldn’t translate quickly enough. The guy in charge scanned those of us who were left. Two of his men pulled the bodyguard off Chris and shoved Chris into the group of us. I thought Andrea might go to him, but she stayed with me, looking around her fearfully.
The leader stared down every one of us, studying all of us intently. Turning his gaze toward me, he paused. A chill ran down my spine as I huddled with Andrea on the dusty road, my throat dry as I tried to swallow.
I could feel his gaze on me as I stayed as still as I could, keeping my head down so he didn’t think I was challenging him. My only thought was to keep myself as safe as possible until Jax came for me. Because I knew it would be Jax who came for me. My heart pounded in my ears and still shook uncontrollably, but it was only a matter of time.
Chapter Three
Jax
When I got Holly home safely, I was gonna blister her ass. If Wrath had spanked her more as a child instead of coddling her because of her cancer, she might take her safety more seriously. And yeah. I get why Wrath coddled the little princess. I coddled her too. And despite my bravado now, I’d continue to fucking coddle her. Why? Because the thought of losing Holly for any reason made me want to lose my Goddamn mind.
Mechanic gestured toward the screen where he was tracking Holly. “She’s not moving.” Since he’d landed our Osprey as close to Holly’s position as he reasonably could given the size of the aircraft, we’d been following her movements and heading steadily in her direction for the better part of an hour. The Phantom Badger we were using was loaded to capacity with men and equipment. Which was to say, me and Razor and some serious hardware.