Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
“It’s all right. We’re getting you guys out of here.” Stitches tried to soothe the women, but they didn’t look like they were buying it. They glanced at each other before climbing out of the truck and heading toward the hangar when Brick urged them on. Then Brick picked up one of the unconscious women while Deacon got the other. Stitches started to pick up Dorothy, but I shoved my way past him.
“I got her.” I didn’t want the other man touching her any more than he had to. That was something I was going to have to work out later. Right now, I was going on adrenaline and instinct. And everything inside me was screaming that this girl was mine to save. Mine to protect.
I picked her up, moving us to the back of the vehicle and out the door. It was difficult given I couldn’t stand all the way up, but at least there was room to move around.
Once out of the Humvee, I curled myself around Dorothy as best I could to protect her from the sting of the rain, but it didn’t matter much. I was soaked. Seconds later she was soaked. She gasped and opened her eyes groggily but didn’t say anything.
The Venom rolled out from the hangar. The only reason the big son of a bitch fit in the fucking toy hangar was because the blades folded back behind her. Looked like someone had made some modifications because Venoms didn’t typically have landing gear. Bet that voided the warranty good and proper.
By the time we’d all climbed aboard, Deke was rolling through a preflight checklist and talking to someone on the radio. Brick passed out helmets for everyone. Not only were they there for protection, but it would allow us to communicate over the noise.
“Ready for takeoff when you give the word.” I didn’t think Deke was talking to any of us.
“Ten minutes.” I assumed that was the intel guy at Bones. I couldn’t remember his name, and didn’t much care. “There’ll be a small break in the storm. Not a lot, but the wind should be at a more manageable level.”
“Roger, Data. Keeping an eye on it here too.” Deke was flipping switches and checking a satellite radar of the area and beyond, likely looking at the same information. I ground my teeth and adjusted my hold on Dorothy. She was still passed out, having not opened her eyes since I’d first picked her up.
Something didn’t feel right. There was an itch between my shoulder blades that always meant trouble. Granted, the idea of taking off in this weather was a daunting prospect, but I’d been in worse situations.
“Uh, guys?” That was Wylde, the Tzars’ intel guy and all-around pain in the ass. But he was our pain in the ass and the man was fucking smart. I expected he’d be monitoring shit, but him interrupting in the middle of an operation meant my instincts had been right. Things were about to go sideways.
“What the fuck are you doing on this frequency?” Deke sounded distracted rather than upset despite his words.
“Backin’ y’all up. Also, I hacked into a couple of… uh… things. Y’all got company on the way. So, you don’t have ten minutes.”
“Fuckin’ hell.” I slid Dorothy off me and put a restraint harness on her in case Deke had to take off before I could get back to her. All of us readied our weapons, looking around us for the first sign of trouble.
“Two vehicles coming from the south. One from the west. Unsure how many meanies are in each truck, but I’m betting they didn’t come light. After that it gets bad.”
Deke paused what he was doing for the briefest of moments before glancing back over his shoulder. “Did he just say ‘meanies’?”
Brick grunted. “Fuckin’ Wylde.” I knew how he felt. I wasn’t a man to joke where Wylde rarely took anything seriously. “What do you mean it gets bad?”
“I mean, once the third vehicle gets to you, there are five more headed toward you. They’re about five minutes behind the ones coming over the hill… now.”
That was all we had time for because the first two vehicles did indeed burst over the small rise at that exact moment. Gunfire exploded as they got their bearings. Brick didn’t have to give us the order to fire back. It was kill or be killed, and these girls had been through enough.
“How long before the third vehicle is in range?” Deke yelled over the radio, presumably to Wylde.
“Thirty seconds. Get a move on, boys. Time’s a’ wastin’.”
“Fuck.” I muttered the expletive as I returned fire. “Ain’t sure we can buy ten minutes, Deke.”
“Buy me three.”
“You got your three,” Brick growled. “Not a second more.”
“Just keep them off us. I’ll get us in the air.”