Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
The automatic lights come on around the park as the sun sets. I can see the couple is packing up their basket and then I catch movement out of the corner of my eye.
In the distance I see Berkley, with a man beside her holding her close. I’m guessing that’s Amos. He’s got his arm wrapped around her and his other hand at her side holding what I can only assume is a gun. I step forward on the bridge and Guzik appears with his hands in front of him. The bridge is only about fifteen feet or so long, but it’s too much distance for me.
“That’s close enough,” he says coolly as he moves beside Berkley and Amos on the other side of her. “Did you come alone?”
“You’ve had your scouts here for hours. You tell me.” I clench my fists at my side, desperate to get to my girl.
“I see you did your homework. My men reported you arrived alone, so you must be smarter than you look.” He smiles at me like we’re old friends and he’s not a criminal.
“You okay, sweet thing?” I look Berkley right in the eyes and she swallows hard before she nods. “I’m going to get you out of here just as soon as I can.”
The man holding Berkley grunts as he holds her tighter and I think she may have just elbowed him. I want to tell her to be still but also I want to tell her to rip his throat out.
“How touching.” Guzik rolls his eyes as he enters in some numbers on his phone. “I have the wire codes. Let’s get this over with.”
I hold up my tablet with what he needs on it. “Send her over and it’s all yours.”
He makes a tsking sound as he shakes his head. “I think we’ll make sure this goes through first.”
I take a step toward him as he walks to me and we end up meeting halfway. “There’s no need to threaten her. I told you I’d give you whatever you wanted in exchange for her.”
“I hope she’s worth it.” His smile is greasy and I want to rip it off his face.
I keep my eyes on Berkley while he takes the tablet and enters in the information he needs. I don’t bother to see how many zeros he adds because it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is my heart on the other side of this bridge and keeping her safe.
“There, that wasn’t so bad, now was it?” He hands me my tablet as he tucks his phone away and turns around. “Let’s go.”
When I see Amos tug Berkley away from the bridge, my adrenaline spikes. “Wait, we had a deal!”
“Just a little insurance,” Guzik calls over his shoulder as he keeps on walking.
“Vaughn!” she shouts, and Amos releases her long enough to backhand her across the face.
Rage boils inside of me and I rush forward just as a loud boom goes off.
Guzik and Amos are startled and begin to take cover as the fireworks go off overhead. It’s just the distraction I need as I knock Guzik down and trample over him to get to my woman.
“Get down!” I shout, and blessedly Berkley does as I say and hits the deck.
Amos reaches back and grabs his gun and it feels like my legs are made of lead. But instead of going for him, I move straight to Berkley and blanket her with my body as more fireworks go off. Only this time it comes with gunfire from the people surrounding us.
As I cover Berkley’s body with my own, I look over in time to see the couple on the picnic have drawn their weapons and are firing on Guzik’s men in the nearby bushes. They were a plant from the FBI, along with the guys playing soccer on the field across from us. They’ve managed to take down spies around us that were waiting on me to react. I gave Guzik’s men what they wanted but we had a few tricks up our sleeves. As soon as I called the FBI and told them my plan, they were on it. They’ve had people here all day waiting for the moment to light the fireworks as a decoy and then take down the remaining members of Guzik’s gang.
My ears ring in the silence that follows the gunfire and I look over to see Amos on the ground next to us with his eyes open and blood coming out of his mouth. When I glance back at the bridge, I see Guzik on his knees with his hands behind his head as the Feds read him his rights.
“Berkley, answer me,” I say and roll her over so I can look into her eyes.
“I’m okay,” she says softly. The second our eyes meet she bursts into tears.