Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Take out Leonidas and save Mimic, leaving Wyatt on the boat with a man who no longer had a boss or a purpose. He’d never see Wyatt again.
Or he could take out Wyatt’s captor. He could save his Salt and then work day and night to find and rescue Mimic. That’s when he’d make Leonidas pay for everything he’d done to them.
An impossible choice that needed to be made in an impossible amount of time.
Bang.
The bullet exploded from the barrel of the gun, slicing through the air, breaking the speed of sound and finding its target.
The man holding Wyatt fell backward, crumpling off the deck and into the water. Wyatt didn’t miss a beat. He dove headfirst off the deck, out of Leonidas’ reach. Roman turned the sights back to Leonidas, but it was too late. He had a frightened Mimic by the neck as he turned the boat on. Mustang and Bang Bang were close now, but they didn’t have a clear shot, either, not with the barrier that surrounded the captain’s chair. The boat’s engine turned on, propellers whirring.
Roman aimed for the boat instead. He let off a series of shots, all of them ricocheting off the boat as if it were made out of the same material a tank was. None of them did any noticeable damage, barely scratching the onyx-black paint.
Leonidas slammed down on the throttle, and the boat nearly leapt off into the bay, in the opposite direction as Mustang’s boat.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Roman said, running toward the dock, jumping over a dead Pride member. He knelt down on the edge of the dock and looked into the water. The man he shot was floating facedown in a growing cloud of bright red. Wyatt broke through the surface only a couple of feet away from the body, taking a long gasp of air. Roman didn’t have time to feel relieved. He reached forward and grabbed Wyatt’s outstretched hand, helping him up onto the dock just as Mustang pulled up, going fast enough to create a large wake behind the boat.
Roman and Wyatt jumped in, Wyatt out of breath and dripping like a soaked dog. “Where’s Mimic?” Mustang asked, her grip tightening around the steering wheel.
Roman pointed toward the speeding boat getting smaller on the horizon. “On that boat. Follow them. Go!”
Mustang didn’t need any more urging. She pushed them off the dock, the narrow vessel bouncing off the gentle waves in the bay. Goliath buildings stretched up on their left, marking downtown Miami in all its steel-and-concrete glory. The setting sun bounced off the glass facades and reflected on the bright blue water. It was a beautiful sight, or at least it would have been if they weren’t currently in a boat chase for one of their own.
Roman helped Wyatt sit down, his shoulders shaking. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Roman put a hand on Wyatt’s face, looking down into a pair of eyes he wanted to protect for all of eternity.
And he had. The choice he just made would have its consequences, but he would need to live with them, and he would, so long as Wyatt was there by his side.
“I’m okay, I’m okay. Thank you.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for.” Roman leaned in and kissed Wyatt, smashing their lips together. He tasted the salt from the water, the fear on Wyatt’s tongue. It was a kiss that carried with it a message: I’ve got you, Salt. No matter what, I’ve got your back.
“Fuck, Roman,” Mustang said as he moved over to the captain’s chair. She had her eyes trained like hawks on the boat ahead of them, the ocean spraying up onto her brown curls as they cut through the water. “How did this happen?”
“They figured us out. The cover was blown, and they grabbed Mimic and Wyatt before we could call it off.”
“We need to get her back.” Desperation slipped into her tone. It shattered Roman’s heart, knowing that part of the reason they were in this position was because of him, but he couldn’t let that cloud his judgment. He had to stay clearheaded. He was still in charge and needed to remain unshaken, even if the weight of the entire world felt determined to crush him.
“We will,” Roman said, a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Just get us close to that boat.”
Mustang increased the throttle, pushing the boat to its limit. They were gaining on Leonidas but not by enough. Roman went over to the bow of the ship, Bang Bang bracing himself with a knee on the white leather cushions, hip pressed against the boat and rifle on his shoulder.
“You alright, broki?”
“I am. Thanks for the cover.” He leaned forward, a hand over his eyes to block some of the last rays of sunlight from blocking his view. “You can’t get a shot, can you?”