Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“Where’s Nate? Aubree said Johnny had him.”
“We need to wrap your leg.”
I grabbed the front of his shirt. “Where is he?”
Ricky finally met my gaze. “He’s inside, but I don’t know more than that.”
“Shit. We have to get him out.”
“I know. We will.”
“No. You don’t understand. Johnny’s planning to blow up the building, and he doesn’t care if he goes up with it.”
Chapter 28
Stone
Ientered the dark building, standing just inside the door and keeping my senses alert. The place was dingy and had a musty smell. The only light came from skylights in the ceiling. There were mounds of junk, old machine parts, and crates, stacked here and there throughout the building, leaving plenty of places to hide.
Movement came from the back end of the building, and I drew my weapon. Johnny stepped into view, his hands raised high. “Stone.”
“Where’s Serenity? Tell me, or I’ll shoot.”
“She’s waiting for you, but you’re going to have to use some of that luck of yours to find her before her time runs out.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just a little exercise. Remember our last mission? Where you left me for dead?”
My nostrils flared, but I didn’t argue.
“Well… this is your chance to redeem yourself. Your girlfriend’s here, somewhere. All you have to do is find her and get her out before the bomb goes off.”
My heart raced, but I kept calm. “What’s the catch?”
He grinned. “There may be a few booby-traps along the way. But don’t worry. If you’re careful, you should be able to avoid them.” He turned his hand so I could see the device in his palm and the numbers flashing red as they counted down. “I just set the timer. You have seven minutes before the place blows up.”
A shot sounded from outside the building. Johnny flinched, and I knew it had taken him by surprise.
“What was that?”
He schooled his features. “I told Aubree to take care of the ex who tagged along with us. I guess he didn’t want to cooperate. You’d better hurry. I left you a clue, but you only have six minutes now.” He turned to leave.
“Where are you going?”
“I’d prefer not to get blown up this time.” Another shot sounded from outside, and he quickly disappeared behind some crates.
“Shit.” I believed that he’d set an explosive, but was Serenity really in here? What was going on outside? Whatever it was, I had to trust that Ricky or Slater would deal with it, and I needed to concentrate on finding Serenity.
With my time limited, I set my watch timer for five minutes and headed toward the largest stack of junk, deciding to climb up to get a better look at the layout. If Johnny had left me a clue, I had no idea what it was.
I climbed on top of a couple of rusted filing cabinets and took a few precious seconds to glance around. Nothing made sense. It was just an old building stacked with junk. I’d have to search from one end of the building to the other as fast as I could. Before I climbed down, a flash of light caught my eye.
It came from the northeast corner. Was it the clue? It flashed again, and I jumped to the ground and hurried in that direction. The hiss of a canister came from behind me, skittering along the concrete floor. I ducked behind an old desk and instinctively covered my ears and eyes. A flash-bang temporarily disoriented me.
I darted from my spot, depending on my memory to get me away from the smoke. Johnny must have thrown the device. Which meant he was still here. Reason told me that he couldn’t have set this up very elaborately. Not after planning my death last night. So, instead of booby traps, the only thing I had to worry about was him.
I rushed around another row of filing cabinets and found an uncluttered path. Using that to guide me, I hurried toward the back of the building. The sound of a door opening and closing came from up ahead. Was that Johnny leaving before the building exploded?
“Nate! Where are you?”
“Serenity?”
“Hurry! I’m at the back of the building. We need to get out of here!”
I rounded the corner and dodged around some pipes and metal bars. Emerging from the stacks, I found Serenity standing just inside the building, about fifty feet away.
“Serenity, get out of here!”
She turned toward me. “Not without you. Hurry!”
As I closed the distance, Johnny stepped into my path. “No! I won’t let you leave.” He pointed a gun at my chest and fired.
Pain lanced through my ribs, throwing me on my back. I gasped like a fish out of water and couldn’t catch my breath. Another shot went off, and I found the strength to push into a sitting position. Johnny lay on his back, blood pouring from his chest.