Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
The guard shut the door with a quick snap behind Kairo, but there was no accompanying sound of it being locked.
Of course, it became clear why when he looked at his surroundings. The hall was relatively short and narrow with one door opposite the room he’d come out of and then two more doors on the same side as his prison cell. The doors opposite and directly next to his room were closed. The last door at the end of the hall was open, revealing a bathroom with pale mint-green tiles.
He walked slowly, scuffing his feet and listening to the faint creak of the wooden floorboards. Sneaking along this hallway in the dead of night would be tricky and slow if he needed to be completely silent. A thunderstorm would be helpful, but he wasn’t going to peg his luck on a turn in the weather.
At the end of the hall, he paused and leaned to his left, peering down the stairs. The glance he stole made it appear they might be on the third floor. But he didn’t get more than a glimpse before Grumpy Guard gave him a shove in the spine toward the bathroom.
It wasn’t much, but it was a start. When he returned to the room, he could grill Isidore on what he knew of the house. It sounded as if he’d been there for a while. There was a good chance he’d seen more of it and could provide a more detailed description.
After giving his bladder some much-needed relief, he washed his hands and splashed some water on his face. The mirror above the sink revealed the face of a man who was ragged and slightly dazed. His hair was poofed out in a tangled mess, his beard was scraggly, and his eyes were simply tired. Wonderful. His appearance screamed conspiracy nut rather than former Army recon turned mercenary for hire. He was shocked Isidore hadn’t taken one look at him and decided Kairo wasn’t fit for this job. Certainly not someone he’d trust with the safety of his beloved sister.
He splashed some more water on his face and did what he could to tame his beard. He ran his fingers through his hair with one hand while quickly and quietly searching through the drawers under the sink. At least these guys were smart enough to make sure the bathroom was cleaned out of potential weapons. There wasn’t much to be had except for a small bottle of acetaminophen, soap, toilet paper, and a few rubber bands.
Snagging one, he tied his hair into a small ponytail near the base of his neck. He did a brief search of his body to find only a handful of small bruises and abrasions from being handled over two days, but nothing serious. At least they hadn’t done any damage to him. Even his headache was starting to recede, and he felt like he could tackle this nightmare he’d landed in.
When this was all over, though, he was going to track down Nick Theodorou and punch that blabbermouth right in the nose.
Pulled together as best as he could be, he jerked open the door to find the guard leaning on the wall next to the stairs, blocking that escape while keeping his eyes locked on both the bathroom door as well as the door to Isidore’s room. If Vanko was willing to keep a guard outside their room all day, locks weren’t necessary…unless they could potentially get a jump on the guy.
An option to keep in mind.
But first, he needed to know the layout of the house, not to mention how many men they were facing. It would also be incredibly helpful if they knew where Athena was being held. Any escape meant grabbing her on the way out the door. There was no way in hell Kairo was going to get Isidore to go anywhere without his sister.
As he trudged down the hallway, he “accidentally” went in the door opposite of the room he was being held in. He caught only a glimpse before the guard pushed him in the right direction and slammed the door shut, but he saw another small bedroom with a twin bed covered in messy sheets. There were bags on the floor, a couple of magazines for handguns, and a scattering of clothes about the place. At least one of Vanko’s men was staying in that room. Or possibly it was used for a rotation of guards set to watch over the prisoners on this floor.
That meant, at night, there was likely one guard outside the room and one sleeping across the hall.
Was it too much to hope that Athena was being kept in the room next to theirs? It would reduce the number of guards required to watch places about the house. And it would make their escape easier if Athena was so close at hand.