Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
I kept eating and ended up finishing most of the plate.
It was really good, like fancy restaurant kind of good, and I was too stuffed to take another bite. I was about to carry the tray back over to the table when a strange warmth spread through my body. My head felt heavy, and my thoughts became cloudy. I tried to move, but my body wouldn’t cooperate.
The room started spinning, and panic set in.
I tried to fight it, but a thick fog settled over me, dragging me under. I closed my eyes, and darkness swallowed me whole.
21
SEVEN
“These glasses have a built-in camera, mic, and earpiece.” Rooks sat in the chair with his arms crossed, and he looked like a deer in headlights as Shep stood over him, adjusting the thin-framed glasses on his face. “We’ll see what you see, hear what you hear.”
“Which means don’t fuck around and try something stupid,” Grim warned.
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Keep your head straight, and don’t touch them.” Shep stepped back. “If you start messing with them, they’ll know something’s up.”
“Got it.”
Once Shep had the glasses where he wanted them, he stepped back to his laptop and checked the feed. “Looks good.”
“Remember, keep it simple.” Grim had already laid it all out for him but felt the need to repeat, “Get in, give him what he wants, and get out. No small talk, no hesitation.”
“I’m not planning on staying for dinner, man. I want this thing done just as much as you do.”
“Somehow, I doubt that,” I grumbled under my breath.
Rooks met my gaze, something unreadable flickering in his expression. I didn’t care what he had to say. We were in this fucking mess because of his bullshit, and he damn well better fix it or there would be hell to pay. "Let's move."
Without another word, we headed out to the SUVs. I slid into the driver’s seat and waited as Shep climbed into the passenger side, laptop balanced on his thighs. Grim took his spot in the back, checking his weapons like he expected things to go to hell fast. It wasn’t exactly a bad assumption. None of us knew what we were getting ourselves into.
I glanced up in my rearview, and I saw Goose, Memphis, and Rusty piling into the second SUV. As soon as Rooks started for the gate, we all followed behind, tailing as close as possible. Prez and the rest of the brothers were holding tight and would be sitting on go if things went south.
The drive was quiet. Shep had the surveillance feed open and was watching through Rooks’ glasses as he drove toward the Volkov estate. When we started getting close, I slowed the SUV and parked across the street while Goose parked a few houses down.
When Rooks started through the gate, I leaned over to the laptop’s mic and said, "Rooks? You good?”
“Yeah.” His voice came through the earpiece, steady but sharp. "Just ready to get this over with.”
"Good," Grim muttered. "Now, don’t fuck it up."
We all watched as the gates eased open, and two guards stepped out to meet him. They motioned him forward, and he drove on to the house.
This was it.
He drove up to the front and parked. He killed the engine before announcing, “I’m going in.”
“Good. Now, remember what we said,” I warned. “If you fuck this up…”
“I know. I know. Damn,” Rooks huffed. “I’m not gonna fuck it up. They’ve got my sister in there, and I’m not leaving without her.”
“Then get to it.”
“You sure you can hear and see me?”
“Crystal.” He was wearing a pair of glasses that Shep had fitted with a hidden camera and earpiece. Shep was a master at technology, so we knew unless Rooks fucked it up, we had a birds-eye-view of inside the house. “Relax. We’ve got you covered.”
With that, he opened his car door and got out. As soon as he started up to the estate, two guards came over and started patting him down. “You carrying?”
“No weapons.” He lifted his laptop. “Just my computer.”
One of the guards took it and motioned for him to follow as they started inside. The house was massive and reeked of money. Every inch of the place was decorated with the finest of everything.
The screen shifted as the guards guided him through the house and down a long hallway. They finally stopped at a steel door. One of the men punched in a code, and the lock clicked open.
“Where the fuck are they taking him?” Grim muttered.
“I don’t know.” Shep exhaled sharply. “Looks like the garage.”
The feed flickered as Rooks stepped inside. The second the camera adjusted, my blood ran ice cold.
Tallie was hanging in the middle of the goddamn garage with her wrists bound over her head, and her body was completely limp. Her chin was down, and her hair was covering her face, making it impossible to tell if she was dead or alive. Seeing her so out of it sent me into an immediate rage. “What the fuck! I’ll fucking kill them!”