Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
A couple of stray bullets come in through one of the windows, shattering it. I pull her into my chest and take the brunt of the glass on my jacket. She screams and covers her head.
Wraith's phone rings.
“Yeah? Yeah… got it. We'll be ready.” He jams the phone in his pocket. “They've captured some of the riot shields. They're gonna try to use them to get us outta here. Nitro! Get over here! Be ready.”
“Can those things take a bullet?” Have to admit I'm a little fucking skeptical. They always looked flimsy to me.
“They’ll take more than my head.” Wraith shrugs. “I’m not seeing a lot of options.”
“Fucking great.” I give Kaylee a squeeze. “You ready, baby? You're going out first.”
“Wait, we aren't all going?”
“Eagle-eye won't be able to spare many people while keeping the cops pinned down.” As if to emphasize my point, the gunfire outside swells. “It's gonna be one at a time. We get you out, and then we'll be right behind you. Promise.”
Fuck, the way she looks up at me breaks my heart, but there's no other way to do this.
Lightning, Badass and Hero come running across the no man's land between us and the closest cover out there, keeping down and jumping over a low stone wall that lines the walk up to the apartment. They've got the riot shields up between them and the cops, and it doesn't take long before they're taking hits. Hero's almost knocked over by a burst, but he keeps it up, and the three of them keep close together so they make a kind of mobile shield wall. Wraith throws open the door and jumps out of the way as they barrel into the living room.
Wraith grins. “Sorry to be shitty hosts, but we don’t have much food in the house. First rounds on us later?”
Badass's grin is battle ugly. “Sounds like a fucking plan. Who's coming first?”
I give Kaylee a little shove, since she seems unwilling to let go of me. “Go on, baby. We'll be right behind you. They'll take care of you.”
“Tank…” She looks between me and Wraith before throwing a long look at the kitchen. “You guys better come right away. I need you.”
“You're never fucking getting rid of us, sweetheart.” Wraith pulls her close real quick and puts a big kiss on top of her head. “Never.”
I agree. “Never.”
Nitro sticks his head out. “We got this, princess. Go! We'll find you.”
She looks tiny between her rescue squad. “Make us proud, boys,” I growl. “She'd better fucking be in one piece when it's our turn.”
“We got her,” says Hero, and then they're out the door. Watching them cover Kaylee as they dash across the battle field has to be about the scariest thing I've watched in my fucking life.
I only just get to see them get behind cover when something smashes through the remaining window and hits the couch, smoking.
“Down!” Wraith yells, then pushes me back, away from it. We fall together into the narrow hall, just as the cloud is replaced by a fwoosh of bright-hot flame. The fuckers threw a firebomb.
“Fuck!”
30
KAYLEE
A massive black cloud comes barreling out of the narrow windows of Alessa's old apartment, followed by long tongues of flame. “Noooo!” I scream, realizing everything's gone as wrong as it possibly could. “Let me go!” If Badass and Hero weren't holding me back, I'd be running right back through the gunfire to get to the three men who own my heart.
My men.
The heart that’s about to explode in my chest, and I don't know if it's because it's working so hard, or because it just got hopelessly, irreparably shattered. I scream, over and over, using the hands holding me back as something to fight against, something to take my furious grief and frustration out on.
They told me—they freaking told me—less than a minute ago that they were going to be right behind me. With me. Following me. Here to keep me safe.
They lied. They freaking lied.
I keep fighting, but I'm also desperately watching the apartment for any kind of sign of life, of movement. Them making a mad dash for it. Anything would be better than them burning up in front of me.
“Go get them!” I shriek to Badass, Hero and anyone else who can pick up a riot shield to go get Tank, Wraith and Nitro. “Hurry, before they burn!”
“Fuck,” growls Badass. “We're going, but you have to fucking stay here, you get it? If you're charging in on your own you'll only hurt yourself, and if you get hurt, they're gonna fucking kill us. Stay!”
I stop fighting. If they're going in, I'll wait here. I don't want to, but I will. I even take a step back to give them space, keeping behind the wall we're using for cover. God, the whole scene is chaos. Bikers, cops, guns going off like the fireworks finale on the fourth of July. I'm safe here, at least for now, but I don’t care.