Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107376 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
He’s just like me.
Ruthless.
Within seconds the compound has descended into complete chaos. Alarms blare as men run in every direction, trying to save themselves, but the gunshots from outside are getting louder. Then a bullet ricochets off the cell bars in a flash of sparks.
What the actual fuck is going on here?
Blood splatters across the polished concrete, and as I snap neck after neck and use the chains to every fucking advantage possible, a flash of long deep-red hair catches my attention, but then it’s gone in an instant.
It’s too dark to make out anything clearly, but I stop and turn, searching through the chaos. I could have sworn that was a woman, but not just an ordinary woman, there was something familiar there.
We push out of the cells and into the corridor, picking off guards one at a time while keeping our sights set on Antonio up ahead. His men have him moving fast, but we’re faster.
Guards go down beside us, and we take their guns, turning them on the bastards in seconds, though while taking shots is the easiest option, it doesn’t go unnoticed how Maddox continues to utilize his chains instead. He’s always been one for the dramatics.
It’s a fucking shitshow.
Antonio breaks free of the cell block and out into the night, and we forge after him. He’s not going to slip between our fingers this time.
Maddox and I move through the insanity like ghosts. Every corner we turn reveals more panic. More guards rushing toward us, rushing right to their deaths.
Antonio built this place like a fortress, but unfortunately for his guards, fortresses only work when the people inside them know where the threat is coming from, and right now, they haven’t got a clue what’s going on.
“You know,” Maddox says as we move through another corridor, “I think they were offended by our room review.”
I glance at him just as I’m hit with a hint of vanilla that brings me to a stop, my stomach tightening with unease. I know that smell. It’s the same one from the alley, the same night I first met Lyra when my kill was taken out from under me.
I’d spent weeks assuming she was a witness, but witnesses don’t vanish without a trace, and they sure as fuck don’t infiltrate cartel compounds or leave bodies behind like a goddamn assassin.
The pieces begin falling into place.
The woman from the alley wasn’t a witness at all. I’d been wrong. She was the one who took my kill. She stole my contract, collected my payday, and I foolishly looked the other way. Now she’s here . . . or was.
Interesting.
Very fucking interesting.
A bullet whizzes past my face, and it snaps me back into motion. “Your rating system is flawed,” I tell Maddox, filing that vanilla scent away for later.
“My rating system is art.”
Another bullet punches into the wall beside his head, and Maddox points. “See? Rude.”
I shake my head and keep moving, just as we break out into the night and see Antonio’s men ushering him into his private wing up ahead. Bingo.
We storm after him, and as we race through the darkness, I can’t help but notice that we seem to be the only target now. The woman with the deep-red hair must be gone, but why? Antonio is still alive. She didn’t make the kill, so why leave?
Reaching Antonio’s private wing, it’s clear the guards here are different. They have a higher level of training, they’re sharper, faster, stronger, but they’re still no match for us.
We’re immediately met with gun power, and we deal with it just as efficiently as we’ve dealt with every other threat tonight. Until finally, there’s only silence—
Maddox points ahead, a slow, wild smirk pulling across his lips. “There.”
Antonio stands in the center of his private wing, genuine fear flashing in his eyes. He’s got no backup, no way to save himself as Maddox and I split up, each of us approaching from different sides.
God, I’ve been waiting for this moment for years. I’ve imagined what it would look like, how it would feel, and damn, it’s even better than I could have ever imagined.
“Hunter,” Maddox says quietly, having waited for this moment just as long as I have.
“I know.”
We advance together, slow and steady, reveling in every moment of this, because for the first time, Antonio has nowhere to run. The powerful cartel boss who once seemed so untouchable is suddenly utterly worthless. His empire is crumbling around him, his world burning to ashes, and I will trample the remains on my way out.
“You never should have come back here,” Antonio spits with that usual bravado.
I almost laugh.
Because that’s the thing about men like Antonio. They always think they’re the exception. The one nobody can touch. But men who think they are untouchable don’t train the way we do.