Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 100791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Debra claimed it with a smirk that turned my stomach. “Take them both.”
A fist flew at my face.
Pain exploded in my skull, then the world went dark.
Chapter Eleven
Kenzie
The guy with the eagle tattoo dragged Bane over the threshold and threw him none too gently at River’s feet.
Adeline cried out, straining to get to her limp and unconscious son, but the binds around her wrists were replaced with proper shackles that attached to the metal around her ankles and bent her in half. They were doing too good a job keeping her exactly where she was.
The same guy grabbed me out of his friend’s grip and sent me flying, making me trip over Bane and tumble head over feet into the entertainment center.
“Fuck’s sake,” Sunny burst out, thrashing against his irons. “What’s your problem? You don’t have to be that rough!”
I might’ve said something about the thin-skinned dickhead being pissed because he got duped so hard, and so easily, but Debra had me gagged the minute I jumped out of my flowerpot. Breathing hard, I righted myself—leaning against the glorified television stand.
Bane wasn’t telling anyone the truth of what Debra, Jillian, and the rest of them planned to do here either. Even if he recovered from that hit in time, there was no chance because they gagged him too.
“Five minutes,” Jillian called. She, Natalya, and Maryann were rushing about the place—moving tables and chairs, setting up laptops, and shoving the Merchants and River onto the sectional. Adeline, Saint, Cash, Brutal, Mercer, an unconscious Bane, Liam, Sunny, River, and then an injured Genny were placed on the couches—lined up in front of the webcams.
Bane was treated to a set of handcuffs, but they didn’t bother with me or Genny. Genny wasn’t going anywhere, and as for me, Natalya’s gun pointed at my head was keeping me still.
Yumi helped a wobbly Debra into Sunny’s armchair. I wouldn’t lie, I felt a twisted sense of pleasure at dropping that bitch so hard, she could barely stay upright.
“You can go now,” Debra said, flapping a hand at the brutes who carried me and Bane in. “There are plenty of Merchant worshippers in this building who still need killing. Get to it.”
Eagle Tattoo hesitated. “Maybe we should stay, Mom. It’s ten of them against five of you. Let us even the odds.”
She shot him a piercing look. “Don’t you dare argue with me. We don’t need your odds, now get out!”
One of the guys behind Eagle Tattoo pulled his phone out of his pocket. He tapped his screen, read it, and scowled. He grabbed Eagle Tattoo’s shoulder. “A bunch of the Sons of Shit are acting up.”
Sunny whipped around, shouting obscenities and violent promises at them that they ignored.
“They’re fighting to take back the third floor,” the guy continued. “We have to go down and help them.”
“Three minutes,” Jillian warned.
“Do that,” Debra agreed. “Go down and stamp out those roaches. Make sure nothing and no one interrupts this auction.” Her expression softened. “This is it, brothers. After all this time. After everything we’ve sacrificed, we’re finally taking Cinco City back from these murderers. This is your victory lap. Let no one take it away from you.”
Eagle Tattoo beamed. “Yes, Mom. Thank you.”
Together, all fourteen of them tromped out the door—leaving us alone with them.
Debra’s smile evaporated like a puddle. “Finally. Those stupid, ignorant cunts,” she spat. “I know we needed bodies, but couldn’t we have invested in a better, and smarter, class of criminal?”
Natalya laughed. “A smarter class of criminal wouldn’t have believed us when we promised to ‘redistribute’ the wealth of Leighbridge, and share all the auction earnings equally.”
“That is true,” Debra crowed, setting them both off laughing.
“Two minutes.”
“Okay, okay.” Debra sobered quickly. “Are the recordings ready to go?”
“Ready,” Yumi confirmed, setting five different recorders on the table behind the laptops.
“Are the bombs set?”
“They’re set,” Maryann confirmed.
“Okay, the auction is on a timer with the highest bid at the end of five minutes the accepted bid. That gives us fifty minutes to get through them all. We want as much as we can milk from these fools, so we don’t blow the bombs until minute forty-eight. That way we still make a little something from the invalid,” she said, waving at Genny. “All of you need to be seen moving, talking, and being in this room until minute twenty.
“After that, they’ll only hear our voices, but they’ll be too busy focused on the auction to care about us. That’ll give us more than enough time to get out, go through the tunnel, and drive away. Don’t worry”—she held up the drive—“we’re all packed.”
“Ten seconds,” Natalya said, gun steady on me even as she watched the clock. “Nine, eight, seven...”
“For Wilson,” Debra said.
Her friends nodded. “For Wilson.”
“—three, two, one.”
From my side view, I saw the screen flick on, and the show begin.