Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 422(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Willow.
“Jesus Christ.” Blackout's jaw is wide open. “That’s messed up.”
“She can walk right in and if he has a remote detonator, he doesn't even have to be nearby. Just in the fucking area. Radio signals travel far.” Skyhigh shakes his head. He pulls out his phone and dials quickly while he runs. “Poe? Get Hellfire, and get your little project.”
If Skyhigh's right about Tanner's plan, there's no fucking level of hell deep enough for him to hide from me.
I will fucking destroy him.
36
WILLOW
It's not the first time I've made the walk down the street to the front gates of the Outlaw Sons MC clubhouse.
It's the first time I've done it with enough explosives wired to me to blow up the whole block, though.
My steps are small. Slow. Careful. I have no idea how sensitive these things are. Tanner said nothing would happen until he triggered them, but he’s unhinged. I can’t trust him.
Oh my God.
Oh my God.
OH MY GOD!
I'm a walking bomb.
I can't hold back the tears. They stream down my cheeks as I walk. If a miracle doesn't happen, my last walk.
Maybe I should’ve been braver? Told him no and let him kill me. At least then it would’ve just been me. Like this, many people die, and I'm still one of them. I can't even claim I'm being selfish by getting out of it. No matter what, I die.
I stop, my gut heaving and tears blurring my vision. How did it ever come to this?
“Keep walking, Willow.” Tanner's voice is like poison in my ear.
My limbs are free and there's no tape over my mouth, but I've never been more trapped. I can’t take the bomb vest off, because according to Tanner, if any of those wires are pulled out, the rest of the bombs will go off. The ear piece he's made me wear isn't trapped the same way, but if he notices me not following his directions, he's going to trigger the bombs from his detonator. And the receiver on my belt is rigged like the bombs. Tug out a wire, and the rest goes.
I'm walking like a robot, terrified I'm going to accidentally catch on one of the wires and tug it loose by accident.
Up ahead, the gate to the Outlaw Sons' clubhouse is open. I can name the guards who are watching me approach, looking curious. Riot and Lash. God, Riot is one of Jessica's men. If it's my fault that she loses someone she loves after the talk we had… I want to puke.
Oh Jesus.
And Lash, the man with the magic tongue. Ocean's going to be so disappointed.
That I can even think about that right now just shows how scrambled my brain is.
Riot spots me first. “Willow! Fuck, we got people all over looking for you. You okay? Need a hand?” Something about the way he says it is off. Cautious. And he doesn’t make any move to come closer. Do they know something?
“Just ignore them and keep walking,” Tanner instructs me.
“No!” I blurt out, holding my hand up. Suspicious? Just a little. Tanner told me to get inside without arousing suspicion, but I'd like to see him make this walk strapped to a bomb. “I'm… I'm fine.” I force the fakest smile that ever faked and hope he buys it. It's normal for girls to smile through a faceful of tears, right?
Lash’s face hardens, but he doesn’t say anything. Just follows me carefully with his eyes. Now I’m sure there’s something going on. But do they really know?
I want to yell at him to run. For them to grab everyone they can get hold of and run as far away from me as possible, but Tanner is monitoring from a distance. He can hear everything I say. And what if Riot and Lash do the exact opposite and try to help? If they don’t know, then I’m just making it more likely to kill them when I die.
Every step is an equation. At what point is my chance at a miracle outweighed by the lives that might be lost?
So, step by horrible step, I approach my doom. And theirs.
“Willow,” Riot says again as I get close. He can see my tears. I know it. He takes a step towards me.
“Don't!” I hiss. I can't let him. If he stays a little bit away, maybe he won't be quite ground zero, and maybe he won't die, and maybe Jessica won't hate the memory of me for the rest of her life.
He holds back, but it's obvious he doesn't want to. When Lash starts to move, he holds him back too and shakes his head subtly. Maybe he understands something is going on. Maybe he'll manage to evacuate people without it being obvious.
“All the way up the steps to the church. This is your big moment, Willow.” Tanner starts to hum ‘Here comes the bride’ and I want to scratch his voice right out of my brain.