Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68369 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68369 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
“Also, it’s not a matter of what I can handle anymore,” he went on. “You’re in charge of this operation, and what you say goes. If it will bother you or distract you in any way to have me near the bunker, I’ll opt out.” He grimaced and rubbed his forehead. “I was so eager to show you I could be of use that I forgot the whole purpose of this assignment. I’m sorry.”
The last word had barely left his mouth before I was crushing him in a hug.
He had no fucking clue how much I’d needed to hear that. Hell, I hadn’t known either.
Knowing we were safe here, I unstrapped his helmet and knocked it off, because I needed to get closer. I buried my face against his neck and screwed my eyes shut.
Leighton exhaled and slipped his arms around my neck, where he did that thing with his fingers. Fucking magic. He brushed them through my hair and scratched my scalp.
“Thank you.” I kissed his skin and lingered in the soft curve below his ear. “Thank you.” I cupped his face next and kissed him hard.
Goddamn you. I think you broke the mold.
He was something else entirely.
He smiled into the kiss and wrapped an arm around my midsection. “Isn’t it good when I say all the right things?”
“Amazing.” I matched his smile and teased the tip of his tongue with my own, and now I kinda wanted an extra few minutes. But…focus. We were losing daylight. “We’ll continue this back at Hillcroft, all right?”
He nodded and actually pinched my ass. “I had to do it. Your ass looks incredible in combat gear.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Fuck, you make me breathe easier, kid.”
He made a noise and narrowed his eyes up at me. “I’ve grown to like pup. Stick with the classics. Or, you know, the new hit—baby. That may be a favorite.”
I grinned and spun him around. “I’ve grown to like pup too. March.”
“Aye, sir!”
On the way back, I switched on comms again and went to the main line where the perimeter watch and Coach listened in. “Slater and Green from perimeter watch, get back to camp. Briefing in ten. Out.”
Leighton turned back to me. “How many are out there? I thought we only had… Never mind. Crew and Ryan flew in too…”
I nodded. “People have been coming and going all day, but we’re at fourteen now, including you.”
I bet he was curious to find out if he was going to take an active part in this unit or not.
He’d find out soon.
Once we were back at the camp, I talked to Coach while we waited for Slater and Green to show up. For the first time today, shit was running smoothly, and things were falling into place. The Feds were waiting for our signal, ready to take care of the drug crew’s other location. Where the immigrant workers had been held. They expected minimal pushback. The other locations in Fredericksburg were cleared too, with the exception of my brother’s place. They were there now.
Sixteen drones at our disposal. I nodded and made a mental note, and Coach moved on to give me an update on the latest details they’d found for this property. Permits all in order for the bunker, but the public records—the building plans—didn’t reflect reality. Squeezy had found the electrical blueprints and plumbing plans that revealed an expansion of the bunker. In other words, they were more accurate.
“I made a rough sketch of what we think the bunker looks like.” Coach pulled out a notepad from his back pocket, and I positioned myself next to him.
This was good. The entry was along the short end of the rectangular-shaped bunker, which meant we wouldn’t be entering in the center. Going in through the center would entail splitting up to cover more angles.
Past the downhill driveway was an underground parking area; he said it was big enough for four or five vehicles. And since the vehicles had turned back earlier, we could expect them to be there. Objects to hide behind, if nothing else.
Smoke grenades were out, because they would just delay our entry without causing any problems for the enemies.
“Then we have this wall here.” He pointed at the wall I assumed separated the outdoors from the indoors. “It’s relatively thin, indicating they haven’t invested in reinforced steel doors or anything like that. We have the tools to get through the wall if we can’t shoot the hinges off the doors.”
I nodded along, eyeing what came after. The bunker was essentially one room after another, in a neat row. Three exceptions—presumably bathrooms, based on the plumbing.
There was no way of knowing how these rooms were designed—what kind of security setup they had—but we did have our experience to fall back on. Drug distribution on this scale…? If they cut the coke on-site, we could expect that to happen in the back. Storage room, area for sorting and packing…