Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36019 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36019 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
“Fifty bucks says that asshole set up an offshore bank account right before the report was published,” Wolf commented dryly.
“Not taking that bet,” Midnight grunted before continuing. “Rather than spend the money to tear it down, they let it sit.”
“And with the lawsuit, they risk a new inspection shedding light on the shitty build,” I surmised.
Inside, the air was stale and smelled like mold and decay. Carpets were pulled up in strips, and everything was covered in dust thick enough to coat your lungs. The floors creaked as we moved quietly, our flashlights slicing through the darkness where the sunlight couldn’t reach.
My gaze scanned everything. We went unit by unit, making note of any charges we found so that our crew could work on dismantling them.
On the east side of the third floor, in what used to be a property manager’s office, I spotted a rolled tube of paper jammed against the back leg of an old, rusted desk.
“What the hell’s that?” Wolf muttered.
I crouched, snatched the cylinder, and tipped it so the papers inside slipped out. Then I unrolled them on a half-collapsed couch. The blood in my veins turned to acid. “What the fuck?”
They were old training schematics. Diagrams I’d created back in the service—test scenarios, practice plans. Where to plant charges. What angles to use for max impact. My name was scrawled on the bottom corner of each one. It was my fucking playbook.
“Those sons of bitches,” I muttered.
“What is it?” Midnight asked.
“They’ve been using my old plans. My techniques. Copying every fucking thing I ever taught them.” My voice was low, lethal. “That’s why these buildings are falling so clean.”
“You think Calder’s crew stole your shit?”
“I know they did.”
Ward Calder didn’t have to say a word.
I felt him walk in.
“Well, well,” a voice drawled from the doorway. “Didn’t expect to see you here without your little shadow.”
I turned slowly, and there he was. Standing with that smug fucking face, holding a detonator in one hand. “Shame. I was hoping she’d be here. Would’ve made the boom even more worth it. Kill two birds with…well, you get the metaphor.”
“You sick fuck,” I snarled, stepping forward.
“Don’t get noble now, Owens.” He waved his other hand and flicked a button, initiating a deadman’s switch, now clutched in his grip. “Step back,” he said, eyes wild. “Try anything, and we all go up in a fucking fireball.”
“You suicidal now, Calder?” I asked, low. “Not your usual style.”
“I know you found the payouts,” he hissed. “The trail. My name on that shell company. I’m a dead man walking once that shit hits the media.”
Midnight shifted beside me, fingers twitching near his weapon. I gave a slight shake of my head. Calder was wired. One twitch, and he’d take the whole place with him.
Then another voice cut through the tension like a slow drag of a blade across a throat. “Well, shit. Y’all started the party without me?”
Kane’s voice echoed through the broken hallway like a goddamn movie entrance. He strolled in as though he had all the time in the world, dark shades tucked into his half-buttoned shirt, like he’d just rolled out of bed and grabbed the first set of clothes he saw. Two of his men hovered behind him, weapons drawn.
Calder flinched and turned toward the sound, distracted for half a breath.
It was all I needed.
I lunged.
We crashed into the desk with a bang, rolling it across cracked linoleum as I fought for the switch. My fist smashed into his jaw. He hit my shoulder, so I slammed him into the ground hard, and the detonator skittered away. He shouted with fury as his elbow cracked against my temple. I took the hit and grabbed for the deadman switch.
He fought like he had nothing left to lose—wild, fast, and dirty. But I was bigger, stronger, had trained longer, and I was a fuck of a lot meaner. I got the switch away from him and twisted the device hard until it snapped.
Then I clocked him in the jaw and let him drop.
Kane crouched beside me, one brow raised. “Looked like you had it handled.”
I blew out a breath and wiped blood off my brow. “Then why the fuck are you here?”
He grinned as he got to his feet and grasped my hand, pulling up next to him.
“Ran into Deviant at the compound,” he said with a shrug. “Said you might need backup. Figured I’d stop by before talking to Fox about borrowing Racer.”
Before I could reply, the door banged open, and two more men stormed in. Faces I knew too well.
“Fuck,” I muttered. Talbot and Lang were both from my old unit.
Fucking traitors.
They saw Calder crumpled on the floor and charged toward us.
Kane and I moved fast, meeting them halfway. It was brutal. Fists and boots connecting with muscle and bone. I took a punch to the ribs that cracked something loose, but I got Talbot in a chokehold and didn’t let go until he blacked out.