Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 58752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58752 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Her gaze moved over the fresh scrape on my cheek and the dust ground into my cut.
“Are you hurt?” she asked, reaching toward my side the instant her second hand came free.
“I’m good, pretty girl,” I caught her hand and pressed it against my chest while I checked the bruising around her other wrist. “You?”
“Ask me when the numbers stop moving,” she replied, flicking an angry look toward the timer.
I hauled her up and pulled her hard against my chest. I wanted to strip every layer off her, inspect each bruise with my hands and mouth, then pin her to our bed until the only marks left on her came from me. The need was brutal, but now wasn’t the time.
Wraith appeared at the doorway with his weapon up and his gaze sweeping the room. I released Tamsin only far enough to turn her toward him, then put one hand between her shoulder blades and pushed her into his reach. The timer dropped past one minute and twenty seconds.
“Take her out,” I ordered.
Tamsin caught the front of my cut before Wraith could move her.
“You’re coming too.” She searched my face while her fingers tightened in the leather. The fear in her eyes was controlled, but it was there.
“As soon as that thing’s dead.” I tipped her chin up and held her gaze until she heard the command beneath the words. “Go with Wraith.”
For one beat, every argument she wanted crossed her expressive face. Then she remembered the promise she had made in my office, released my leather, and nodded.
“You’d better be right behind me,” she snapped, backing toward Wraith without taking her eyes off mine.
“Always am.”
Wraith caught her firmly by the upper arm and moved her into the corridor. She looked back once before the wall took her from view, and I waited until his voice confirmed they had cleared the side entrance. Only then did I turn toward the black case.
Stryker came over the comm before I reached it. “Rear team has Len, the crew leader, and three more assholes. Remote’s secure.”
Metal slammed somewhere beyond his voice as the brothers finished taking the vehicle apart.
“Timer’s still live,” I told him, crouching beside the case as the display passed fifty-six seconds.
“All yours. Everybody else is pulling back.”
The case had been bolted to the support, its external display and receiver protected behind a clear cover. I opened the lid and found a simple firing mechanism made dangerous by the stolen material packed around it. The first power source was obvious, which meant I distrusted it immediately, and the small indicator that should have died when I isolated it stayed lit.
“Backup,” I muttered, following the second feed with my eyes instead of wasting time swearing at the man who built it.
Thirty-eight seconds remained. I shifted my hand beneath the mounting plate, found the concealed power block, and separated it from the trigger without disturbing the initiator. The display flickered but kept counting, proving the timer carried enough independent charge to finish what it had started.
Outside, engines cut off, and gunfire collapsed into scattered impacts as my brothers finished taking the range. None of it mattered inside the tight circle of light around my hands.
Twenty-four seconds.
I traced the final firing path, steadied the case with one hand, and worked the initiator free with the other. The wound along my side burned when I leaned deeper, but my fingers never shook.
Fifteen seconds.
The display reflected across the metal support and painted my hands red while the alarm continued screaming through the room. I isolated the trigger, killed the initiator, and held still long enough to make sure no backup signal had been waiting behind the first.
The countdown froze at eight, the red digits locked in place while I kept both hands exactly where they were. For one measured breath, I watched the display for any sign that the circuit had found another path. Then the screen went dark, and the steady tone vanished from the prep bay.
I checked the receiver, firing mechanism, and immediate material around the column before trusting the result. The device was dead, the stolen pyrotechnics remained stable, and nobody was going to turn this building into Tamsin’s grave.
23
TAMSIN
Waiting for Gavin while he disarmed a bomb was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. Wraith kept me out of harm's way around the side of the building, and I understood why Gavin had sent him with me. He knew I’d be tempted to run right back inside because I couldn’t bear the thought of losing the man I loved.
Instead, I was stuck out here, rubbing my wrists that throbbed after being tied too tight. I had dust in my hair and mouth, but I didn’t care. I watched the door, refusing to blink until it was necessary. I needed to see Gavin come through it for myself.