Total pages in book: 174
Estimated words: 172061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 574(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 172061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 574(@300wpm)
The seedy operation going down inside was held under the guise of a logging company. Kent Ellison had run this charade for years, his reach extending all the way down into San Diego and up into Oregon and Washington.
The guy was dirty as fuck. Cruel and disgusting in his dealings.
Violence skimmed over the surface of my skin as I thought of Elena being held hostage inside. I wanted to take this piece of shit out.
Completely.
But that would only cause a shitstorm that we couldn’t afford right then. We just needed Elena out, then Silas could figure out how he wanted to handle the Kent situation. Kent who would likely come for us.
It was a risk we always had to swallow whenever we came into these types of situations, but we’d dealt with the vilest of creatures since the beginning.
We didn’t shy or shirk when it came to the threat.
I glanced at Theo, who was ducked down in the shadows on the far side of the fence, then to Kane, who was on the opposite side, both standing guard in case things went south.
That thought no longer sat right with me. Could no longer even contemplate that worst-case scenario.
Couldn’t imagine having to go tell their families that something had happened to them.
To me, this thing only worked without attachments. Without the fear that by helping one person we were dragging someone else into the line of fire.
I didn’t know how long we could go on like this.
Cornflower eyes flashed through my mind. The soft feather of her lashes and the little wrinkle between her brow when she’d begged me to step into a position I couldn’t fulfill.
A disturbance blew through my conscience.
What the fuck was I doing? Inviting them into my home?
In my periphery, I saw Theo give me the signal that all was clear. The guard running the perimeter had just rounded back around the north side of the building.
I had seven minutes and thirty seconds to get in and get out before the fucker would be coming back around.
Dipping my chin, I shot into action. I knelt low and snagged my cutters from my back pocket. Breaths going haggard, I snipped through the metal wires of the fence to create an opening. When it was large enough, I bent the fencing back.
On a count of zero to this was fucking it, I squeezed through the opening, the bent edges of the metal scraping over my flesh.
The second I was on the other side, I pulled my gun from the holster at my back, and I kept low, attention raking back and forth as I ran across the grassy expanse toward the backside of the building.
Adrenaline thundered through my veins. The brutality inside stirred and stewed, a quiet howl that begged me to let loose.
To release the pressure that built and built until that delicious moment it was finally unleashed.
There would be no sating it tonight. This had to be clean. I couldn’t leave a trail of blood behind me no matter how much I was thirsting to do it.
I glanced both ways again as I got close to the back wall, then I tucked my gun back into its holster as I grabbed hold of a metal pipe that ran from the ground to the roof. Using my boots against the wall, I propelled myself upward, my movements quickened as I scaled to the top.
I tossed myself onto the roof, breaths heaving and my heart battering as I hurried to the hatch that led into the crawl space.
A padlock kept it bound, and I grabbed my cutters again. My teeth gritted as I compressed the handles of the cutter, the sharp blades shearing through the metal. I stifled a heavy gush of air when it gave. Then I carefully, and as silently as I could, pulled the hatch lid open.
I held my breath as I listened, knowing I was in deep trouble if I alerted anyone, before I felt satisfied I was in the clear and gripped onto the sides of the opening and lowered myself inside.
The soles of my boots hit the interior ceiling with a muted thud.
It was the dead of night, and I was banking on the fact that most would be asleep, and I prayed to fuck that Elena was alone and wasn’t being occupied by someone I most definitely didn’t want to see.
It was the main unknown of this job.
Why she was here. If she’d come of her own accord. If she’d been brainwashed. Or if she was chained.
I crawled through the tangle of wires and conduit toward the room where she was being held. My pulse careened and bashed as I pulled out the large, serrated hunting knife attached to my side.
I started to saw through the sheetrock over Elena’s room.
Sweat dripped down my brow as I dragged the knife back and forth, attempting to keep it as quiet as possible. I glanced at my watch. Two minutes and thirty-two seconds had passed.