Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 159500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 798(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 798(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
The edges of my vision tremble as I pull the trigger.
Chapter 29
Road
The bang hurts my ears, and my wrist aches from the recoil, but what counts is that the damn thief’s bleeding, his foot a mess of flesh and bone inside the moccasin he’s wearing.
The workers shriek, pulling back, as if they fear I’ll target them next, but even Creep frowns, lowering his feet to the floor. I know what he’s thinking. This isn’t a place for bullets. I could have beaten the bastard to show the others what happens to traitors, then maybe shot him somewhere more convenient, away from equipment, but this really isn’t my day.
Yeti lets go of Rog who drops to his knees sobbing and swearing at me. If he thinks that’s gonna fly, he has another thing coming.
I’m not sure what’s happening when Creep charges at me, straight from the table, like a mountain lion pouncing its prey. Fuck it. I’m ready for a fight. I had every right to shoot Rog. In fact, I even had the right to kill him for what he did.
Creep crashes into me, and we both fall, then roll over the ground. Just as that happens, a massive stalactite drops from the roof of the cave right where I was standing. It shatters into several large rocks.
“I said, no shooting in the caves!” Creep hisses in my face as we both catch our breaths. My back stiffened as we fell, and I only now let my neck relax, so my head rests on the rocky floor. The sudden change of position awakens the earlier nausea, and I cough, shutting my eyes to stop the world from spinning.
Creep shifts on top of me and grabs my T-shirt. “No. Shooting. In. The. Caves.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re the master of spelunking, I get it,” I say, shoving him off so I can roll to my hands and knees and pull myself up. It’s embarrassing to have people see me like this, and I could have died, but the one thing I can do is smile and move on.
Olivia’s standing over Rog, gloved hands clasped over her mouth. “You’re such a fucking idiot,” she says, as if seeing him get shot gave her the ick.
He’s too terrified to argue with her, and I come over, shoving him to his front so I can get handcuffs on his wrists.
“We were just hooking up.”
“What?” I look up at Olivia, who clears her throat.
“I’m not, like, his girlfriend.”
“What am I, your priest? Why should I care?” I ask, and she takes a step back, trying to hide behind the other workers. I suppose she doesn’t want to let Rog’s mistakes affect her, though I make a mental note to keep an eye on her. Just in case.
“What the fuck was that?” Prophet yells from afar, before even reaching the cave we’re in. “No shooting in the caves!”
I let out a low growl, because I really don’t need to hear this again. At least Yeti doesn’t wait and hauls a limping, bleeding, sobbing Rog past Prophet who must already know what this is about.
“Nothing happened,” I say, shooting to my feet so fast the walls sway around me again, and Creep grabs my arm, keeping me from losing my footing. I fucking hate him sometimes for noticing everything. “It’s all good. We’ll deal with that thief.”
Prophet shakes his head. “Come with me,” he says, but it sounds like an order. While we do have a hierarchy, my bond with Prophet is about much more than being his subordinate. We’re friends, brothers. Still, I don’t question him and follow, because I’m not about to argue in front of other people.
It’s not like I had other plans anyway, since Clyde isn’t waiting for me in a boat by the lake, already preparing pancakes and bacon.
Life’s not fucking fair.
Prophet leads the way outside, then past the building hiding the entry into the ravine, and toward the lake.
I roll my eyes. “I’m going to puke if she makes me drink any tea right now.”
As soon as we emerge into bright sunlight, I have to squint, because it feels like an assault on my senses.
“Noted. No tea, but I was actually going to straight up ask you what’s up first. You’ve been a mess the last three days, and I can’t have that from my enforcer. Road. Is this about Blondie? You’ve been like this since you came back that night.”
Talking to him is like trying to get to safety crossing a river of hot lava, but I’m not about to lie down and wait for it to burn me. “Since when are you so interested in the girls I sleep with?” I ask as we come close to the lakeshore, where some of our people are enjoying a nice day in the sun.