Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55375 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55375 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
I grind my teeth, aiming the rifle, but what about the other two? And there could be more men in the forest. Dammit, I should’ve stayed awake and kept watch. Despite what I’ve done to him with my betrayal, Mike is a good man, but he’s been out of the game for a long time.
“I asked you a question, Jacob,” he snaps.
Like before, he sounds annoyed that I’m not playing along and giving him the response he wants. He’s got me, though. It’s not like last time when only my life was at stake. There’s Mike and my woman. There’s his woman. There’s my goddamn mother. Rafael must really want to make me grovel before he ends it—the petty, pathetic idiot.
“No,” I say.
“Would you rather invite me inside, then? It might be a good idea to lay that weapon down.”
His two goons adjust their rifle grips. They hold their weapons like they know what they’re doing, comfortably gripping them. I slowly put my rifle on the porch, knowing this won’t end well, but at least Emma’s safe. That’s all that matters. The alert will fire off to one of my contacts in twenty-four hours. Maybe he’ll have to walk past our corpses to set her free, but she will be free.
“Excellent.” In English, he says, “Go on, dogs.”
The two women trudge through the snow. The two riflemen follow them, and finally, Rafael pushes Mike ahead of him. Rafael is right to stay at the back, as far from me as possible. He knows what would happen if I got my hands on him. He knows I’d happily break his bones.
In the house, the riflemen stand in the corner, guns aimed, as Rafael forces Angelica, my mother, Mike, and me to sit around the table. Mike’s got his head in his hands, clearly still woozy, looking at me with disbelief like he thinks he’s going to wake from a dream.
“I’m sorry,” Mom whispers from beside me.
“It’s not your fault, Mom.”
“Where’s the other one?” Rafael snaps.
I shrug. “No idea. I told her to get into the house. I don’t know where she went.” I purposefully look at Mike. “Please get him some help. He’s hurt.”
There’s genuine concern in my voice, of course. I don’t want anything to happen to my friend. There’s also the fact that I need Rafael to think I care more about Mike than I do about Emma. He needs to see Emma simply as just another person. If he knew how much I cared, he’d use it. Also, Mike seems recovered now, as if the shock of seeing Angelica has jolted him into an alert state.
Rafael turns to the taller of his men. He has a balaclava pulled up around his mouth. He nods and marches into the house.
“Do you think the police will help you?” Rafael snaps. “If she makes a little phone call? I’ll be done by then. Done with you, Jacob. I’m not the scared little boy. Not me. Not ever.”
“Is that what this is?” I snap. “Jesus Christ, Rafael. You don’t want to feel like a scared kid?”
“Take that mocking tone out of your voice.”
I shake my head in disgust, thinking of all the pain he’s caused, all the suffering he’s inflicted. Yet, somehow, he wants to be a victim in his head. It’s all so twisted and wrong.
“There’s a safe room,” the goon says, entering again. “Hidden in the ground, but not well enough. There’s a code.” Suddenly, the cold barrel of a gun presses against the back of my neck.
Rafael glares at me. “What’s the code, Jacob?”
“She’s got nothing to do with this,” I snap. “You’ve got what you want. My best friend. My mother. His lady, presumably so you can hurt him even more and hurt me. I get it, Rafael, but don’t bring her into this.”
“I think I’d like to,” Rafael says, his eyes narrowing.
Suddenly, all the emotion leaves me. It’s like a survival mechanism. Something hammers deep inside me, a war drum. Protect her, protect her, protect her, chants over and over in my mind.
“I think you might have an inappropriate crush on the girl,” Rafael laughs, clapping his hands together, still speaking in Spanish. “Does your friend know?”
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” I growl. “She’s not part of this, understand? She has nothing to do with this. I’m warning you. Don’t make this about her.”
“Warning me?” Rafael chuckles. “Should I be afraid? I’ve beaten you. Look where we are. Look who won—me. In a matter of days, I hunted you down. The great Jacob Jennings.”
“Yeah, and usually, I’d say you’d won this one, but you’re not accounting for one goddamn thing.”
“What’s that?”
“How much I love my lady.”
He laughs as if it’s a joke, but then I go ice cold. I don’t think anymore. I can’t. I’m risking everybody’s life apart from Emma. Even if we all die here, she’ll survive. She’ll go on living. Maybe she’ll hate me for what I did, but when Rafael threatens her, nothing else matters.