Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“Down!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, flipping around as the stranger pressed his eye to that scope. I lunged forward, propelling myself through the air, the moment a faint click reached my ears. A flash tearing through the darkness, gasses shot out from the back of that rocket launcher. I fell to the deck, tiny pebbles sticking to my chin as a powerful blast echoed across the dock. A huge fireball shooting up into the sky, my ears picked up noises of metal slamming into the ground. I looked up, my chin brushing up against the collar of my shirt. Chunks of iron and aluminum were hovering several feet over what used to be a container. Towering flames in between them, they dropped to the ground, their clattering louder than the singeing of that container. Plumes of black smoke engulfing their shape, nasty stenches flooded my nostrils. Molten plastic, along with burning metal were permeating the air.
I pressed my palms to the deck and pushed myself up, those SUV’s finishing a U-turn. The four new additions to our crew were well away from the scene. Those gutless bastards hadn’t bothered ducking. They hadn’t even bothered sticking around. I just caught a glimpse of them, before they disappeared between two, parked trucks. Leonardo was crawling towards the remains of that container. Matteo was closer, staring at the—still burning—shipment, trying to rise from the ground. Felix was to the left, his side to me. Lying down, clutching the right side of his ribcage as he howled in pain… I swallowed hard and cringed, noticing something between his fingers. A small chunk of metal was sticking out from the wound, its jagged edge covered in Felix’s blood.
“Matteo, Leonardo,” I said, my attention shifting back to my friends. “Are you guys all right? Are you hurt?”
“No, man,” Matteo was the first to provide an answer. “I took a nasty hit on the head, but I’m okay.”
“Me, too,” Leonardo nodded, looking up at me from beside Felix. “He needs a hospital. Now.”
“I’ll get the car,” I told them, jogging off.
I couldn’t believe this. For the second time in a month, one of us was fighting for his life. A member of our crew needed medical attention, otherwise he’d bleed out. I hardly knew Felix, but the last thing I wanted was for him to die on the docks. Shots of adrenaline rushing through my system, I hoped I would be quick enough. I hoped I hadn’t gotten him killed by hiring him.
19
PIPER
A constant vibration on my nightstand pried me out of my sleep. My cell phone was moving across the wooden surface, getting closer to the bed, before pulling away. I reached over in the dark, my eyes remaining shut. My fingers making contact with the wood, they crawled across, until they nudged the plastic on the side of the phone. I cleared my throat and brought it up to my ear, my cheek pressed against the pillow.
“Hello?”
“Piper?” A female voice was on the other end of the line, two phones ringing in the background. That ring was much too familiar.
“Yeah?”
“It’s me—Kayla Marks from Presbyterian Hospital. Remember me?”
“Hey, Kayla,” I spoke in a groggy voice, sitting up. “It’s been a while. What’s wrong? Why did you call me so late?”
“I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news for you. Your brother was brought in about ten minutes ago. He’s been hurt pretty badly.”
Sleep made my mind foggy. “Colby?”
There was a pause. “It says here his name is Felix.”
I didn’t know whether to be relieved or to cry as I remembered that Colby was already gone. That at least meant he could never be hurt again. But Felix… now that was another story.
My stepbrother and I hadn’t spoken in years, and we’d never been close, even as kids. The proof was right there in the way I referred to him. He’d always felt like a stepbrother, while Colby had always felt like a biological brother, even though he wasn’t.
“What happened to him? Where is he hurt?”
“That’s all I can disclose over the phone, dear. You know the rules. If you want more information, you’re going to have to come down here.”
“Yeah,” I exhaled, cupping my forehead. “Thanks for calling me up, Kayla.”
“No problem.”
Scooting closer to the edge of my bed, I couldn’t help but wonder.
What did you get yourself into, Felix?
My brother had never liked to play by the rules. He loved to break them, no matter their importance. After having been fired from about a million jobs, he tried his luck in the army. Personally, I didn’t think he’d fit in, although my mother was a big fan of his choice. There was a chain of command in the army. A certain structure in place, which had to be respected by everybody, regardless of their rank. Sometime later, Felix returned home with his tail between his legs, claiming he had been wronged. Of course, a conversation with his superior told a different story.