Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
When everyone had their orders, a few of our men left to help King while Maverick, Hunter, Racer, and I drove to a house a few streets over from our destination. Felicia and Donovan, a couple in Francesco’s organization, lived there and hid our bikes in a shed in their backyard.
It would have been easier to wait for darkness, but after we’d been there about twenty minutes, Donovan came out back to tell us that Tommaso was ten minutes away.
Night made things easier, but it really didn’t matter what time it was. We knew how to remain unnoticed. We split up across the street and took different routes to approach the house.
Deviant had provided the blueprints so we’d be familiar with the layout to avoid surprises. His best guess was that Marylin was either being held in the basement or the attic.
I crept up to the back door and glanced at Maverick. I was torn over saving my woman’s mother and making the men responsible pay.
He narrowed his eyes and tapped my temple before whispering, “I’ll get Marylin.”
There was a bond between brothers, one that was stronger than the ties of blood. And it meant that we knew each other in a way that outsiders never would. Maverick had known me for a long time, and after I patched, he’d seen the rage that lurked in my soul. It came out when we brought someone to The Room. I let it take over because punishing our enemies seemed to be the only time I had any peace. I couldn’t take out the bastards who shot me and had killed so many people, including the hostage I was trying to save. But I could make others suffer in their stead.
Maverick knew what I hadn’t wanted to admit. I had to be the one to deal with Tommaso and Elio, or the darkness inside me would fester and consume me. I was afraid that even Britta wouldn’t be able to pull me back. Wiping out the threat to her would be the equivalent of saving those hostages and maybe it would douse the constant fury burning inside me.
The back door was the entrance to a small, dingy kitchen that clearly hadn’t been cleaned in a very long time. If that was where they’d been feeding Marylin from, we’d be lucky if she wasn’t sick. Maverick and Hunter split up, one going for a door that led to the basement and disappearing down the steps. The other paused at the door to a hallway where the stairs went up to the attic. The hallway was short and could be seen from most of the living room, so we had to wait for Elio to be distracted before Maverick could go for the stairs.
After what seemed like hours but was really only a few minutes, I heard creaking from the wooden board used to build the front porch. Elio walked over to open the door, and Maverick slipped up the stairs.
Racer and I drew our guns, holding them so that we were each trained on one of the men. When we heard the front door close, we moved through the hall into the living room.
“Hate to interrupt this little father and son reunion,” Racer drawled, making both men whirl in our direction.
They went for their weapons but froze when I put a bullet in the ground right between Elio’s legs. “I wouldn’t do that, asshole. You wouldn’t even be able to pull your gun before I blew your fucking head off.”
“Sounds like fun,” Racer said with a snicker. “Do you think they’d explode like pumpkins?”
I grinned, feeling a little of my wisecracking personality returning. “Watermelons,” I quipped, making him chuckle. “But we’ll have to test the theory another time. These two don’t deserve a quick death.”
“True.”
Tommaso snorted in derision. “If your intent is to kill us, why are we just standing here?” He sounded bored, and my trigger finger twitched. “Waiting for someone else to come along and save your asses?”
“Nah,” Maverick drawled from the doorway behind us. “These two are the most bloodthirsty out of all of us. They were just stalling so there was no risk to Marylin while we took her outta here.”
Tommaso’s face turned red and blotchy as he took a step forward. His hand swung toward his back, but he didn’t get any farther before he screamed like a little girl, whipping his hand up to see a hole in his palm where my shot had gone straight through. “I warned you,” I said with a shrug.
Elio sputtered curses but didn’t make a move.
“Clear?” I asked Maverick.
“Yep. I’ll be outside if you need anything. Oh, wait, the walls are soundproof…too bad we won’t be able to hear their screams. Lucky Hunter, he brought a bag of toys for you.”
I chuckled as I watched the color drain from Tommaso and Elio’s faces.