Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“Nate! No!” Serenity hobbled to my side, reaching for me.
“I’m fine. Bullet-proof vest.”
“Oh my God. We have to run. The bomb!”
I lurched to my feet, seeing Ricky holding the door open and yelling at us to hurry. I pushed Serenity in front of me, and we stepped over Johnny’s prone form. A hand grabbed my ankle, and I fell to my knees.
“You’re not… leaving… not again…”
For a dying man, his grip was strong, but I twisted my ankle out of his hold and got to my feet.
“No!” Reaching for me, he caught nothing but air.
Without sparing him a glance, I rushed out the door, not far behind the others. A car was parked right outside the building, with the front passenger door wide open. Serenity had jumped into the back seat, and Ricky sat in the driver’s seat. “Get in!! Quick!”
I jumped inside and he took off before I’d shut the door. Ricky floored it, driving to the end of the alley. Before we made it out, the building exploded, sending a wall of plaster and mortar towards us.
Ricky kept going, but something crashed into the car, spinning it around before we hit the side of the other building. Debris rained down on the roof and crushed it in toward our heads. “Get down!”
Glass shattered under the weight, and the back window blew out. A muffled yelp came from the back seat as more debris rained down on us. Dust filled the car, but the rumbling finally stopped, leaving us pinned inside.
Squished into the small space, it was hard to move, but I wasn’t hurt. Ricky blinked his eyes open, blood running from a cut on his head. He shifted his weight, straining to get out from under the steering wheel.
A groan came from the back seat.
“Serenity? Are you okay?”
“I think so.” She coughed. “I might need help getting out, though. It’s pretty cramped back here.”
“Yeah… we’re cramped up here, too.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be okay. It’s going to take a few minutes to get help, but we’ll all walk out of here.”
I licked my lips. “How do you know that?”
“Brandon’s back here. I… saw it when I got in and touched him. He’s kind of… pinned beneath me.”
“Shit.” Imagining her lying on top of that bastard curdled my stomach. I found the door handle and pushed against the door. It opened but hardly budged. I kept working at it, grateful that some light came in through the windshield, proving that we weren’t completely buried. Shouting sounded from outside, and my heart jumped.
“Stone! Ricky? Where are you?”
“We’re here.” I yelled. “We’re okay, but we need help getting out.”
Slater stepped into view. “I see you. Give me a minute.” He began clearing a space to the door, but it was slow going. He finally got the rubble cleared away from my side of the door, and I shoved it open enough to slither out.
As I stood, I took in the rest of the car, finding the whole back end totally smashed, the rear window gone, and the car roof dented inward. The damage ended abruptly at the back door, and I quickly cleared the debris away and wrenched it open. “Sen?”
She lay on the floor, level with the seat, her legs and feet close to the door. “I’m going to have to pull you out.”
She rose onto her elbows, and a sharp yelp came from Brandon beneath her. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
Crouching, I tugged her toward me, my hand coming to a blood-soaked bandage around her thigh. “You’re hurt.” I pulled her close enough that I could wrap my arm around her waist and finish pulling her out.
As she gained her freedom, her arms snaked around my neck, and she leaned her head on my shoulder. I rose, gently gathering her in my arms to carry her away from the car.
“What happened to your leg?”
“Aubree shot me. But it’s not bad. Just a nick.”
From all the blood, it looked a lot worse than that.
“Hey… don’t leave me here!” Brandon’s voice was muffled. “Help! I can’t move.”
Serenity met my gaze. “Oh… Brandon’s still tied up, so he can’t get out.”
I arched a brow. “Too bad for him, but I’m not lifting a finger for that bastard.”
Her lips twisted. “I get it, but we can’t leave him there.”
“Yes we can. Someone else will have to do it.”
She let out a sigh and dropped her face against my neck. “You made it. I wasn’t sure, for a minute there… you got shot… right in the chest. Thank God you had on a vest.”
Out of the blast zone, I set her down before claiming her lips. It had scared me, too, and relief spread over me in a powerful wave. Relief and something deeper I hadn’t expected to feel… love. I loved her. It had happened so fast, it was hard to believe. But I’d never felt this way. Not for anyone else in all my life. “Sen… I think I… I…”