Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37638 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37638 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Sting gave her a cocky smirk. “As you wish, Buttercup.”
Iris scowled at him before tugging even harder until their lips met. It was a hard, passionate kiss. One that spoke of the fear Iris was trying to hide behind aggression.
One thing I’d noticed about the president’s woman was that she was generally passive. Until it was time to be otherwise. She’d proven that when she’d sat for three months listening to us plan her sister’s rescue, then took matters into her own hands when she thought we were backing off. With the addition of Winter and Serelda, Iris was learning how to be the president’s ol’ lady. The sisters were not only taking back their lives, but the determination they both showed to take the fight to anyone who needed it was a great model for Iris. Which was to say, Iris was a force to be reckoned with.
“Well,” I said, not looking at Sting. It was hard not to smirk at the other man. “I guess you have your orders, prez.”
“I do.”
“God help you if you defy them.” My remark got a startled laugh from Sting. One glance at Serelda, and I knew she’d heard the exchange. I winked at her. She acknowledged me with a slight nod. No doubt she was wound up and determined to do whatever needed doing. Including facing her nightmare. So was Winter. Both women sat calmly, talking quietly. Serelda never took her gaze from me. That woman was ready. And she wasn’t backing down. Sweet Jesus, I was hard as a motherfucker!
“You were right, Wylde.” Shooter’s voice came through our earpieces. He was a Marine sniper in his former life. Now he served as our lookout when we were expecting trouble. No one was better at spotting trouble than Shooter. “Incoming. Three big-ass SUVs comin’ in with no lights. Hard to say from here how many people total, but I’m sure there’s more than six.” It had only been six hours since Wylde had made contact with these motherfuckers.
“Three days, my ass.” Atlas shook his head, muttering as he put his eye to the scope of his M4A1 rifle. “Let them come.”
“How’s this gonna work, Prez?” I always led any situation when it was imperative the men follow Sting’s orders to the letter. Most were good, but there were still a few holdouts. With everyone in battle positions, I spoke using the throat mic on the team’s secure frequency so everyone could hear. I wouldn’t be able to see their faces and judge the dissents, but I could throw my weight behind Sting to let everyone know I was solidly in his corner.
“Shooter, assign targets, but everyone will hold until Brick or myself gives the word. I intend on killin’ these bastards, but not before I have every scrap of information I can get. We absolutely are not leaving the Cannibal alive.”
“Copy.” Every member of the team acknowledged one by one.
“Scram.” That was the signal for certain members to switch their radios to a different frequency, and I followed suit. It was a private channel specifically for his inner circle to use to communicate privately. Which was a sore spot with a few of our members.
“Wylde, I have a couple questions for ya.” Sting’s voice was calm, but there was something just that little bit off. “How long do you think these bastards were here before you contacted them?”
“Given the speed with which they moved, I’d say a while. They had to have had time to study us. Comin’ here this fast would be suicide or stupidity otherwise. Given that Brick killed one of their men on a bus full of people and walked away, they had to know we were connected and dangerous. You’re welcome, by the way. I got the cops off the trail and led them to a crashed motorcycle fifteen miles away from the shooting. No bodies, but I left enough crumbs for them to go straight to a group of small-time arms dealers we’d tagged to get rid of.”
“Good. Next question. How’d they know where to find Brick?”
Wylde didn’t miss a beat. “I assume whoever told him Brick had killed his man told him. Because even the police don’t know who did that killin’, and they were there within ten minutes.”
“I’m sure people got cell phone images of it. If not the actual killin’, then afterward. Brick said he and Serelda didn’t exactly rush away from the scene.” Sting was covering all the bases, and I saw where he was going with this.
“Sure. There were pics and vids posted and sent all over the place. Fortunately, I have some snazzy-ass software Giovanni was having me test out that searches the web media I designate and obliterates it. In this case, I took the time and location along with images of Serelda and Brick and plugged it into the system. Giovanni and me got a handle on it in less than half an hour. While no software of this kind is a hundred percent, we’re talking about Giovanni Romano and Argent Tech. No. Images of that incident didn’t get out to the Cannibal. He was informed.” The emphasis on the word “informed” left no doubt about Wylde’s opinion of what had happened or where it came from.