Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
But the door to the back of the armored truck opens and Tommy disappears inside with Claudia’s sister.
I grab my phone and start sending a rapid series of texts through an encrypted chat program. I need everyone to know what’s coming and to be absolutely ready. The armored truck’s engine roars to life as the driver floors it, and the back door slams closed, hiding Tommy away in the belly of the beast.
I sprint down the stairs. The truck’s already careening away by the time I reach my truck and jump into the driver’s seat. I ram on the engine and slam down the gas, leaping forward, side-swiping some poor bastard’s Acura, before fishtailing into the street. Ahead, the truck’s slowing down at a stop sign, and it isn’t hard to catch up.
Two more streets. My heart’s racing. Tommy’s right there, and he’s also so fucking far away. He’s so close to escaping, and if something goes wrong—
I call Seamus with one hand. “Now!” I yell as soon as he picks up.
Something bright and metal flashes up ahead in front of the armored truck. There’s the squeal of brakes as it tries to stop, but the big monster’s weight keeps its momentum going forward, and it slams into the road spikes.
All four tires burst at the same time. They break with a sound like a bomb dropping. The armored truck swerves, hits a parked car, hits a parked SUV, and comes to a grinding halt in a scattering of ripped metal and broken plastic pieces. I leap out and shoulder my rifle, aiming down the sights, as the driver staggers out and falls to his knees.
I yank the trigger and the gun bucks. The driver’s head explodes and his body crumples as a second man gets out of the driver’s side, since the passenger’s side is pinned. He looks around wildly in terror and gets two steps before I put another bullet through his back.
Seamus’s guys swarm. They cover the truck, making sure it’s empty, and Davide sets up a perimeter. If any of the other Serbians are thinking about getting involved, he’ll make sure they don’t get within so much as an inch of Tommy.
I reach the back of the armored truck, grab the handle, and yank.
The doors swing open. They’re not even fucking locked, the arrogant prick. Tommy’s sitting on a bench, blood running from a gash in his forehead.
Serena’s kneeling in front of him, and he’s got a gun pressed to the back of her head.
I raise my rifle but pause when a grin splits Tommy’s face.
“You make another move and I’ll kill the girl, and I bet Claudia won’t be happy with that, huh?”
My heart’s racing. Tommy pulls back the hammer of his pistol. Serena’s eyes widen and tears streak down her face. She’s shaking, her hands are in the air, and she’s mouthing one word, over and over. Please, please, please, please.
I have a choice. A horrible choice. Let Tommy kill Serena, and I can probably take him alive. Or I can try to kill Tommy, and maybe I’ll pull it off, and Serena will survive, or maybe I’ll fuck it up and I’ll lose them both.
But either way, I can’t just stand here.
Chapter 45
Angelo
“It’s not really me you care about,” Tommy calls out as he shrinks further behind Serena. The fucking coward. “We both know it. You want my contacts.”
“Simon wants your contacts. I want you, Tommy.”
“Come on, you can’t really still hold all that shit against me, can you? I mean, I was just doing what any rational human would do.”
“You betrayed me. I lost five years of my life because of you.”
“And I did it because I had the chance to build myself a nice little future. Hey, at least I didn’t kill you, right?”
“Not for lack of trying.”
He laughs, unhinged and wild. Serena’s eyes are still begging and her shoulders shake with each sob.
“It’s just business, Angelo. We all respected you, man. I still fucking respect you. We were like brothers, right?”
“Right. And then you stabbed me in the back. You really think I can let you walk away?”
“I think you need to be smart here. Spare me and you’ll save Serena here. That’ll really make your new girl happy, right? I’ll tell Simon everything about my Serbian friends, and then I’ll ride off into the sunset. Ideally, that sunset will be in Mexico, far away from any cartels that might want to do your family a favor by finishing me off. It’s a good plan, Angelo. We all win that way.”
My hand tenses on the trigger of my rifle. “We don’t all win,” I say, breathing nice and slow to keep myself calm. If my hands shake right now, if I’m not fast enough—
“Come on, Angelo, it’s finished. You got the others, right? You killed Paulie in his own fucking house, for fuck’s sake. You survived at least two different ambushes too. Nobody can say you’re not a scary motherfucker, so let it go. Don’t make this hard.”