Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 100604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
The two men were almost to the middle of the row of stalls.
I slipped up behind one, then reached around and slashed his throat. His blood sprayed over me, and before his companion could react, I grabbed his shoulder and did the same to him. Both men fell to the ground. They couldn’t speak, and they’d be dead within minutes.
“Hey! Bannon? Carl? You guys okay?” a voice called from the far end of the barn.
One of these assholes was named Carl. Ironic. I grabbed their flashlights and held them apart. “We’re good,” I yelled back, making my voice deeper to match what I’d heard earlier. “One of the horses spooked us.”
There was silence for a second. Then the guy hollered again, “Yeah, okay. Check every stall. Keep going.”
The other two flashlights were coming toward me. I had to get behind them, take them down the same way. I knew the final two would be coming through the side doors at any moment, but so far the doors were still closed. They weren’t locked. I’d closed them before taking Addison upstairs, but meant to come back down and lock everything up for the night.
Turning the flashlights off, I locked both doors, darting from side to side.
“Hey!” The other two guys came running.
I flattened against one of the stalls and waited. They rushed past and separated, going to the doors. The closest one pushed at the door. “Fuck! Did he go this way?”
I moved quickly, slicing his throat in the dark, too.
The other guy swung around, and his flashlight blinded me. “Stay there, you fucker!”
I moved so the stairs were between us.
“I said STOP!” he bellowed.
I waited now. He’d need backup, whether that meant calling for his friends or unlocking the doors. I stared at his feet, memorizing where he was until I heard him fumbling around. Then I launched myself at him. He had a gun trained on me, but his mind wasn’t focused on pulling the trigger. I used that against him, soaring around the stairs. He saw me go left and his gun moved that way, but I ducked to the floor. The flashlight couldn’t keep up with me, and I kicked at him. He pulled the trigger and the bullet hit the floor next to me, but he was down. I grappled with him for the gun, kicking at his face.
The doors were rattling now. The other men shoved against them, trying to get in.
“Thirty seconds…” I could hear Carter’s voice in my head. I had thirty seconds before they remembered the other two entrances were unlocked and open. Then they’d act, and be on me.
The guy fighting me was stronger than I’d thought, so I flipped over, putting my knees on either side of his head. His gun was up, but I had the advantage now. I slammed his hand on the ground, and it opened with the impact. Grabbing the gun, I shot him in the face.
He was dead instantly. I rolled off of him and scooted back against the stalls so I was partially blocked. The doors were quiet now. They’d quieted as soon as they heard their friend die. My heart pounded, but I stilled my breathing.
They’d have to come all the way to the middle stairs to see me, but that was my only opening. They had the advantage. I had to think of something. As I waited, I pulled my second gun out. I had one gun in each hand now. They’d have to find me.
One fallen flashlight pointed down the hallway. They’d be coming that way, but they’d keep to the dark. I positioned myself with my gun and my eyes focused on that spot because there was no other way they could come. Not unless they’d doubled back and were coming from behind.
I’d have to risk it.
I heard them before I saw them. Shoes scraped against the cement floor, and I shot into the darkness ahead of me. A hoarse scream came from that direction, and I thumbed off two more bullets, pointing the gun slightly higher than my shoulder.
A third gun went off, and then there was silence.
A body fell to the floor with a thud. All six were dead, but there could be more. I waited.
“Are they dead?”
I whirled to face the top of the stairs and scrambled to find a flashlight. I shined it up into the darkness to find Addison perched on the top stair, her gun in hand. She still had it pointed at the man lying dead just beyond my shoulders.
I cursed, taking note of her pallor. Her face looked drained of blood, and tears streaked down her cheeks. She asked again, not even flinching against the flashlight, “Are they dead?”
The adrenaline of the fight still pumped through me, but it ebbed at the tiny sound of her voice. I didn’t want to answer—not because of what I’d just done, but because I hadn’t acted alone.