Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 74655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
“Fuck,” I say, my voice low. “Fuck.”
“Yeah, phones can be tracked. All she had to do was answer.”
“We gotta get the fuck outta here,” I growl, grabbing Charlie’s arms and pushing her back until she’s standing on her feet.
“Yeah, we gotta move. Now. Fuckin’ right now,” Maverick growls. “Can’t go back to the club, need another secure location.”
“My ranch!” Scarlett pipes up. “Right down the back is an old cabin; two, I think. They must have been the original dwellings before the main house was built. I know the man who leases my house keeps them in good order, but nobody has been in them a while. Hell, I don’t even know if they’ve got power, but they’re right down the back of my property, near the stream.”
Malakai nods. “Might be the only option we have. Any other way into your ranch that doesn’t involve goin’ down the main stretch?”
Scarlett nods. “There’s an access road down the back. I’ll have to call to find out exactly where it is, and I’ll have to get the key to the cabins ...”
“Can we trust the people you’re leasin’ the house to?” Maverick asks her.
“They never said a word when you were all there when I was in danger ...”
Malakai exhales. “She’s right about that, never said a word, never interfered. Right now, it’s the best we’ve fuckin’ got. We gotta go, and we gotta go now.”
“Charlie,” I growl, forcing her to look up at me. Her eyes are scared, full of a fear I’m all too familiar with. “We gotta get out of here. Get what you need. Two minutes. We roll.”
She nods. “I’m ... I’m sorry ... I didn’t ...”
“No time for that. Get what you need.”
Everyone moves with lightning speed. I pull out my gun from my bag, shoving it into my jeans, and all the other guys do the same. Within five minutes, we’re ready to go and the fire is put out. We’ll leave the tents and everything. It won’t go anywhere. We switch the lights out and step out in front of the cabin. It’s dark, and it’s going to be a fucking rough journey down to the road. It’s only short, but in the dark, it could be dangerous. We have flashlights, and I take the lead. I know the path well.
Charlie is behind me with Malakai behind her.
We move as quickly as we can.
We’re only about ten minutes into the journey when I see it. The faintest flash of light. It comes from about a hundred yards ahead. Not enough to be a headlight, we’re likely not close enough to the road, but enough to be a flashlight. Someone is on this path.
“Lights out. Now.”
I hiss the words, and in seconds, the lights are out.
“Nobody move.”
“What is it?” Malakai orders. “What the fuck do you see?”
“Look ahead.”
I can’t see who’s looking and who isn’t, but the light can be seen again, flashing aimlessly around. Someone is close; whoever was tracking her phone wasn’t far away. That’s not a good fucking sign. Maybe they didn’t need the call after all. Maybe all they needed was her number. I have no fucking idea how many there are, or what we’re about to be up against.
“Get the girls off the track, behind a tree, now,” I order in a hissed voice.
“You heard him, girls, move,” Maverick orders, using the light on his phone and holding it low.
He gathers the girls.
“Koda,” Charlie whispers, and I feel her fingers tug on my jacket.
“Go. Don’t make a sound.”
“But ...”
“Charlie. Go.”
She does as she’s asked, following Maverick off the track. I don’t know where he takes them, but a few minutes later, he’s back. We all huddle as close as we can. “Only advantage we have right now is that they haven’t seen us yet,” I say, my voice low.
“I think we let them go past,” Mason murmurs. “When they’re gone, we keep movin’.”
“No,” Malakai growls. “Fuckin’ no. I want to get my hands on whoever is comin’ up this track. Be the key to gettin’ in.”
“Malakai is right,” I agree. “We have the advantage of a sneak attack.”
“And if there’s a fuckin’ bunch of them?” Boston growls. “Then what?”
“Unlikely, if there was, they’d be comin’ in loud and proud. Only saw one flashlight, which makes me think someone is tryin’ to get hold of Charlie before Benjamin does. Someone wants that money,” I tell them, voice low.
“Koda is right,” Maverick says. “If it was Benjamin, he would have been smarter about it. Someone has done their own trackin’. Someone who knows her, possibly through him, someone on his team. Someone steppin’ out to find her before anyone else. Money does that shit to people.”
“Right, so we wait and fuckin’ take whoever comes past down?” Mason hisses.
“That’s right,” Malakai confirms. “Separate either side of the trail. And wait. Use force if you have to. I want whoever is fuckin’ out there, but I want them alive.”