Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
“It’s going to work!” he yells back.
“Return fire!” I cry, and my men begin to shoot back, taking out a few of the smoky figures here and there. But it’s not enough. We’re about to be overrun.
“There!” Red yells and points.
The spark is still alive, slithering through the grass like a snake. When it reaches the cache of gunpowder and pellets buried in a line beneath fresh sod, I yell, “Get down!”
We all take cover as the explosion lights up the white smoke and the dark sky. It runs across the front of the house, decimating the line of attacking soldiers. It ends in a crescendo of screams, and when I peek my head up, there’s no more movement through the now-gray smoke.
“Clean them up, boys!” I yell and run out, leading my men into the killing field when another line of Sarita’s soldiers emerge from the trees. An entire host of men we didn’t anticipate.
Fucking hell.
This is it. This is all there is. I fire, shooting down man after man as my soldiers stand by my side, all of us fighting for our lives.
32
LUCRETIA
“Oh my god, there’s so many more of them.” I stare, horrified, as soldiers swarm out of the trees and rush Mateo.
More smoke cannisters go off, blocking my view.
“No!” I press my palm to the screen.
“What the fuck?” Lito points to one of the other screens.
“Who’s that?” I swallow hard as a man creeps up behind the guard at the kitchen door and slits his throat. “Oh my god!” I gasp.
Lito pulls me into his arms. “We’re safe here.”
The man enters the kitchen, then we lose sight of him on the cameras.
“He’s inside. He snuck through Benny’s line at the back of the house.” Lito rubs my upper arm, trying to warm me even though I’m frozen to the core. “There are more guards. They’ll get him before he gets up here.”
“What if he finds Carter?” I haven’t seen the cook since this afternoon. “What if he never left?”
“Carter will be fine. He’s been around the block a few times. Don’t worry.”
I want to believe Lito, but I can’t. Not after what I just saw. I look back at the camera on the front lawn and search for Mateo, but the smoke is still too thick. I can’t tell who’s standing, who’s firing, or what’s going on.
“I can’t see him, Lito. Where is he?”
He looks at the monitor. “I don’t know, but we have to keep the faith, all right? No falling apart when they’re out there fighting. Stiff upper lip.” He squeezes my arm. “Mine’s already stiff from the fillers, so I’m one step ahead of you.”
I turn and glare at him.
He shrugs, his eyes still on the front lawn screen. “Sorry, humor’s my defense mechanism.”
“It’s all right.” I lean against him as we watch the video. The one at the back of the house goes out, leaving the screen black.
“They shot it down.” He cycles through the other feeds and settles on the foyer.
I keep my eyes on the front lawn, hoping for a glimpse of Mateo. Inside, my mind keeps repeating ‘please don’t be dead’ over and over like a prayer.
“Shit!” Lito points to the foyer camera, and I can see the man from the kitchen climbing the steps.
“It’s Vincenzo!” I cover my mouth.
“Fuck!” Lito opens a drawer beneath the surveillance console and pulls out a pistol, loads it, and hands it to me.
“He can’t get in here, right?”
“No.” He checks his own pistol and flicks the safety off. “At least, I don’t think so.”
A cold sweat breaks out on my brow. “Does he know this room is here?”
“Likely. It’s been here since the place was built, back when our parents were in charge.”
“But there’s no way he knows the code, right?”
Lito cycles through the cameras again and catches Vincenzo walking down the hallway, headed straight for us. “He can’t know it.”
“Has it ever been changed?” I ask.
Lito puts a hand out and backs me up all the way into the back corner. “I don’t know.” Then he aims for the door.
With shaking hands, I lift my gun, too.
“Here.” He reaches over and flicks the safety off. “Just don’t shoot me, okay?”
“No promises.”
He gives me side eye.
“Humor can be my defense mechanism, too.” I shrug, the movement tight and small.
“If the door opens, just pull the trigger. Don’t hesitate.” He lets out a steadying breath.
“I will.” I may not be an experienced fighter, but I’ll do everything in my power to protect Lito. He’s like a brother to me, and I won’t lose another one. Not on my watch.
The digital lock beeps. Vincenzo is trying the code.
I swallow hard, my arms still shaking though I keep my aim on the door.
The numbers beep again and again.
“He doesn’t know it.” Lito lowers his gun. “He can’t get in.”