Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
I moved back into the hallway, seeing the rest of the men coming for me.
I had to get off this floor and lead them away from Scarlett.
They opened fire, and I ducked back into the office, the bullets marking the walls and destroying the paintings and the moldings. I poked my head out and fired back, knowing I had to get a lot of bullets in to defeat the carbon fiber armor they wore from head to toe. They weren’t regular henchmen that I’d encountered, who came in armed with just a gun and a bulletproof vest. These guys were practically SWAT.
Who the fuck wanted me dead?
Back and forth, bullets were exchanged. Some of them started to fall.
“More of them are coming from the bottom floor,” Aldo said.
“How many?”
“At least a dozen.”
“Goddammit.” I stepped out again and sprayed them with bullets, taking them down because they hadn’t expected me to lunge right toward them like that. After they all collapsed, I grabbed a fresh gun because I was out of ammo and headed to the stairs. I took them two at a time as I headed down, and when I reached the railing that stretched along the second floor, I put the strap of the gun around me, climbed over, and then swung myself forward and dropped down to the first floor. I landed behind the twelve guys, and I quickly scrambled to my feet to raise my gun.
They turned at the sound, but the stairs were precarious as they pivoted, so their response wasn’t as fast as it would normally be.
I fired the rifle and knocked half of them down, shells littering the floor around me. The destruction was enough of a distraction for me to run and head down the stairs to the ground level.
“Axel, there are even more by the entryway.”
“Fuck.”
I could head out the back and run, but if I did that, Scarlett would be here alone. They may not realize she was even there. They might chase me instead. But what if they didn’t?
“Axel, someone else is here.”
“Is it my guys?”
“No, someone else. They overrode the security system and closed the gates.”
“Who the fuck is it?”
“He just got out of the car. He’s tall. Wearing all black. No armor.”
Definitely the boss.
“He’s coming inside,” he said. “What are you going to do?”
The men from upstairs were running down to get me, and the boss was about to step inside and finish me off. My guys couldn’t get to me with the gate closed, at least not for a while. But all I cared about was Scarlett. “Fuck.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“Aldo, I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything, sir.”
“I’m going to hand myself over. I need you to get Scarlett and bring her into the safe room. Ignore whatever happens to me.”
Aldo was silent.
“Can you do that for me?”
“I’ll call her and guide her down. Is that okay?”
“Yes, that should work.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course, sir. I’m—I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “Tell her I love her, alright?”
He hesitated before he answered. “I will.”
I tapped the button on the earbud and ended the call. Now, all I had to do was give myself up and hope that would be enough of a distraction for Scarlett to get down to the safe room. It was hidden inside the house, impossible to find, and unless they had a bulldozer, they wouldn’t be able to get into it.
I came around the front of the stairs and tossed my gun on the floor as the soldiers approached with their guns pointed in my face. But none of them fired, so at least their orders were to keep me alive.
Alive to torture me, no doubt.
They circled me and yanked my wrists behind my back like I was under arrest and secured the zip tie in place.
I wanted to ask questions, but I knew it wasn’t their place to answer them.
They marched me forward toward the front doors, and just then, they swung inward, and the man Aldo had described stepped through, one hand in his pocket, a carefree energy about him. Instead of looking at me first, he got a lay of the land, looking at my floorplan before he was directly in front of me.
Then he finally looked at me.
Brown eyes in a hard face. In just a look, I could tell he was confident but not arrogant, that he was smart even though he hadn’t spoken a word. Everyone possessed an energy that you could just feel—and I certainly felt his.
I bet he felt mine.
“I apologize for the fanfare. But you know how it goes.” His voice was deep and possessed a hint of a French accent.
My blood started to boil because I knew who he was without knowing his name. “What do you want?”
“Let’s start with an introduction.” He looked away and scanned the room again. “I’m Draven—and I’m here to take the business.” He turned his gaze back on me.