Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 51832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51832 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
“Which is fine and dandy,” I say, “but we’re never going to have time to find out everything Kurt can tell us. We have to get him to talk.”
“He’s been talking. He just hasn’t told us anything that helps.”
“What if we just haven’t given him the chance, Luke?”
He considers me a moment. “What are you getting at, Ana?”
“We need to go talk to him again and this time, leave our anger behind.”
“We aren’t going back to The Ranch.”
“Then we bring him here.”
“Anyone who leaves The Ranch will be followed.”
“Then we go to him,” when he starts to object, I hold up a hand, “we take the tunnels. We get in. We talk to him. We get us all out.”
“And if it’s a trap?”
“We start shooting.”
That’s when a tingling sensation prickles the nerves at the back of my neck and my gaze jerks to the doorway where I find trouble standing and staring back at us.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Luke
Ana’s gaze jerks to the doorway and mine follows, but I see nothing but the door opening and shutting. My hand goes to her leg. “What is it?”
“I don’t know,” she replies. “I thought I saw—I thought I saw,” she glances over at me, “my boss. But he’s dead, right?”
“That’s what we were told.” I grab my phone and text Blake, asking him to check out the cameras on the street. He replies with confirmation, a location, and instructions. “We’re clear to go to the safe house.” I toss cash on the table. “Leave your phone.” I set mine on the table.
“You think our phones are being tracked? I thought Blake had that covered?”
“He does, but it seems like everywhere we go, someone else has us covered, too.”
“Please tell me you don’t think this is a Walker insider.”
“It’s not, and I just exchanged messages with Blake. He says he’s 99.99% certain our phones were not hacked, but since Parker was with us, he says we have to err on the side of caution. I have no idea what that means and I don’t care. I just want us free of this shit.” I toss my phone in my soda and she follows suit, doing the same with hers.
“Blake’s digging deeper on your boss,” I say. “I hate to think we’re supposed to believe he’s dead and he’s not because this shit is getting deep.”
“It looked like him,” I reply, “and as Kurt use to say: if it looks like a rat, it’s a rat. And if that rat makes your hair stand on end, shoot it.”
“Well, let’s hope he follows us now and we can take that advice.” I motion to the back door where I lift a staying hand, while I poke my head into the back alleyway, and clear our path. Once Ana’s on the street with me, we move quickly and silently, snag another vehicle rather easily this time—a sedan parked outside a strip mall store—and hit the road. I spend twenty minutes driving us around, both of us checking the mirrors.
When I’m positive we’re not only clear, but that we’re also not even around any street cameras, I drive us toward the safe house, which is another Airbnb. Turns out it’s a mansion of a place in a ritzy neighborhood. We pull up to the gate and obviously, Blake is watching because they open when we pull forward. The garage is no different.
We pull into the well-lit space and the doors close behind us. I’m out of the vehicle before they do, watching for any little pest who might think to sneak in before we’re locked into safety. The instant we’re clear from behind, I’m facing the door. Ana meets me at the front of the car, and I move to the door, open it, and move inside a long hallway. I can feel and hear Ana at my back, aware of her and of the need to protect her. And while I have no reason to believe anyone would be here, not with Blake clearing our path, today keeps driving home the need to be cautious.
An archway appears in my path and I step beneath it and freeze.
Caution has proven to be my friend.
We are not alone.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ana
I step to Luke’s side to find my father standing on the other side of the kitchen island with Savage to his right and Adam to his left. And he’s not tied up.
“Hi, honey,” Kurt greets, as if I’m not wishing he was sedated right now. “It really is good to see you again. And Luke. I was thinking about this earlier, while you had me tied up and shit. These people tried to tear you two apart and then foolishly, which is good for us, brought you back together.”
“What is this?” I demand.
“Before you get all fucked up in the head over him being free,” Savage replies, and motions to a laptop that sits open on his side of the island, “take a gander at his SIM card data.”