Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 86240 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86240 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
A noise at my window caught my attention a second before I heard one of the brothers say, “I want to see the new girl.”
“Pa said we had to wait.”
“Pa said not to touch.”
A chill ran through me and I scrambled to the back of the room and grabbed the slack of the chain. I was ready for anything. If that bastard came for me, I’d kill him if I had to, so help me God.
A lanky kid not much older than the girl stumbled through my door. The moonlight hit his face, highlighting his deranged expression.
“What are you?” he slurred.
“Come and find out,” I spat out.
He bent for the chain, and I held fast. He yanked, and I pulled with an opposing force. Stronger than he looked, I slid in his direction. I made myself deadweight and I stopped sliding.
When he came, I rolled and used the chain to wrap around his neck. I pulled tight enough to get him to stop moving. Could I kill him? I asked myself seconds before a figure entered the room, but not from the door. My plan had been to ask the guy for a key to free myself until an ally had come through the window.
He wore black tactical pants, a long-sleeved shirt and a mask that hid his features. He had to be FBI. Maybe they had surveillance up. Tactical Guy came over, but I pointed to the door.
“Save the girl. Room down the hall and to the right,” I whispered frantically. I didn’t know for sure if she needed saving, but I had the one brother. I needed to make sure Serenity was safe.
When the first brother passed out, I loosened the chain and checked his pulse. He was still alive. I heard a grunt sound out in the hall. Hopefully, Tactical Guy had taken out the second brother.
Then I heard the father yell, “Who the hell are you?”
I pushed at the brother. He was still out. I let the chain slacken so I could move to the doorway as I watched Tactical Guy restrain the father with an arm secured around his neck.
Since I saw what was about to happen, I covered my left ear as the girl came running and yanked a knife from the strap around Tactical Guy’s leg and rammed it into the father’s groin area. The bloodcurdling scream would replay in my nightmares. I couldn’t guess why she’d aimed there, except it was close to where the knife had been strapped to Tactical Guy. She might not have wanted to kill her father, but hurt him nonetheless.
A lot of things happened after that. Over a bullhorn, the FBI announced their presence. Lights went on like the compound was the center of a baseball field.
The father was down and Tactical Guy restrained the daughter. I understood he couldn’t let her kill him if she wanted to because it would only put her in more trouble. What she’d done could be argued by a good defense lawyer as a mental break. But people frowned on murder even when someone deserved it.
He took the knife as she slumped to the floor in silent tears. The door downstairs burst open and Tactical Guy came over to me. A second later, he removed the mask, and I cried out, only to be stopped by a paralyzing kiss. Then he was gone, and the house filled with agents.
A lot of questions had to be answered as I navigated the next few hours. My savior had disappeared and wasn’t around for any of it. I reported to the team that I believed the women dressed in the one-piece dresses were likely captives.
It wasn’t until the next day that I made it home, tired and confused. I rationalized that I hadn’t dreamed up my savior, though the team leader had accounted for everyone on the op and my savior wasn’t among them.
Wearily, I opened my door and came in. I tossed the keys in the bowl, closed the door, and finally looked up.
There he stood, like a figment of my imagination. I did only what a rational person would. I ran over and beat on his chest to confirm he was real, and he let me.
“How could you make me think you were dead?” I cried.
34
MATT
Working at the bureau on an uber elite ghost team didn’t mean we didn’t get dressed down for breaking protocol. I got a lot of shit for moving in early. Once I heard those fuckers talk about seeing my woman, I didn’t give a damn about my orders.
Tayla was safe. That was all that mattered. The only question now was if she’d forgive me.
I clasped her wrists to stop her fists and kissed each one, remembering how I’d had to zip-tie her. I’d done my best to do my job and keep her safe. Leaving her with that vile woman had been my undoing. I’d parked the van in the wheat and doubled back. I’d watched the house they kept her in like a caged animal, pacing the field I’d hidden in. When darkness fell, I’d gotten closer, standing at the back wall that faced the field listening.