Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 98561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Then I took a closer look at his face. That was the one part of him that didn’t blend in so easily. He had the same look as someone else in the room, those thick brows and blue eyes…
“Your brother?” I said to Kian.
The guy nodded. “Bradan,” he told us. He had the same Northern Irish accent as Kian.
At the prison, Kian had said that his brother hadn’t served. I didn’t like the idea of taking a civilian with us, no matter what special skills he had. But I didn’t want to get into an argument about it now.
Kian showed us around. There was a kitchen with a sink full of paint cans, a bathroom someone had stolen all the pipework from and one completely empty room. “This’ll be the locker room,” said Kian proudly. He looked around. “We’ll need some lockers.”
I let out a tiny sigh. But I didn’t really care how shabby the place was. I’d have prepped for the mission in a toxic waste dump, if it meant getting Olivia back.
Kian showed us a room lined with shelves. “This’ll be our storeroom,” he told us.
“I can be quartermaster,” rumbled Cal. “I’m pretty good at keeping inventory.”
Kian nodded gratefully. He showed us an empty area that he said we could use as a gym. I grunted: I’d lifted enough weights in prison to last me a lifetime.
“You know what we could use?” Colton mused. “A boxing ring.”
That was it for the inside of the building. Kian showed us out the back and pointed to some wasteland. “We own this whole plot. We can set up a firing range out here.” He pointed to a second, smaller building. “And we can make this into a killing house, for training.”
We wandered back inside, and in the main room, I looked at the team Kian had assembled. “You said you had someone to lead this bunch of reprobates,” I said. “Where’s he?”
“That’d be me.” The voice was deep and booming, with a confidence and wisdom borne of long experience. And it came from somewhere high above. For a second, it was as if God Almighty had spoken. But then I replayed the voice in my head. No. Not unless God was from Texas.
Peering up into the gloom, I saw someone emerge from one of the offices that overlooked the main room. He was watching us from up there. Gauging us. Seeing how we interacted.
The man started down the open metal staircase and we all turned to follow him. He walked like he spoke, not exactly slow but unhurried, like he had nothing to prove. Battered brown boots, blue jeans that had been worn smooth with use and a white shirt. What got my attention, though, was the hat: a cream Stetson. We’re being led by a cowboy?!
He stopped in front of us and stood there like an oak. I’d never met anyone with such calm, unshakable authority before. He was older than the rest of us, maybe mid-forties, with a little silver mixed into his dark hair around the sides. But he looked to be in formidable shape. His skin was tanned from a lifetime spent outdoors and his eyes were crinkled at the corner with smile lines. He tipped the front of his Stetson. “JD. Army. Delta.” His voice was warmly reassuring with a broad Texas drawl. He said Army with obvious pride and then slipped in Delta like it was no big deal.
JD turned to Danny and for a second, the two men just stared at each other in silence. “Good to see you, Danny,” he said at last. I could hear the emotion in his voice.
“Fucking good to see you, too, mate.” Danny stepped forward and embraced the older man with obvious affection. Meanwhile, my brain was trying to catch up. Wait, these two know each other?
Danny finally released JD and stepped back, then glanced around, a little embarrassed. “JD and I go back a long way. I was seconded to Delta for a while. JD led our team.”
From outside, we heard the rumble of a truck engine. A moment later, someone knocked on the door. “That’ll be the supplies,” said Kian. “Can you give me a hand getting everything inside?”
We all stepped forward but JD put a gentle hand on my shoulder: not you. Everyone else trooped outside, leaving me alone with JD. He studied me silently for a moment before he spoke.
“Let’s get a few things straight,” he told me in that slow Texas drawl. “I’m the only one aside from Kian who knows about the gold and your deal with the Justice Department. Kian told me we’re doing this mission and my job is to lead it, and I will. But I don’t like it.” His face hardened. “I don’t trust you. I don’t especially like you. I don’t know why Kian even wants you on the team. And if you betray us out there and try to make a run for it, I’ll slap these on you—"he produced a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket—”and I’ll let them put you in a cell for the rest of your days. Are we clear?”