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)
I made out a group of people running towards the cage, but I couldn’t tell who they were. Wait…the man out in front: his silhouette had a short-sleeved shirt. My chest filled with hope. Gabriel!
He was only twenty feet away when someone else ran in from the side and unlocked the cage door. He grabbed my wrist and hauled me to my feet and I tensed as I recognized the ponytailed guard. Then he pulled me tight against him, my back to his chest, and I stifled a scream as a knife pressed against my throat. He turned to face Gabriel, keeping me as a shield between them. “Stop!” he yelled in Spanish. “Or I kill her!”
Gabriel pulled up short and held up his hands to halt the two men who ran up behind him. I’d never seen him so scared.
The guard backed up, pulling me with him. The blade of the knife scraped against my throat. God, I could feel it right against my jugular. If I so much as swallowed… I closed my eyes and held my breath.
The guard moved sideways along the cage, his back sliding along the bars. In another few seconds, we’d be lost in the shadows. With me as a hostage, Gabriel’s team wouldn’t be able to shoot: they’d be sitting ducks.
Suddenly, the knife was jerked away from my neck. I staggered free of the guard’s grip and turned to see what had happened.
We’d all forgotten about Dr. Guzman. He’d reached through the bars and grabbed the guard’s arm, wrenching the knife away from me. The guard was struggling to get free but Guzman’s eyes were ferocious, diamond-hard glints in the darkness. He was making up for all the times he hadn’t been able to protect me.
Dr. Guzman was in his sixties and couldn’t hold the guard forever. But he didn’t have to. Gabriel marched forward, and just as the guard struggled free, he slammed his fist into his face. The guard staggered back but Gabriel wasn’t done: he hit the guard twice more. The guard slumped to the ground, unconscious, and Gabriel glared down at him, panting in anger. Then he looked at me and those beautiful hazel eyes were searing hot…and protective.
He knew. Somehow, he knew how the guard had been threatening me. Even as I processed that thought, Gabriel stepped forward, wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me to him. My cheek pressed against his pec and it was the best thing I’d ever felt in my life.
“I’m here now,” he muttered in my ear. His hands pressed on the small of my back, mashing me to him. “Nobody’s going to—” I felt his muscles tense in protective fury. “I’m here now.”
A wave of relief washed through me, so powerful that my legs nearly gave way. I clung to him, the sound of the fighting fading into the background. It was real, he was here, wicked and wonderful. And just like in my dreams, he made the whole nightmare go away.
One of Gabriel’s team stepped forward, an older guy with silver in his hair. “Gotta go,” he told Gabriel, slapping him on the shoulder. “Colton, get the others.”
“On it, boss.” A stocky guy with a thick beard hurried into the cage and brought out the other two doctors. I nodded my thanks to Dr. Guzman and grabbed the medical bag. After nearly a week in the cage, the blue fabric was caked with dirt and dust. But we’d need it for Marcos, and if anyone else got hurt.
“You stay right behind me,” Gabriel told me. “Put a hand on my back so I know where you are.”
I nodded and planted my palm right in the center of his back. The warm solidness of him helped quell the fear in my stomach.
Then we were off, crouch-walking and sticking to the shadows. Most of the gunfire seemed to be coming from the other end of the camp, and as we got closer, two more men in military gear joined up with us. I realized they must have been keeping the guards busy, to buy time for my rescue. All this for me?
We crept forwards, the team firing in short bursts that lit up the night and rang in my ears. Bullets whipped past us, terrifyingly close. Again and again, one of the men up front would raise his hand and we’d drop down behind cover. There’d be a crackle of gunfire and then a move up and we’d hurry forward again. Then the main gate was looming up ahead of us. We jogged forward—
A cartel member ran out of the darkness to one side of us, gun raised. The soldiers whipped around towards him, but they’d been caught by surprise. I winced and tensed, waiting for the bullets to tear us apart—