Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 76881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
I nod, and acting on impulse, I lean in and kiss him quickly. A whispered hardly anything kiss. “For luck.”
Savage jerks back, surprised.
A moment of silence, and then the whole world explodes around us. I knew there were more of them, but it sounds like an army. Bullets shred the laminate floors, knock over stands full of ball gags and anal plugs, and what few shards are left in the window are shattered. Wood splinters bounce into the air as a series of bullets tear up the top of the sales counter, so close that I swear I can taste the sawdust. Poe pushes me down to the floor, then his gun barks twice. Someone out there screams, audible even through all the gunfire.
Crank is braced on one knee with dried blood smeared on his face. He’s holding his arm steady, firing shot after shot into the same general area. “Almost…”
One of their cars explodes out there, setting off a second blast and sending a wave of hot, acrid air through the broken windows and over us, into my lungs. The ground shakes, all the shelves rattle and a shower of dust is shaken loose from the ceiling.
“Got it,” Crank says and grins.
There’s a horrible scream that turns my stomach and refuses to stop. Against my better judgment, I peek over the rubble and see two of their cars on fire, and the blaze is spreading. A body was launched in the explosion and is lying still in the no-man's-land between their cars and the store. The scream is growing weaker. Poe aims, pulls the trigger, and it stops. I think in this case, it was mercy.
God, I can smell it.
I drop back down to the floor and squeeze my eyes shut. It doesn’t stop the horror, but I can almost make myself believe it’s a movie, not reality. Almost. Closing my eyes doesn’t pull the smoke from my lungs or the smell of flames and death.
A heavy hand settles on my back. Crank. “This shit's never easy, and we're fucking used to it. Do whatever you have to do to feel better. We're gonna keep you safe, hear that? Nothing's gonna happen to you while you've got us to watch you. Fucking swear it.” He rubs gently, like he's comforting a terrified pet on new year's eve. Honestly, it's probably not much different.
“Cover me,” Savage orders, moving out. Poe moves into position, following him like a deadly shadow.
I don't know if the other team is running out of men, if exploding cars is enough to scare them off, or if my guys have just killed most of them, but the hunters have become the hunted. Savage and Poe sweep the area, picking off anyone dumb enough to still be out there. Every time I hear a gunshot, there’s a little longer until the next one, until eventually it stops.
Silence.
I still stay down, not taking any chances.
“All clear,” says Poe as he comes back in. “Fuck, that was messy.”
“Coulda gone a lot worse.” Crank pushes his gun back into his belt. “The van’s fucking toast, though. We’ll have to send someone back for it and to see if there’s anything worth salvaging.”
“Anyone get away?” Savage asks.
Poe shakes his head. “Not that I saw.”
Slowly and carefully, I stand up, still half waiting for something to explode or attack. When nothing happens, I relax a tiny bit. “It’s over?”
Crank nods. “Yeah, baby.”
“Told ya they were amateurs,” Poe says with a smirk.
I look out into the parking lot and take in the destruction. Off to the side, the dead, unseeing eyes of the old guy from the diner stare blankly at me. I can remember too clearly the ugly look in his eyes when they caught me, and the reality of everything hits me at once. They’re dead. We’re surrounded by bodies. Bodies of people who wanted to kill Crank, Savage and Poe, and who didn’t much care if they got me dead or alive.
I turn around and stagger to the side, gripping a shelf for support before I throw up my breakfast over a display of disembodied, latex vaginas.
12
PAIGE
“Here.” Savage hands me a water bottle that he got out of the saddlebags on the back of his bike. “Rinse out your mouth and drink some water.”
I take it thankfully. Safely around the side of the shop where Savage and Poe left their bikes, and more importantly, where there are no bodies, I feel a little better. Poe's taken over steadying me while Crank goes to see if his bike survived the crash. I'm bent over, pressing my palms into my knees, like I've spent the day working out. I'm not going to throw up anymore, but my abs feel like I just did a hundred crunches.
Crank wheels his bike around the corner. The tank is dented, a mirror is snapped off, and it's scraped all over. Something grinds against the back tire, until Crank takes a good grip and rips the offending piece off and tosses it aside. Presumably, that was optional.