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)
She nods quickly, clinging to me while Crank watches over both of us. “If you say so.”
Here's hoping I'm not lying.
The whole building rumbles as an explosion goes off beneath us. It gives me chills, eliciting some primal fear deep inside me. Was that supposed to happen? I don’t remember the mention of bombs. I clutch Heather closer.
“What the fuck?” Fabbri snarls. He looks towards the door, and so does everyone else.
“Stay down!” Savage pulls the trigger, and one of Fabbri's guys is knocked back against the wall, his face no longer there.
“Oh yuck.” I look away, and hope Heather is smart enough to do that, too. I'm sure she's got some nightmares of her own by now, and that's not going to make them any better.
More gunshots followed by screams. Poe swears loudly, and then there's a crash as he and Savage flip over the stone meeting table together. Hundred dollar bills go flying in all directions, but no one cares. Crank literally grabs both me and Heather by our ankles and yanks us into better cover.
There's shooting outside the office now. Hopefully the cavalry’s coming to get us out of here.
Stefano dives for the door, Savage firing after him. He cries out in pain, and red blossoms on his arm, but he makes it through before Savage can place another shot. He's going to get away, but right now I don't care. I just want to get out of here alive, and for Crank, Poe and Savage to do the same.
“Paige, over there.” Heather points at a door at the end of the meeting room area. “We can hide in there.”
“Stay here,” growls Crank. “We don’t know what’s in there, and I can’t protect you where I can’t see you.”
“But we can't stay here,” she squeals. “We're going to die! It’s just a bathroom, I swear! I’ve been in this office before.”
Crank growls. I get it. I'm glad my aunt is alive, but having her here is making this even more complicated. If she's going to panic and freak out, she might get herself killed. Or worse, one of us. I grab her and try to force her down, but she fights me. “Heather!” I snap between gritted teeth. “You need to calm down, or we're definitely going to die.”
She bursts into tears, as if she’s the only person in any sort of danger.
“We need to stick together!”
Crank gets distracted as a guard pops out from behind Stefano’s desk. The guard fires twice and Crank hisses, pulling sharp air through clenched teeth.
“Crank!”
He holds up a hand to keep me where I am. “I'm fine. Just a strafe. Keep down, so we can keep you safe.”
Poe fires and the guard screams as he disappears back behind the desk. That's one less, I guess.
“Paige!” My aunt grabs my arm and tries to pull me along again. “We're not armed like them. We’re going to die if we get shot out here. We can hide until it’s over.” As if to emphasize the point, two bullets slam into the wall just above our heads, spitting little marble chunks into the air and raining down on us. We both scream.
“Fuck,” growls Poe and moves down the table a little as a crack forms from a bullet impact. As heavy as it is, it still isn't going to hold up under continued fire. Crank waves for us to move down behind the table behind him. It puts us closer to the bathroom.
An over-eager guard takes a bullet from Poe. His gun bounces off the wall and skitters across the floor. I could reach it if I only stretch a little, but should I? One lesson from Bonnie hasn’t exactly made me useful in a gunfight. I’m just as likely to shoot one of us.
Crank growls as he fires. I know having to cover us is making it difficult for him to keep himself safe. We're liabilities as long as we're out here. “Crank, if it's the only door, maybe it's better?”
He shoots an angry glare in the bathroom’s direction, but he nods reluctantly. “Fuck, fine.” A bullet makes another chip in the marble and Heather screams again. He turns his glare on her, and she shrinks under it, shutting up. “Only way in?”
“Yes. I swear.”
He doesn't like it, that's obvious, but he weighs the risks. “Fine. I'm gonna lay down cover fire, and you go, got it?”
We both nod.
“Go!” His gun thunders as he fires, over and over. There's a cry as someone's hit, and then we're running, hunched over to use the table as much as we can.
“What the fuck?” Savage yells, but he joins Crank in firing.
Aunt Heather throws open the door, and then we're through. I slam it behind us, and just in time. The door shakes and two dents in it pop out, showing exactly where the bullets hit, even if they didn't quite make it through.