Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 121360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
The blades weren’t for effectiveness—but for blood.
I snuck over to the entryway, moving through the bushes and getting past the front guards. They were on either side of the door, both wearing rifles and oblivious to the threat under their noses. They looked at the mountain, missing the brigade of men hiding to the left.
I pulled out my blades and stabbed the first one in the neck, making his throat fill with blood so he could barely make a shriek. His heavy body started to fall just as I descended on the second guard. He was quicker than the first, but not quick enough. He pointed his assault rifle at me but didn’t pull the trigger.
Because I sliced his throat so deep I hit the bone.
He crumpled at my feet, his gun clanking against the ground.
Other men heard the sound of their fallen comrades, and that’s when the war truly started. Gunfire erupted from both sides.
The men could handle the perimeter, so I dashed inside, coming face-to-face with more men who were prepared to blow my brains out. One man fired right at my chest, hitting the vest that protected me. The momentum of the bullet made most men jerk, but it didn’t stop me at all.
I pulled out my pistols and began the bloodbath.
I shot two men in the head, not wasting any bullets by missing my mark. Then I grabbed my shotgun and moved to the next group of men.
I dashed up the staircase and got into a gun battle with five men. They all aimed their bullets at me, but the bullets flew past, destroying the painting on the wall. I peeked over the rail and fired down in return, hitting the two idiots that were out in the open. I took them down with a few rounds and then proceeded to the last three.
When another man ran through the entryway, he had the best shot at me.
I shot him first, hitting him in the hand so his gun flew across the room.
He shrieked and gripped his wrist, holding his now-deformed hand. Blood poured from everywhere, and he moved to his knees, in too much shock to respond.
I took the stairs one at a time as I approached him, my gun lowered.
“Mercy…” He fell back as I came closer to him, slipping on the blood from his hand.
“Sorry, I don’t speak English.” I didn’t waste a bullet, and instead, stabbed him in the neck, killing him viciously like injured game that was being gutted.
His cries died away the second my blade sliced his throat in half.
I moved to the second floor as I heard the gunshots continue outside. Vanessa was down one of the hallways. I knew exactly where she was because I’d memorized the map. But there were other men here by now, men who would attempt to relocate her or ambush me.
I was right. They ambushed me.
Three men came out with rifles. I picked up the grenade from my belt and tossed it down the hallway.
The explosion was enough to make the ground shake. It wasn’t close enough to Vanessa to hit her, but she certainly would have felt it.
One of them jumped out of the way before the explosion could touch him. He was crawling away, coughing as he reached for his gun.
I pulled out the knife again, preferring a clean death that saved my ammunition. I stabbed him in the back, right through the heart and lung.
He collapsed, slowly suffocating and bleeding to death.
I left him there instead of putting him out of his misery.
I turned down the hallway and proceeded to Vanessa’s room, so much rage in my body that I could barely think straight. All I wanted to do was kill everyone in that palace, kill their wives and children. I wanted to wipe out this entire organization, make their enemies laugh at them for the poor decision they made. “Baby, I’m coming!” I kept my pistol out, ready for anyone who might jump in my way. I didn’t care about giving away my position anymore.
I wanted them to know exactly where I was.
I found her door and tried the handle, but it was locked.
“Griffin!” Vanessa’s terrified voice shouted through the door.
“Baby, I’m here.” I pointed the gun at the lock and fired until the metal snapped apart. Then I kicked the door down, finding one of the men huddled in the corner, practically pissing himself. I pulled out my knife and came at him, watching him scream.
“Griffin, no! Leave him.” Vanessa tried to sit up, but she couldn’t move, not with the handcuffs that secured her to the bed. “Not him.”
I didn’t know why she was defending this man, but there wasn’t time to ask. I moved to the bed and tugged on the chains, trying to free them with my strength.