Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22175 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22175 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
“What are you going to do to him?” I glance down at Mack.
“You’re going to watch him die.”
“No!” I scream, pulling at my binds.
“It’s your own fault. You gave yourself to him. I can smell him all over you. You caused his death.” I swallow the lump in my throat because he’s not wrong. If Mack dies, his blood will forever be on my hands.
“He’ll kill you.”
“He has no fucking idea. He’ll never see it coming.” Hagen smirks, thinking I’m talking about my father.
“I don’t think you’re as clever as you think you are,” I spit.
“You underestimate me,” Hagen sneers.
“He’ll kill you all too.” I glance at the three men behind Hagen. When I did a count on the screen in the panic room, I knew there was more. I’m guessing they’re outside.
The men glance at each other like they are debating if they made the right choice. I’m guessing they didn’t work for my father, and that’s why I’ve never seen them. Hagen must have brought them in himself.
“Shut up or I’ll gag you,” Hagen barks at me.
“You didn’t tell them, did you?”
“Tell us what?” one of the men asks.
“Shut up!” Hagen snaps again.
“Who my father is.” We’re states away from home. People around here might not know who he is, but back home, they do.
“Who’s her father?” another asks.
“I said—” Hagan begins, but I cut him off.
“Roy Baxter,” I say, and their eyes widen.
“It doesn’t matter. He’s as good as dead,” Hagen tells his men, who aren’t so sure if they want to be here anymore.
“Wrong,” I tell Hagen. “It’s you that's as good as dead.”
Chapter Fourteen
MACK
“I said shut your mouth, you little slut.” I watch in horror as Hagen rushes over to Whitley and backhands her. The sound cracks through the room, and the rage that fills me is enough to bring me fully out of my fog.
His back is to me as he looms over her, so I use it to my advantage to make my move. I leap off of the ground and tackle him from behind, but the two of us end up crashing to the floor. The three guards don’t make a move as he tries to wrestle away from me, but I have the advantage of surprise. I’m still lightheaded from the blow earlier, so my movements aren’t as fast, and when he lands a kick to my side, I can’t block it.
I wince as I roll both of us over and use my knee to hit him in the ribs repeatedly. Eventually he’s unable to attack me because he’s trying to protect his chest, and that’s when I reach for the knife in his belt and pull it out. As soon as I put the blade to his neck, he stops moving, and I look up to make sure Whitley is all right.
“Mack,” she says with tears in her eyes, but she can’t move from the chair because she’s still tied to it.
When I look at the three guards, they’re all hesitant to react, but I’m nervous because all it would take is one of them, and there could be more outside.
“Fucking shoot him,” Hagen calls, and I press the blade closer to his throat.
“You want those to be your last words?” I say, and Hagen presses his lips tightly together. “You three, how many are outside?”
They look at each other, and the guy on the left speaks first. “Four.”
Fuck, that’s too many to take on my own without backup. Whitley looks at me like she’s thinking the same thing, and I know I’ve got to protect her no matter what.
At that moment, I hear something in the distance. Something loud that sounds like a tornado is blowing in. What the hell?
“It’s him,” Whitley says, and her eyes lock with mine.
That’s when I realize the sound coming from nearby is a helicopter. The ridgeline above us is cleared for a helipad, and he’s most likely going to land there. There are gunshots in the distance, and Whitley cries out. The three guards start to panic.
“Whose side are you on?” I ask them, and they immediately throw down their guns. “That’s the best decision you’ve made all day.”
“He’ll kill all of you,” Hagen says to the guards. “For seeing her, he’ll kill you dead.”
“If he kills them, it’s because you got them involved,” I tell Hagen, and then one of the guards runs out of the cabin.
The other two exchange a few quiet words I don’t hear, then they follow the first guy out. I’m not sure what’s going to happen to them, but I’m guessing if they’re caught running from the scene of the crime, it’s not going to be good.
“Let me go, you fucker,” Hagen hisses, but I see the fear in his eyes.
“I think I’m going to let Roy take care of you,” I say as I reach for the rope next to Whitley’s chair.