Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“Where—where?”
“Shut up and get in the car.” I headed back outside, and just before I got to the vehicle, Luca called. “Where is he?”
“I sent the information to everyone we know. Should have intel any second.”
I slammed the door then looked at the roof. The rain started to come down harder, sounding like hail. “Fuck.”
“What?”
“They buried Fleur in a coffin.”
Luca didn’t say anything, but that was because he understood that she had enough air to survive at least a day under normal conditions, but with rain like this, she would drown in a couple hours, maybe less, depending on the elevation and the soil composition.
“Get me Oscar, Luca.”
“You know I will.”
Chapter 16
Fleur
I woke up with a gasp.
Cold drops hit my face. I felt it around my feet, felt it underneath my back and neck.
I looked at the ceiling, which was just a few inches from my face—and saw the camera encased in a glass orb. It stared straight at me, the camera lens not moving from left to right, just still. “Holy shit.” Then I looked at the wood that surrounded me…and realized I was in a fucking coffin.
Rainwater was dripping through the cracks.
And starting to pool underneath me, a couple inches deep already.
It would keep rising.
And then I would drown in mud.
I started to pant in terror, started to panic, started to slam my hands against the lid of the coffin, but it was solid like concrete because I was buried in the ground. I screamed and started to cry when I realized I’d just let more water into my grave.
“This can’t be happening.”
Adrien let them do this to me.
He fucking let this happen.
Did he hear what I said? Would he call Bastien?
“Bastien…”
I tried to steady my breathing, knowing I only had so much air trapped down here. The rain was slowly dripping into the coffin and filling it. I would either run out of air from breathing it all, or I would run out of air because it was replaced by water.
“Bastien…”
I didn’t know if the camera could hear me, but I suspected it was video only.
He promised he would protect me.
He promised he would keep me safe.
“He’s coming for me…I know he’s coming for me.” I closed my eyes and pushed the tears away. I forced myself to stay calm to conserve my air supply. “Bastien, I know you’re coming for me.”
I just hoped he came in time.
Chapter 17
Bastien
I called Oscar several times, but he ignored every one of my calls.
I sat in the back seat with Adrien, who continued to sniffle, and didn’t say a fucking word. We didn’t drive aimlessly through the streets, just sat in the driveway of Adrien’s property. I waited for Luca’s call like a fucking prayer.
Then he called—and I picked up before it finished the first ring.
He spat out the address, time of the essence. “Go to 3 Rue Quentin Bauchart.”
I gave the address to the driver. “Do not stop.”
The driver exploded out of the driveway and raced through the streets with the intention of running every fucking red light.
“I already dispatched a team.”
“Good.” I hung up.
Adrien gripped the handle attached to the ceiling so his head wouldn’t slam into the window.
I reached under the seats and pulled out the guns and the ammunition. I handed him a loaded shotgun and shoved the magazine clip into my automatic rifle. I didn’t check the video on the phone that Oscar had left for Adrien. There was nothing I could do for her right now, and watching her suffer would just make this harder. I didn’t want to know if I was too late. I didn’t want to know if I didn’t have enough time to save her. I wanted to haul ass like I had the chance to get her back.
The driver slammed on the brakes when he reached the villa.
My guys were already there, armed and ready to blow the building.
I jumped out, and Adrien did too.
“Blow it.”
The guys put the bombs on the gates and blew it the second I gave my command.
In a horizontal line, we marched onto Oscar’s property and blew away all the security men who worked for him. We lined the doorway with more explosives and blew the doors right off the hinges, charring the walls with soot.
“Come on!” I ran in first without a vest, ready to kill every motherfucker in that house. There were men waiting for me, and I shot them dead without giving them a chance to say a fucking word. “Oscar!”
I moved through the house and made it to the main sitting room. I’d never been to his home before. We always met out in the open to protect our locations and privacy. There was smoke throughout the house from the gunfire. It continued behind me, my guys moving to other parts of the house.