Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Phantom continued, whispering, a disembodied voice sent from the heavens itself. “It’s like the blueprints all say. You enter into a service room and out into a hallway. There’s cameras everywhere, but Tor’s already got them on a loop, or I would have been fucked by now. There’s a couple of sleeping quarters, and then the hallway opens into a huge rec area. That’s where a lot of the Pride members are right now—apparently, Leonidas is trying to get them all together for something.
“Past that is the kitchens; then there’s a room with a vault-like door, which I’m assuming is where the Tome is. Three doors down from the vault is Mimic’s room.”
“Can you get in? Does she know you’re there?” Roman asked, already going to the boat shed with Salt and Bang Bang close behind.
“No, the door’s soundproof, and she seems to be sleeping. I’ve already—shit.” A small scuffle could be heard, followed by a grunt and a muted shot. “Got one of the fuckers.”
“Good job, Phantom. Work on opening that door. We’re heading toward you now.”
“You got it.”
Roman entered the boat shed, taking his gun out from the holster. Bang Bang and Wyatt followed his lead. Inside, the boat shed was clearly used on a frequent basis even though there wasn’t any boat or sign of a boat having been there in quite some time. But it was free of cobwebs and dirt, and there was an interesting latch on the floor. Roman flicked it open and lifted the wooden floorboards, attached and rising like a secret door. Underneath were stairs where the water should have been, lit up bright white by the lights that hung above the railing.
“Ready?” Roman asked his guys.
“Let’s do this, broki.”
Wyatt answered with a nod. He appeared determined, but Roman could see a flicker of fear behind his glasses. He put a hand on Wyatt’s side, rubbing his back right where he knew he liked to be rubbed.
“You sure? You can go back to the boat, Salt.”
“I’m sure,” he said, eyebrows inching together as he began to grow frustrated with Roman. “Let’s go save Mimic and get the tome.”
Roman nodded, knowing that he’d have more luck trying to head-butt his way through a concrete wall than getting Wyatt to stay behind. He took point, going down the stairs first. His heart hammered between his ribs, but he kept calm. Everything they’d done since this sunset job started had led them to this point. The stakes were astronomically high, with little to no room for error.
The stairs continued for a surprisingly long amount of time. Roman wasn’t sure how in the hell Leonidas had done this, but somehow, he had managed to pull off the impossible by building this underwater hideout. It was smart and must have cost a mini fortune, but it clearly wasn’t as impenetrable as Leonidas thought it was.
The stairs opened up into a service room, just like Phantom had said. The door was already pushed slightly ajar. Roman entered first, immediately scanning the room and finding it empty except for the stacks and stacks of cleaning supplies and exposed machinery. There were thick pipes that went from the ceiling and out into the hall and a small window that looked out to the floor of the ocean, sand and water stretching ahead of them.
He opened the door to the hallway, peeking his head out and quickly pulling back in. “Two guys headed our way.” He pointed toward the corner of the room, next to a mop and bucket. “Salt, stand there. Bang Bang, go to the opposite end. I’m going to draw them in.”
The two men listened, going to their posts before Roman grabbed a rolling tray of cleaning supplies and pushed it out in the hall. “What the hell was that?” one of the men asked.
“I don’t know. Let’s go check.”
Their footsteps grew louder, closer. Roman stood near Wyatt, gun aimed at the door. All of their pistols were equipped with silencers, so they wouldn’t need to worry about being heard. Their eyes were glued to the open door, listening to the footsteps drawing closer.
Both of the men turned the corner, stepping into the service room and realizing their mistake almost immediately. Still, it wasn’t enough time for them to react. Bang Bang dropped them both, his golden guns raised at eye level, the bullets finding their targets at nearly the same exact time.
“Nice job,” Roman said, moving with Wyatt to grab the men and drag them into the room. They dumped them in the corner, covering them with a blue tarp just in case anyone decided they needed to grab a bottle of Febreze and stumbled instead upon two dead bodies.
“Alright,” Roman said, pressing the earpiece. “Phantom, we’re headed your way.”
“Shit. Hurry, Roman. Leonidas just showed up, and it looks like he’s heading toward Mimic. And he’s got a really big knife on him.”