Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“I love you,” she whispers into my chest.
“I love you too, Angel.”
She gives me one more squeeze before releasing me hesitantly. Once she steps away, and I look up, I find Xander standing in the doorway with his arms crossed in front of his chest, giving me what I can only describe as a death stare. Only when Scarlet nudges her dad on the way out of the office does he look away, releasing me from his intense stare.
“Let’s go to the armory and gear up,” Quinton nods at me, signaling for me to come along. I’m surprised when Xander doesn’t interject, half expecting him to put me back in the cell until the moment we’re leaving. Instead, I follow them back downstairs to the other side of the basement, where the armory is hidden.
Xander types in a code to the keypad hanging on the wall, a moment later, the heavy metal door unlocks and swings open. I’ve been inside before, but Xander’s stocked up since the last time I was here.
Not only are the walls full of guns and Kevlar clothing, there are also crates with ammo and smaller guns stacked around the room.
“Those new vests are very lightweight and still bulletproof,” Xander explains, pointing to some tactical vests hanging on the wall. “There should be enough for all of us. My guys have their own shit in the barracks.”
Without another word, we all start to dress in tactical gear, putting the Kevlar on and multiple straps around our waist, legs, and shoulders to hold various sizes of guns and ammo. Once we are all protected and armed to the teeth, we make our way back upstairs and outside, where dozens of black SUVs are already waiting.
We pile in one of the cars silently, while the driver revs the engine and takes off immediately after we close the doors. I took the seat up front while Xander and Quinton are in the second row, and my father is in the third row.
As we drive, we go over the plan of attack in detail. Once again, I tell them everything I know about the compound, which Xander seems quite impressed by.
“You know a lot about this place.”
“I spent a lot of time surveilling it,” I answer. “I was planning on taking them down by myself, so I needed all the info I could get.”
“Did you really think you could go on your own and get out of there alive?” Q question.
“Honestly, for a while, I wasn’t that worried about getting out alive. All I wanted was to kill Rebecca.” My words make my dad curse under his breath. I know, knowing this must hurt him, and I really hope he doesn’t tell Mom or Luna about this. “I didn’t care about my own life back then, but that’s in the past. I do now.”
I know I have people here that care about me and that don’t want me to get hurt. Not only my family, but Scarlet too. I can’t leave them, and I definitely can’t leave her.
It’s late in the afternoon by the time we finally roll up to the compound. Before we make it to the gate, Xander gives us all earpieces to stay in contact with each other while we’re here. I pop the small device into my ear.
With an army in tow and New Haven’s defenses down from the last attack, we don’t encounter a lot of resistance. The SUV in front of us crashes into the gate, the already bent metal giving way with ease, letting us drive into the compound.
There are only a few guards present, which are quickly taken down by our guys before we even get out of the SUV. When we do get out of the car, the surrounding area is empty, void of all the people who are usually bustling around.
“Make sure the area is clear while we check out the building with the tunnel,” Xander orders his men, before we make our way to said building.
Just as I suspected, we find a latch leading to a tunnel inside.
“We can’t wait for backup,” I say. “Rebecca must know we’re here. If we don’t move now, she might be gone.”
“Agreed, let’s move,” Xander responds before telling all his men to follow us through the tunnel via his earpiece.
Guns drawn, we enter the narrow tunnel. It’s held up by two by fours and boards on the top, threatening to come down any moment. There is a single string of dim lights illuminating the otherwise dark space, but we can’t see far ahead because the tunnel isn’t straight. For a while, I fear that this is the trap, and the tunnel will blow up any moment, burying us inside.
It isn’t until we turn and find a door at the end that I breathe a little lighter. My father leads the way, with me close behind, while Xander and Quinton are behind us. When my father reaches for the doorknob, the door doesn’t open.