Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 90685 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90685 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“Show off,” I murmur. “Where are we?”
“Underground. I’m nothing if not a paranoid ex-army Ranger who has a slew of contingency plans in any given situation. In this case, I have numerous escape routes from this property alone. We can get to the garage from here.”
“Where the cars won’t work. Or do you forget keeping me here against my will?”
“Eh, I’ll reattach the battery. Easy fix.”
“Should’ve tried that,” I mutter.
“Yeah. You should have. I was disappointed, to be honest. I was ready for a car chase.”
“Well, this might be your chance. We don’t know how many are out there waiting for us.”
Trav leads me down the narrow corridor until we come to a wider hallway. “Don’t worry. I have faith you can hold them off.”
“Me?”
“Unless you wanted to drive even though you have no idea how to get off my property except for the main entrance and could get us lost. Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”
“How do you expect me to hold them off?”
Trav lifts the duffle bag. “I’ve got everything you need right here.”
We get to a single locked door, and Trav punches in a code on a keypad to open it. The garage has everything from off-road 4x4s to Trav’s top-of-the-line Range Rover.
He takes a set of keys out of a lockbox. “Get in the Hummer.”
I do as he says, and he hands me the bag.
“Take whichever weapon you’re comfortable with using.”
When I open it and see how many I have to choose from, it’s more than overwhelming. “As tempting as it is to go with the crossbow, I’ll take the AR-15.” I’ve at least trained with them. Though, I’ve never had to actually fire at people before.
As I put the strap attached to the rifle over my shoulder, everything becomes a bit too real. But then Trav hands me a couple of hand grenades, and it becomes too surreal.
“Ever used one of these before?” he asks.
“Sure. All the time in the DEA. We use those instead of guns, didn’t you know?”
“They’re really easy.” He demonstrates for me. “Hold the spoon—”
“The what?”
He runs his finger over the handle. “This part. Hold it tight against the grenade. When you’re ready to throw it—and only when you’re ready to throw it—pull the pin. It helps if you twist it as you pull it out. Then we can both pray to the god of not dying that you can throw.”
“Hey, I played baseball in high school. Was a decent pitcher.”
Trav nods. “Oh, good. Nothing like twenty years of not playing baseball to train you to throw a live explosive. That’s reassuring.”
I mumble something about it not being twenty years, but he’s too busy removing the roof off the Hummer.
“Get in the back,” he orders. “You’ll have better protection back there and won’t risk flying through the front windshield if shit goes down.”
I press my lips together. “Question. How often does ‘shit go down’ in these situations?”
Trav doesn’t answer. Instead, he gets me a helmet and puts it on my head. “To protect that pretty little head of yours.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” It’s not that I can’t do this. It’s that I don’t want to. I’m not used to this level of assault weaponry. I’ve been in positions where I’ve had to fight for my life, sure, but this is extreme.
“I don’t exactly have a GPS that will help you get out of here, and there are plenty of areas we can get stuck. Or drive into a canyon. I don’t like putting you in harm’s way either, but it’s our only choice. I’m just praying we’ll be able to lose them fast over the terrain. I only need you to hold them off while we get out of here.”
“No pressure.”
“Nah, we got this. I have faith in you.” Trav leans in and presses his lips to mine softly. “Let’s get you strapped in, and we’ll roll out before they find us down here.” He positions me so I’m secured to the I-bar in between the two back seats so I don’t fall out when I get into position. “You can sit for now. With any luck, they won’t see us sneak out, and then you won’t have to do anything.”
“Sure. Let’s hope the people sent here to kill me are blind as well as dumb.”
“How do you know they’re dumb?”
“They tried attacking you, Travis West, in his own home. You think I’m too dumb to live for wanting to find Hale? Please.”
Trav touches his chest. “I think that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me. It sounds like I’m being sarcastic, but I’m really not.”
“Like I told you. I know you better than you think I do. And I know not to get on your bad side.”
The smile that spreads across Trav’s face is delectable as it is scary. “You want to know what I’m going to do with the dead body in my house, don’t you?”