Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Big Tag nodded. “I know you will, but we have to get her first. You remember the plan?”
Oh, he did. He took a long breath because one of the things Big Tag had come up with was a plan to deal with his mother’s situation. It was brutal and would be hard to get through. Especially since he couldn’t prepare her for it. “I’m ready.”
Big Tag’s hand went to his ear. “Lou? TJ? You there? You’re breaking up…what? Yes. We’ll go. Tell me…” He cursed under his breath. “And they’re out again. Huisman’s got something up his sleeve. I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all. Everything’s too fucking quiet. We need to get to the cafeteria. Lou says they’re holed up there but someone’s sneaking up on them. We have to move and fast.”
Zach took off, praying he made it in time.
* * * *
The quiet was eerie.
Devi walked into the cafeteria warily, eyes first on the other side and then roaming the room, trying to see where her potential attackers might hide.
They’d almost been caught once already, and she’d had to fire at the man. She thought she might have hit him. Her nerves were frayed, and she wanted nothing more than to get through all of this and see Zach again.
“We have to go through the cafeteria to get to the loading docks.” Shannon was right behind her. “You’re sure they’re here? It sounded like the doctor wasn’t bringing Zach in until later, and I know he wouldn’t allow him to bring his team.”
No one was in the dining area. Not a surprising thing since it wasn’t exactly dinner time, but usually there was someone getting coffee or a soda. Nothing. The lights were only half on, and one of them flickered.
If the power went out, they were in a mountain. The darkness would be endless.
“I assure you they wouldn’t be shooting only at Zach.” She had the insanest urge to run for it, but she took a deep breath and checked the instinct. She moved around the perimeter where she could at least be sure no one was behind her. Shannon followed.
Up ahead she could see the hallway they were trying to get to. The double doors were closed, but there were two windows. The hall was still well lit, but the one behind her had gone dead.
She walked slowly, watching for any movement.
“I think Huisman has been trying to drive a wedge between Zach and the team,” she explained quietly. “He’s told Zach a bunch of lies. Huisman’s an arrogant prick who thinks everyone will believe him. He thinks a lot of his own intellect, and it worked for a long time because my uncle is a patient man who doesn’t move until he’s sure. Now the evil doc is going to get a full dose of my family, and he better be ready for it.”
“I’m afraid Huisman is ready for anything,” Shannon said as she moved behind Devi. “I don’t like a couple of things I’ve noticed about this place. There are wires that don’t go where they should, and I’m fairly certain he’s rigged this whole place to blow if he wants it to.”
Devi forced herself not to curse a blue streak. That asshole. “Well, that would be typical Huisman. I was recently a guest at a house he owned, and he torched it the minute he realized things were going bad. I think we’re playing into his hands and that’s the real problem. I know we’re taking him blowing up his own house as some kind of win, but what if it’s a game for him and we keep playing? What if he’s rigged our lives so he wins either way? He blows up the world and gets to be the dung heap king he seems to want to be, or he keeps his enemies in a continual state of chaos so none of us can enjoy the lives we lead.”
“My darling girl, you’ve described every narcissist I’ve ever met.” Shannon sighed. “And there were so many of them.”
She stopped when she heard a volley of gunfire. She saw someone run by the window, but the person wore all white and had the hood up, covering her face. Her. She knew that had been a woman.
Huisman didn’t have a bunch of women running around. He had some women from the village below who did cleaning work, but they didn’t wear arctic white parkas that had a vaguely military look.
“My cousins are here.” Hope surged hard through Devi. “I don’t know which one, but she ran by. Likely looking for my uncle. I know they won’t all come in together. They’ll have at least two different entry points.”
And if her cousins were there, then Lou would be, too. The first thing Lou would do would be to cut into the security cams.