Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
I dart into the parking area, my eyes locked on the hidden wall as I press the remote for it to open.
“Almost there!” I shout as I run faster than I ever have.
A loud blast makes time freeze, then the force throws me backward as a burst of heat robs the air from my lungs.
Hitting the ground, pain shudders through my body, and as dust fills the air, my ears ring for a moment.
Shaking my head, I tighten my grip on the remote and search for my phone, which landed beside me.
My lungs burn, and I cough while trying to catch my bearings.
“Rosie!” Enzo shouts. “Jesus fucking Christ, answer me.” I’ve never heard his tone so tense before, fear coating every word.
When my sight focuses, I see the metal door has folded like crumpled paper, and my path to the boardroom has been blocked off.
“Rosie, talk to me,” Enzo begs. “Tell me you’re okay.”
Men pour into the underground parking area, and a reinforced SUV drives right over the rubble.
A strange calmness mixes with the panic tearing through me.
“The servers are still running,” I whisper as my grip on the remote tightens.
“Rosie!”
“I’m here,” I croak.
“Are you in the fucking boardroom?”
“No. I can’t get to it.” As I climb to my feet, I make eye contact with one of the masked men, and my legs threaten to give way beneath me.
“Rosie, just fucking run!” Enzo begs.
Jesus. My fortress was never supposed to fall. This place was my masterpiece. My safe space.
There are years’ worth of intelligence in the control room. The entire family will be in grave danger if these bastards get their hands on my servers.
My finger brushes over the button that will end it all.
I have no choice.
All the thoughts race through my mind in a split second as I watch the men move closer, their weapons trained on me.
“Rosie,” Enzo groans, desperation making his voice crack. “Please tell you’re running.”
There’s only one thing left to do. The last line of defense is to destroy everything.
“Enzo.” My voice sounds weird, as if it’s not mine.
This is it, Rosie. You have to do this for Enzo. For Dad. For Mom. For all your loved ones.
I hear Enzo groan again, sounding like he’s in unbearable pain.
Shutting my eyes, I take the seconds I have left to tell him how I’ve always felt. “I love you, Enzo. So much.” My tongue swipes over the dust covering my lips. “With all my heart, and with every breath. It’s been you from the beginning, and it’s you at the end.”
“Christ, bella mia,” he shouts. “Don’t do it. I’m almost there.”
“I love you.” Opening my eyes, I watch as they form a circle around me, one of the men holding his hand up, signaling for me not to do anything drastic. Their eyes are dark and emotionless. “I love you, Enzo,” I gasp as my breaths speed up incredibly fast. “I love you.”
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” I hear Enzo hitting something repeatedly before letting out a heartbreaking shout. I can hear he means it when he says, “Just hold on for me so I can tell you face-to-face how I feel. Please.” My sight blurs with tears, and my chin quivers. Closing my eyes again, I just listen to Enzo’s harsh breaths. “Rosie!”
“I love you,” I whisper.
One of the men grabs hold of my arm, and out of time, I do the only thing I can to protect everyone I love.
Enzo
“Rosie!” I yank the steering wheel to the right and cut over a sidewalk to get past traffic.
Just as I finally lay eyes on the fortress in the distance, deafening blasts tear through the air.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
My heart stops dead in my chest.
When the shockwave hits me seconds later, rattling the car hard enough to make the steering wheel jump beneath my hands, a massive cloud of dust erupts into the sky, climbing higher and higher as the ground quakes hard.
“No!” My voice is raw with devastation and unspeakable pain.
I lose sight of the fortress for a moment as I take a turn at high speed. As soon as it comes into view again, I see the building collapsing into itself, floor after floor dropping toward the center.
“Rosie!” The shout is filled with a desolate horror ripping through me.
Steel twists. Concrete buckles. Entire sections disappear beneath rolling clouds of dust as the structure folds inward.
“Fuck.”
I crush the accelerator harder, the distance between us suddenly feeling impossible.
The fortress continues sinking into itself until nothing remains except a mountain of rubble surrounded by thick gray dust.
My grip on the steering wheel tightens until pain shoots through my hands.
When I notice the line is still connected, I say, “Rosie, answer me.”
The only sounds I hear are emergency alarms wailing in the distance and the strain the Mustang is taking.