Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 482(@200wpm)___ 386(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
There was a grunt of pain from him. As if he’d been hit much harder by the doctor than I’d realized—
Not a doctor.
Carlo.
“Gun inside my coat.” Markus said, almost inaudible as he grabbed my arm, using me for support. “Use it.”
I froze. The metallic smell of blood was thick.
As soon as his command registered, I tried to go for his gun, but Carlo was too fast. He disarmed Markus and helped him collapse on a bench that was just a step away.
A dark stain was rapidly spreading from his side, a hand clenched over a stab wound, and the knife was bloody when it disappeared into Carlo’s pocket. His hand reappeared a half-second later, brandishing a gun. He jammed it in my spine just as I was about to scream.
“No,” he warned. “It’ll be much worse for everyone if you do that. Go with me now, and it gives this man a chance to live.”
Markus’s face was pale, stricken with pain, taking what appeared to be only shallow breaths. He wouldn’t last much longer unless he got help. And since Carlo and I stood in front of Markus, we were blocking the view.
I was sure he was dying.
“All right,” I whispered.
Carlo shoved the gun’s barrel harder against me, digging it into my skin. “The exit to our right. Straight out the front doors without a word. Otherwise, I kill you and go upstairs to finish the job I came here for.”
My stomach was lined with lead as I followed his orders. There was at least a shimmer of relief when we were halfway out the door and I heard someone yelling, followed by commotion. People probably helping Markus.
Carlo put metal handcuffs on me when we reached his car. “Giovanni told me not to hurt or mark you yet. He wants me to leave you as a blank canvas to start with, but understand something, you bitch. If I have to kill you, I’ll do it, and he’ll understand.”
Acid churned in my stomach as he drove back to the airport. We entered at a different security checkpoint, one that seemed to be for freight vehicles, and the guard in the booth barely looked at us once Carlo swiped an ID and the gate opened.
The Abramos’ Bombardier was parked on the tarmac, looking like it was in the final stages of preflight. I was pulled from the car and up the stairs into the cabin.
Riding in the passenger section instead of the cockpit added to my trepidation. The O2 masks had been stowed, and I assumed the blood of my friends and Renzo Librizzi had been hosed out of the luggage compartment.
This wasn’t my plane anymore, so I wouldn’t know for sure.
At least I was good at surviving.
Surviving—and fending off attacks. I’d cut my teeth on that mountain fifteen years ago. I could do this, I told myself, over and over, forcing myself to believe.
“I saw you,” Carlo said, “kissing the enormous American. Giovanni wasn’t happy to hear that.”
“I don’t give a fuck about what makes Gio happy.”
His smile was evil. “You will.”
I bit back the desire to spit in his face. No, I’d wait on that.
Survive. That is your mission.
35
ETHAN
It took ten frustrating minutes of verification with the Dunn security team before I was allowed access to the hospital waiting room. The formidable Gisela Osterhägen, Jason and Shawn’s mother, sat beside Laurel, clasping her daughter-in-law’s hand.
With everything that had happened, I was probably the last person on Earth she wanted to see, and Laurel’s eyes reflected that for a shadow of a moment.
“How is he?” I asked.
“He is in surgery.” Gisela’s English was heavily accented.
Her face was unemotional, but her hand worried the necklace she wore, and it hinted at the frantic state vibrating below her surface. Her gaze darted to Laurel, who stared at the carpet, looking weary. “He might lose some mobility in the arm, but otherwise, they predict a good recovery.”
“Olivia? Shawn and Kara?”
“He went to give blood for Jason,” Gisela said.
Laurel lifted her focus to me, her blue eyes teeming with worry. “Why did they come after us?”
“I’m not sure.” I hated that I didn’t have an answer for her. “But this will all be over soon, I promise you. No more hiding, no more worrying about your lives being in danger.” After all that I had let Juric do to her . . . “I owe you at least that.”
She shivered, but it felt off. Like maybe she’d done it on purpose. Her attention shifted to her mother-in-law. “Gisela, would you mind seeing if the nurses have a blanket for me? I’d ask, but my German is terrible.”
Gisela rose from her seat and nodded quickly. She seemed almost pleased about the request, and I understood that. Her son was in surgery, and with nothing to do but wait, she felt powerless. So she was eager to be helpful.