Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 60768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
I stare at her, trying to process it all. “So, if she works for you, why take her prisoner?” I ask Marlo.
Marlo laughs softly, the sound echoing off the high ceiling. “She’s been one of our best assets. Orchid has risked everything to get close to Serafina. And she’s been doing an excellent job. Until you two decided to complicate things with your little romance.”
I look back at Orchid, my heart pounding so hard it feels like it’s going to crack my ribs. “I don’t understand.”
Marlo cuts me off, voice tight. “There’s really nothing to understand. I leverage you both to Serafina and get exactly what I want.”
“What do you want?” Orchid whispers.
Before she can respond, before I can even begin to unpack the storm of emotions crashing through me, a deafening explosion rocks the warehouse. The blast comes from the far end of the building, a thunderous boom that shakes the ground and sends dust and debris raining down from the ceiling. The chain-link fence rattles violently. One of the hanging work lights swings wildly and crashes to the floor in a shower of sparks.
Shouts erupt. Gunfire cracks through the air. The henchmen spin toward the explosion, weapons up. Tammy and Mark yell orders, but their voices are drowned out by the chaos.
It’s my friends.
I recognize them instantly. Black gear, precise formation, night-vision goggles flipped up. Sawyer’s at the front, rifle raised, moving with that calm, lethal focus he always has in the field. Riggs’s right behind him, covering the flank. Jaxson’s calling out positions, voice steady. They’re here. They actually came for us.
“Poe!” Ozzy’s voice cuts through the noise. “Stay down!”
The henchmen open fire, but the BRAVO team is faster, better trained. Two of them go down almost immediately. Tammy and Mark scramble for cover behind a stack of old pallets, but local PD’s already pouring in through the blown-open doors, badges flashing, shouting commands to drop weapons.
It’s pure chaos. Smoke fills the air from the explosion. Debris litters the floor. Shouts and gunfire echo off the walls. One of the henchmen tries to drag Marlo toward a side exit, but Maddox men swarm him. They take Marlo and Orchid into custody with efficient, professional force, zip-tying their wrists and moving them out of the line of fire.
Ozzy reaches the cage first. He shoots the padlock off the gate with a single precise round and yanks it open. “Poe, move!”
I lunge toward him, but my ankle chain holds me back. Ozzy drops to a knee and cuts it free with bolt cutters, then does the same for my wrists. The second I’m loose he grabs my arm and pulls me toward the exit.
“Orchid!” I shout, twisting to look for her. Maddox men have her and Marlo secured, moving them toward a different exit. “Ozzy, wait! We have to get Orchid!”
Ozzy doesn’t slow down. “We have her in custody. She’s coming with us. Move, Poe!”
The next few minutes are a blur of motion and noise. Local PD swarms the warehouse, cuffing Tammy, Mark, and the remaining men. Shouts of “FBI!” and “Hands up!” mix with the crackle of radios. Ozzy half-drags, half-carries me out a side door and into a waiting black SUV. Arrow and Gage are already inside, scanning the perimeter.
Ozzy slams the door shut and floors it. The SUV peels out, tires spitting gravel as we speed away from the warehouse. I twist in my seat, looking back through the rear window until the building disappears behind us.
“Orchid,” I say again, voice raw. “We have to go back for her. She’s not the enemy. She’s working with the FBI. She’s been undercover the whole time.”
Ozzy’s hands are tight on the wheel, eyes on the road. “We have her in custody with Marlo. They’re being transported separately. We’ll sort it out at HQ.”
Arrow leans forward from the back seat, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “You good, man? You look like hell.”
“I’m fine,” I say, even though my wrists are raw and my face still throbs from where it hit the wall earlier. “What about Enley? Tell me she’s okay.”
Ozzy glances at me in the rearview mirror. His voice is steady, but I can hear the relief underneath it. “Render went in a few days ago. Extracted her clean. She’s on the run with him right now. Nobody knows exactly where they are, but they’re safe. They’re keeping a low profile so Serafina can’t find them. She’s okay, Poe. She’s safe.”
The relief hits me so hard my eyes sting. I lean back against the seat, letting out a long, shaky breath. Enley’s safe. My sister’s safe. The team came through. They always do.
But the image of Orchid being taken away by Maddox men keeps flashing in my head. Her eyes meeting mine as they zip-tied her wrists. The way she looked at me like she was trying to tell me something important right before everything exploded.