Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 151097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 504(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 504(@300wpm)
“I don’t know, but we’re not sticking around to find out. Get dressed.”
“Whoa, wait,” I said when I heard her strapping as many weapons to her as she could. “It’s probably just an outage.”
“Coby, when you’re in bed with the mafia, it’s never just an outage. Malcolm’s found us.”
“But how?”
Hunter shook her head. “I don’t know, but I think Kellan’s involved.”
“What?”
Hunter didn’t bother to explain as she threw me a pair of sweats and a hoodie. I felt my heart beating fast as I quickly dressed. She then ushered Coco into his carrier and locked the cage door, thank God. A moment later, she shoved the carrier into my chest, and I squeaked at the same time Coco whined. Hunter then moved over to the bedroom door and pressed her ear against it.
“Hunter, talk to me,” I pleaded. “Why would Kellan betray Ocean?”
“Because after he made it very clear he and Ocean weren’t friends, he told me he used to work for another family like the Fola back in Chicago. Kellan also told me he came to Black Veil specifically looking for revenge, and through a stroke of fucking luck, he just happened to land a job working right at Ocean’s side.”
I thought about it until it started to make sense. Kellan was the only one who was never constantly with Ocean. He was the only one without family or friends here, and absences he couldn’t explain. I always just assumed he was out doing something for Ocean, but maybe not.
“I don’t know,” I said slowly. “It makes sense, but it doesn’t fit, Hunter. We like Kellan.”
Hunter was visibly frustrated when she grabbed my hand and started tugging me toward the door. “Well, we’re not sticking around to find out if I’m right or wrong. Let’s go.”
“Hunter, wait.” Before I could say more, a bullet pierced the window and lodged in the wall next to the door. A barrage of them quickly followed, forcing us to the floor. “Never mind! Let’s go!” We hurried out of the bedroom while bullets tore it apart. Once out of range, we sat on the floor with our backs to the wall. “Where do we go?” I whispered.
“Basement.”
I nodded. We could barricade ourselves until Ocean arrived, but there was no telling when he’d return. Stupidly, I’d left my phone on the nightstand, so I couldn’t call him.
I stayed put while Hunter slowly peered around the wall.
Two stairs led down to the basement. Luckily, the first was on this side of the house. The other was a cellar door that led outside on the opposite end. We’d still have to cross the gallery—that extremely long corridor that connected the west and east wings—to get to the closet one.
Satisfied that the coast was clear, Hunter removed one of her guns from a holster. “Do you remember what I taught you?” she asked while handing me the Sig.
“Firm grip. Safety. Aim. Fire. Piece of cake.”
Coco whined again like he knew we were doomed.
The shooting behind us ceased, and the house was eerily quiet now when Hunter peered around the wall and gestured me forward while keeping watch. I wasted no time darting the gallery’s ten-or eleven-foot width. As soon as I was clear, I peered around the corner to keep watch for Hunter.
She was halfway across when I saw them.
Up ahead, moving stealthily under the skylight between the living room and foyer, were two masked men. They were bathed in shadows and moonlight and bearing scary-looking rifles. They hadn’t spotted Hunter yet—or at least that’s what I thought until one of them raised their weapon.
“Hunter!” I didn’t think about the fact that I might be giving away our position. I just reacted, flipping off the safety and shooting blindly in the dark. It gave Hunter the cover she needed to dive the rest of the way across.
She deftly regained her feet just as I ran out of bullets.
Together, we sprinted for the basement door while Coco barked his ass off.
I went through first, and just as I stopped to wait for Hunter, the door slammed shut in my face—with Hunter still on the other side.
I heard something heavy scraping across the floor and lunged for the handle. The door wouldn’t budge. “Hunter?” I slammed my fist against the door when she didn’t answer. “Hunter!”
“Keep quiet, bestie,” I heard her muffled voice say. “I’ll be back.”
And then she was gone.
No matter how much I called her name, she didn’t answer. I shoved and kicked at the door until my shoulder throbbed and I was forced to give up.
I descended the stairs into a wine cellar, but as I quickly found out, the only way forward was locked. With the help of the flashlight I’d found, I tore apart the cellar, searching for a spare key until I struck gold.