Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
The Denver pack began to arrive and he went inside to listen to Mark assigning roles and weapons.
His phone rang and he looked at the screen. “It’s Stone,” he told Mark and swiped the screen to answer. “What’s up?”
“Melissa’s gone.” Ben’s terse words send a sheet of ice over his skin.
“Where?” he croaked.
“I don’t know. Ashley thinks she’s headed back to the Springs for some reason. Be on the lookout.”
She was going to the meet. The thought struck him with the surety of truth.
“Hang on a minute.”
That duffel bag she’d left with—what had been in it? He’d seen all the things he’d bought her still lying around his place. He strode quickly to the closet where he’d stowed the cash and flung it open. The bag stood empty.
Fuck.
“She took the money. She’s planning on going to the drop herself.”
Ben swore loudly.
“I’ll take care of it.” He hung up before Ben could answer. There was nothing more to be said. Melissa would be walking into a death trap without enough shifter blood to save her from a bullet hole. He had to get there and head her off before she got killed. “Let’s move,” he barked, though he had no authority over Ben’s pack.
He shoved a gun in the waistband of his jeans and jogged out to his truck, gunning it before the rest of the pack had finished filing outside. He tore off toward the meet location—the only place he could think to find her.
Mark’s original plan had been to get his pack in stealthily, without being seen. Maybe he’d still play that angle. All Cody knew was that he had to get there before Melissa did. With his foot pressed flat to the accelerator, he screeched to the road that led to the abandoned lot Rabago had designated for the meeting. He hid his truck behind a hedge out on the road, not wanting to call attention to his arrival.
Hearing the crunch of tires, he shrank back into the shadows. The blue Range Rover that had been parked in front of Melissa’s house that first night turned down the drive and he dived into a nearby ditch to hide. Two more cars followed it down the drive.
He fought the desire to shift to protect himself and his female and jogged along the ditch that led toward the lot.
The white Toyota pickup truck that had also been in front of Melissa’s house was parked there, along with the blue Range Rover and other cars. Was the pickup Melissa’s vehicle? He hadn’t pictured her as the sort of girl who drove a pickup, but then, he’d misjudged her in at least a half-dozen ways, hadn’t he?
The lot appeared to be a construction project that had never been finished. The concrete foundation and shell stood ghost-like against the dusky sky. He palmed his gun and moved quietly, skirting around behind the building.
Deep male voices echoed off the walls, distorting the sound and making it harder for him to track their location. They appeared to be dividing up, circling around.
“Hello?”
His heart stopped. It was Melissa’s tight voice, calling out.
“We’re here. We have the money. Jeremy recovered it for you.” Her voice wavered on the lie.
“Yeah, I got it back from the guys who robbed you.”
Who the fuck was that? Jeremy?
He ground his molars, wanting to kill the motherfucker. Had Melissa’s intent been to make sure Jeremy came out of his mess clean? Was that why she’d risked her life to come here today? That bastard did not deserve her loyalty.
“Get down on your knees, hands behind your head,” Rabago shouted.
Cody still couldn’t see anyone, but it didn’t sound like they were in the same area. He crept along a concrete wall and peered around a pillar. Melissa and Jeremy were on their knees, fingers clasped behind their heads. The duffel bag of money lay in front of them.
Shit.
This was bad. Rabago would shoot them both the second he verified the money was there and there was nothing Cody could do—not with Melissa so vulnerable.
He scented shifters all around—they must be moving in quietly.
Rabago and four men stepped into the area from all directions, surrounding Melissa and Jeremy, guns trained on their heads.
“Check it out.” Rabago jerked his head toward the money.
One of his guys darted forward, running on bent knees, keeping his head ducked until he reached the bag. He grabbed it and dragged it back before looking inside. “Yeah, looks like it’s all here.”
Fuck.
Melissa’s nostrils flared and she turned her head in his direction, as if she scented him. But that was impossible.
Rabago saw her head turn and whipped his gun around to aim in Cody’s direction, firing.
“Melissa, get down,” he shouted and jumped out, firing at Rabago and missing when the guy jumped behind a pillar. The crack of guns shooting from all directions echoed off the walls, deafening him.