Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Cooper burst from the trees, swearing loudly, spinning around in a circle and then staring up at his teammate. “Kyle, that son of a bitch killed Dillan.”
Leila could see Kyle crouched close to the ground, examining the dirt and plants for tracks, for anything that might tell him who or what had managed to kill Dillan.
“If I didn’t know better, Cooper,” Kyle said, straightening, “I’d say the woman did this. If it was Campos, he’s got the smallest feet imaginable. But no woman would get the drop on Dillan. It just wouldn’t happen.”
Leila rolled her eyes, but her attention was on Alex. The man hadn’t gone near the body. He was still in the forest, not setting foot into the clearing. She circled around to get behind him, working slowly and carefully through the brush. A thousand ice picks stabbed at her insides with every step she took. Her body felt a little like lead. She was going to have to end this fast if she was going to prevail.
She smelled fear when she came up behind Alex. The wind blew steadily now, taking the fog with it, spreading that gray veil through the trees. She went to the ground, propelling herself forward using toes and elbows to get close to Alex. The noises he made were annoying, a whining hiccup as he rocked himself and stroked his finger over the trigger of his semiautomatic.
Leila rose up behind him fast, slamming the blade of her knife, all the way to the hilt, into the back of his neck, severing the spinal cord. She didn’t bother to retrieve the knife; she didn’t have that kind of time. She turned and sprinted into deeper forest. Kyle had already shown he was adept at reading tracks. She didn’t want to give him an easy trail to her. There was no running a distance, not when her strength was fading. She took to the trees, turning back, circling around, using the branches to move from one tree to the next until she found one close to Alex’s body that was dense with foliage.
“He fuckin’ killed Alex right under our noses,” Cooper snapped. “Which way did he go?”
Kyle nodded toward the interior. “Took off running to the west.”
Cooper knelt beside Alex, removing his weapon and ammo belt before slinging it around his neck. “You still think it was the woman?”
“I said no woman could have done this,” Kyle corrected. Already, he was following the tracks leading him deeper into the forest.
Cooper stayed beside Alex’s body, going through his pockets. He even took money from the wallet Alex had on him. He pocketed the cell phone and one bracelet and then sat back, holding his head in his hands as if grieving. Leila knew he disliked Alex, but he must have felt responsible for him. He looked stricken—and he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings.
She waited, once more completely still, fading into the tree, not moving a muscle. Time ticked by—time she didn’t have. Kyle would discover she’d taken to the trees. She hadn’t laid too long of a trail on the ground. Cooper finally sighed and stood up, facing her, presenting several targets. She was fast and accurate with a knife, and she didn’t hesitate. She threw one into his heart, burying the blade deep. A second followed to sink into his lower abdomen. As he turned, the third knife severed the carotid artery. Cooper went to his knees, blood pouring from the three wounds, the rifle hitting the ground as he dropped it.
“Not bad.” Kyle’s voice came out of the fog. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist the bait.” He stayed hidden, not taking chances. “You may as well show yourself, Campos.”
He had set up his friend to die so he could double back and catch his opponent.
She wasn’t the best at throwing her voice, but with the fog and dense foliage, she decided to take the chance. She wouldn’t be using a knife. This required a gun, and if there was one thing she was very skilled in, it was hitting a target, close up or far away.
“Not Diego,” she said, keeping her voice low. Still, it carried on the wind to him.
His head jerked up and he narrowed his eyes. “You want me to believe you bested Dillan? And then Cooper?”
“And your bear and the coward. Four of the five of you. Little old me. A woman.” She poured a taunt into her voice. Contempt. Amusement. Kyle was the type of man she’d run across so many times. He believed men were far superior to women. He couldn’t conceive of Leila wiping out his entire team.
She studied her target carefully. He had an idea of where she was and was careful to turn sideways, presenting the least amount of targets to her. She took aim. Gave a slow exhale. She pulled the trigger. One shot. One. The bullet flew true, just as she’d known it would. She’d practiced enough. When she aimed at something, she hit it.