AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I stare at my brother for a second before giving him a tight nod. The SUVs pull up, ten extremely fit-looking men in the same black polo shirts and black slacks piling out.
As I look on, a man with chestnut-hued skin and a freshly-shaved head approaches. The guy eyes me and Ares up, flexing his arm muscles casually as he reaches out his hand.
“Sam White.” He has a crisp British accent and an accompanyingly stiff body language, holding himself just so with ease. He reminds me of nothing so much as a soldier.
I shake his hand, my eyes narrowing. “Hades Lyon. Fourteenth battalion. You?”
Some warmth glitters in Sam’s brown eyes. “Seventh battalion, sir.”
I nod, stepping back and falling into an old “at ease” posture without much thinking about it. My hands clasp behind my back, my legs spreading just a bit wide.
Ready for anything.
“Good to see you all here,” Ares cuts in. “As you can see, we need some backup breaching and entering that house. There is a valuable hostage inside.”
He pulls up a picture of Persephone on his phone. I’m a little surprised at that; I give him side eye as I repress the questions of how he came to possess that photo and how long he’s had it for.
There are so many things that I wish I could spend time on today. But topmost in my mind has to be Persephone.
I just need to keep bringing myself back to her well-being. It centers me.
Sam turns, taking in the scene. He inhales deeply as he takes a few steps in each direction, checking the lines of sight for himself.
“We need some heavy weapons.” He nods to one of his men, who vanishes back toward his black SUV. “I’m assuming that you’ll be fine with that, given your reputation as an arms dealer.”
Ares cuts me a look. “This is a kidnapping. As long as the girl is safe, we are okay with any use of force. Right, Hades?”
I nod, my eyes returning to the beach house. “Nothing is off the table.”
Sam looks over his shoulder, signaling to the man that disappeared behind their SUV. That man steps out with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher on his shoulder and a grin on his face.
“Ready for war, boss.”
I raise my eyebrows, unprepared for how much firepower he is sporting.
“Ye do know that we have to extract someone from that house, don’t ye?” Ares asks.
“My man is just a diversionary tactic to get as many of the men out of the house as possible. When we get the majority out and firing their weapons at us, we hit the house and pull the girl out. Easy as pie.”
I squint at him, trying to determine how easy it will actually be. Ares claps me on the shoulder.
“Time is in short supply. It’s the best shot we have.”
I survey all the men, giving them a final once over. My heart hammers against my ribs but I keep my face a cool, calm mask.
I nod once. Sam gives me an approving nod in exchange. He raises his right fist.
“Everyone grab their weapons and start moving toward the house. Ye two guards, come with us. The rest of ye, head to the other side of the house and find defensive positions. Prepare to take a hell of a lot of fire.”
Everyone turns toward the house, checking their weapons. I let the security team go first, studying Ares as I watch them spread around the back of the house.
“Ready?” Ares prompts.
I pull out my gun, checking the clip again. “As ready as I can be. I just know that Constantine is going to be waiting for us with a nasty surprise.”
Ares turns and starts heading after the security team. “We’ll save Persephone. Just focus on that, brother.”
Swallowing an unwelcome note of fear, I follow him, my gun trained on the ground in front of me, my footsteps quick and nearly silent.
