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I pull my gun from its holster and squeeze the handle firmly in my palm. “Then, let’s fucking go.”
The five of us split into two groups, Jaxon coming with me toward the north side of the compound while Vin, Markus, and Jake go east.
My feet increase in speed, and it’s only seconds before I’m running through the hallways, glad to see all the steel shutters have been triggered. A fail safe I had installed years ago. One of many, but it doesn’t seem as if most of the others are working.
“Do you think one of our men turned on us?” I ask Jaxon as our pace slows and we both walk cautiously with our guns lifted. “Titan has eluded us twice, and nobody should have figured out whereallof our cameras and wires are. Not at least without us being alerted much earlier.”
His lips thin, and he swivels right to clear the next hallway before answering. “I didn’t think so before, but now…”
“Can we even trust the people currently inside this house?” I say with a growl and think of Olivia upstairs, alone with only a steel door to keep her safe.
“I guess we’re going to find out,” he says. “But don’t think I’m not feeling your pain just because Justine’s not here. I had to send Ethan and Aaron to pick her up.”
Two of our newer members. Yeah, I’d be fucking nervous, too.
Maybe having Olivia locked upstairs isn’t the worst thing.
“Down,” Jaxon shouts, shoving at my back as a shot whistles past my head.
That was fucking close and has my heart pumping harder than it has in a long time, but it’s not enough to stop me from laying on my side and finding my target.
Two men stand at the end of the next hallway. I can’t even begin to guess how the fuck they got into this section of the house, but that’s a problem for me to worry about later. After they’re all dead.
I fire once, and so does Jaxon. In seconds, both intruders are down and Jaxon is helping me back to my feet.
“There’s definitely a traitor in these walls,” he says. “Or at least, there was.”
The likelihood that whoever turned against us has already fled the compound to avoid getting caught in the crossfire is high, and I can tell that realization hasn’t been far from Jaxon’s mind. Especially when he pulls out his phone, and I see he’s texting Justine. Hopefully sending a warning that won’t potentially alert anyone she’s with that we know.
More shots echo through the house and voices yell while the stomping of feet get closer. I look over at Jaxon, face grim. “We’re not going to make it to the north end of the compound.”
“No, I don’t think we are,” he replies, both of us confirming what the other already knows: we’re not reaching the help that waits there. That is, if they’re even still alive.
“Take cover,” Jaxon warns as we each step behind opposite walls.
Gunfire continues to erupt through the house, but at least now, the sounds are all coming from the same direction.
I position myself better and swap mags to make sure I’m using a full one while I have the chance. Just as I’ve cocked the pistol, bullets begin to whiz toward us, grazing the walls and sending drywall through the air.
With my gun gripped tightly in my hand and my heart pounding with adrenaline, I begin to fire back. It’s just me and Jaxon against a dozen men, armed to the teeth. Their eyes burn with an eagerness to see us fall, but that’s not going to happen.
As much as I want to push forward, I know we can’t lose our cover. There isn’t anything else to shield even just one of us in the hallway the intruders are creeping down. For them, though, they don’t seem to mind losing men as long as at least some of them get where they need to.
My gun doesn’t stop firing, and all too soon I’m switching mags. I still have five more for this pistol and three for my backup nine-millimeter shoved into the holster above my boots. Even knowing that, I’m careful with each shot, not wanting one bullet to be wasted if I can help it.
Blood continues to shed around us, and more men fall, but more keep coming, like fucking roaches. The acrid scent of gunpowder fills the now-dim hallway, thanks to the lights being shot out at some point.
Even with all the chaos, time seems to slow down, and I can begin to see a pattern in how the intruders keep pushing forward. With that knowledge, I know I can’t stand here behind the wall any longer. This needs to end now.
“I’m going in,” I tell Jaxon above the cacophony of gunshots. “Watch my back.”
“Always,” he replies in confirmation, and I move out from behind the protection of the wall.
Shouts sound from the other men. I’ve ruined their plan by doing what they don’t expect and charging forward. I use their confusion to my advantage and continue firing as I weave through the hail of bullets still coming my way.
My movements remain fluid and instinctual, and every squeeze of the trigger is accompanied by the satisfying thud of bodies hitting the ground, one after another.
Bullets continue to fly toward me, most of them sailing by, but it’s not long before my left arm is grazed and my chest is hit. Thanks to the bulletproof vest, the shot only serves to take my breath away. Though, that doesn’t stop my movements. Neither does my bleeding arm.
