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“We do have an address that Jace sent,” Grayson said as he looked at his phone. “So we just need to keep following this pin.”
“We don’t know what’s there, right?” I asked him. I already knew the answer, I just wanted to hear it again.
“We don’t,” Grayson said. “There’s no map online of it because it’s in this weird little cul-de-sac. On the satellite, the lot is covered by trees.”
As we drove deeper into the Everglades, the air grew thick with the scent of stagnant water and rotting flora. The only sounds were the crunching of tires on gravel and the occasional croak of a frog. Soon, we arrived at our destination: a ramshackle cabin in the middle of nowhere.
“This is a trap,” Teo said.
“Wait, what?” I asked.
“It’s okay,” Grayson said, his hand on my shoulder. “We were ready for this.”
“We were?” I asked again, my voice shaking with fear.
Before Grayson could answer me, light flooded the car. It took me a second to realize it was headlights.
And they were coming toward us.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Teo
Asweapproachedthelocation of the Viper’s trap--I wasn’t deluded, I knew what we were likely walking into, I just knew we were going to have a better shot at confronting him if we did it face to face--a familiar feeling of dread settled into my bones. The Everglades stretched out before us like an eternal green prison, its thick vegetation and murky waters offering secrets but absolutely protection. I could feel the moisture in the air, filling my lungs with every breath as I drove our SUV through the treacherous terrain. The air smelled like mud, and rain, and it made me sick to my stomach.
My focus was razor sharp, scanning every inch of the path ahead for any signs of threat. Despite being miles away from safety, I felt Grayson in the backseat behind me, equally prepared and vigilant. He hadn’t said anything, and despite this being life or death, I could tell he was excited.
The little cabin on the side of the dirt road was far too convenient for my liking.
The dense foliage on either side of the narrow path obscured my view, making it difficult to comprehend what lay beyond the shadows. Every rustle of leaves or snap of a twig sent my heart pounding against my ribcage as I held onto the wheel, ready to take action at a moment’s notice.
“Teo, stop!” I heard Sofia cry from the passenger seat. I turned to look at her for a split second, and she was gripping the door handle as the beam of headlights pierced through the darkness ahead of us.
“What is it?” I asked, slamming on the brakes as our SUV skidded to a halt in the mud.
“Fuck,” I said under my breath. A massive vehicle blocked our path, its lights flooding into the SUV as the truck’s engine started to come to life.
“We need to move,” Grayson said from the backseat.
I nodded, taking a deep breath as I shifted the SUV into reverse. “Hold on tight,” I said, the engine roaring to life once more as we prepared to face the unknown threat head-on.
Rage and dread surged through my veins, every muscle in my body tensing as I focused on the massive vehicle obstructing our path. My eyes narrowed as a plan quickly formed in my mind. If the Viper was the person behind the bounties, and Miranda, and even the lawsuit, then his influence was huge. And there was no doubt he would have enough men to come and challenge us. We were already there and we weren’t going to back away.
The thought of those thugs intimidating us filled me with rage, but I knew I needed to stay sharp and calm.
“What do we do?” Sofia asked.
I straightened up and ran my hands over the wheel for a moment before replying, “Let’s see what they want first.”
With measured movements, I started to move the SUV closer towards the truck
And then Grayson shouted out a warning. “Teo, watch out!”
A gunshot rang out, shattering the silence of the Everglades. My heart jumped in my chest as I tried to assess the situation. I could see movement beyond the truck, dark shadows and figures moving through the trees.
“Get down!” I said to everyone in the car. I was about to reach for my gun when the truck started to move toward us. I put the car in reverse, but quickly realized we were boxed in; if I wanted to get out of here, I was going to have to drive through the mud and two sedans that appeared out of nowhere.
We had been ready for a trap. We hadn’t been ready for an ambush.
Adrenaline flooded my veins as I revved the engine, my mind racing with possibilities. We were outgunned and outnumbered, but that didn’t mean we were going to give up without a fight.
