AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A shiver skated down my spine as Skylar, silent and watchful, scanned the treeline with predatory focus. Dr. Zane Silva’s hand rested casually on his belt, where I knew a selection of knives lay hidden—his reputation for precision infamous.
“So what’s the plan?” Skylar said.
“Go in, get Sam, get out,” Teo said. “Sam is my girlfriend’s brother.”
“Got it,” Bash said. “Let’s move.”
We split up, with Teo and Bash taking one side of the cabin and us taking the other. My heart was pounding in my chest as I moved forward, my eyes constantly scanning for any potential threats. As we approached the cabin, the door burst open, and a hail of bullets flew out. We dove for cover, bullets whizzing past our heads.
“Fuck!” I said. I was about to go into the cabin when I looked over my shoulder. It took me a second to realize that Sofia had run out of the car and was sprinting toward us. Jace was behind her. I was pretty sure he was shouting at her but I couldn’t hear him through the gunfire.
Teo hadn’t noticed her, but they were barreling toward the cabin and I didn’t want anything to happen to her.
“Watch out!” I shouted, jumping to my feet and pulling Sofia and Jace down with me. The impact hurt, everything hurt. As soon as I landed on the mud, I had to grit my teeth to get a handle onthe pain. We huddled together as a hail of bullets rained down around us, the ground shaking beneath our feet.
“Stay down,” I said. “Don’t fucking move, okay? We got this.”
Sofia glared at me. “I’m not staying behind while you try to get my brother,” she said. “Not a chance.”
I locked eyes with Sofia, my heart pounding in my chest. Her determination was unwavering, and I realized that persuading her to stay put would be futile. With a nod, I acknowledged her fierce resolve. “Fuck. You don’t make this easy.”
“He’s my brother, Victor.”
“I know, I just...look. You’ll have to answer to Teo if things don’t go well,” I said when there was a break in the gunfight.
But I didn’t care about that.
Not really.
I just knew that if anything happened to her, I would never be the same again.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Sofia
The air was thick with humidity, heavy like wet velvet against my skin as I peered through the dense tangle of mangroves. The Everglades were an inhospitable sprawl to anyone unaccustomed to its treachery, but it was here, in this labyrinth of water and sawgrass, that the Viper had carved out his dominion.
I wasn’t going to let anyone else die or get hurt on my account. This was my brother and I was going to get him out.
But nothing could have braced me for what I saw next.
Stepping out of the shadows, to the sound of gunfire quieting down, I saw my father.
Next to him stood Sam, his posture rigid with resolve—or was it betrayal? My heart stuttered, but I pushed away the onslaught of questions. This was not the time for doubts; this was the time for action.
And Sam would never do that to me.
He was a little naive, but he wasn’t crazy.
“Didn’t think you’d find me, did you?” The Viper’s voice slithered into the open space between us, his tone mocking, his smile a slash of white in the dimness. He was dressed head-to-toe in black, camouflaged against the dusk that settled around us like ash.
He looked so much like he had the last time I had seen him in person.
It sent a shiver down my spine.
“Guess again,” I shot back, trying to keep my voice steady despite the tremors that threatened to betray me. The guys shuffled behind me. I knew that if Sam wasn’t literally in the way, they would have already shot him.
Sam shifted beside our father, his jaw clenched. I couldn’t read his expression, couldn’t gauge what side he was on from this distance. It gnawed at me, the uncertainty of it all.
But Sam hadn’t moved towards us and that had to be for a reason.
