I shake my head. “They’re telling us exactly where they are,” I comment. “Where’s the fun in that? They’re making it too easy.”
Marcus scoffs, and I know without a doubt that he agrees wholeheartedly. He likes the chase, he likes the opportunity to play with his food before destroying it. Levi on the other hand just rolls his eyes, more than happy to know where his targets are so he can sneak up on them and take them out without the risk of sounding the alarm.
“You ready?” Marcus asks. “Gun loaded? Checked?”
I glare up at him. “You honestly think after everything, I haven’t checked my gun?”
He arches a brow and I try to hold my glare, but that nagging thought in the back of my head that usually tells me I forgot to turn off my hair straightener even though I checked it twenty times, insists that maybe I did forget. My eye twitches as the need to recheck it fires through me, but I won’t dare, not as long as his eyes are still on me.
His lips begin to pull into a wicked smirk, knowing exactly what he’s doing to me, and after a long pause, Roman sighs in front of us, not even bothering to look back. “Shayne, check your fucking gun, and Marc, stop making her doubt herself. You know she checked it when she first got it, when we got in the car, and again when she got out just like we trained her.”
The need to poke out my tongue fires through me, but I’ll save it for a time when there’s no risk of Roman turning around and knocking me out. I’d miss all the fun and he’d claim it was a ‘safety measure.’
The final confirmation comes from the group of guards directly across the property from us, and my shoulders immediately pull back, all ridiculous light conversation fading away. Roman presses his hand to his ear and his voice sails through to the small piece of tech in my ear. “Let’s move in three … two … one.”
Despite not being able to see them, I know that every small group of soldiers swiftly steps out of the trees, moving silently toward the property without raising suspicion until the very last minute, which is exactly what we do as we move toward the two guards standing outside the front gates.
We’re on the left of the oversized, wrought-iron gates and we head for the guard standing closest to us. Moving silently through the shadows, both Roman and Marcus prepare themselves, watching their targets closely.
The guard closest to us turns his back and Roman strikes, rushing in behind him and slapping his hand down over his mouth. The guard doesn’t even get a chance to scream before Roman’s knife strikes across his throat. The guard falls, and just as the other on the right of the gate spins around, Marcus is there, slamming him back against the big pillar. Marcus snaps his neck, clean and effortlessly, and with a heavy thump, the guard falls to Marcus’ feet.
The boys drag the bodies into the small guard booth beside the big iron gate and we each step over them, slipping through the booth to gain access to the property, rather than drawing attention by trying to scale the tall gate or moronically opening it.
“Did you guys even know about this property?” I murmur, keeping my voice as low as humanly possible.
“No fucking idea,” Marcus murmurs behind me. “Never even met the woman. Don’t even know her name.”
Great. This should be interesting.
The night is silent, telling me that our men are doing their job flawlessly, and as I scan the property, I watch with amusement as guards are snatched out of the shadows and seamlessly dealt with.
We move out from the booth and glance back as Marcus’ hand falls to my thigh, gripping my knife and pulling it from its sheath. He keeps his eyes trained on the property, and without even glancing at me, he presses the handle into the palm of my hand, a silent message to be ready for whatever might come at us.
“Three guards approaching the front gate,” I hear through the small piece of tech in my ear. Excitement drums into me and I clutch my knife a little tighter. Hearing the soft rustling of feet in the grass, I grin and turn toward the approaching men. Ready to leave my mark, I move forward to strike, only three giant assholes move in front of me, blocking my view as they take care of business.
I sheath my knife and stand back, crossing my arms over my chest, impatiently waiting.
They take the guards out in record time before turning and glancing back at me as though they’re some kind of heroes. “Seriously?” I question, eyeing the three of them and ignoring the fact that I’m super impressed with how they managed to dispose of the three guards in a matter of seconds while also avoiding being splattered with blood. “Why am I even here? Do you just want someone to watch you make your kills? I mean, what’s the point if you’re going to step in front of me like egotistical asshats? I can take care of myself. I’ve had good training and made plenty of kills against men twice my size. I think I’ve more than proven myself. So, let’s summarize, shall we? Step in front of me and block me from doing my job, and I won’t be marrying a damn one of you.”
Guilt flashes in their eyes and there’s no doubt in my mind they knew exactly what they were doing when they moved in front of me like that. I narrow my gaze and Roman lets out a sigh. “Fine,” he says, pointing to my right. “Then this guy is all yours.”
I spin on my heel, my knife already in my hand to find a guy stepping out from behind the booth, his brows furrowed, probably trying to figure out where the hell all the other guards disappeared to.
I pounce like a fucking tiger, not even giving him a chance to react.
He’s tall and beyond round, and I know without a doubt I won’t have a chance in hell of getting him on his ass, so I scale the fucker like a cat climbing a tree. He cries out like a little bitch, and I curse the asshole. The sound wasn’t loud enough to catch the attention of the other guards, but it was enough for the guys to know I’m not getting this done fast enough.
I don’t waste my time glancing back at them, but I sense them preparing to step in, which only pisses me off more. I get up high on his body, my head hovering over his and forcing him to look up as he grabs me. His nails dig into my skin in an attempt to throw me off, but my reflexes are too fast and as he goes to roar out, sounding the alarm, I sink my knife straight down his open throat.
He gurgles on the blood pouring down his throat, and I quickly tear my knife out before slashing it across the front of his neck, the angle of his body ensuring that the boys are drenched in his blood like a waterfall.
He slowly falls forward and I prepare myself on the way down to simply step off and plant myself in front of the boys.
Marcus grins at me like he just met an angel, while Roman and Levi look anything but pleased. “That was fun,” I tell them, seeing another group of our men approaching from behind the guys. “Now can we get on with it? We’ve got a baby to save.”
With that, the boys wipe the blood from their faces and just as the other soldiers meet us, a gunshot sounds through the property. “Fuck,” Roman curses just as gunfire returns twofold. “They know we’re here. Go hard. No prisoners.”
34