Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“Nobody fucking move!” Cesare’s voice roared like thunder as he led Howard Kanin out of the room. Kanin’s neck locked in the crook of my cousin’s elbow, he clutched Cesare’s forearm, the two of them coming to a stop a few inches behind me. “Drop the shit, bitches! Now!” He ordered, shoving the barrel of his rifle into Kanin’s temple.
“Don’t listen to him!” He spoke through gritted teeth, his lower jaw hardly moving in Cesare’s powerful grip. “Shoot him! Kill them all!”
His men looked at each other, their weapons pointing at us.
“Put your guns down!” Graham cried out, Rocco holding his hands together as they left the room.
I shook my head in disappointment, witnessing those men’s next reaction.
There was nothing different in it.
They still stared at each other in silence, wondering whose orders to follow.
“Cesare,” I whispered, taking a short sideways step towards him. “We can’t let them leave this place alive.”
“I know,” he said with a quick nod. “Stand back.”
I obeyed his order, my gaze dropping to Kanin’s shaking head. Cesare turned his head right to face Rocco, the barrel of his gun stretching Graham’s light-blue t-shirt. Rocco turning his own head left, my cousin thrust his arm up to the back of Graham’s head.
A simple nod later, Cesare pulled back the hammer of his gun, as Julian, Slater and Leonardo rushed out of the room, their rifles aiming at Kanin’s men.
Two, consecutive gunshots crackled through the lobby. Father and son fell to the deck on their knees, our enemies opening fire. I dropped to my knees to give them a smaller target, eight muzzle flashes erupting from our rivals’ rifles. Cesare tossed his head back, his left leg jerking to the side. A bullet ripped through his pants, leaving a bloody mark on his skin as I aimed at the man closest to me. Three of my shots hit his chest, causing him to reel back.
Leonardo stormed past me, holding up two guns and letting out a tremendous cry. In the meantime, Rocco was lying down on his chest, using his left hand to prop Kanin’s body up. Holding him by the shoulder, he used him as a shield as he went on to empty his gun.
Lunging towards his nearest foe, Leonardo forced me to get closer. His rival’s rifle falling from his grasp, it tumbled to the floor with my friend landing on top of him. His left arm just over the guy’s head, he let go of his gun. He bent his arm at the elbow and shoved his forearm into the guy’s neck, raising his other gun over his foe’s mouth. The light coming through the glass illuminating the side of his face, Leonardo pulled the trigger. A rifle clicking empty, I lifted my gaze, only to spot someone hurtling towards me. I didn’t have time to react. A huge sense of pressure on my chest knocked me off balance. I landed flat and hard on my back, deep growls rushing through my ears. We rolled over across the floor, more bullet crackles bouncing off the walls of that lobby. I threw my hand down to my waist, my fingertips brushing into the wooden handle of my knife. I yanked it out, my fingers locking around that handle. In a snap, with him lying on his side for a brief moment, I shoved the blade into his gut. I heard him gag, the two of us close to the glass façade.
I pulled out the knife, blood dripping off its edge. The little light was enough for me to see the fear all over his face. His green eyes were wide open, a cough shaking his chest. Coughing up blood, it smeared the stubble under his bottom lip. He reached up to my knife-wielding hand, in a last attempt to avoid his fate. His grip was too weak. His fingers brushed my wrist, before his arm fell to the ground. I wasn’t going to spare him. Hell, no. I held the knife vertical to his neck and shoved it into his skin, more blood gushing out of his wound.
Only then did I realize the shallowness of my breath. I rolled over on my back and lifted my head up just enough to take off my mask, Cesare standing just three feet away from me. His gun pointing down to the floor, smoke was still rising from the barrel. He loosened his grip around it and let it fall down, before shuffling off.
“Balls of steel,” he praised, offering me his hand. I slammed my palm into his and let him pull me back up, my gaze landing on his—still bleeding—thigh.
“Are you all right?”
“It’s just a scratch,” he said as Leonardo, Rocco, Julian and Slater gathered around us.
“Time to haul ass,” Rocco spoke as I looked around me. Howard and Graham Kanin were lying on their chest, not moving. Eight more men were scattered across the hall, their bodies riddled with bullet holes.