Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 145088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
“Amanda! Don’t stall!” Ryker yelled from the other side of the house, and quick steps followed his shouting.
His companions might not have figured it out yet, but Hammer was familiar with the snake’s ways. Ryker wasn’t coming back.
Like a rat fleeing a sinking ship, he’d leave his buddies to kill Hammer or die, while he hid away someplace safe, where his precious ass wasn’t at risk.
Worse yet, only Lion could have revealed Ryker’s location to Hammer, which meant he wouldn't contact his older brother again. If he disappeared now, Hammer would be searching for a needle in a haystack, never able to put that dirty fuck six feet under, and he'd have to endure the shame of failing everyone.
Ryker also knew where Hammer lived. If he got away, Hammer would be left forever looking over his shoulder, wondering if Ryker grew the balls to confront him. Ryker would have the benefit of surprise and could cause all manner of carnage. But as the impulse to follow and break Ryker’s head with a single hit of the sledgehammer spread through his bones, his gaze still followed Dex all the way into the house.
Hammer’s skull was burning his brain as the tiny window of opportunity to fulfill his mission closed. Without a firearm, or a vehicle he could use, he had no chance of dealing with the whole fucking mess.
It was either revenge, or Dex’s safety.
He didn’t move but already knew he’d be risking it all to save the man who’d ruined his plans.
Maybe he was the dumbass.
When an engine started at the other side of the house, even the vague idea of stealing one of the cars to follow Ryker drifted away. Hammer was tied to Dex with an invisible string and wouldn’t be able to pull the hook out of his heart until the kid was safe.
He used the noise made by the vehicle to cover his footsteps and move behind a bush farther to the side, but Viking spotted the movement, and he raised the grenade.
“Did you see that?” he asked his plaid-wearing buddy, who just shook his head.
“I’ll get more of those babies. Let’s cause some mayhem,” Lumberjack said and dashed inside the house. Looked like Ryker’s orders/requests didn’t matter to those guys all that much.
He might be charismatic enough to function as an impromptu leader, but now that he was gone, the goons were back to whatever messy hierarchy they lived by before his arrival.
Hammer rolled his shoulders, glancing around to work out the best route into the cabin, to hit those bastards from where they didn’t expect him, but a rapid movement drew his gaze back to Viking, who… tossed the grenade straight at his hideout.
Hammer froze.
What. The. Fuck.
His pulse slowed, as if his body were about to fall into a coma when he needed to fucking roll away and hide behind some rock or tree. But as the damn explosive rose descended toward him once it reached the peak of its trajectory, it was clear there was no sensible place to hunker down.
So he dashed from behind the bush, swung his sledgehammer, and hit the grenade as though it was a baseball.
Viking still held a shotgun and could have put Hammer down on the spot, but as the projectile floated back his way, he let out a choked noise and sped toward the open window.
But Hammer’s aim was impeccable. The moment Viking’s legs wiggled in the air as he scrambled in, the grenade hit his ass, dropped into the snow and exploded with a bang so loud the ground trembled under Hammer’s feet.
Several screams erupted inside, followed by an avalanche of snow falling from the tipping roof. A boot with the foot still inside twirled through the air and landed behind Hammer, spraying him with blood along the way. He took a deep breath and smudged it on his cheeks.
This was war.
He could only hope Dex was fine inside the house, because the wall where Viking had lost the lower part of his body had collapsed, taking a part of the roof with it. Hammer briefly lost his balance, as his ears erupted with a sharp ring, but there was no time for gathering thoughts. He attempted to run downhill, but the loose snow wouldn’t hold his weight and crumbled, taking him down in a fast slide.
He could hear shouting even through the noise in his ears, but once he spotted Viking’s fallen gun, that was the only thing he could see. He rushed for it and rose just in time to spot a broad-shouldered figure looming in the dust inside the house.
He shot, but the stranger must have seen him in time and ducked. Hammer pulled the trigger again, and again, but the click of the empty firearm left him burning with fury.
So much for the benefit of surprise.