Page 95 of Wolf

Duke takes the gun, and I pull my knife from the sheath in my boot. Leaning down, I stare into the man’s eyes and flash my teeth. It’s the last thing he sees before I run the blade across his throat.

His lifeblood immediately flows and with a grunt, I wipe my knife on his shoulder and stand. That was too fucking easy. Dammit.

Duke and I hurry to the next checkpoint but when we arrive, the guard is already laid out with Jersey standing over him.

“What the fuck?” I grunt and Jersey raises his eyes to mine. The pale blue irises, almost colorless in the dim light, reflect absolutely nothing.

This is Jersey in war mode, and I give a brief thought to be thankful he’s on our side when he says, “I took out the trash.”

I’m not given time to respond, and Duke makes a weird noise in his throat which I ignore. Jersey has his own demons and right now, he’s putting them to good fucking use.

Turning away, Jersey does another one of those weird bird whistles, signaling the all-clear and Joker stalks to the door. Romeo and Cash should be on the other side while Hand takes care of the guards at the entrance and maintains a lookout.

As soon as I’m at his back, Joker kicks open the door. With my gun drawn, I pop off two shots at a man who turns from where he was leaning against the wall. He drops with a groan while Joker pushes past him.

In the main room, where only the shadows behind the curtains provided a map of activity within, all hell breaks loose. These douches were busy playing poker while their brethren were dying outside. Assholes.

The five men at the table have no time to respond as we fire a volley of shots. I hit the fucker on the right, whose wide eyes meet mine before they blink out.

Joker takes out the one facing the opposite direction. Romeo appears on the other side, shooting the two men closest to him. I’m not sure who got the fifth as Cash appears and points over his shoulder. “Incoming.”

We knew there would be at least eighteen of these fuckers. With the six outside dead and now six more, that leaves a handful to dispose of assuming there aren’t more.

Cash spins on his heel and raises his gun before shouting, “Down.”

Without thought, I drop to my knees as a flash illuminates the room and the remaining Aces’ file inside followed by a fucking boom. The foundation of the house shakes. The table with the dead Aces explodes, and wood flies everywhere.

My ears ring as I try to see beyond the acrid smoke stinging my lungs. When I glance back at Duke, I meet his wide eyes before he nods. Game on.

Shouts fill the space followed by the sharp report of more shots fired. I follow the wall around the room, taking my own shots when I have the opportunity.

An Ace falls at my feet and wiping my sweaty brow, I step over him. With two shots for my next victim, I stop to reload as silence descends.

When I glance up, Joker appears wearing a fanatical smile. “Lights out, motherfuckers.”

With a matching grin, I approach the hall where the last Aces came through. Cash comes up behind me and says, “Didn’t see any others, but you know…”

Nodding, I step down the hall with Cash behind me and Jersey taking up the rear. We clear the rooms beyond before searching the rest of the house.

There are no more Aces but there’s also no Rose.

“In here,” someone shouts, and I push past Cash into the kitchen where Romeo stands before an open door. When I stop behind him, I spy the stairs leading into the basement.

“Jersey’s down there,” Romeo says.

It’s dark but I see a faint glow at the bottom. With my heart in my throat, I tap Cash on the shoulder. He steps aside in silent agreement, but I’m forced to pause when Joker grabs my arm.

“Easy does it,” he rasps.

With my back against the wall, I descend the steps which curve into the basement at the bottom. There’s a wall between me andwhatever is down there which will only be revealed once I reach that curve.

Since I don’t know what waits for me, I’m cautious but maybe a little too eager as I stop before the curve and glance back.

Somehow Duke ended up right behind me. It’s not ideal because, in this, I’d rather protect my brother, but I know that’s not my job. He’s a grown man with a family on the way. He doesn’t need me holding him back. Not anymore.

With a nod, I tip my head around the wall. My stomach drops when I spy the small figure curled into a ball in the corner, resting on the concrete floor beside which Jersey kneels.

From here, I can’t see if it’s Rose, but I do know it’s a woman. The basement is empty but for her and Jersey with a single chair sitting in the middle of the room, and a bucket in the corner. There are no doors or places for anyone to hide and I drop my gun to my side before approaching the woman.

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