Page 158 of Beautiful Ascension

Samantha Davenport Baker, or whoever the fuck she is, will die with my hands wrapped around her throat as I gleefully watch her life be snuffed out.

“Where is he?” I demand, securing the hair sticks in my messy bun before I check my arm and thigh holsters to ensure I have all my blades before loading the magazine of my Walther PDP F-series 9mm semiautomatic pistol. Then I make my way over to the weapons table, perusing the other weapons before picking up a gun, pepper spray, and a cable saw.

“There’s a tracker in his arm,” Lev begins, bringing up an image on the screen. “He’s at the part of our warehouse still under construction.”

Twisting to face them, I cross my arms and arch my brow at this revelation. “You guys have a warehouse?” I ask.

Owen steps behind me, pressing a kiss to the side of my neck before he bends to slide his hunting knife into my other thigh holster. “We didn’t want to bring work home,” he explains.

Deciding now isn’t the time to discuss this issue. I focus my attention on Thomas as he starts giving out orders.

“The building schematics show there are many points of entry, and based on where the signal from the chip is coming, Wes is being held near the loading dock.” Thomas aims a laser pointer at the rear left corner of the warehouse.

Lev steps forward to speak next. “This part of the property sits four miles south of our new building.” Then, he points to three different spots. “These are the best spots to enter so we can pin her down.”

Thomas cuts back in, “We don’t know how many people Samantha has with her, but she’s far from sane. This means I don’t think she’ll hesitate to risk all our lives to win.”

“That being said, no one puts Wes’s life in danger,” I command, and all the eyes in the room turn to me.

“You heard the woman. Now move,” Thomas barks, and people begin to file out.

An arm wraps around my waist, holding me in place. “I want to make myself perfectly clear. I will handcuff you to me if you move too far out of our line of sight, Love.” Wyatt demands.

“The same goes for all of you. I know more than three dozen ways to disarm and incapacitate a full-grown man,” I retort.

We climb into the back of the armored truck, none of us speaking more than a few words the entire ride.

My leg bounces as I try not to let my thoughts suck me in. A hand rests on my knee, holding my thigh in place. “Wes’s coming home with us tonight, Ry. We’re going to make sure of it,” Sebastian promises. I nod, letting his reassurance wash over me, fortifying my resolve.

“The drones are coming up with at least fifty heat signatures. The bulk of them are guarding the entire route to the warehouse,” Lev announces as we draw nearer.

Shouting comes through the comms as the truck comes to a stop. Gunshots ring out moments later and we jump into action. I’m adding another knife to my ankle holster when a hand comes into view.

“Remember what I said, Ry,” Wyatt reminds me, helping me stand. Then, he pulls his skull mask down over his face and heads for the back door.

I roll my eyes and follow, hopping out of the truck.

Fernando and Elias step into view. “Follow this way. Thomas and Reign are leading the Bravo and Gamma teams for the front assault. We’re sneaking in through the side.”

“Lead the way,” Sebastian requests, and then the seven of us are running hidden under the dark of night.

We’ve been running for five minutes when the warehouse comes into view, and we stop. “At least a dozen men stayed behind to guard the building,” Elias announces. “Thomas and the two teams are working their way to us, but they think they’ll be at least another twenty minutes.”

“No,” I blurt. “Wes may not have twenty minutes. We need another pl?—”

“Down,” Lev yells, covering my body and spinning as we hit the ground with a thud seconds before shards of bark fly as bullets slam into it.

I roll out from his hold onto my stomach, pulling out my gun and returning fire. Two bodies drop before I shift my aim. Sebastian and Elias are battling four men while Owen and Fernando work as a team to handle the five men moving in. Lev unloads four rounds in quick succession, dropping a body with each shot.

A man slips from the darkness, and I fire without hesitation. He drops before he gets a chance to raise his weapon.

Popping up from my position, I reach for a knife and jump on the back of one of the men circling Fernando and Owen. He shouts, but I’m yanking his head back and slicing the blade across his throat.

I release him, stepping back before he drops to the ground while the last of our attackers are killed. Then, we move the last few hundred feet, taking out guards until our path inside is clear.

“He’s down this way,” Lev says, pointing to our left as we enter the building.

Nodding, Fernando takes the lead position, making signals to stay quiet and get into formation. We barely make it to the end of the hallway when at least a handful of men step into the path with their guns drawn, but we’re ready.

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