Page 102 of Iron Willed Warrior

She and I both had a lot to share, but yeah. Later. I kissed her one more time on the forehead. Just couldn’t resist. She was amazing.

“Do you know how to turn off the siren, Josiah?” I asked. “It’s getting on my nerves.”

He shook his head. “It’s controlled at the gatehouse.”

“Ah. Then it’s probably my fault.”

Brynn smirked. “I should’ve guessed.” She adjusted the strap of her gun. “We were just packing up, and we were going to head for the fire exit. Unless you think the elevator is safe. I wasn’t sure what to expect up there.”

“Seemed deserted. When I first arrived at the gate, I raninto resistance. Three guards. They are no longer resisting. Nobody else has popped out of the woodwork.”

“Manning and O’Hanlon?”

“Dead.”

“Good. I haven’t seen Ryker in over an hour. He’s my primary concern. He was supposed to check on Westwick’s ride out of here for the morning.”

“Helicopter?” I wondered aloud. I’d seen Stillwater send a chopper full of mercenaries to evacuate a facility before.

“Possible.”

Westwick probably knew the answer, but we’d be fools to trust anything he told us right now. “I vote we take the elevator,” I said. “It’ll be faster. Westwick’s ride could arrive early if they got notice of the alarm going off. We need to be out of here before then. There’s two of us with guns to take care of any remaining resistance. Plus Josiah.” For whatever that guy was worth.

“And we have our hostage,” she added darkly.

Damn. If I wasn’t already crazy for this woman, that look in her eyes would’ve done it for me.

“Hell yeah,” I said. “I’ll be right beside you.”

Josiah wheeled the cart inside the elevator. Westwick had stopped grunting and struggling. Wise of him. If I were in his place, I would save my strength and strategize how to get myself out of this. Of course, my job was to guarantee that didn’t happen. Soon, Westwick would learn he was all out of luck and hope. Stillwater was about to come to an ugly, inglorious end.

Then I remembered the syringe in my vest pocket. I pulled it out and sank the needle into Westwick’s arm. His eyes bulged in panic, and I smiled down at him for several satisfying seconds until he lost consciousness. “He’ll sleep for a few hours,” I told Brynn.

“Good.”

I did a quick inventory of our weapons and ammo. Brynn didn’t have any shoes, which was concerning. “Your clothes are different,” I murmured in her ear.

Her eyes darted away. She pushed the button to start the elevator. “Don’t worry about it. I can explain later.”

Dread hit my gut. It took a lot of effort not to check her over for injuries. She seemed unhurt. For now, the best thing I could do for her was to get her someplace safe.

The elevator ride upstairs was agonizingly slow. I took those moments to look down at Garon Westwick. The powerful executive, bound and drugged and being wheeled around like luggage. And it was just the beginning of the humiliation and pain he had coming to him. If he had touched Brynn…

But that wasn’t a road I could allow my mind to go down. Not right now. Not if I wanted to keep myself focused on our current task.

On the ground floor, the doors slid open. The red emergency lights continue to flash.

Brynn stepped out first, gun raised. She cleared the space, checked the view from the window, and led the way outside. Josiah pushed the cart, and then I brought up the rear.

Outside, the golf cart remained where I had left it. Brynn covered us while Josiah and I wheeled our prisoner over and dumped him in the passenger seat.

“You can drive.Carefully,” I warned. I tossed Josiah the keys, and he started the small engine. Brynn and I crouched in the cargo area at the back so we could keep our guns aimed and ready.

Once we neared the gatehouse, I told Josiah to pull the cart into the parking lot where the guards kept their personal vehicles. I had a set of keys I had taken from the second guard I had killed. The keys matched up with a Ford F150 with a crew cab and open truck bed. We dumped Westwickon the floor of the backseat, tossing a blanket over our prisoner to keep him hidden.

The plan had gotten all kinds of fucked at the resort, but here we were with Westwick, ready to get ourselves out of Arizona. Once we made contact with the Protectors, we could sort out the rest of this mess. As for Ryker, it was looking like he’d left the facility to arrange Westwick’s “ride.” All the more reason for us to get out before he returned with backup.

“B, you up for driving?” I held out the keys, and Brynn took them.

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