Page 99 of Iron Willed Warrior

Josiah hadn’t moved. I pushed his shoulder. “Get your stuff. We’re in this now. Okay? No going back.”

“Okay.” Josiah threw some belongings into a small suitcase. Meanwhile, I kept the gun on Westwick as I checked the ties at his wrists and ankles.

Josiah loaded his suitcase on the bottom of the cart. We hefted Westwick onto the top, and we weren’t delicate about it. He grunted his protests.

“Dude’s heavy,” Josiah complained. “We’ll have to carry him when we get to the fire exit stairwell. That’s going to suck.”

“We can manage it. One thing at a time.” I opened the door, checking the hallway. The alarm continued to wail, red lights flashing. I gestured for Josiah to push the cart. “Go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”

Then I noticed the digital numbers above the elevator doors had changed. The elevator car was moving.

Somebody was coming down.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Cole

The lightsof the gatehouse appeared up ahead. Manning white-knuckled the steering wheel.

I kept my handgun in his peripheral vision. “Think of your girl back home. I’m sure you want to see her again.”

“Fuck you, man.” But Manning’s fingers loosened slightly, trying to relax.

The night was pitch black aside from our headlights and the glow of the Stillwater facility. I had decided on taking Manning’s SUV, which had meant leaving my vehicle behind. I’d stripped out the gear from the hidden compartment. I’d also recovered our laptop, the syringe of knock-out meds, and my gun.

It wasn’t ideal to leave our car, especially considering that it was full of physical evidence. Like Brynn’s blood. But the car itself was untraceable. Provided courtesy of River and the Protectors. If possible, we would go back for it. Also to bury O’Hanlon and deal with Lance the hotel clerk, should he remain alive. If highway patrol somehow stumbled upon that scene, Lance would only be able to say Cameron Clay had done it. More likely, he’d claim no knowledge. After all, he’d conspired to kidnap two hotel guests.

But those were concerns for later. I had to find my partner first. The woman who had her fingers around my heart, and if I was lucky, she’d never let me go.

If Ryker or Westwick had harmed her…

I swallowed and settled back in the passenger seat. “How many guards?” I asked for maybe the fifth time.

“Itold you.”

He rattled through the same details. One or two guards at the gatehouse. But more guards farther inside the property. Brynn would be well defended. Was he exaggerating to scare me, or underestimating to lull me? Brynn and I hadn’t seen many guards when we came to the solar plant last night.

“And yet, I still don’t trust you, Manning. Why on earth could that be? Oh, right. You were going to murder me.”

“Asshole,” he muttered. “I’ve done everything you asked.”

“At gunpoint. Which means you’re smart. Keep cooperating and you’ll survive this.”

“We’ll have to stop at the gate. Like I told you already.”

“I know. But here’s how it’ll go. You won’t stop. You’ll speed up and drive on.”

Manning scowled, glancing at me. “They’ll shoot at us!”

“It’s possible.”

I was wearing a ballistic vest from our stash of gear. Plus a hat pulled low. Last night, when I had driven past that gatehouse on the way out, the guard had barely glanced at me. He’d had no reason to scrutinize me. But this time, we were going in.

At first glance, the guard at the gate would probably take me for O’Hanlon since Manning was in the driver seat. But the masquerade wouldn’t last long. Especially if Manning did something to tip them off. And I didn’t have a single ounce of faith that Manning wouldn’t try to screw me over at the first opportunity.

Our best shot was to just drive. The guards at the gatehouse would recognize Manning.

“They might be pissed,” I said, “but they won’t shoot you. I know you and Ryker were here just yesterday. Right? With Westwick and Masterson?”

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