Page 23 of Lethal Alpha

That’s my area of expertise.

“Let me.”I push past him and glance down the hallway.I hear struggling deeper inside the building, but this area is quiet.“Stay behind me.”

I slowly make my way down the hall.There are a few doors on the other side, but from their locks, I guess they’re storage rooms.As we go forward, the sounds of struggle become louder and my heart jumps as I hear gunshots.

Fuck.

I grab for my gun in reflex.But I don’t hear any screaming, the shots either killed someone instantly or they didn’t hit their target.

One is bad, the other is dangerous.Because you can do a lot of accidental damage when your aim sucks, and not just to the people you want to hit…

Two people in white clothes round the corner and I aim at them before I realise they’re more kitchen staff.

I put my finger to my lips and motion for them to keep going.

Please, don’t scream.

Please, don’t scream.

Please, don’t scream.

The two pass us by, with only the sounds of their shoes on the floor marking where they are.

Then, we reach the corner towards the kitchen and the back of the larger dining rooms and I press my back against the wall.I look back at Vera and Jorge, they’re both focused and serious, their weapons ready, their bodies tense.

A strong feeling comes over me.I can’t let them get hurt.I have to protect them at any cost.

Anycost.

I take a few deep breaths, before glancing around the corner, and my breath gets stuck in my throat.

Oh, fuck.

10

Caleb

I thoughtthe mood was slightly off during the dinner.I chalked it up to my own discomfort, this being the first time I’m in one of these situations, and some of the other people being uncomfortable around Mathew because of his reputation.

A couple of the people in the group that Riley was meeting up with already knew Mathew and Jorge, either personally or knew of them through others, and those people seemed perfectly happy.

The people who didn’t know Mathew and Jorge yet were the ones who were less comfortable during the dinner.Which was easily explained by them being nervous to be around Mathew.

From everything I’ve seen this evening and the respect people show him, new people being in awe and nervous around him makes total sense.The restaurant staff and the other diners treated him like royalty when he came in.

It seemed like a logical explanation.

How wrong I was…

When Vera slipped out to go to the bathroom, the mumbling started.

First, on the other end of the table, too low and too far away to hear what was being said, but it was clear it wasn’t good.

They kept staring at Mathew and then at me.The first word I noticed that they were mouthing was ‘Hearts’, which was a bad sign.

I was about to stand up, to check what they were up to, when Mathew stopped me, showing me the screen of his phone.Showing that Derrick and his men were getting in place to barge into this room in case trouble broke out.

One of the men openly started staring at Mathew, a look of triumph on his face.

---