Tethered Hearts | ✓ | Books 1 & 2

Episode 36| Out of Whack

Bryce's P.O.V.

The fall of a body, crashing to the floor, shook the ground I stood on.

Becoming deafened by the aftershock, I registered the state of the body, tumbling downward, before I took note of the ringing noise of the gun shot. Blood seeped from underneath him, staining the darkened carpet.

Conner's finger on the triggered was faster than his opponent. He lowered, briefly. "Maybe next time you shouldn't give yourself away first. Now, get down on the ground." He brought his gun up, back to how it was, and aimed the end of his barrel to the only guy they had left.

He was a short man, standing at least a foot shorter than me. Stubble peppered his cheeks and dark circles were under his brown eyes.

Reluctantly, the man kneeled to the floor and followed my instructions in putting his hands behind his head and bringing his forehead to the carpet. We did a sweep of the room, working as fast as possible as we took whatever was on the tables, pushing it into the empty duffle bags we had.

"Three of you go check the other rooms. Search to see if there's more people and more stuff we can bring with us." I ordered.

Three of my guys towards the back of the group nodded and took off to search the rest of the house. The people that were left remained their weapons on the occupants of the room, making sure no one made any escapes. So far, things were going well.

One of my members who went to search through the other belongings in the house stormed back into the room. "You need to see this."

"What is it?" I relaxed from my protective stance and went with him, trailing into a hallway and into a separate new room. The bedroom was wiped clean of any furniture. A safe, installed into the wall, was the only thing inside that piqued my interest.

Taking in its size, I brushed my palm on the surface. "Go get the guy on the floor from the other room," I said.

Seconds later, they return with Audrey's inadequate guard. Conner comes along with them, narrowing at me. "What's going on?"

I knock on the safe and I could've sworn if he wasn't wearing a mask, I would've seen him beaming like crazy. "Jackpot."

He high-fived one of my guys, jeering with excitement at this discovery. "You think he knows it?"

"We'd have to ask to find out." I cock my head to the side, backing up from the safe. "Why don't you give it a try?"

The guard's chest moved at an alarming rate, breathing rapidly. "I'm not going to do shit for you."

"Oooh. Looks like we've got a tough guy here." Conner cooed, slapping a hand on the guy's back –startling him in the process. "You're not being a hero, buddy. We're taking what's rightfully ours."

"I'm not going to do shit for you."

"What's with you? Do you only have an eight-word vocabulary?" I spouted agitatedly. Our time was ticking. This re-claiming mission wasn't supposed to transform into a battle, with blazing bullets and sirens in the far distance. I would use every power in my reach to prevent that.

"Unlock the safe for us and we'll spare you your life." One of my guys threatened.

"Bullshit. You'll get what you want and then shoot me after." The guy struggled against the iron grip they had on his arms, but failed. "And if you don't kill me, then Gabby – fuck." He shook his head. "I mean, Audrey will kill me."

Was Gabby another name Audrey used for herself? If so, that explained why we had a hard time linking the ambush to her. She may have had multiple aliases.