The Mercenary and the Mortician (The Silent Hollow #1)

79. Cal Walker

Alexa, Play: Suffocate - Kayzo, Bad Omens

O ne of Damian’s goons crashed into the room, clutching an AK-47 and dressed in full SWAT gear.

Well. I guess now it’s a party.

I smirked, twisting around and unloading the clip that was meant for Damian’s head into the goon that interrupted my sweet, sweet revenge.

He went down with a shout, and before he could react, I was on him. His Kevlar vest meant he wouldn’t die from the spray of bullets he had taken to the chest, but he was definitely winded.

Crushing my boot into his throat while he gasped against the vacuum I’m sure was wreaking havoc on his lungs, I ripped the AK out of his hands.

New toy for ya boy! Fucking sick!

“Your timing is horrible .” I tsked, pointing the weapon at the man’s face. I knew him. I think his name was Garret… Gary? Fuck it was on the tip of my tongue…

“You’re fucked, Callum. What did you think? That the boss was really going to let you come back without having anyone here to back him up?” Garret spat as I crushed the boot more firmly into his throat.

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, Gary. You think I’m scared of you fucks? I’m not Daddy’s favorite for nothing.”

Slipping the Glock into my waistband, I crouched down next to him, making sure to keep my boot firmly planted on his trachea.

I slid out of my backpack and dug through it to find one of my handy zip ties I kept in here for just such an occasion. Quickly, I bound Buddy’s hands before rummaging through the bag again until my fingers closed around one of Vox’s grenades.

Ripping the pin out of it, I shoved it into Gerald’s mouth, cackling to myself the whole time.

“Bite down. The longer you hold the lever down, the longer your brain stays intact… not that there’s much there to begin with, but…you get it.”

Grant’s eyes widened in horror as I stood up, looking down at my work with a sadistic grin.

“You look good with that stuffed in your mouth… isn’t that right, Damian?” I turned to look at Ryker, who was attempting to drag himself under his desk to get away from the live grenade.

He was pulling himself with one arm through a pool of his own blood that was growing by the second. I grinned. He wouldn’t last much longer.

Even over the blaring dubstep, I could hear Gary’s reinforcements coming down the hall, so I stepped over his prone form to peek out the door.

There were at least fifty guys charging down the hall. All in full gear.

I glanced back at Damian, who was barely moving now. I wasn’t even sure he was conscious anymore.

“Aww. All this for little old me? I’m flattered.” I smirked before turning back to glance out the door again.

I yanked out another grenade and ripped out the pin, hucking it down the hallway before tucking back into Damian’s office.

“Three, two, one…” I counted smugly before an explosion went off, and screams ricocheted off the concrete walls.

Dust sprinkled down from the ceiling with the force of the explosion, and I chuckled.

That probably took care of most of them.

I dropped to the ground and barrel-rolled into the hallway, using the dust from the explosion as cover.

Most people’s reflex is to aim and shoot at chest level. No one ever expects the threat to come from the ground. So, my appearance in the hallway went unnoticed for one long, precious second… one second that lost several guys their kneecaps.

Crawling on my elbows and knees, I grabbed one of Damian’s fallen guys and ripped his utility knife out of his thigh sheath. Ramming the blade into the base of his skull, I severed his spinal cord.

He fell into my arms immediately, and I heaved him up with me.

Using him as a shield, I pointed my newly acquired AK around the body to unload more rounds into the group of men who were still struggling to recover from the grenade I had tossed at them.

Some of them fired back, but I used my new human shield to catch the bullets. I had just spent fucking six weeks healing a bullet wound; I wasn’t about to suffer through another one.

Trying to stay as low as possible so I wouldn’t choke on all the concrete dust in the air, I reloaded as quickly as I could manage with one hand.

Most of the dark forms before me were on the ground now. The entire hallway was filled with a cacophony of moans and screams, which told me that most of them were dying, if not already dead.

I had two more grenades, but I was really only gonna need one.

I grinned as I backed away from the wreckage, dragging my corpse of a shield with me. Tucking my AK under my arm, I slipped out one last grenade.

Pulling the pin out with my teeth, I surveyed the hallway, aiming as close to the door to Damian’s office as possible.

My goal was to force Garrett to lose his grip on the bomb I had left in his mouth and take out everyone in one shot on my way out.

Resisting the urge to toss the grenade like I was Michael fucking Jordan shooting a buzzer-beater, I launched it with as much precision as possible. Dropping my human shield, I tore out of there the second the grenade left my fingertips.

I was already sliding out the front door and sprinting back to my car when the grenade went off. The explosion was loud enough that I heard it from outside, and my grin grew even wider when a second explosion detonated minutes later.

BAHHAHAHAH! Bye Gary!

Punching the ignition, I peeled out of the gravel parking lot and barreled toward the gate.

It wasn’t unmanned anymore. A guard was frantically trying to shut the gate as I sped toward it. So much adrenaline and dopamine was ripping through me, I felt in-fucking-vincible.

I couldn’t stop laughing as I slipped the muzzle of my AK out the driver’s side window and lit up the guard just as my G-Wagon plowed through the chain link gate.

I whooped and hit the gas, speeding down the winding road back to the highway so fast the entire vehicle felt like it might topple every time I hit a corner.

I FUCKING DID IT!

I killed Damian!

My sisters were safe!

Ryan could open Fairview again… and we could live our lives without the threat of Damian Fucking Ryker breathing down our necks!

Smiling so fucking big that my face hurt, I glanced at the clock.

I had been in there longer than expected. The sun was beginning to set, which meant I needed to get a move on.

Hoping I could find a flower shop that was still open this late, I merged onto the highway, absolutely buzzing with excitement.

I couldn’t wait to get home to tell my ginger snap that his dark angel had killed the bad guys, and everything was going to finally be ok.