Page 132 of Knox Unleashed
“Hey, honey,” Cat says.
“Yeah?” Niro replies.
“It’s an old truck,” she says. “Likely still a key ignition. Fancy helping me steal the keys to the truck? Just to make that hold-up a little more permanent.”
“Go,” I say, “but wait for the lights to go out after the boat arrives.”
I watch the two of them move. Halo was right—Cat is effective. She and Niro tag team well, covering each other’s backs as they progress in the shadows toward the truck.
The waiting becomes painful as muscles begin to stiffen and ache. Boredom sets in. It’s a wonder we haven’t been seen. But the guards’ eyes are on the moonlit horizon as much as ours are, and when a light comes into view on the water, everyone fights the urge to move.
In the distance, there’s a faint hum that I know is a chainsaw. The guys from South Carolina are taking down some trees to block the road when we pass through. We know a barricade won’t stop them indefinitely, but it will help.
Boxes are unloaded swiftly. Some of them are big ones. And I’m really fucking curious about how much weaponry we’re about to inherit. In a move we weren’t expecting, the men on the dock make a start to transfer them into the warehouse instead of the truck. We’re relying on Mallow and his crew to judge when to kill the power, and I hope they’re paying as close attention as we are.
“This is a game changing haul,” North whispers.
“We should run it like a lucky dip,” Sunny says. “Put numbers on the boxes and draw out of a baseball cap.”
I shake my head. “We’re not drawing lots.”
Ridge smacks Sunny around the back of the head. “Next, you’ll be suggesting a race into church and you get to be the position you reach first, for the day.”
Sunny’s eyes go wide. “We should do that at least once. I’m running to yours so I can fuck with all your maps.”
“Does the one who gets Prez’s seat get Maren?” Havoc asks.
I turn to punch him, secret hiding place be damned, but the guy is grinning his mouth off when I turn.
“Fuck you,” I whisper.
Then, all hell breaks loose as the power goes off, like we planned.
Gunfire cracks through the night.
It’s deafening as we move.
North is already moving as Ridge lays down suppressing fire. Controlled bursts that keep Alvarez’s men down and diving for cover.
Havoc, Sunny, and I push towards the main warehouse, clearing a path towards the truck and inventory with a brutal efficiency.
Jackal and Shade watch our backs.
A gun appears in my peripheral vision, but before I can handle it, a bullet hits the side of the man’s head and blows out the other side.
Cat lowers her gun and salutes in my direction, while Niro has his knee on the truck driver’s back, zip-tying his hands together. And then, I shit you not, he bounces to his feet and kisses his wife.
I shake my head as Havoc kicks the warehouse door open, and there are even more crates in here than came off the boat.
Inside, Alvarez’s men are harder to defeat. They’ve already taken up defensive positions on the mezzanine, and we enter like sitting ducks. Havoc kicks back as he’s shot in the shoulder.
I dive behind the nearest crate, knowing it won’t protect me that much.
“Fuck my life,” Havoc groans, crawling to hide with me.
“You good?” I ask as my heart thuds heavily in my chest from exertion.
He pulls his hand off his shoulder and it’s covered in blood. “Could have done without another battle scar.”
