Page 38 of The Saviors: Part One

“Grenade launchers?” Cole asks, turning around in the seat. The look on his face is best described as a kid on Christmas, and it makes me laugh.

“Yes. Grenade launchers and some more shit.”

“Three guys versus us? I like those odds,” Cole says.

“What if there’s more in there? We could be walking into an ambush,” Axel argues.

“What happened to your sense of adventure? We used to storm shit just the two of us.”

Axel looks at me. “You up for this?”

“Yeah. I can do this, Axel.”

Axel nods. “Stay close and keep your gun available at all times. If shit gets crazy, we bail. Shoot without hesitation.”

“Can I steal a grenade launcher?” Cole asks, his hands in front of him like he’s pleading.

Axel rolls his eyes. “Just one, and then we can bring in Ari’s team to clean the rest of it out.”

“Yes!” Cole exclaims, pumping his hand in the air then handing me a comms earpiece.

Axel hands me the tablet. “Can you freeze the cameras?”

I nod and get to work. Within minutes, all cameras are looping the same footage of the guards walking around. Unless you’re looking at it closely, you’ll never notice. “Done.”

I slide my skull mask on, identical to the others, and we step out of the truck. I run through every bit of training I’ve had and stay close behind Axel. Nerves are running rampant, but excitement is close behind. I got to go on jobs with Holden, but Axel has never taken me on one. Cole told me it wasn’t because he didn’t trust me. He just doesn’t want to get me involved unless I need to be. I understand, but I want to be in the field sometimes too.

We make our way to the warehouse, and Cole does a quick sweep of the outside. When he doesn’t find anything, we screw the silencers onto our guns and creep inside. My palms are sweating under my gloves, but my hand is steady.

“Two on our left,” Axel whispers. Both their guns come up at the same time, and the guards drop right behind each other.

I’ve watched their missions on video while on surveillance, and they are always in sync. Almost like they’re sharing the same brain cells at that moment. It’s cool as hell to watch but even better in person.

“Nolan, to your right,” Cole says. I let my reflexes take over and drop the guard without a second thought. “Good fucking shot. Let’s move.”I just killed someone.I push that thought out of my head. I can deal with the freak out later.

We move through the rest of the warehouse, only finding two other guards, which Cole and Axel quickly take care of. We do one more sweep before returning to the main entrance, where the weapons are stored. Axel clicks open a few cases and shakes his head. “He’s planning something big. Good catch, Nolan.” He slaps me on the back and looks at Cole. “Get your fucking grenade launcher so we can go.”

“This is the best day ever,” Cole says, hugging the case to his chest. “I can’t wait to use this bad boy.”

“You’re worse than a damn kid,” Axel says, moving to the entrance.

“You can’t tell me you don’t want to use this?”

“Of course I do,” Axel laughs. “Maybe we need to take it for a test run.”

I push through the door, and everything else happens fast. Axel’s arm wraps around my chest, pulling me against his body, then he spins with his gun up in the other hand. I look up at the same time he pulls the trigger on the guy about to blow my damn head off. The guy crumples to the ground.

“Holy shit,” I breathe.

Axel turns me back around to face him. “Are you good?” I can’t take my eyes off the guy on the ground, knowing I was seconds away from dying. “Nolan?” My eyes snap to Axel’s, and he frowns. “Are you okay?”

“Oh. Yeah. I’m fine,” I lie, and his eyes narrow. I swallow. “I’ll be fine.”

Axel gives me a doubtful look but starts leading me back to the truck. He stuffs me in the backseat and goes to the driver’s side. He and Cole climb in, turning to look at me at the same time. “I’m fine,” I say in exasperation.

“It’s cool if you aren’t,” Cole says. “Everyone has their firsts.”

Axel nods. “This asshole cried after his first kill.”