Page 43 of Wild Idol (Tyson Wild Thriller #82)

T he deadly countdown continued.

The mystery man slumped and fell away as Whisper screamed in terror, her face speckled with blood. She trembled and shivered.

I swept my barrel to the right and pulled the trigger again twice as I lined up another one of the mercenaries. My bullets tagged him in the head as he spun around, trying to locate the source of the sniper fire .

He fell into the underbrush as JD tagged the other two mercs.

Within a matter of seconds, that threat had been neutralized—though Solomon and his men remained.

With caution, we advanced across the undergrowth to the hostages.

JD joined Whisper. “Are you okay?”

Whisper nodded, her face still contorted, tears streaming down her cheeks. Physically, she was unharmed. Mentally, she was far from okay.

She flung her arms around Jack and held on tight.

I checked the other goons for vitals to make sure the threat had truly been neutralized.

Jack told Whisper to stay put while we advanced to the back of a nearby structure. We angled around and peered down the pathway.

There was no sign of Solomon or his goons.

My eyes scanned the jungle.

The area looked clear.

JD and I darted across the path to the next structure and held up. I crept to the corner and angled my rifle around.

It was clear.

Jack and I rounded the corner, advanced down the length of the building, and paused at the next corner.

From there, I got an angle on Solomon‘s position.

He was on the ground, leaning against one of the structures, clutching his belly with one hand and his rifle with the other.

Blood seeped through his fingers, and he labored for breath.

The bodies of his security team lay strewn about in pools of blood.

From what I could tell, Solomon was the only one of the team left.

I shouted at him. “Put the weapon down, Solomon. The threat has been neutralized. You need medical attention.”

“Fuck you!”

“If that’s how you feel, I’m happy to leave you to your fate.” I paused for a moment. “Last chance!”

“I’ll see you in hell, Tyson Wild,” he shouted back.

“No, you won’t,” I replied. It was one place I had no intention of ever visiting again.

“I say we leave his stupid ass here,” Jack muttered.

“Fine by me.”

We fell back to our previous positions and rejoined the hostages.

I shouted loud enough for the entire village to hear. “We’re leaving. Anyone who wants to get off the island is welcome to join. Now is your chance.”

Terrified eyes peered out of windows. Others had emerged from their bungalows.

There were plenty of confused and conflicted glances among the remaining villagers.

After an experience like this, plenty were ready to make this island a memory.

Still, some were under the spell and refused to leave Solomon.

A few darted off to provide him medical assistance .

It was hard to say what his ultimate fate would be. Abdominal wounds can be tricky. It’s possible he could survive a few hours if given the proper treatment. Enough to get to a trauma center. From there, the odds were good. But the risk of infection was high.

If he did manage to survive, he’d need antibiotics. Maybe one of the villagers could talk him into getting medical attention. But it wasn’t my problem anymore. I figured fate would handle it.

I couldn’t help but notice how soon his downfall came after losing possession of the idol. Maybe there was something to it after all.

I snapped a photo of the mystery man’s face for identification purposes, though with two bullets to the head, he was looking pretty rough. Maybe Isabella could still ID him.

This time, Whisper took Jack up on his offer. She joined us, along with several others, as we headed down to the dock.

The tangy scent of gunpowder drifted in the air. Whisper still trembled, the tears seeping from her eyes.

JD and I hurried down the trail and hit the beach. Both Ivy and Sunshine looked relieved to see us.

We had another problem.

Several more armed goons had taken the girls hostage. But these weren’t more of Solomon’s men. They weren’t mercenaries either.