Page 30 of Wild Temple (Tyson Wild Thriller #84)

T he door burst open, and blistering rounds of copper spewed.

Muzzle flash flickered, and gun smoke wafted.

Brass shell casings danced on the floor, and the deafening report echoed off the tin walls.

The bullets chewed up Slim before he could swing the hammer. It fell from his grasp and clanked against the floor as his body twitched with each bullet hit. His chest cratered, and crimson gushed.

The two goons drew their weapons before Slim hit the floor. They took aim, but the phantom at the door cut their plans short.

With tactical precision and controlled bursts, he dropped the two dirtbags before they could get a shot off.

The two flopped to the ground, writhing and moaning. They sucked breaths of air as their lungs filled .

Soon, the room went still.

All was quiet except for the hissing in my ears.

Backlit by the brilliant sun, the phantom stepped into the shack—Rex had saved the day.

I gave him a curious look. “How’d you find us?”

“Brooke saw your arrest and begged me to help your dumb asses.”

That didn’t really answer my question about how he found this location.

I managed to get on my feet, my hands still cuffed behind my back.

My fingers dug my keys from my pocket, which had a standard cuff key on them. Rex took the keys and released my cuffs, then freed JD.

I rubbed my wrists and slipped the handcuffs into my pocket. I figured they might come in handy later. Rex tossed my keys back. They jingled through the air. I caught them and slipped them back into my pocket.

Rex was decked out with a short-barreled M4 with a suppressor. He wore a tactical vest with all kinds of goodies—flash-bang grenades, smoke canisters, fragmentation grenades. I knew the guy could get his hands on all kinds of tactical gear.

He didn't look too pleased about the situation.

"I guess I owe you one," I said.

"I knew you two were going to be trouble from the minute you walked into my bar.” His eyes glanced at his handiwork. The three goons lay in a pool of blood.

"How deep are you involved in all this?" I asked.

Rex gave me a somber look. It was painful for him to say, but after a long hesitation, he muttered, "I didn't have a choice."

"We all have a choice," I said, trying not to sound too judgmental.

"I just wanted to open a bar, serve drinks, enjoy paradise, and relax. Is that too much to ask? But you can't do anything around here without a local business partner. And that means doing business with Caspian Vorn and this asshole," he said, pointing to Slim.

"You’ve been to this place before,” I said. “You knew that's where they would take us.”

He gave me a sheepish look, then his eyes fell to the floor.

“How much dirty work have you done for them?”

His mouth tightened, and he just stared at me with guilty eyes.

An exasperated sigh escaped my mouth. "Rex!"

"I told you, I didn't have a choice. You think I like doing this shit? I told you, I'm done with it." He paused. "You think I don't wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and see the faces of all the people I killed? Tell me you don't see them too.”

I was trying to kill people only when absolutely justified these days. But maybe I was lying to myself, thinking there was a difference. "How involved are you in the trafficking? ”

"I'm not," he said, adamant.

I gave him a doubtful look.

"I swear to God, I stay out of that shit.”

"But you help facilitate it. Anything that helps Caspian Vorn helps his operation.”

"Spare me the morality lecture. I don't need it. I just saved your asses. That ought to count for something. The way I see it, we’re even now. I don't owe you anything. You saved my life once. I saved yours.”

"Where's Hannah and Isabella?"

"I don't know.”

My doubtful eyes pierced into him.

"Look, Caspian cherry picks the cream of the crop.

He keeps them for his personal use until he gets bored, then he puts them on the market.

He constantly moves around between his rental properties.

And he's got plenty of them." Rex paused.

"But I don't think he's got Isabella. I would have heard something. I told you he likes them young—18, 19, 20. Sometimes younger.”

I glared at Rex.

"Do you know if Hannah is still alive?”

"I know Caspian wants the map. I don't think he's gonna let Hannah go until he gets it.”

“Where’s Brooke?”