What She Thought She Knew (Rachel Moore Mystery Book 1), стр. 90

I couldn't believe it. Before my eyes was Rachel. After spending so much time searching for her, it seemed that she was the one to have found me.

It was ironic considering that I flew halfway around the world to rescue her.

A huge and costly weight was released from my shoulders as we made eye contact.

Seeing Rachel smile, I couldn't help but feel relieved as that was the moment I've been waiting for some time.

All too soon, that relief turned into alarm as my clone pointed a vicious looking shotgun at her.

To add on top of that, my bastard of a father made his dreadful appearance after almost eight years.

I was amazed that I managed to keep my cool in front of the monster responsible for so much pain.

I was tempted to just shoot him on the spot, but I knew that wouldn't have been good for Rachel.

I was startled, but not completely taken by surprise, when my clone killed my father in cold blood.

To be honest, I was glad that it was him who did the deed.

That way, I didn't have to get my hands dirty.

However, there were more serious problems at hand, such as my clone who took Rachel as a hostage.

Despite the threat of execution, I refused to back down from the challenge and instead stared at Rachel.

She caught my glance, and through the stare, I relayed a message that hopefully she understood.

It appeared that she had for she nodded, and delivered a pretty nasty head-butt to my clone.

That's my girl, I thought with pride.

Immediately, I aimed my gun at the abomination, and shot two rounds into both of his legs.

A hidden blood lust was satisfied as my clone screamed.

Relief washed through Rachel's soft features, but then movement from my clone forced my attention away. "To hell with this!" He yelled, and pushed the button.

Multiple explosions went off, and suddenly the once quiet and stable environment turned into a chaotic arena as the lobby shook vigorously, and caused various pieces of material to come down on us.

My fellow teammates shouted out in anxiety, but I paid them no attention as I stumbled over to Rachel.

I was so close to her that I could smell her fragrance, when some materials tumbled on my back, and caused me to collapse.

I tried to get move, but the god forsaken thing had pinned me down as it trapped my leg.

I whipped my head back to Rachel frantically. "Rachel!" I cried out.

Her eyes glistened as she took in my vulnerable state.

What she said next, though, took my breath away. "I love you." She said softly.

My eyes widened as I stared at her intensely.

A horrible sensation passed through me like nails digging through bare flesh.

A lone tear slid through Rachel's cheek before a large piece of the wall landed in front of us, and blocked access from either side.

No, no no no no NO!

Frantic thoughts invaded my mind as I desperately tried to claw my way out of the rubble that pinned me down.

Another huge piece of material nearly missed my body as it shattered on the ground nearby.

I turned my head the other way to protect my face from the tiny pieces that flew over.

I yelled out in frustration since I was basically a sitting duck.

Luckily, my noise attracted the attention of Pete who stumbled his way towards me.

With surprising strength, he managed to roll the large boulder off of me, and freed my injured leg.

I hissed in pain as the object was removed.

Pete carefully brought me up, and leaned my weight against him as I stood. "Come on, we've got to get out of here!" He exclaimed.

I refused to listen. "No! We can't go!"

Unfortunately for me, the Head Warrior was stronger than I was.

The fact that my leg was crushed didn't help my cause.

Pete wrapped my arm around his neck, and supported the bulk of my weight as he hurriedly guided us away from the debris that kept falling down.

The rest of our team were outside, and were shouting at us to hurry up.

As I took a last look at HQ, the once grand building of the Seeker organization crumpled to the ground in a pitiful defeat.

It symbolically reflected the state of the Seekers as we lost our global influence.

Internally defeated, I tore my gaze away from the destruction, and allowed Pete to place me inside the armored truck that waited for us.

He swiftly shut the door behind him, and the vehicle sped away from the scene.

I let out an agitated breath from both frustration, and the pain of my crushed leg.

The other agents remained silent for the entire ride as we all mentally relived the last moments.

So many friends died, and it seemed that their deaths were in vain.

The Phantoms had complete control, and their new leader was a sadistic son of a bitch whose long-term goal remained a mystery.

The first part of the drive was bumpy and the momentary jumps that the truck performed had me gritting my teeth in discomfort.

Agent Arrow took out a needle, and injected me with what I assumed was morphine. Within seconds I felt relief, and the rest of the journey went by surprisingly smooth.

________________________________________

I must have passed out because someone shook my shoulder gently, and informed me that we arrived at our destination.

Rachel's image faded into a blur, and the figure of Agent Evans came into view.

He helped me out of the vehicle, and guided me towards the abandoned farm.

It was well into the night, and the crickets were out chirping which gave the farm a fake sensation of security.

We, however, knew better.

Wearily, we entered the building, and settled in the spacious