by Mike Ryan
“It’s done. It’s off.”
“Oh, thank the Lord,” Franks said. “Listen, want me to move in Butch’s guys?”
“Yeah.”
“Almost over, man.”
“Yeah, almost.”
Jacobs hung up, then put his hand on the back of Tiffany’s shoulder. “We’re good. I’m gonna untie you now.”
“OK.”
Jacobs put the scissors in his pouch and removed his knife and quickly went through the duct tape, freeing her in seconds. Even though her arms and legs broke apart from the tape and she could move them freely, she was still apprehensive.
“Is it safe to move now?”
Jacobs smiled. “Yeah. We’re good.”
Tiffany uneasily got up from the chair. “Oh my god, it feels so good to move again.”
Jacobs smiled, happy that she was free and out of this danger. “Now I just gotta get you out of here. There’s more people downstairs. There might be some shooting.”
Tiffany nodded. “What do you want me to do?”
“Just stick right behind me. Make sure your head’s tucked into my back. Don’t move or do anything unless I tell you.”
“Got it.”
“You ready to go?”
Tiffany nodded, then lunged at Jacobs, wrapping her arms around him, hugging him tight. “Thank you.”
Jacobs put his arms around her, one of his hands cradling the back of her head. “For what?”
“For saving me.”
“I’m the reason you were here.”
“You didn’t have to come back for me.”
“Yes, I did.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Let’s just get out of here first and worry about that later, huh?”
Tiffany released her grip and smiled as she backed away. “Yeah.”
Jacobs finally recalled Gunner from the door, and he immediately went over to Tiffany, who happily pet him.
“I’m glad to see you too,” Tiffany said, petting his head.
“Gunner, lead.”
Gunner flew out the door and went down the hallway.
“Remember,” Jacobs said, pointing with his thumb behind him. “Right in my back.”
“I will.”
Jacobs and Tiffany went out the door, with her following his instructions exactly. She stayed right behind him, with her head tucked into the middle of his back, one of her hands on his shoulder as they went down the hall and then onto the steps. Once they got down to the first floor, they heard gunfire emerging from both sides of the floor.
Knowing that it was Butch’s boys engaging with Ames’ men, Jacobs tried to stay out of it until it was done and clung to the wall, Tiffany and Gunner right next to him. Suddenly, something exploded on the second floor, rocking the building slightly. Pieces of debris started falling, along with a lot of dust and smoke.
“Well, looks like we got out of there just in time,” Tiffany said.
“Yeah.” Jacobs then thought about it. Why were Ames’ men just waiting by the doors? Why weren’t they fully inside the building? Jacobs worried about there being other explosives somewhere. “There’s gotta be more.”
“What?”
“I have a feeling there’s more.”
“Wouldn’t Gunner have picked up on it?”
“Not necessarily. He’s not trained for detecting explosives.”
Jacobs looked at the stairwell, suddenly worried that something was planted there. It would have been the perfect spot for that, trying to keep them pinned down by the stairs while something exploded nearby, killing them.
“I think we need to move,” Jacobs said. “Gunner, lead.”
“What about the guns?” Tiffany asked.
“We’ll have to take our chances. You ready?”
“Right behind you.”
Gunner took off, then Jacobs and Tiffany followed, going down the hallway toward the front door. Suddenly, a man appeared in front of them, he and Jacobs exchanging gunfire. Bullets ricocheted off the wall, the man falling over to his death after being shot a few seconds later.
“There’s one,” Jacobs said.
Then, another bomb exploded, coming from where they just were in the stairwell. The building shook some more, with huge chunks of debris falling, and parts of the second floor caving in. They put their arms up to brace and protect themselves, though they were getting hit by pieces of wood and concrete. Jacobs then put his arms around Tiffany and pulled her to the ground, with him lying on top of her. More pieces of wood and debris fell, some of them on top of Jacobs. Within a minute, everything seemed to stop. The hallway was filled with dust and smoke. It would have been hard for anyone to see more than a few feet in front of them at that point. The floor was littered with debris from the second floor.
After they were sure everything was done, Jacobs finally moved and rolled off of Tiffany. His body was a little sore after taking some direct hits to his back and head. But they were alive, so he couldn’t complain too much about some soreness. He helped Tiffany get back to her feet, then looked around for Gunner. He didn’t see him anywhere.
“Gunner?” There was no response. “Gunner?” With no response, Jacobs was starting to get worried.
“Where is he?” Tiffany asked.
“I don’t know.” Jacobs started moving debris around, hoping to find his friend somewhere. “Gunner?”
While frantically looking for his partner, Jacobs forgot about everything else. Another man emerged from the front door, spotting Jacobs and Tiffany in the hallway. Jacobs happened to catch a glimpse of the outline of the man out of the corner of his eye. It was Charlie. Tiffany was standing in front of him and directly in the line of fire.
“Tiff!”
Jacobs rushed over to her and shoved her to the ground, making sure she was safe first. After knocking her to the ground, Jacobs then turned his attention to the other man. He was completely out of position, though. Before he was even able to spin his head around, Jacobs felt the bullet penetrate his skin. He hunched over, then fell onto his hands and knees.
Charlie walked closer. Seeing Jacobs in a vulnerable position, he knew he could end Jacobs’ life. Finally, someone would eliminate the Eliminator.
“No!” Tiffany got up and rushed the man, trying to help in any way she could. Charlie quickly knocked her back to the ground after hitting her in the side of the face.
“I’ll deal with you soon enough,” Charlie said. He then raised his arm, pointing his gun at Jacobs’ head, ready to pull the trigger. “Looks like I win.”
Just as he was about to fire, Gunner emerged from underneath some debris and jumped up, lunging at Charlie’s arm. His teeth sank into Charlie’s arm, pulling him to the ground. Charlie started punching away at Gunner’s head, desperately trying to get his vicious jaws off him.
Jacobs, still on his knees, reached over and grabbed his gun. Though hurt and tired, he could still function. He looked over at the fight going on and wanted to end it.
“Gunner, off!”
Gunner immediately released his grip on Charlie and backed away. Charlie sat up, only to see Jacobs with the gun, pointing it squarely at him.
“Nope,” Jacobs said. “Looks like I win.”
Jacobs pulled the trigger, ending Charlie’s life a second later.
Outside the building, everything was now under control. All of Ames’ boys had been taken care of. Tiffany rushed over to Jacobs and put her arm around him.
“Are you OK?”
Jacobs tried to smile. “Well, I’ve felt better.”
“We gotta get you to a hospital.”
“No. No. I’ll be fine.”
Tiffany looked at Jacobs’ side and noticed all the blood soaking his shirt. “You are not fine.”
Gunner then started barking, seeing Franks scurry into the building. He saw Jacobs struggling to get to his feet.
“Hey, you all right, man?”
“Just peachy,” Jacobs answered.
“We gotta get
him to a hospital,” Tiffany said.
“No.”
Franks looked at the wound. It looked bad, but he had no doubts about Jacobs making it. “You know, when I said I thought something explosive would happen here, I didn’t mean it literally.”
Jacobs laughed. “I know how to make a grand exit, huh?”
“Sure do.”
“We need to get him to a hospital,” Tiffany said. “Quickly.”
Franks put his arm around Jacobs and helped him to his feet. He and Tiffany put Jacobs’ arms around their shoulders as they helped him walk out of the building. “Nah. I got a guy.”
Jacobs let out a laugh. “You always do.”
About the Author
Mike Ryan is a USA Today Bestselling Author. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, and four children. He’s the author of the bestselling Silencer Series, as well as many others. Visit his website at www.mikeryanbooks.com to find out more about his books, and sign up for his newsletter. You can also interact with Mike via Facebook, and Instagram.
Also by Mike Ryan
Continue reading The Eliminator Series with the next book, The Combative.
The Silencer Series
The Cain Series
The Extractor Series
The Brandon Hall Series
The Ghost Series
A Dangerous Man
The Last Job
The Crew
