A Beautiful Lie (Playing with Fire #1)(120)

Garrett couldn’t believe the guard he’d shot wouldn’t stay down. A bullet to the shoulder and two punches to the face hadn’t slowed him one bit. Garrett had him pinned to the ground as he straddled his hips and wrestled for control of the gun the man clutched to his chest. He just wouldn’t give up. Garrett threw a punch to the guard’s injured shoulder and with a howl of pain, the man’s grip on the gun finally abated. Garrett yanked it from him and got up off of the man, holding the gun straight at him as the guard held onto his injured shoulder, the blood seeping between his fingers.

Parker dove to the floor, sliding across on her stomach and reaching the gun before her guard did, but that didn’t mean he was giving up. As soon as her good hand wrapped around the grip of the gun, he flew into her from behind, knocking her down and slamming her head into the hard concrete of the floor. She saw stars and had to swallow back nausea, but she never let go of the gun as the man let his full weight push her into the floor and keep her where she was.

Parker flung her hand that held the gun back and smashed it into the man’s face, a splatter of blood against her cheek and a scream letting her know she’d broken his nose. The man’s hands flew up to cradle his shattered nose, and Parker took that opportunity to buck him off of her and scramble out from under him.

The guard Garrett shot had more fight and determination to live than anyone he’d ever seen before. As Garrett started backing away, the man bolted up and came at him head first. The guard’s head slammed into Garrett’s stomach and his momentum pushed them across the room until Garrett’s back slammed into the wall and the gun flew out of his hands. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Parker get up from under her guard, relieved to see the man bent over on the ground with blood pouring out of his face from between his hands.

No one paid any attention to Milo as he stood by the door watching the action. From the shouts and footsteps that echoed through the palace above, Milo knew it would only be a matter of time before it escalated. He needed to get out of there and to his waiting father. He raised his gun in an effort to make that happen quickly.



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With guns drawn, Brady, Austin, and Cole burst through the front door of the palace. No one paid any attention to the three men in tactical gear as they walked further into the front entryway. Men and women scrambled around, some grabbing their things to flee from the fight they knew would erupt, others arming themselves with weapons in preparation for what was to come. After sweeping the first ten rooms they came to and not finding Garrett or Parker, Austin grabbed the arm of the next person to walk by them.

“Where are the Americans being held?” he asked the woman who was hastily pulling her coat on.

She spoke no English, but she knew what the word “Americans” meant and she wasn’t about to cross the three angry-looking men who held weapons pointed at her. She pointed down towards the floor and muttered, “Sótano,” before rushing past them and out the front door.

Austin looked towards Brady questioningly, “Basement?”

Brady nodded in response.

“This is out of hand,” muttered Cole as they crouch-walked through the first hallway they came to, opening and closing doors in search for the one that would take them downstairs. “I counted at least twenty armed men rushing from room to room. They don’t even give a rat’s ass that we’re here. They looked right at us and kept on moving. How the hell are we going to reason with them to get Garrett and Parker out of here alive?”

Brady did a quick sweep of the room he just entered and backed out, shutting the door behind him.

“Well, the good news is they probably want to burn Fernandez at the stake. Let’s hope we can convince them that we’ll allow it without contacting the authorities as long as they let us get our team out of here,” Brady said as they continued down the hall.

“We’re not seriously going to let them torture and maim the guy are we?” Austin asked as he brought his weapon back up in front of him to sweep a room across the hall from Brady. “I mean, it would give me nothing but pleasure to watch the guy’s toenails get plucked from his feet and his balls cut off, but I’m guessing that would be morally and ethically wrong considering we work for the United States Government.”

“No, we definitely aren’t going to let them tar and feather him. But that doesn’t mean we can’t give them the illusion that we will. At this point I’m willing to try anything to get everyone out of here without any bullet holes in them,” Brady replied.

The men noticed a room at the end of the hall where several people were coming and going. As they made their way closer, they realized a meeting of sorts was taking place with two men standing on a table giving orders.

The team holstered their weapons and walked slowly into the room with their hands in the air in a symbol of peace. If they wanted these people who were riddled with rage and vengeance to listen to them, they had to pretend like they were one of them and completely on their side.



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“STOP!” Milo screamed as he aimed his gun in the general area of the two fighting couples.

Alejandro, with his head buried in Garrett’s gut while Garrett pummeled the man’s back with his fists stopped struggling at the sound of Milo’s yell.

Felipe, with his hands still covering his broken and bloody nose, stopped his forward movement towards Parker, who stood with the recovered weapon pointed at his head.