Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
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Chapter 10
Wyatt Hernandez
“What the hell is taking them so long?” Wyatt asked Mimic, who of course didn’t have the answer to his question. She shrugged and looked back up at the sky, eyes behind a pair of expensive binoculars. Phantom sat on the bench with his eyes on his laptop, trying to spot any news stories or police alerts about the prison break.
“It’s been fifteen minutes already. They should be here by now.”
“Relax,” Theo said, looking quite pleased with himself as he put his laptop away, his job already done. He stood up and stretched, his white tank top lifting up and revealing a tattoo of a willow tree going down his hip. “Maybe they stopped somewhere to grab lunch. Hopefully it’s McDonald’s—I could use a Big Mac right now.”
Phantom looked over from his screen, eyebrows pushing together. “Aren’t you a little too new to be making lunch demands?”
“Sorry, sorry. It was a joke,” Theo said. He laughed nervously, his true emotions popping through. He was always good about hiding his nerves, something Wyatt admired about him.
At least his shoulders weren’t shaking.
“Can we call Mustang?” Wyatt asked.
“We can try. She hasn’t been picking up, though,” Mimic said, grabbing her phone.
They were gathered at a large clearing near the center of Joshua Tree, a national park that resembled more of an alien planet than anything found here on earth. There were rocky hills made of pale white and red boulders, as if plucked from Mars and dropped here by some uncaring hand, the random formations actually creating a beautiful backdrop. Then there were the Joshua trees, what the park was named after. A tree that was native to the Mojave Desert seeded and thrived in California, creating an abundance of the otherworldly-looking trees. They had thick trunks that broke off into a couple of thick branches, topped with shaggy green leaves that made them look as if they were a group of cheerleaders holding out their pom-poms.
“No answer,” Mimic said. She pushed her phone back into her jeans and tucked a stray raven-black strand of hair behind her ear. She brought the binoculars back up and continued her lookout duties.
Wyatt was growing more and more worried as the minutes inched by. He’d bitten most of the nails on his left hand down to the nail bed and started working on the right hand when something appeared on the horizon. A black dot, could have been a bird… a very large bird.
Too large of a bird. The black dot wasn’t feathered at all—it was all metal, flying at them and growing larger and larger.
“There they are,” Wyatt shouted. He couldn’t tell if Roman and Bang Bang were in the helicopter with Mustang, but he had to hope. He needed that hope. He needed Roman back.
Please. Please be on that helicopter. I need you. I can’t keep doing this alone.
The five of them were on their feet, eyes trained on the sky. The whirr of the helicopter grew louder, and Wyatt could see a smiling Mustang sitting in the pilot’s seat.
She’s smiling. Yes!
Wyatt had to consciously hold himself back from running directly at the helicopter until it had fully landed and the rotor blades slowed to a stop.
Mustang hopped off first, smile still on her face as she pulled her sunglasses off, eyes matching the twinkle in her grin. Then came Bang Bang, still wearing his prison jumpsuit, smiling almost as wide as Mustang was. He spotted Doc and went off at a run, scooping her up in his arms and showering her with kisses.
“Roman.”
Wyatt felt a wave of happiness crash over him. Swelling through him. Rising up from his heart, spreading through every inch of him in a blast of warmth. Tears came next, starting the moment Roman wrapped his arms around Wyatt, kissing his head, his cheeks, his lips, his tears.
This was all Wyatt wanted. To have Roman back again, holding him, his body against him—firm and real, not wispy like the way he’d appear in his dreams. He buried his head into Roman’s neck, trying to hold back his tears and only causing them to fall even faster.
“It’s okay, I’m alright. We’re all okay, Salt. I’ve got you, baby.”
“I thought it was all done. That day at the museum, I was so scared it would be the last day I’d ever be with you again. This plan—it was insane. I really wasn’t sure it would work. I was so fucking scared.”
Roman grabbed Wyatt’s elbows, holding him so that he could look into Wyatt’s eyes. His beard was growing in, and his eyes seemed tired, but he still had that same cocky edge and radiating warmth that Wyatt had fallen for all those years ago, pulsing out from his bright green eyes and pearly white grin.