Code Breakers: Beta Read Free Page B

through more fatal scenarios than he could remember. She was as much a part of him as Gerry was now a part of her. And to leave her behind while she needed him...
    “I wish I killed ya when I had the chance,” Gabe said. “I counted at least three opportunities when I could have slit ya throat and let ya miserable life bleed out.”
    “And I believe all of those were when we shared a bed.”
    “You think any of that meant anything?” Gabe sneered in disgust. “I did what I had to do to stop ya.”
    “So fucking me was taking one for team?” She stood then, knocking the stool to the floor, making the kids squeal in fright. She dropped the bomb trigger to the table surface in order to point at him. “You can say what you want, but I saw lust in your eyes, the hunger for me. You wanted me like the filthy animalistic man you are. You couldn’t control yourself. That’s the truth of it. You have morals of snake.”
    He saw the opportunity, dashed to the side of the table, rushed forward, and threw a lightning-fast jab that caught her on the collarbone, knocking her to the side. Her momentum crashed her body into the table. She fell to the ground with a thud.
    Gabe was on her in a split second.
    He punched her as hard as he could in the head, knocking her unconscious. He grabbed the slate from the table and pocketed it in his jacket. He moved to the screaming, panicked kids, lifted them up onto his arms and shoulders, and moved out of the room.
    He heard a crash behind him.
    Natalya let out a slurred scream, “Gabriel!”
    Ignoring her, he continued to move through the darkness of the front room of the compound, kicked open the door, and stumbled into the bright light, nearly dropping the kids.
    Petal and Enna rushed forward and took the children from him. Petal unsheathed one of her forearm spikes and cut the ropes from the children’s wrists and ankles.
    Behind Gabe came another shout. Natalya stood by the door, screaming his name again. Two green laser dots flickered around her body before settling on her forehead.
    Gabe turned to the snipers, screaming, “No!”
    Two shots and Natalya flew backwards into the darkness of the compound.
    Gabe stared in shock. Blinked.
    He couldn’t believe it. How could they have lied to him? He needed her alive. His soul seemed to die as the thought of the one person with information on his family had been so cruelly snatched from him.
    The Bachian citizens who had been waiting around, watching, stood like statues, staring at him. He, in turn, stared at the door. He walked slowly back towards it, his chest thudding and his guts turning over with anguish. There, just beyond the doorway, lay Natalya’s body. Half her head was missing. A ten-centimetre-hole penetrated her chest, taking her heart with it. The gore stretched out behind her, glistening in the solitary beam of light via the open door.
    Stunned, Gabe collapsed to his knees. He reached out for her, wanting to touch her, to make sure what he was seeing was real, that it wasn’t some figment of his imagination. As he laid his hand on her still corpse, he closed his eyes and wished for her to take a breath. Wished that she were still alive so that he could ensure the safety of his family.
    She did not move. She did not breathe. She was dead, inert meat.
    Warmth from the sun hit his back as he knelt over her body. He stood, turned to face the light, and on shaking legs, exited the compound, leaving behind the very embodiment of hope.
    Without her, his family were once more condemned to death.
    He took the slate from his jacket and watched the video again. His heart broke as he fell to his knees. A scream erupted from his throat. He threw the slate away, unable to see their faces so full of hope and fear. The same faces that he’d had in his head since the day he left.
    He’d had a chance to save his family, to make amends for his abandonment. And like the first time, he’d let them down. Made the wrong decision. He slumped