BLOOD TIES (Decklan Jennings Thriller Book 1) by Philip Duncan (book recommendations for young adults txt) 📕

“I know,” Teddy replied. “Stand behind that wall and when they come back in, we can grab them before they have the chance to scream.”

Seconds later, the girls entered the room and found themselves being held by two strangers without warning.

“Listen, you need to get out of here right now and you can’t make any noise!” Decklan said, where both girls could hear. “These are very dangerous men and if you stay here you will die, do you understand me?”

Both girls nodded in agreement since they had their mouths covered with Decklan’s and Teddy’s hands.

“Are there any more girls in the house?” Decklan asked.

Decklan’s girl nodded her head up and down.

“I’m going to let go of your mouth so you can talk, but you can’t scream. If you do, then we all die,” Decklan said, reiterating death in hopes of getting his point across. “How many girls are here?”

“Three, upstairs…with him,” she said, shaking and holding back tears.

They both knew she was referring to Vladimir, which was exactly what they had planned for.

“Thank you, now go!” Decklan said, gently moving her toward the front door.

Teddy let go of his girl and they scurried off to get their purses and coats before heading out into the wintry night.

They were in a lot better position now having cleared out the first floor and knowing how many girls were left in the house. Teddy looked at Decklan. “You go left, I’ll go right.”

The stairway was the kind seen in movies or celebrity houses, where it started with a wide single stairway leading to a flat area before splitting off both directions. So far, they had been tight and moving as one person but since there were now two areas from above that could potentially have someone shooting down at them, they needed to split up in order to neutralize that possibility. They moved swiftly up the stairs with their guns at the ready. They made it up both sides without any issues, but now they needed to regroup and begin checking all the rooms.

“I believe the master suite is in the very back of the hallway, but we need to check all the rooms leading down the hall first, so we don’t have bullets flying at us from behind,” Teddy said.

They looked down the hallway and counted four doors, two on each side, plus the main door at the end, which would make five. They moved up to the first door on the left and Decklan checked to see if it was locked. It was open, so he cracked it open to get a look inside. He didn’t see anyone so they both moved all the way in to clear the room. It was empty. They moved to the next room, the second one on the right side. Again, Decklan checked and again it was unlocked. He peeked inside and spotted someone lying on the bed facedown. It looked like the person was passed out. They both moved in slowly, trying not to make a sound but Decklan accidentally kicked over an empty vodka bottle. It clanked against the hard floor and rolled until it hit the wall next to the bed.

“Shit!” Decklan whispered. “Go check and make sure no one is coming.”

The guy on the bed was clearly passed out drunk, as he didn’t move an inch from the noise. By the looks of all the liquor and beer bottles on the floor, Decklan could slam one of these bottles against the wall and this guy wouldn’t budge. He was clearly not a threat but Decklan knew he was one of Vladimir’s guys so he couldn’t take the chance and let him live. He grabbed one of the pillows off the bed, placed it over the drunk guy’s head, and fired a single shot through the pillow, ending another life. He turned to leave the room but making sure to be more cautious of his steps this time.

“Are we clear?” Decklan asked.

“Clear,” Teddy replied, indicating no one was coming.

They were now through two rooms, with two more to go before what would end up being the last stand in the master suite. Up to this point they had been lucky enough not to get in a fire fight, and as far as they were concerned, no one knew they were here. They cleared the next two rooms without any issues, which was concerning to them. How could they have made it all the way here without any confrontation? And where the hell were all of Vlad’s men? Could he really have thought he was safe coming back here? Did he assume that Decklan wouldn't find out where he ran off too and follow him? Maybe Vladimir Ivanov wasn’t as cunning and intelligent as previously thought. But if there was one thing Decklan learned in the military, if the mission seemed too easy then something was missing. There was no way in hell, after everything he had been through to get to this point, that it was going to end like this. No! Something was definitely off, and it was waiting for them on the other side of the door.

CHAPTER 21

They both stood there, anxiously wondering what they were getting ready to walk into. Decklan took a deep breath, looked at Teddy and nodded. “You ready?”

Teddy nodded back. “As ready as I can be. Whatever happens next, just know you are one hell of a soldier!”

“You too, Teddy,” Decklan replied.

This door was different from the others. It was a double door, so they both grabbed a handle and swung open their side. As soon as they let go, they both pulled out their assault rifles, being ready for what could come next, but what they saw was completely unexpected. So much so that Decklan thought maybe he wasn’t seeing things right. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. After all, he hardly ever slept and had been in a constant state