The Bones of Valhalla (Purge of Babylon, Book 9) Read Online Free PDF

said.
    “Radio her yourself,” a third male voice said. He was softer spoken than the first. Easygoing.
    “Why’d she send you down here?” Benny asked.
    “Backup, I guess.”
    “We don’t need backup.”
    “You’ll have to take it up with the bosses. We’re just following orders.”
    “Is it in there?” the first newcomer asked.
    “Hey, get away from the door,” the woman said.
    “I’ve never seen one in person before.”
    “I said get away from the door. ”
    “Okay, okay…”
    “Stay right there while I radio Lara.”
    “Be our guest,” the second new arrival said.
    The sea clung to their skin, and fresh fish expelled from their breaths. They were breathing heavily even though they were doing everything possible not to show it. Their heartbeats were erratic, and one of them was on the verge of hyperventilating. Adrenaline coursed through their veins like sledgehammers against his eardrums.
    They’re lying.
    The click of a radio, then the woman saying, “Lara, this is Carrie. Come in.”
    His nostrils suddenly filled with the smell of oil rubbing against leather, followed by the boy shouting, “Don’t—,” but he never got the rest of it out before two gunshots boomed in the narrow confines of the hallway outside his door.
    Bodies falling to the hard floor, the clatter of weapons. Racing heartbeats and sweat flitted into the air as the deadbolt was pulled aside.
    The door opening and a voice—one of the two new arrivals—saying, “Is that it? Is it inside the chest?”
    “I think so,” the other man said. The one with the softer voice. “Should we open it?”
    “Fuck opening it,” the first one said.
    The air shifted as a long object was raised and a single finger moved. The smell of discharging gunpowder overwhelmed his senses, even as the bitter taste of silver licked at his lips and tried to force their way down his throat.
    He bit back the bile and pushed through the discomfort as the impossibly loud crashing of automatic gunfire filled the room.

3
    Gaby
    S he blamed it on the meds, because there was really no reason why she should be so tired or drowsy, or had no incentive to get out of bed when she finally woke up from what seemed like a year’s worth of sleep. It wasn’t nearly cold enough inside the infirmary for her to need a blanket, but she just couldn’t find the inclination to whip it off. The room was noticeably darker than the last time she had her eyes open, though she didn’t have a prayer of telling time at the moment.
    Conclusion: Getting shot was a real pain in the ass, and it was something she would definitely say no to if given the choice in the future. Of course, no one had given her the choice back in Gallant. Mason certainly hadn’t.
    I hope you get yours soon, Mason, you prick.
    She didn’t recall when Lara had left, because there was just her and the doc, who looked busy with a tablet across the room. Gaby didn’t feel any pain, just that annoying fog rolling around in her head, making everything difficult to grasp. She’d only been asleep for a day, right?
    And what had she and Lara been talking about? Oh, right.
    Will.
    He was alive, despite all the odds. There was a time when Gaby thought he was indestructible, that even if you could knock him down, nothing could keep him from leaping right back up to his feet. If all else failed, his love for Lara would bring him home. Naively, she had always believed that.
    Until now.
    She was thinking about Will, trying to remember the last time she saw his face (his real face), when Zoe was suddenly replaced by Nate. Gaby blinked, trying to understand how that had happened as Nate walked over and sat down (gingerly, she noticed) on a chair next to her bed.
    “Hey there,” she said.
    “You look good,” he said.
    “Do I?”
    “Well, sort of.”
    “Not what I wanted to hear.”
    “You still look better than every girl on this boat.”
    She smiled. “That’s the one.”
    “Glad to be of service. Anyway, I