More blood bubbles across porcelain skin, the gagging and choking increasing.
The two other women sob. Cry. Hyperventilate.
But Penny doesn’t lose her determination. She keeps pressing on Chloe’s wound, her fingers drowning in blood as the spluttering loses its ferocity, the wide eyes of the dying girl growing dull.
“Chloe,” Penny warns. “Stay with me.”
There’s nothing I can do, not one fucking thing, as Chloe’s soul quickly slips from her body. She gurgles with the blood suffocating her, her shoulders twitching, once, twice. Then she’s gone, her head slumping limp, the red stream of death still dripping from her innocent lips.
The other women wail, grasping at the deceased’s hands and face.
They beg. They plead. They sob.
All Penny does is stiffen.
There are no tears or weakness. She doesn’t show one ounce of vulnerability as she stares unblinking at her fallen sister.
The gunshot echoing from the other side of the house doesn’t even make her jolt. It’s the other women who scream and scramble to their feet to run for cover as heavy footfalls approach from the hall.
I step in front of Penny, shielding her, and aim my gun. A figure invades the doorway, tempting my trigger finger.
“It’s me,” Decker calls, withdrawing from view. “Don’t shoot.” He waits a heartbeat then re-enters as more thunderous steps carry toward us. “Hunter’s behind me.”
He takes in the sight before him with apprehension, his gaze sliding over the newest additions to our crew before settling on the corpse on the floor. “Is she dead?”
I nod. “Bullet to the gut.”
Hunter storms into the room, his attention following the same path as Decker’s. “We’ve gotta get out of here. The asshole who escaped could be calling backup.”
“Did we get any intel?” Decker asks. “Have the safes been checked?”
“There’s no time. I’m not willing to risk it.” I start for Penny and jut my chin toward the two other women cowering on the floor. “Hunt, you help them. Deck, you get back outside and grab the duffels. We can’t leave anything behind.”
Decker eyes me, then Penny. He’s about to make another comment about me getting between him and his sister, and I don’t have the fucking patience.
“If I knew where you put the duffels I’d get them myself,” I growl, “but I don’t. So get your ass moving.”
He glares, making me well aware I’ll be paying for my actions later.
I don’t fucking care. We need to move.
“Ladies, it’s time to leave.” Hunter starts toward them as Decker jogs from the room. “It’s not safe here.”
I don’t wait to watch their reactions. I keep my focus on Penny, who remains at Chloe’s side, her hands still pressed into the pool of blood on the woman’s abdomen.
“Shorty…” I walk up behind her to crouch at her back. “We need to get moving.”
She doesn’t acknowledge me. Doesn’t budge an inch as her attention remains riveted on the woman staring unblinking at the roof.
“Pen?” I brush her arm. “We need to go.”
There’s no sound. Nothing. She’s emotionless. Catatonic.
“Come on.” Hunter raises his voice. “You want to go home, don’t you?”
“Home?” one of the women ask.
“Yes, home.” Hunter claps his hands as if trying to gain the attention of school children. “We’ve gotta go.”
The two women climb to their feet together, hand in hand.
“Penny?” the blonde asks.
She doesn’t answer. Doesn’t even flinch.
“It’s okay. I’ve got her. We won’t be far behind you.” I turn my attention to Hunter. “I’m going to need to get her cleaned up. There’s too much blood.”
It’s all over her hands. Her legs, too. She can’t walk back through the Naxos port like this.
“Can you handle her on your own?”
“I’m good.” I glide my grip around Penny’s wrists and gently guide her away from Chloe. “There’s another woman left hiding in one of the bedrooms. I’ll get her to help. Just make sure you grab that fucker out of the trunk and put him into the backseat. If he’s not awake, there’s smelling salts in one of the duffels. And you’re also going to need to get him to swallow some of the liquid E I’ve got stashed in there, too. We need to make him look like he’s drunk, not a fucking prisoner, when we haul him to the boat.”
He grins. “My pleasure.” He turns for the door. “Come on, ladies. Let’s get you home.”
After a few moments of tear-stained contemplation, the women follow, leaving Penny behind with me.
I guess I should be thankful for their compliance. But I’m not. I’m fucking bitter they only spared a few seconds for Penny’s concern when left with a stranger, after she put everything on the line to save them.
She fought for those women. She begged and threatened.
And they’ve walked away from her.
“Come on, shorty.” I rub her wrists. “The worst is over.”
She’s still unmoving. Not even nudging out of her shock.
Fuck it.
I wrap an arm around her back and the other under her knees to lift her off the ground. She doesn’t fight, barely gives a muted whimper as I carry her through the dining room, into the hall to the darkened bedroom with the three bunks.
“Are you still in here?” I place Penny on her feet. “It’s safe to come out.”
There’s a rustle of movement as the woman crawls from under the bed. She’s another wide-eyed innocent, her pain trapped behind generous beauty. “Penny?”
“Help me get her cleaned up. Can you get me some fresh clothes and a wet cloth?”
She nods, the movement jerky, before she hustles to the closet.
“You’re going to be okay.” I brush Penny’s arms, trying to rub away the chill of shock as I lean in. Eye to eye. “You’re strong. You can get through this.”
She meets my gaze, sorrow thick in her dark irises.
“Here.” The other woman returns with a thick layer of white material in her hands. “It’s her favorite dress.”
“Thanks.” I take the offering, ignoring how inappropriate a frilly, feminine dress is at a moment like this, and fling the clothing over my shoulder.
“Let me help.” The other woman moves closer, protectively nudging me out of the way as she makes easy work of Penny’s oversized T-shirt, raising the hem from her thighs to expose pure nudity.
Holy. Shit.
Decker’s sister is entirely naked under that shirt. No panties. No bra. Only smooth, perfect skin marred with sinister bruises along her hips and inner thighs. My gaze latches on to those marks—the sickening implications, the fucking brutality—as the other woman scrambles to cover Penny again, lifting the dress over her head.
“Wait.” I halt her with a raise of my hand and quickly turn off the microphone around my neck. “Where’s her underwear?”
She shakes her head. “We’re not allowed.” She doesn’t pause as she helps guide Penny’s head through the material.