She let out a cry and whirled on her heels, fleeing into the hallway. She looked around her, desperate for an exit. She just needed a couple of seconds of fresh air to calm her panicked heart and spinning head.
She spotted an exit at the far end of the hallway toward the back of the club. She ignored the shouts from behind her and ran for all she was worth, her entire being focused on the exit door. She had to get away from that gun, had to get away from the situation and Jozef. If she didn't, there was no doubt in her mind that Jozef would turn the gun on her next and this time actually pull the trigger and put a bullet in her brain.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Shaun, stop!”
She didn’t know who was calling her and she didn’t care. The voice gave her the impetus to move faster, pump her arms harder.
Shaun had never felt anything like the driving desire she had to escape her current situation. It gave her the ability to run in heels, to run faster and farther than she'd ever run in her life. She ran straight out the back door of the club and into a throng of happy partygoers. She shoved her way past them and continued running through Prague’s busy, touristy downtown. It never once occurred to her to stop and beg for help, she just had to run.
Shaun could hear shouts coming from behind her, but she didn't look back. She ran until the shouts grew fainter. It took her a moment to realize that there were sobs spilling from her mouth; deep gut-wrenching sobs. Tears wet her face, ruining her make up. Nothing mattered except getting away from Jozef, the bodyguards, the Koba influence.
She ran until everything hurt, until her lungs burned, her legs ached, her feet begged for mercy and a stitch in her side became so bad that she had to stop and bend over, clutching at her stomach. As she doubled over, hands on her knees, she sucked in deep breaths, filling her lungs with air before releasing the toxic panic that had built up inside her. She used the back of her hand to swipe at the tears on her cheeks.
Finally, she straightened and looked around. She was standing in some kind of alleyway, a dead end. Dismally, she crouched, leaning her back against a rough brick wall and sucking in air, trying to calm herself while she waited. She had no doubt Jozef and his men would find her very soon. In the meantime, she needed to figure out what she was going to say to Jozef to get her out of another possible punishment.
Would he look at this is another escape attempt? She hadn’t really been trying to escape. She just needed to get out of there, away from the guns and the drugs and the thugs. None of them made sense to her. None of them fit in with her worldview.
"She's here!"
Shaun straightened, pulling herself shakily back to her feet, her hands pressed against the wall to steady herself. She was determined to face her persecutors head on. Her desire to run might have been visceral, coming from a place of panic and anxiety, but now she was calm. Now she could think.
Except, the three men who piled into the alley with her were complete strangers. She squinted into the gloom, attempting to make out a familiar face in the dim lighting coming from the street. It quickly became clear that she knew none of them. They advanced on her, their faces reflecting eager surprise, as though she were some kind of unexpected prize.
One of them spoke, his eyes roving down Shaun's body in appreciation. She couldn’t understand what they were saying, the language foreign to her ears. It wasn’t Czech, Russian, or Ukrainian, but similar.
“I need help,” she tried pleading with them.
They continued to advance; their body language aggressive. Shaun cringed away from them, glancing around for a way out, but there was none. She'd truly managed to find herself in a dead end.
"Who are you?" she asked shakily.
They ignored her. The man who seemed to be their leader spoke rapidly to the other two, pointing at a car parked at the end of the alley. The others nodded and one reached for her.
Shaun slapped at the man and pressed herself against the alley wall. He took her arm in a tight grip, yanking her forward with one hand and slapping her across the face with the other. Shaun went sideways into the brick building, the rough surface scraping against the skin of her back. She gasped and reached for her face.
The men didn't say anything to her but started hauling her out of the alley. Shaun opened her mouth to scream, but the man who grabbed her back-handed her. He growled something at her that she didn’t understand, but she suspected he was trying to get her to comply.
Shaun's face was on fire, but she knew that he hadn't done much damage. His slaps were light compared to what they could've been. She was lucky. If he decided to use his entire strength, he could've knocked her teeth out.
Before they could get her out of the alley though, several dark shadows appeared, stalking down the alley toward the trio. A chilling growl made everyone freeze. It was low and guttural but loud enough that it reverberated in the alleyway, raising the hairs on Shaun’s arms. It took a second for her to realize that the growl had come from the depths of Jozef’s throat.
One of the men surrounding Shaun said something, laughed unpleasantly, then took hold of her and swung her out in front of the trio. The man pulled a gun from his holster and held it to Shaun’s head. Hot bile rose up in her throat. Before the man could speak, or so much as blink, Jozef pulled his own gun and put a bullet through his head. The man went straight backwards, releasing his grip on Shaun's arm.
Shaun tottered on her heels, then whirled around to watch as the man tumbled to the pavement. She dropped to her knees next to him, automatically reaching for his throat, checking for a pulse. It was there for a few seconds, beating strong as his heart continued to pump, then nothing. Shots rang through the alley and Shaun crouched next to the body, covering her head with her arms.
She had no idea how long the shooting went on for, but it felt like an eternity. She flinched with every sound, expecting to feel the agony of a bullet ripping through her flesh at any moment. When the alley finally went silent, she carefully raised her head, peeking through her arms at the carnage surrounding her.
"Oh my god," she gasped.
The three men who'd threatened her in the alley now lay on the ground unmoving. After determining that the first man was dead, she reached for the next, trying to find his neck in the darkness. Before she could locate his pulse, Jozef took her by the arm and dragged her off the pavement, pulling her into his chest. His piercing eyes gleamed down at her as he surveyed her.
"Boss, time to get out of here," Havel said from behind them.
"But…" Shaun twisted around to stare at the dark shapes on the ground in the alley. She was certain all three were dead, but she should make sure, help if she could.
Jozef dragged her out of the alley and looked around. Spotting their vehicle, he pulled Shaun toward it. He flung the door open and shoved Shaun inside. She scrambled in, her dress riding up her thighs. She didn't care though. She clung to the door on the opposite side of the car, her terrified gaze on Jozef as he slid inside. He didn't look at her, but calmly buckled his seatbelt.
Shaun was shaking so bad she couldn’t manage her own seatbelt. She was covered in blood. It was all over her dress, her arms and in her hair. Panic rose up inside her and she began trying to rub the blood away. Trying to erase the violence.
She let out a panicked shriek as Jozef reached across the car and took hold of her. He shoved the seatbelt out of her shaking hands and pulled her across the back seat until she was sitting on his lap. He wrapped an arm around her head and pressed it against his chest while reaching out to tap Karl on the shoulder, indicating he should start driving.