“You said you’ll let her go.” Liam fights against both Gabe and Larry, who tackles him to the floor.
“I want that evidence, Liam,” she yells on her way out.
They tie his hands behind his back and his ankles together before doing the same to me. Her goons exit, leaving us alone in the cold, stale room.
“Fuck.” Liam drops his forehead to the floor and closes his eyes as he continues to curse himself.
The pills Serena gave me finally kick in. My wound has already clotted over, but a light throbbing remains. When I look to Liam, I see him struggling to get out of his restraints. I jerk my arms, testing the tightness of my own, but don’t have much luck. Our gazes land on each other, and he lowers his eyes in defeat.
“I’m so sorry.”
“I know. You tried to save me, that’s what matters. Can you scoot over to me?”
He tries his best, slithering across the dusty floors until he reaches me. It’s a struggle, but he soon figures out how to get himself positioned upright to the left of me.
“She’s not going to let either of us go. Even if you give her all the evidence, she will kill us,” I say.
The level of calm that washes over me scares me, and with the way Liam is staring at me, I can tell he’s shocked also. I don’t know if it’s the concussion that’s gotten me out of my head, but I haven’t had an anxiety attack since I woke up in this room. Maybe the fear or knowing what lies ahead is enough to overpower that part of me. Now more than ever, I feel compelled to remain strong. I once hated myself for loving Liam after I found out about her. She wrecked my world, and the stress and concern that this would somehow following me everywhere I went, triggered a condition I hadn’t dealt with since I was a child. I’ve been hunted because of her, I’ve shot a man because of her, and now I’m just pissed.
I scan the room, not entirely expecting to find anything different than what I’ve seen the whole time we’ve been trapped in here. But to my surprise, in the far-left corner of the room is the knife Serena kicked away from me. My eyesight is still slightly fuzzy from the hit I took, but I’m certain I’m not seeing things. With everything going on, it somehow slipped her mind, but I don’t really care why she forgot the blade. All that matters is it’s here and we can use that to our advantage.
I slide my bound feet forward, using the soles of my boots to guide myself in a row-like motion across the floor. My pants snag against a rusty nail along the way, but I overlook it, determined to make it to the other side of the room before one of them comes back.
“What are you doing?” Liam whispers.
I ignore him and set my mind on the task at hand. Moving like this is using muscles I never even knew I had. Sore and growing increasingly tired, I forge a hasty breath and push through the strain. It takes a while for me to reach my destination, and though none of this is entertaining, it reminds me of those obstacle course activities we’d do during field day as kids. I press my heels harder into the floor, walking myself into a circle until I can grip it between my fingers.
I fumble around for a few seconds then finally getting a solid grasp on the cool steel. Careful not to cut myself, I move it around until I feel the handle. Flipping it up, I saw at the thick rope that binds my wrists together, nicking myself in the process. I wince at the feel of my skin slicing open but refuse to give up. As I chip away at the material, I pull my arms apart with all the strength I have left. It gives way, and my hands fly apart, hurling the knife closer to the door.
I quickly inspect my arms, glad that my laceration is minimal, merely a small cut that will heal in no time. I work to untie my ankles before pushing onto my knees and crawl on all fours to retrieve the weapon, and rush back over to Liam. He parts his legs enough for me to cut the cords then shuffles around, presenting me with his back and pulling his wrists apart to aid in my attempt to free him, too. Footsteps sound off outside our door, and I jump. Someone yells in Russian and touches the knob. I freeze, watching the door handle shift from the weight of the person’s hand.
“Quick! Act like you’re still tied up, they’re coming for me.”
I curse, realizing I missed my chance. We both do our best to sit with our backs against the wall as if we’ve been this way since they left. My chest heaves rapidly from the rush of adrenaline, but I force myself to look cowed and not set them on alert. The door flies open, and in walks Serena, clutching her gun with a grimace upon her face.
I tighten my hold on the knife, prepared to use it if I have to. I shoot my gaze forward, correcting my posture and hoping my surprised expression doesn’t set her off. Serena stands there watching intensely for several seconds, her fingers white from her grip on her weapon.
She walks over to us, the floor creaking under her weight. “Get up!” With her free hand, she grabs Liam by his biceps and forces him to his feet. “This is what will happen. You’re going to turn over all your evidence to me or I’ll let Adrik have his way with your little girlfriend. I’m sure he’ll have a hell of a time with her.”
Her threat makes me sick to my stomach and bile bubbles at the back of my throat. I want to lunge forward and ram the knife into her rib, but I know I can’t. If I’d like for us both to make it out of here alive, I’ll need to be patient and await the perfect opportunity. Liam grows angry at her words and fights with all his might to get free of her.
“If you touch her, I promise I will kill you,” he growls.
Serena’s expression flashes a mixture of emotions. “Невероятно.” Unbelievable. With her mouth pinched, she narrows her eyes, giving him a disgusted snort. “You continue to pick her. Even with your life on the line.”
“I’ll always choose her,” he spits.
Her nostrils flare, and her skin turns a mottled myriad of pale and pink. She shudders with heavy breaths as she draws back to slap him. Liam shifts right, dodging her attempts, which only fuels her more. She releases a guttural roar before backhanding him, and the added weight of the gun she clutches sends him stumbling a bit.
She blinks away the tears forming in the creases of her eyes and clenches her jaw. “Should I kill her first?” She moves deliberately toward me, the barrel pointed at my head. “Maybe then you’ll cooperate.”
With her sights set on me, Liam plunges forward, jamming his elbow into her side, knocking her off balance. She catches herself from falling and repoints the firearm at him. This is my moment, I think and jump up, aiming myself in her direction. Serena is quick and turns on me, her slap catching me off guard. I compose myself in time to see Liam kicking at the back of her knee, sending her to the floor. Her hold on the pistol wavers, and it falls next to her. She reaches for it, but I charge at her, pointing my knife just inches from her throat.
Serena raises both hands in surrender. Her breaths are heavy and shake through her entire body. I slide my foot over the cold, hard steel and drag it to me, the metal scraping against wood. With the blade fixed in place, I unintentionally pierce her flesh while squatting to pick it up.
She opens her mouth like she’s prepared to scream for help, but I pull back to load the chamber, remembering the quick lesson Liam gave me days ago. My thoughts flash to the night I held the gun on Johnson, pleading for him to let us go. I was afraid then, shaken and uncertain of my actions. But in this moment, after everything this bitch has done to me, I don’t think I’ll mind killing her.