There’s no place to hide, and there’s no other way out of this room.
The stomping draws closer. Another door shatters. He’s methodically working his way down the row. Three more doors to go until he reaches me.
Reminding myself what Max said about the rifle, I glance over to the corner and debate my next move. If they come through the door, I’ll only have one shot if I stay where I am.
But if I get up, take the rifle, I can shoot from the side of the room. I climb to my feet and tuck the gun at the small of my back. Moving as quietly as possible, I take Max’s rifle and pray.
A chill works its way down my spine as Benefield’s voice pierces the sudden stillness. It’s far too close. I grip Max’s rifle, check the chamber, thumb off the safety, and wait.
“Evie?” His voice sends chills down my spine. “Come out and all will be forgiven. Your daddy did this. He called in the cavalry to take you away from me. But you know who you belong to. You know who you love.”
Love?
Is that what the sadistic prick of a man thought was going on?
“Don’t make me come and find you.”
Another loud crash makes the walls shudder. Adrenaline spikes. It floods my body, surging around and around. The urge to flee overwhelms me, but there’s nowhere to go.
“Get out here, Evie. Don’t make me punish you.”
I lift the rifle and aim at the door. In the moth-eaten gaps in the curtains, shadows shift as men pass by. Impossible to know how many.
The door handle jiggles as someone tests the lock. My pulse hammers in my ears, roaring with fear.
A loud thump makes me jump. The door shudders. The chair shakes. My grip on the rifle tightens.
They’re going to come in.
How long will that chair hold? How long will it keep the men out? Long enough for Max to return? But he only has a pistol against how many men?
“She’s in there, boss.”
My heart rate spikes. My breathing accelerates.
The door rattles. Something massive strikes it.
Once. Twice.
The wood groans. The chair shifts. I lift the rifle as the chair shatters and the door gives way.
A scream escapes me as a man barrels through. The rifle lifts. My eyes close as my pulse explodes with another surge of adrenaline. I squeeze and pull the trigger.
My ears ring with the concussive blast. The man crumples as he falls. More men barrel through. I squeeze off two more shots and miss. Benefield steps into the room. I lift the rifle and take aim.
The men charge as I shoot. One of them grunts as his body jerks and twists. He falls. But the other man closes the distance. He’s on me before I take my next breath. The rifle is ripped from my hands as I let loose an ear-piercing scream.
Benefield crosses the distance. His brute tosses the gun and grabs both my arms. I kick and scream as a sinister smile fills Benefield’s face.
“Ah, Evie.” He shakes his head. “I’m so disappointed in you.”
A sudden surge of strength flows through me. I kick the man holding me and free myself from his grip. I bolt toward the door, dodging Benefield as he reaches out to grab me. I make it around the bed before he yanks me off my feet.
I kick him. Benefield grunts as my heel slams into his groin. He releases me, and I’m off. Racing around the bed, I dodge the broken chair and whirl out of the room.
The way is open. No more men.
I sprint toward the stairs. Benefield pounds after me, breathing down my neck. He reaches out, catches strands of my hair.
He’s too close.
All I can think about is that I can’t let him grab hold of me again. I yank my head forward and wince as he rips out my hair. But I’m still free.
Still ahead of him.
I reach the end of the balcony. I twist around the corner and barrel down the stairs.
When I reach the bottom, Benefield is on me. His fingers snag the back of my shirt and he yanks me back.
I spin around, stomp on his foot, and drive my fist into his groin again. He grunts and releases me.
I scramble back, then spin again to run. I sprint out into the parking lot. He’s right on me. His long arms reach out and he catches me again. I thrash in his grip, kicking and hitting, trying my best to get free.
I may be going down, but I won’t go down without a fight.
This is my life, and I’m going to fight for it. I twist in his grip, sweep his legs out from under him. We go down in a pile of limbs, falling to the hard-baked ground.
My screams ring out as loud as my lungs can manage. But no one comes. Max isn’t here.
I’m on my own, crushed beneath the weight of a monster with murder and retribution vibrating in his steely gaze.
Benefield punches me.
His fist connects with my jaw. Pain blossoms in my head and I see stars. Benefield’s breath labors as he rears back to strike me again.
A shot rings out. Benefield’s left shoulder jerks and a red stain blooms on his shirt. He glances up. Mouth open. Eyes hard. He reaches behind him and draws out a gun.
Benefield presses the barrel to my forehead and shouts. “I’ll kill her. Swear to God, I’ll put a bullet in her brain. Drop your weapon and show yourself.”
I hold completely still as terror sweeps through me.
“Let her go.” That voice. I know that voice.
It doesn’t belong to Max.
“Let her go,” Knox repeats himself.
If Knox is here... A fluttering in my belly fills me with hope. Max’s team is also here.
Forty
Max
Benefield grins like a maniac, looking pleased with himself. He shouldn’t look so smug, but then he doesn’t know how many weapons currently aim at his head.
My weapon, courtesy of my team, points between Benefield’s eyes and carries enough firepower to pulverize Benefield’s corpse, but I can’t take the shot.
None of us can; not while the barrel of his gun presses against Eve’s forehead.
Sick to my stomach when I heard her screams, my team and I rushed back to the two-story motel.
As for how we met up, I ran into them on the street after I stopped a sweet, old lady to ask directions to the closest drug store. She answered with a smile and offered to show me the way. That was two blocks I could’ve jogged instead of walking calmly beside my new friend.
Like a good Boy Scout, I helped her cross the road and thanked her when we finally made it to the town’s one and only convenience store.
With thanks made, I grabbed food, bottled water, and supplies to bandage my leg. It still aches like a motherfucker, but I’m not lost to fevered dreams. The infection isn’t gone, but those antibiotics seem to have stalled its progression.
I limped out of the store as two trucks screeched to a halt in front of me. Knox jumped out, joined by Liam and Wolfe.
As I gave the briefest rundown of what happened, and where Eve was, her first scream pierced the air. We all piled into the trucks. Knox handed me a rifle and shoved a bulletproof vest at me.
We made it back to the motel only to see Eve racing down the decrepit stairs with Tomas Benefield on her heels. Another man runs behind them, chugging for breath, as blood drips down his arm.
Benefield grabs the back of Eve’s shirt, and both of them tumble to the ground. She fights like a pro, but he’s much larger and more powerful than she. He flips her to her back, clocks her in the jaw, as fire burns in my gut.