Not wanting to stand here with a target painted on my back, I keep sliding across the wall, each sidestep taken with caution until I’m able to peer around the corner into the kitchen. As I do, I find a grinning man staring right back at me.
My eyes bug out of my head as a sharp squeal tears from the back of my throat. I take off like a fucking rocket, my feet pounding against the old floorboards as the man darts after me, his hand shooting out and capturing my hair into his fist. He yanks back and my body falls to the ground with a loud bang, the sound rocking right through the old home.
The man laughs as he circles me, his wicked gaze locked on mine. “What’s the matter, pretty girl? I just wanted to talk.”
Yeah right.
I scramble across the floor and the asshole jumps forward, his heavy boot slamming down over my long, wet hair and keeping me pinned. A loud wail tears out of me as I grip my trapped strands and desperately try to pull free.
The man laughs as tears well in my eyes. “You’ve been nothing but trouble since you got here,” he spits, shifting his weight just enough to press his other foot down over my chest, giving him a bigger advantage than I ever should have allowed. One more shift of his weight and the fucker could crush me like a damn bug.
My hand clenches and before allowing myself a chance to think about what I’m doing, my hand flies up. The blade glistens in the hot afternoon sun streaming through the window just moments before it plunges deep into the back of his calf.
The man screams but I’m not nearly done as I pull down hard and slice the whole fucking muscle off the back of his leg as though I was carving a fucking Thanksgiving turkey. Blood spills all over me as the man stumbles back and falls to the ground, his face turning a sickly shade of white.
He howls in agony and the sound is like music to my ears. I get up off the ground, my knees shaking beneath me and as I turn to look at the man, I know just how effortlessly I could end his life. “Do it,” he spits at me, the agony too much for him to bear. “FUCKING DO IT.”
A grin tears across my face, and rather than putting him out of his misery, I simply turn and race for the door as his pained screams fill the space behind me. It won’t be long and he’ll be dead, but knowing that he’ll go in pain makes something stir deep in my gut, something that makes me feel like a fucking queen.
The door slams behind me, but I’m not foolish enough to take my time. I run, slamming one foot down after another, the blistering afternoon sun bearing down on me. It takes only a minute before a light sweat coats my body and my mouth immediately goes dry, sucking in the hot desert air.
The blood coating my skin quickly dries, and as I come down from my high and think over everything I just did, a harsh panic tears through my chest. I’m a fucking killer, through and through. I was relentless and brutal, but what can I say? I was trained by the absolute best in the business. They’ll be so proud to hear that I didn’t just back down and accept what they wanted to do with me, but they’re also moments that will live on in my head for a long time to come.
What I did here today cost me and has brought a darkness over my soul, but in the end, all that matters is that I’m free. At least for now. I’m stuck out in the desert and have no idea how far the nearest property is or how long it will be before I can get help. Hell, just because Giovanni’s men couldn’t kill me, doesn’t mean that coyotes won’t once the sun goes down.
All I see for miles is dirt and trees. No water. No pathways. No clear roads to walk along. I’m out here all alone with nowhere to run and absolutely nowhere to hide.
At least an hour passes before the afternoon sun is dropping lower in the sky, sending my shadow spiraling out before me, distorting my figure. I hear nothing but my feet dragging through the dirt and my rough panting as I try to swallow to keep my throat from completely drying out.
I glance back over my shoulder, and while it feels like I’ve been walking for a lifetime, I can still clearly see the house in the distance. The blood covering my body is well and truly dried, and although their version of a bath was one of the most horrendous things I’ve endured, it went a long way in making me feel clean. My hair is no longer matted and while my clothes are dirty again, they don’t have that awful scent of decaying flesh.
My feet ache against the hard ground and I wish for the millionth time that I had worn shoes when I went bounding out of the DeAngelis mansion after Dill. It would have made my life a million times easier. Hell, if I had just allowed the wolf to take the freaking purple dick, I wouldn’t be in this situation at all and Dill would be just fine … at least, I hope he is. I have to believe that he is, because the alternative … fuck, I can’t go there.
A soft hum breaks the silence, and my head snaps up, my heart pounding erratically as I fear the worst. A black car speeds through the desert in the distance, kicking up dust beneath the tires and sending an overwhelming wave of panic through my veins. This property is the only property out here for miles. There’s no way in hell that this car is just out here lost. This is one of Giovanni’s men, or hell, it’s Giovanni himself.
My feet come to an abrupt stop as I look around, desperate for some kind of escape, but where the hell can I go? If I can see the car, the occupants inside of it can sure as fuck see me too.
I didn’t come this far just to be railroaded now.
Those guards said something about a buyer who was coming to get me … fuck.
The car speeds through the desert at ridiculous speeds, and as it gets closer, I can make out the shape. It’s not just some small-town car but a big SUV. The late sun hits the windshield and makes it impossible to see the people inside, but what’s the point in looking? It probably has blacked out windows anyway.
With fear ruling my every move, I take off at a sprint in the opposite direction, away from both the car and the house, taking me deeper into the desert. I quickly drain what’s left of my energy as the car continues hurtling toward me, my pathetic pained run laughable against a speed like that.
Time slows, and as I run, my throat becomes drier and my pace slower as though the universe is punishing me for loving my new life with three well-known serial killers. I pant, struggling with every step I take, and as tears form in my eyes, the black SUV flies around me, cutting me off and forcing me to an abrupt stop.
The tires screech as the driver hits the brakes, the heavy vehicle skidding along the dirt, struggling to find traction as dust flies up around it like a daunting storm cloud. The passenger side door flies open and a man storms toward me, my energy finally gives out and I drop to my knees.
6
Levi flies out of the passenger side door as Marcus hurtles after him, racing toward me as my dirty knees sink lower into the hard ground. Heavy sobs tear from the back of my throat seeing a big, black wolf bounding toward me, one wolf, not two. Once Levi reaches me, Roman jerks the SUV to a stop and bails from the driver’s door.
Hot sobs tear from my throat as I bury my head in my hands, and just as I expect Levi to scoop me up, he continues around me, drawing his gun and holding his arm out straight. Doe’s ferocious low growl fills the silence before two loud bullets ring out through the late afternoon.
Marcus hits the ground, his strong arms curling around my body and pulling me into his familiar chest. I peer out behind us, straining my neck to find a body sprawled over the ground at least half a mile back.