Everything moved in slow motion then as I ducked, hands flying up to protect my ears. Something heavy hit me from the side. Pain shattered through me as I was slammed into the floor, someone over the top of me in a protective pose.
A tinny, high-pitched noise was reverberating through my head, and after a few moments I realized it was muffled screams.I was deaf from the explosion. The heavy weight lifted off mefor a second, and then another blast rocked through the house. More heavy objects hit me hard, and on instinct I covered my head and squished myself into a small ball.
I was completely deaf now, so didn’t hear anything as a grip like a steel band wrapped around my middle. I was yanked up and thrown across a shoulder. Whomever had me was huge, I could tell that much, but there was so much smoke and debris that I didn’t know which one of my boys it was.
As we stepped out of the destroyed house, I winced as the sunlight cut into me. My gritty and burning eyes slammed shut for a few moments, but worry that someone might be hurt had them flying open again. It was then that I saw the clothes. The dude who had me was not Jared, Markus, or Oliver. They had all been in California casual. This one wore all black, and I recognized the ninja style garb.
Fuck. Sanctum. A fucking Sanctum ninja was kidnapping me!
Despite the agonizing pain which was making itself at home in my body, I swung into action. My legs and arms moved at the same time as I slammed them both hard into my kidnapper. I didn’t exactly take him by surprise; he seemed to be expecting something, because he barely flinched, but his grip did loosen for a second and I used that to elevate my upper body and slam my elbow down into the back of his neck.
Noises were still muffled; only the occasional high-pitched sound was making it through, but I felt him groan beneath me. His body started to lift and we were running. I sensed there were others around us, but I couldn’t see anything from where he had me pressed down. Fighting and screaming as hard as I could, I found a gap in his ninja outfit and gouged at the skin. Biting and clawing was chick fighting, but I wasn’t in the best position for anything else right now.
Or was I?
Markus had shown me a few self-defense moves for situations like these, but it was so hard to remember with the cloudiness of my head and the adrenalin coursing through my veins. I knew my life depended on it though. Once Sanctum were through delivering me to whomever hired them this time, I’d be dead. I had to fight now while I still had a chance.
Giving myself a second, I let my body relax, almost as if I’d passed out. The grip on my body did not ease; these guys were professional through and through. Dropping my hands, I grabbed a hold of the material below, hoping like hell this wasn’t a one-piece outfit. A sob of relief left me when I felt the give as the material rose. I kicked out again, utilizing the small movement I had in my legs. My hope was that he’d focus on my kicks and not realize what else I was doing. Kicking again, I pulled up the back of his shirt as hard as I could. When I had it near his neck, I snaked my arm along the front of his throat, and grabbed onto the shirt on the other side, effectively freeing my upper body so I could lock my arms and start to choke him, using his own shirt as leverage.
He ground to a halt and we struggled for a few moments. I kept my grip as tight as possible around his throat, and at the same time kicked off hard from his shoulder and surprisingly enough he released me. I slammed into the ground. Scrambling on the road, I looked about, hoping like hell someone was around to save me. But there was nobody but the five ninja dudes now circling me. Shit.
Yep, five. Because I had a chance to even take down one of these highly trained mercenaries.
The one I’d choked out was straightening his clothes, glaring at me. He had a mix of Western and Asian features, and I would classify him as beautiful but deadly. He opened his mouth, saying something, but my ears still weren’t working properly. All I could think was escape, get away.
I didn’t scream again, no point really; the explosion would have been heard for miles and any help was heading in that direction. Instead, I got to my feet, as steadily as I could. None of the mercenaries moved closer, and the beautiful one was still trying to talk to me.
Screw this. “I can’t hear you because you decided to blow up a house that I was inside.”
No idea if I’d shouted that or just spoke. I did know that anger had my chest heaving, and fear had the blood in my veins running icy cold. Were the other guys okay? The enforcers. No one had followed us, which gave me a very bad feeling. Shit. I really hoped Ryder and the others got back soon; there was every chance that if they could get medical attention and blood to the boys, they’d be okay. They had to be okay.
After my shouted statement, and flipping him off, the Sanctum guy stepped forward. I raised my hands up and prepared for a fight. Of course, I should have known he was nothing more than a distraction, as a small prick hit the side of my neck. I brushed at the jabbed area, and knocked off whatever little dart had hit me.
Oh crap. Crap, crap, crap. This was going to kill Ryder. My heart stilled then, and as the sedative pumped through my veins, I let the enforcer’s image enter my mind. I couldn’t leave Ryder; we had such a short time together and I wanted more. So much more. I wanted forever.
I held on to his image as long as I could. Tendrils of foggy darkness closed in around it and I fought with all my will. But there was nothing I could do, and as I slumped forward, a single tear trickled from my eye as the blackness took me.
My first thought upon waking was, “I’m not dead!” Then a raging headache slammed into me and I groaned, fighting through the fog like a thick blanket. Wait … I’d heard that groan.My hearing must have healed in the time I’d been unconscious. How long had it been? Damn, I hoped my boys were okay. I wondered what the odds were that I’d see any of them again.
Ready to bust out of wherever I was being held, I struggled to open my eyes and finally managed to do so, sitting up.
Okay … what the eff? I was in a super fancy hotel room suite. Weird place to bring someone to kill them. Death in style, what a way to go.
The door was open a crack and I heard the TV on in the other room. My eyes darted all around as I tried to plan my escape. The idiots hadn’t tied me to the bed! I wasn’t even cuffed. I assumed the window to the left of the bed would be sealed shut. All hotels were. Probably for this very reason … they didn’t want me jumping out of it. The bathroom to my right was windowless. Crap.
Should I rush whomever was outside the room, hoping to take them by surprise? Or pretend to still be passed out, and when they checked on me rise from the dead and take out as many as I could?
“Princess is up.”
Eyes appeared through the crack in the door and I groaned. Element of surprise gone already.
Popping to my feet, I stood on the bed, fists raised. No one took down Charlie without a fight. One of them kicked the door open, and upon seeing me on the bed he smiled. They all shuffled in one by one, dressed in black, and I realized I was still with Sanctum. Were they retrieving me for someone or was this my last stop?
A figure stepped forward and I recognized Laz, the creepy shithead who had kept Jayden captive in my apartment. That POS was on my list. And my list was not a place anyone wanted to find themselves.
Black eyes with a sliver of silver flashed at me. He threw both hands up in front of him. “Calm down, Princess, we’re here to talk about a truce,” Laz said.
I wasn’t falling for that shit. I didn’t lower my hands. “Yeah right. You want the millions the vampires put on my head.”
