"Declan will come after me!"
The man chuckled. "Unlikely, but even if he tries, you'll be long gone." Marku frowned as he cast an assessing eye over me. "She's not much to look at, but she'll do," he informed my father dismissively. "But as long as she gives me an heir, I don't care what she looks like."
"She's all yours as long as you provide the weapons and men I need." Papa focused on Marku, ignoring me for the moment. Marku nodded.
"We made a deal. You've done your part, and I'll do mine."
Marku grabbed my wrist and tugged me out of the room. With each step, my anxiety spiked a little higher. My bruised ribs ached, and my stomach churned, even though there was nothing left in it.
Nothing in the house or beyond offered a hint about where we were. Somewhere remote, judging by the lack of buildings beyond the windows. Any hope I had of being rescued faded. Declan would never find me here. Not this far from civilization.
The fat guard appeared, nodding respectfully at Marku.
“Take the girl and lock her in the trunk. We’ll be leaving shortly.”
“Yes, boss. The pilot’s on standby.”
Marku shoved me at the guard and walked away with his phone in his hand. I heard him barking instructions in a language I didn’t recognize, and then he disappeared through a door.
When I looked through the nearby window, I saw the tall man who’d shot the third guard. He stood idle, smoking a cigarette. There didn’t appear to be anyone else around.
I thought fast as Marku’s guard pushed me down a dimly lit passageway. Cobwebs clung to every surface and dead leaves crunched underfoot. This place had clearly been empty for years. Decades even.
Once outside, the fat guard steered me toward a sleek, black car. I saw no sign of the dead man, but a dark patch of congealed blood remained.
I pretended to stumble to give myself some time. Once I'd been locked in the car, I had no way of escaping. They’d take me out of the country, and from there, nobody would find me.
Declan would come after me. He had access to a lot of resources. Resources like Milo, my sister’s tech nerd husband. And the twins were in Italy. Ronan wouldn’t forget about me. He’d told me he loved me.
There was a small chance they’d ride to my rescue, like Knights in Tarnished Armor, but realistically, the only person I could rely on right now was myself. If I could get away from this guard, I might survive. Marku was still in the house, along with my father. The other guard I’d spotted had disappeared. There could be other men roaming around here, but if so, they weren’t anywhere nearby.
There certainly wasn’t the vast army my father had once had at his disposal. Those men were long gone. And for all his posturing, this Marku didn’t seem all that powerful. Not like Declan. If he had been, he’d have fought back at the club. Instead, he’d run away like a pathetic little bitch.
Realizing that Marku wasn’t the big fish he liked to pretend he was gave me hope. If I could get away from him, lose him somehow, I stood a chance of making it out of here alive.
Thick forest lay less than two hundred feet away. Dusk had fallen. The men I’d seen didn’t have dogs, which would make it harder to track me if I got away.
The guard huffed in irritation when I dropped to my knees, faking a dizzy spell.
“Get up you stupid bitch, I don’t have time for this shit!”
He moved awkwardly to lift me and I lashed out with my elbow, catching him squarely between the legs. With an agonized groan, he bent double, releasing me.
“You fucking…” I didn’t hang around to hear the rest of that sentence. Instead, I shot off into the overgrown garden, heading for the shadowy trees. Within seconds, the guard I’d temporarily disabled began yelling for backup.
Adrenaline surged in my veins, giving me an extra burst of speed.
Thorns tore at my legs and branches snagged my hoodie, each step taking me closer to freedom. I heard more shouts, but the thick trees, spiky bushes, and dense pockets of darkness concealed me from the house.
My chest heaved as I fought for oxygen. Running and I were not friends, but for the first time in my life, I felt grateful Conal had pushed me in the gym. Otherwise, I’d have collapsed by now.
A stone wall came into view, partially collapsed where a rotten tree branch had come down, probably in the recent storm. The fear of capture pushed me forward, propelling me over the wall and into the adjoining forest. I had no clue where I was going, nothing to guide me. All I could see were trees in every direction, but it didn’t matter.
Anything was better than waiting for my father and Marku to decide my fate. I wasn’t marrying that man. I’d rather die.
A bullet pinged off a nearby tree. I screamed, the shock of the noise sending me stumbling to the ground. Thick mud caked my hands and knees, but I dragged myself up.
They wouldn’t dare kill me.
