I took a breath to compose myself, anticipating his obsessive gaze to linger on all the skin I was exposing in the summer night dress. I turned on my heel, a smile just tugging at the corners of my lips when the air abruptly left my lungs.
I took several rushed steps backward, nearly falling down the porch steps. I clutched the railing, heart pounding as I stared at the man covered head to toe in black tactical gear, a gun pointed directly at me. He pivoted, coming around the corner to sweep the backside of the house.
My left foot touched down on the first step, ready to flee, when another man came from the other corner, gun aimed. They nodded at each other and the one on my right spoke, but it was so low and muffled by the balaclava he wore that I couldn’t hear him. Both of their eyes were trained on me, and I didn’t have anywhere to go.
Are they here for me?
The man on the right holstered his weapon on his thigh and flipped the night vision out of his eyes before slowly raising both gloved hands in my direction.
“We’re not going to hurt you. We’re here to help.”
I blinked, my pulse pounding so loudly in my ears I wasn’t sure I heard him right.
“What?” I asked, although it didn’t come out above a whisper.
“We’re here to get you out, but we need to leavenow.”
I blinked again, looking at the man as if he might disappear like a mirage.Out? Leave?
Is this the FBI?I scanned the man’s outfit for a sign that he was part of law enforcement. Even though he blended in with the shadows on the porch, I could see he wasn’t wearing anything to give away his identity.
Did Los Siete hire them? Is this part of Carlos’s plan to use me as bait?
Sweat dripped down my neck and the other man growled, “We don’t have time for this. Just grab her and let’s go.”
I swallowed and nodded quickly, before the man could touch me.
“Okay. Okay.” I licked my lips, my stomach clenching with nerves. “But promise me you’ll shoot me.”
“Huh?” The man with his hands out cocked his head in confusion.
I took a breath, flicking my eyes to the other man briefly before staring straight into his eyes. “Promise me that if we get caught, you’ll shoot me dead.”
I’m not coming back here. I can’t. I won’t survive. I either get out now, or I die here.
He blinked, clearly shocked by my statement and his friend huffed, “Fine. Now let’s move.”
Hell, this is really happening.
The man on the right lowered his hands and crossed the porch, until he was within reaching distance.
“Stay close, don’t speak, and don’t hesitant when we tell you to move.”
I nodded again, trying to calm my racing heart. I wasn’t going to be able to run if I passed out.
“Package in tow. Heading out,” he muttered, clearly speaking to someone else.
His hand landed on my shoulder, and I flinched but didn’t push him away. He flipped his night vision back in front of his face and gave me a nod before he gently pushed me to turn around and he jogged down the stairs. The other man followed behind us, and I looked over my shoulder to find him running backwards, gun aimed in the direction of the house. We ran towards the back of the property that ended at the slope of a hill that led to acres of unfelled woods.
God, let there be no one hunting tonight.
The grass that was padding my footfalls ended and I suddenly realized I was barefoot. The crack of dry leaves and sticks beneath my feet was uncomfortable but I didn’t stop, eyes trained on the boots of the man in front of me. My breath was coming out in sharp pants as we crested the hill and began the descent down into the valley. I’d never been this far from the house, never entered this part of the property. I only knew thatbeyond the electric fence of the compound there was nothing but miles and miles of Texas hill country.
Unlike me, the two men seemed to know exactly where they were going. I tried to keep pace with the man in front of me, but my body hadn’t seen this much exercise in years. My steps slowed further as I clutched a stitch in my side, trying to breathe through the pain.
“Keep moving,” the man behind me barked lowly. He didn’t even sound the slightest bit winded, and I groaned.
I wanted to ask the man the last time he was forced to run barefoot through the woods in the dark, but I held my tongue. I pushed through the ache in my muscles and caught up to the man in front, staying no more than a foot behind him.
