They’re getting closer.
“We should have found a body by now,” One of them says, a man with a rasp to his voice. “We’ve been out here for days.”
“She couldn’t have survived,” Another replies.
“Anton won’t be satisfied until we find her.”
My stomach bottoms out as my heart begins toaccelerate.
I scramble up from the ground, rushing toward Knox.
“They’re here,” I hiss at him, keeping my voice low so they don’t hear me.
“Who?” He pauses with his hammer, looking to where my chipped nails sink into his arm.
“My uncle’s men,” I swallow. “They’re looking for me.”
CHAPTER14
Her nails bite into my skin, her face a deathly shade of pale; the fear running through her twists her pretty face. For a woman who hasn’t shown an ounce of vulnerability since she got here, this feels akin to a blade twisting inside of me.
There is nowhere for her to hide. She can’t ride, not with her leg and the wide-open space. They’ll spot her a mile off if they come out of those trees, and it’s those trees, right where they are, that can offer the only safe space for her.
“We need to kill them,” She rushes out. “Where’s your gun?”
“Elena,” I grasp her arms, “I don’t have it.”
“What do you mean you don’t have it!?” Shehisses.
It isn’t often I don’t carry, and I don’t know why I chose today of all days not to bring the handgun with me. I prefer my shotgun personally, but that’s a bitch to carry around while I’m working.
“You need to hide in there,” I gesture to the trees.
Her eyes go wide. “I can’t.”
“You have to.”
“K-Knox,” Her voice trembles.
Grasping the back of her head, I bring her toward me. “I won’t let them find you.”
A tremor works through her as her hands grip the rough material of my worn work shirt.
“Hide,” I order, “Now.”
She stumbles away from me, her eyes wide before she spins and runs the best she can into the cover of the trees, right toward the very people looking for her. It’s the only option.
Her body slips into the shade, crunching sounding beneath her feet until everything falls silent enough I hear the echo of the men she’s running from. They’re not even attempting to be quiet, their steps loud, voices even more, and through the gaps, I see the first sign of the suit. I pick up my hammer and get back to work, or at least I make it look that way. My attention is on them, and their steps gain closer. I can’t see or hear Elena.
Honey anxiously fidgets behind me. She isn’t secured, so has every opportunity to run, but I know she won’t, no matter how scared she gets. She’s a good girl, loyal to a fault.
The first one comes into view a few feet inside the woodland, the second right behind him, and I pause with my hammer, lifting my head as if I didn’t know they were there.
Keeping my grip strong, I force myself to relax. “Can I help you?”
Honey bucks behind me, startling the two guys enough that they reach behind them, for what I guess are their weapons.
“Easy,” I hold my hands up. “She’s just nervous. Not a fan of strangers.”
