The second I was on the other side, I pulled my gun from the holster at my back, and I kept low, attention raking back and forth as I ran across the grassy expanse toward the backside of the building.
Adrenaline thundered through my veins. The brutality inside stirred and stewed, a quiet howl that begged me to let loose.
To release the pressure that built and built until that delicious moment it was finally unleashed.
There would be no sating it tonight. This had to be clean. I couldn’t leave a trail of blood behind me no matter how much I was thirsting to do it.
I glanced both ways again as I got close to the back wall, then I tucked my gun back into its holster as I grabbed hold of a metal pipe that ran from the ground to the roof. Using my boots against the wall, I propelled myself upward, my movements quickened as I scaled to the top.
I tossed myself onto the roof, breaths heaving and my heart battering as I hurried to the hatch that led into the crawl space.
A padlock kept it bound, and I grabbed my cutters again. My teeth gritted as I compressed the handles of the cutter, the sharp blades shearing through the metal. I stifled a heavy gush of air when it gave. Then I carefully, and as silently as I could, pulled the hatch lid open.
I held my breath as I listened, knowing I was in deep trouble if I alerted anyone, before I felt satisfied I was in the clear and gripped onto the sides of the opening and lowered myself inside.
The soles of my boots hit the interior ceiling with a muted thud.
It was the dead of night, and I was banking on the fact that most would be asleep, and I prayed to fuck that Elena was alone and wasn’t beingoccupiedby someone I most definitely didn’t want to see.
It was the main unknown of this job.
Why she was here. If she’d come of her own accord. If she’d been brainwashed. Or if she was chained.
I crawled through the tangle of wires and conduit toward the room where she was being held. My pulse careened and bashed as I pulled out the large, serrated hunting knife attached to my side.
I started to saw through the sheetrock over Elena’s room.
Sweat dripped down my brow as I dragged the knife back and forth, attempting to keep it as quiet as possible. I glanced at my watch. Two minutes and thirty-two seconds had passed.
Adrenaline pounded as I sawed through the flimsy wood. Finally, I made a hole big enough so I could peel it the rest of the way back.
A faint glow radiated from the space below, though it was mostly dark. Took a second for my eyes to adjust, and I squinted as I made out that the room was close to bare, just a dingy mattress sat in the middle.
A woman was sleeping there, face down with long locks of dark brown hair strewn around her.
Elena.
Thank fuck.
Sucking in a deep breath, I swung down and landed with a dull thunk on the floor.
I froze when she groaned and stirred, then edged forward once she settled. Felt like a prick for what I was about to do, way I knew I was going to freak her the fuck out, but there was no other way to handle it.
I slapped my hand over her mouth as I wrapped my other arm around her waist to drag her off the bed.
Her back pinned to my chest.
Terror gripped her, and her legs started to flail as she clawed at my arm. Her terrified screams were buried in my palm. I putmy mouth to her ear, hissed as quietly as I could, “I’m a friend of your brother. I’m here to get you out, but you need to be quiet.”
She stilled, but I could still feel the distrust rolling through her body.
“We have to go, right now, but first I need you to promise me if I remove my hand, you won’t scream.”
Frantically, she nodded against my hold, and I reluctantly peeled my hand away.
Not sure how she was going to react.
Her chest heaved with shallow, horrified breaths as she swiveled around to look at me.
