“Hey!”
“Fuck,” I rasped under my breath, and I didn’t wait. I picked her up and tossed her over my shoulder and ran with her toward the opening.
Footsteps pounded behind me, and I shoved her through the hole, handing her off to Kane who’d heard the commotion and came running.
“Take her,” I hissed. She barely made it through by the time I got clocked by something in the side of the head.
Pain splintered through my skull.
Severe enough that it would drop another man to his knees.
But the violence that lived inside me only flared to life, pulsing through my body and surging into my hands.
Pulling out my hunting knife, I whirled around, and I grabbed the guard by the shoulder and jerked him forward.
It didn’t take much. It was pure instinct.
Driving the knife deep into his gut and ripping it to the side.
Something too close to satisfaction twisted through me as I opened him up, the fucker’s eyes going wide as he realized he’d met his end. That I possessed his last breath, and he wouldn’t have the chance to do harm again.
Blood poured out of his belly, and I shoved the knife a fraction deeper, my teeth gritted as he choked and gargled over his spit before he dropped to his knees. I tore the blade free, and he slumped all the way forward.
I stood, eyes scanning the space, aggression speeding through my nerves, all too ready to take the next motherfucker down.
“Cash, we have to split. Let’s go,” Kane urged just loud enough to break through the chaos that took me whole.
I hesitated, wanting to race toward the building to incite the type of mayhem I thirsted for.
“Fuck, man, we’ve got to get out of here before that piece of shit you just left face down is discovered.”
I finally gave and turned around.
Elena’s eyes were as big as saucers. Roiling with horror as she gaped at me with ragged breaths jutting from her lungs.
No question, she recognized the monster that I was. Saw right to the depraved depths of me.
I shoved myself back through the narrow opening just as Theo came hustling up. “Shit, that was not part of the plan, but you did it well, brother.”
Of course Theo would praise me like I was some kind of saint when it was twisted, sick glee that rolled through my consciousness that it’d come to violence.
“But this is goin’ to get ugly,” he added. “We need to get the hell out of here before things really go to shit.”
“Yup, we need to roll and do it quickly.” Kane snapped his head toward the dense forest.
All four of us ducked through the line of trees and hit the trail. Kane kept hold of Elena, and she staggered along a step behind him, constantly tossing her attention over her shoulder in fear that someone was going to catch up to us.
Theo and I maintained the rear in case someone actually did.
Harsh breaths panted from our lungs as we moved through the cover of trees, traversing the uneven terrain up the side of a hill. Branches whipped across our faces while we navigated over the exposed rocks and roots that fought to hold us back.
In the distance, we could hear shouts and the barking of a dog.
“Shit. Sounds like Cash’s handiwork has been discovered. We’ve gotta roll,” Theo prompted, and we sprinted the rest of the way up the hill to the large tree where we left our bikes.
I jumped onto mine and kicked it over, revved it hard as I shouted at Elena, “Get on.”
She didn’t hesitate.
