The door smashes to pieces as the Axeman throws himself into it, only to be held up by the large wooden dresser. Lee slams the bathroom door and locks it, but we both know it’s futile. The Axeman will get through this door in no time. And then Lee will be dead.
Just as I’m about to scream at Lee one more time to at least try to escape, someone grabs me around my waist and pulls me out of the window. I fall to the ground painfully, where I’m met with the ugliest pair of damn shoes in the world. I’ve only seen one person wearing these shoes.
“Fancy running into you here, lassie,” he says with his ridiculous accent as he holds a hand out to help me up. I smack the hand away and gape at him in disbelief.
“Lochlan!” I gasp, getting to my feet in a rush of fury. “What the hell is going on here? Is this another one of your stupid games? Because it’s not funny!” I slam my hands against his chest repeatedly.
He shakes his head, pushing me away gently, even though I’ve been anything but gentle with him. “No, little lass. This isn’t my doing. And I don’t know why I’m here. The last thing I remember is finishing myscotch right before there was a loud knock on my bedroom door,” he explains, rubbing at his head, his red hair shining brightly. I vaguely wonder if he’s suffering from the same headache I am. I assume it’s from whatever sleeping agent they gassed us with when they abducted us. “But I did find this in my pocket when I woke up.” He hands me an envelope with my name scrawled across the front.
Whatever is waiting inside this handwritten bomb, I don’t want any part of it.
I shove the letter back at him. “I don’t have time for this,” I snap before finally getting a good look at him. His suit is covered in blood, and he has a gash across his forehead that looks fresh. “What happened to you?”
Lochlan pockets the envelope again and looks down at his bloodied attire before pointing toward the window. “Oh, you know, the usual. I woke up in a strange room with dead animals looking at me from every inch of the wall. I fought off a crazy masked-bloke who seems to have a penchant for axes,” he says with a flourish, waving his hands like some sort of drunken magician before pointing toward the window. “The same thing that’s going to happen to your friend down there if we don’t get him out. But I don’t think he’ll make it out as unscathed as I did. I’m wily and quick on my feet like a fox.” He winks and does some stupid wannabe kung-fu move before falling on his ass.
He stumbles to his feet just before the axe smashes against the bathroom door with a deafening crack. Lee curses and takes another leaping jump toward the window.
“Then help him!” I scream, not caring that Lochlan could be the one behind all of this, even if he does seem like an annoyingly handsome, but useless, drunk, and not some astute mastermind—or that this could just be another stupid escape room type game like before. Everyone will be laughing at my overreactions for sport the moment I cross the invisible finish line.
All I can think about is saving Lee, just like he saved me. I won’t let him sacrifice himself for me. We may not be close, but he’s my best friend’s husband. I refuse to be the reason why she loses him. Plus, it would be very unfortunate for him to die wearing nothing but a robe that’s just a touch too short.
“Lee!” Lochlan yells, thrusting his whole body through the small opening of the window. “Grab my hand if you want to live to see the next hour, mate!”
The axe hits the door behind him again. Lee wastes no time debating. He gets a running start and throws himself at Lochlan, grabbing his hands with renewed determination. I throw myself onto Lochlan’s legs, a loud, inhuman grunt escaping my lips so he doesn’t slide through the gap under Lee’s weight. Together, we pull Lee to safety just as the Axeman bursts through the bathroom door.
He runs toward us and throws the axe at the window. It implants itself into the wall with a sickening crunch. Lochlan helps Lee to his feet, and the three of us take off running into the woods, while being chased by the masked man’s screams of fury.
“YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE!”
“YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE!”
“YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE!”
My brain replays those sinister words over and over again as we run further and further into the unknown.
What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?
Chapter twenty-two
We run deeper and deeper into the woods until our lungs give out. Well, until their lungs give out. I’ve been running three miles a day since I was a freshman in college to stave off that dreaded freshman fifteen. I can run laps around this lot without breaking a sweat.
I do wish I wasn’t trying to run in heels—even if I look great while doing it.
“Do we think we’ve lost him?” Lee pants, his hands clutching his side as he leans against the trunk of a large tree, gasping for breath. “Lochy, do you know a place we can hide?”
“Lochy? When did you have a chance to come up with this riveting nickname?” I cross my arms and glare at the two of them.
Lee shrugs. “We got to know each other a bit while you girls were trapped in that room. Did you know Lochy-boy grew up here in Scotland? Isn’t that right?” He gestures to Lochlan.
Lochan holds up a hand in answer just before puking his guts up onto the forest floor.
I take a few steps away from him to dodge the mess and can’t help the sneer that paints my lips as I watch the two of them fall apart before me. Freakingmen.
Why couldn’t I have been left with another woman? Teagan may hate me right now, but I know she’d be a killer partner in a situation like this. That girl is the definition of tenacity and quick thinking. I’d even take Capri and her dramatics because while she’s quick to fall apart, she’s even quicker at figuring out a plan and seeing it through to the end.
Our friendship trio may be on the rocks right now, but if push comes to shove, we will go down swinging for each other. I trust that fact with my entire soul, even if I’m probably last on their list to save.
But instead of my final girl friends, I’ll have to babysit these idiots while trying to figure out how to get us out of this mess. I have one guy who would rather drink himself to death and has a horrible sense of footwear, and another who was about to willingly sacrifice himself instead of trying to find another way to escape.
