Fuck her!
“No, that you’ll always be wondering how I did it.”
“Did what? Cried for help and nobody gave a shit?”
I smile, then dart my eyes over her shoulder. “Uh, oh, is that Darius? I guess I’d better be a good girl and we can have this conversation another time.”
She turns her head to listen for his arrival. I know she doesn’t like him from her sneer when she mentioned his name, but it’s all the distraction I need. I roll back on my ass—glad my Pilates days are finally paying off—and I launch my feet into her face as she turns back to face me. It’s enough to make her go flying backwards, hitting her head on the concrete floor, yelping in surprise. I dive on her, ramming my bound fists into her face, then I swing against her throat. She gasps for air, but I don’t let up, using her chest as a launching board, I lift off her body and swing my knees into her ribs. She still has the use of her hands and legs, and she claws at me, trying to throw me off. One distinct disadvantage I have is that I’m small, therefore, I don’t weigh very much. But she’s right when she gallantly told me I’d studied martial arts. Yes, that’s true. It’s a hobby of mine, and I know every fucking move there is. I push down on her throat again, holding my crossed wrists against her windpipe while she thrashes around underneath me, trying once more to throw me off. I push all my weight into her, and she struggles against my hold.
“You’re fucking weak,” I mutter, my face close to hers. “Both my hands and feet are bound, and I’m still kicking your ass. Too bad about that raise, you fucking bitch, I guess I’ll just have towait this out until I can figure out a way to kill Darius after I kill you.”
Her eyes widen, the adrenaline really must be coursing through her now, but that blow to her windpipe helped me gain a foothold. She can’t breathe. I’m going to kill her, and I’ve never felt so good about doing something I’d normally loathe. If I even let go an inch, she’ll take it, and it’ll be my head on that platter she so boldly boasted about. Her struggling deteriorates, and I only squeeze harder. In fact, I think the ropes made it that much worse for her.
I see the light fading from her eyes as her body goes limper by the second. “Now you’ll get to see the devil himself in Hell. Don’t you see? Good will always win out in the end, not evil,” I whisper. “And if you’re going to abduct someone successfully, it’s probably best if their hands are boundbehindtheir back.”
I shove her head back into the concrete over and over and over until she’s paler than a sheet, her lifeless body on the floor. I don’t let up until I know she’s dead.
I roll off her, my heart racing a million miles an hour.
The bitch deserved it, and I don’t know how much time I have before Darius comes back. I use my feet to kick her over, checking her pockets—which is incredibly hard with just your fingers—she has a fucking gun! It’s tucked into the back of her jeans.Holy fuck.
I manage to pull it out, noting the safety is off. I shove it into the front of my yoga pants, thanking the lord that these two dipshits made a dumb mistake.
This is my way out. I have to untie my restraints, check the gun for ammunition and find my way out of here. The fucking cell door is unlocked and open…Move!I pull myself up, hopping over to the door. The latch lifts, and a bolt secures it in this old-fashioned style lock. The latch may cut through the ropes, they’re not thick, but they are tight. It’s a long shot, but Imaneuver my body so I’m hard up against the cell door, hoping the friction will be enough to at least cut through some of my ties and I can get myself free. I can’t run out of here with my feet bound, and I sure as shit can’t shoot anyone with my hands tied. I don’t know how much time I have, but this is my shot.
I’m coming, Haze.
I’m sorry. I love you.
We’re not done.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR
Haze
Of course, Clare or fucking Jane—whoever the fuck she is—ditched her phone. Seems like the woman has covered her tracks. My head spins when I think about what she could do to Willow. So this is some revenge attack because of Bolt? How the hell did any of us miss this?
Of course she has it in for Willow because she was part of that whole takedown.
Then Sawyer pipes up on speakerphone. “I’m goin’ through some texts and emails on her phone.” Don’t ask me how he can do that, because I wouldn’t have a fucking clue. “I can try to break down some of them that are encrypted. Several are blocked numbers, and those are the ones I’m most interested in, but it’ll take some doin’. The twins are takin’ half the load.”
“Good,” I say. “Any lead is better than nothin’, keep us updated.”
We drove to a nearby diner because we can’t stand on the side of the road all day waiting for Willow to magically pop up.
“I should’ve had more people watchin’ her,” I say, my head in my hands. “It wasn’t enough. There was a threat, and I let her just walk around like nothin’ bad was gonna happen.”
Did I get too big for my boots? Acting as if the world was still a good place because I thought I could protect her? A fat lot of good that did.
“Nothin’ happened for a long time,” Logan says. “It isn’t your fault. The prospects were fooled. We'll deal with them later, but right now, we need to think this through.”
“What’s to think about?” I bark. “We have no leads. My wife could be three states away by now, and there ain’t nothin’ I can do about it.”
“Let’s not get caught up in all of that,” Brew says. “Seriously, we have the best team lookin’ for her, Star included. If you let this take over you now, it means they win.”
I glare at him. “They’ll never win.”
