The two men looked at one another, then back at her. “CristOF is the tracker Commander TylOR sent for? What did he tell you of his mission?”
Everything in her screamed to run again, but she couldn’t. She was blocked in, the two men were in front of her, the gazebo railing on the sides, and the pond was behind her. The only way out of the gazebo was through the two men, unless she jumped into the pond. She had taken self-defense courses, but nothing that would help her against two hulking men.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
“You were with him a good amount of time yesterday and last night. Did he say where he was going?” One of them moved forward.
“I barely know him,” she said, stepping back.
Coming closer as well, the other man sniffed at her. “You lie. I can smell his scent on you. It’s faint, but it’s definitely there.”
She hadn’t showered last night or this morning. Were their senses that good that they could smell him having kissed her? She tried to move back farther, but she came right up against the railing. She was trapped, with no good options. She tried to reason with them.
“Look, I had lunch with CristOF, and then he left. I don’t know where he went or what he’s doing.” That was true enough. She wouldn’t tell these men anything else about CristOF. Somehow, she had to get away.
The man closest to her turned to look at his friend. “She’s either telling the truth and doesn’t know anything or she’s lying to protect the bastard.”
“Even if he didn’t tell her directly, she could have overheard something that we could use. We’ll have to take her with us for further questioning.”
Oh shit! Everything she’d learned from her self-defense courses said to never let the attacker take her to a new location. That would ensure that she wouldn’t live through the encounter and her body might never even be found.
Acting quickly, Tera gripped the railing and threw herself over it, landing in the shallow water at the edge of the pond. She took off running as best she could through it. A few seconds later, she could hear splashing of feet as one or both men jumped into the pond and gave chase.
Run faster...run faster...run faster!She kept telling herself, even though the farther she went into the pond, the harder lifting her legs became. Her clothes were being weighted down with water.
One of the men behind her tripped, and cursed in his language. “Kitana!Get her!”
She glanced back to see him kneeling in the water, but where the hell was the other one? Suddenly, she was hit from the side and knocked down. She fell into the pond and choked on water as she came up for air. She flailed, trying to get her balance to stand and run again.
She took in a breath to scream for help, but a large hand clamped over her mouth and nose. Then she felt a pinch in her neck, and everything started to fade. She wondered if this was it for her. She wished one last time that she had made love with CristOF.
