A dark form stepped in front of her, blocking her from the hallway.
A scream caught in her throat.Warning bells clanged in her head.
Her mind did a rapid assessment.The man wore all black, and although he stood close to Quin’s height, he most definitely wasn’t Quin.
She opened her mouth but his hand closed around her throat, hauling her back to his chest.
“You’re coming with me.”
Terror pierced her veins.Something rough and sharp poked her palm—the crystal.The man shoved her down the hall, his arm now firmly around her chest.She only had one shot.Gripping the stone in her fist, she whirled around and slammed the edge of the rock into his skull.The man staggered against the wall.
She swung again and the stone connected with his jaw.
“Jesus, fuck!”
She turned and ran, letting a scream rip from her lungs.The living room bounced around her as she charged for the back door.Air pressed against her lungs, begging to be let out, but she couldn’t waste the energy on another scream.She had to get out and find help.
Please, God.Let Quin be okay.
She yanked open the back door, flinging it on its hinges as she slammed her shoulder into the screen door.A hand sank into her hair and jerked her backward.The attacker caught her wrist and smacked her hand against the door jamb.Pain shot through her fingers as the stone fell from her grasp.
She opened her mouth and something bashed against her temple.The lights flickered in her brain and her legs wobbled like jelly.Rough hands seized her as the world faded to ash around her.
CHAPTER 13
Quin charged throughthe mud toward the front of the house, the closest entry.How long had he blacked out for?Couldn’t have been long...a few minutes, tops.A fuzzy gray ring circled his vision and his feet slipped and slid on the wet ground.Warmth throbbed on the back of his head and he didn’t doubt he was bleeding.Not that it mattered.
He grabbed the front railing and hauled his ass up the stairs, not bothering to be quiet.If the man was inside, Quin sure as shit wanted him to know he was coming for him.He kept the gun at his side—never should have fucking tucked it away to begin with.Then again, if he hadn’t, the dude might have taken it when he passed out.
His boots skidded over the wet porch.
A shriek ripped through the cabin, turning his blood to sludge.
“Josie!”He shoved the front door.It didn’t budge.
Fuck!
Standing back, he slammed his boot into the wood.The door shook on its hinges.The wood splintered at the jamb.No, he couldn’t be stuck here while she was inside being murdered or god knew what.He took five paces back, braced his shoulder and rammed it into the wood.The door burst open and he stumbled into the front foyer.
Pain shot through his neck and back, but it didn’t compare to the terror slicing through his heart.“Josie!”He ran through the house, shining the flashlight as he went.He checked the bedroom first then the bathroom.
Gone.She was gone.
He shined the flashlight at the floor.Wet footprints covered the hardwood, and not just from his boots.He followed the tracks to the back door.He’d heard her scream.They couldn’t be far.
He ran for the door and his foot hit something hard that went skittering.What the?He moved the beam of light.A stone bigger than his fist lay in front of him.One of Josie’s crystals.Had she used it as a weapon?If the dude was hurt, Quin might have a better chance of catching him.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed the one number he never thought he’d call.The line rang in his ear as he bounded down the steps.
“Whistlemore Sheriff’s Department,” a tired-sounding woman said by way of greeting.
“Yeah, I need to speak to Hank.Now.”
She tsked.“He’s off-duty.”
“Call him and tell him it’s Quin.”He rushed across the backyard and reached the field he’d chased Frasier into.He swung the beam of the flashlight along the ground.Tire tracks ran west.“Tell him I’m west of Josie’s.In a field.He’s gonna need backup.”He disconnected.
There was no way he’d catch them on foot.He ran back to the house and snagged his keys from the kitchen counter.
