His expression cleared and he closed his eyes briefly. Opening them, he looked at Earl and stood straighter, his jaw tightening.
Earl gestured to her and said something to one of the new-to-her guards sporting a thick beard and biceps the size of an oak. Biceps stalked toward the office and a second later, she could feel and hear him stomping up the metal steps.
Acting fast, she walked over to the bucket. Wrinkling her nose, she nudged it onto its side right in front of the entrance.
The door swung open and the guard’s lip curled as he stepped forward. “It smells like—” His foot hit the wet linoleum and slid out from under him. “Aahh!” In the blink of an eye, he was on his back, his skull hitting the floor with a sickeningthunk.
Keeping away from the small puddle, she yanked the large knife from a sheaf at his waist and knelt with the handle between her feet, point up, blade facing out. Then she awkwardly sawed the rope binding her wrists behind her back as fast as she could. The blade kept slipping, and she jabbed herself several times, but she didn’t stop.
Biceps moaned and started to move.
Her shoulders burned from the awkward angle, her knees ached from the pressure of the hard floor, her hands grew slick with blood from her stab wounds. Outside, more heavy footsteps slapped the concrete, growing louder.
She kept going.
On the floor, Biceps blinked and gave his head a little shake.
The rope snapped and her arms flew wide. She wiped her wrists and hands on her dress and grabbed for the knife as a heavily tatted man with tanned skin appeared in the doorway, dark eyes wide as he took in the scene.
“Darrell?” Tattoo’s gaze locked in on her and he reached for something behind his back.
Gripping the knife handle in her fist, Emma jumped over Darrell and lunged at Tattoo. He deflected the blade, knocking it out of her hand, but as massive as he was, he hadn’t been prepared for her to barrel into him. He stepped back to catch his balance and found nothing but air. As he toppled backwards down the stairs, Emma bounced off him and landed hard on the concrete floor, splayed out as the air was knocked from her lungs.
The massive guard landed next to her with a sickeningcrackthat echoed through the cavernous space. His scream followed. “My leg! Ow,fuck!” He rolled away from her, curling around his injury.
Shouts filled the air and Emma lay momentarily stunned, gasping for breath. Her right knee throbbed and her forehead was on fire. She opened her eyes and watched as Jason pulled some kind of fancy martial arts move where he grabbed Goon One’s gun and twisted around so that suddenly he had the gunandthe upper hand.
Jason swiped at the blood oozing from a cut above his right eye and took several steps back, aiming the weapon at Earl. “If any of you move, I’ll kill him.”
Everyone froze.
“Slowly put down your weapons and kick them behind you,” Jason ordered in a commanding voice she’d never heard before.
“Drop them,” Earl said. When his guys didn’t immediately comply, he shouted, “Now!” in a shrill voice. He wasn’t so fucking smug now, was he?
Goons One and Two set their guns on the floor, while at the top of the stairs, Darrell sat up, rubbing the back of his head. Tattoo was still curled into a ball, whimpering.
“Em?” Jason called. “You okay?”
Pulse pounding throughout her body, she reached over with a shaky hand and pulled the gun from the holster at the base of Tattoo’s back. Weapon in hand, she scrambled to her feet, ignoring the cuts and bruises all over her body. She was hungry, dehydrated, and tired, and her arms were still bleeding, but she hadn’t struck anything critical. Her muscles still functioned. “I’m fine.”
Only adrenaline kept her standing, but they’d done it! Despite the odds, they’d taken control. Now they had to keep it.
She made sure the safety was off and pointed the gun up the stairs at Darrell. “Slide your weapon into the office.”
He grunted, but complied, eyes never leaving her face.
Breathing a little easier, she kept the two injured guards in her sights as she inched closer to Jason. Somehow, they needed to put in a call for help. They had the upper hand now, but given enough time, Earl’s men could—
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Earl’s movement as he dropped low and reached for something near his feet. His hand came up in Jason’s direction, holding a small pistol.
Oh, God.“No!” Twisting to her left, she fired off several rounds as she leaped toward Jason and pushed him out of the line of fire.
He stumbled sideways, and she followed, landing upright against his chest.
Gunshots boomed around them, echoing like cannon fire off the concrete and metal, overwhelming her hearing.
Jason shoved her behind him and yelled at her to get down as half-a-dozen men dressed in black tactical gear, carrying assault rifles, swarmed around them in the smoky, metallic air.
