After several moments of staring at his phone, Mars scowled — the first sign of a loss of his self-control that Paige had seen.
“Tactical. SWAT maybe. With their arsenal and the way they move, they’re heavily trained. We’re vastly outnumbered.”
“I thought you said no one could track us here.”
Mars’ cool façade slipped back into place. “You can stand here and yell at me. Or you can move. Either way, they’re heading this way. They’re trained to look for abnormalities in the terrain. They’ll find us. We have to get out of here.”
Boyd slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand as he released a frustrated shout. The noise startled Paige. Her body jerked in the seat, and she whimpered.
“Grab her. Let’s go.”
“Leave her,” Mars countered. “She’ll only slow us down. I can shoot her right now.”
“No!” Boyd said. “Not until we figure out who and what she’s told about me. No loose ends. You’re on my payroll. I said grab her. We’ll split up. You take her one way. I’ll go another. We’ll regroup once we get out of this mess.”
Boyd started for the door, but Mars grabbed his arm and jerked him back. “I’m not a fool! You’re not saddling me with your problem, so you can make your escape. I’m not going down for your mess.”
Another beep had Mars staring at his phone again. Boyd took the opportunity to rush out the door before Mars stopped him. Mars shouted after him, but Boyd was already gone.
Mars whirled on her, wielding his knife. He roared and surged toward her. Paige had only seconds before he killed her with the knife. She squared her shoulders, forced her head up, and stared him down with her good eye.
“They know about you.”
She held her breath, certain he would stab her despite what she said to stop him. Mars’ chest heaved as he jerked to a stop infront of her. He dropped his arm, the hand grasping the knife at his side.
Relief washed over her, and she pushed herself to take advantage of the reprieve.
“The men who are here for me know all about you and what you’ve done. Kill me, and they’ll come for you. Save me, and I’ll help you take Boyd down for his betrayal.”
“You think I need help for that?” Mars returned, his body barely holding his anger.
“I can keep you out of it. Just untie me and leave me here. You can escape, and I’ll blame it all on Boyd.”
Her breath caught when he approached, but he stepped behind her. She closed her eyes, certain he was about to slit her throat. She jerked when he cut her bindings and not her. She released a long breath as her arms fell to her side, numb and stiff.
Then he grabbed her arm and jerked her to her feet.
“Come on.”
Paige swallowed the bile rising into her throat.
“I can’t.” She stumbled and almost dropped to the floor when her legs shook under her weight.
Mars crowded her space, glaring into her face. “You will, or I’ll kill you.”
“Leave me, please.”
“Move!”
Paige had no idea how she managed to propel forward, but she did. Mars dragged her into a smaller area with a ladder leading up to a hatch. Realizing he held her in some sort of storm shelter, she tried to glance around her as they stepped at the top.It was still nighttime, and her unswollen eye struggled to adjust to the bright moonlight shining down on the unfamiliar area. All she discerned were shadows moving toward them.
It was Ben and his brothers. She didn’t have to see clearly to know Ben had come for her.
“Move!” Mars shouted in her ear.
Her body wouldn’t cooperate. He yanked on her violently, but her knees buckled. She heard someone shouting, but her pain roared in her ears. Mars’ arm pressed to her chest like a vise, positioning her like a shield in front of him. He supported her, dragging her as they moved. Then he released her, only to grab her arm and pull her behind them in a run.
Paige had no idea how she managed to keep up with him when her body was shutting down. Tears streamed from her eyes, but she pushed on. She couldn’t give up, not when Ben was so close.
