A mere two hundred yards or so away, Dragon heard them.
“Don’t,” Cassandra cried out. “He’ll kill you for touching me.”
“He’s dead, sweetheart,” another voice sneered. “Don’t you get it? The others all died in the explosion. No one is coming to save you. No one is going to stop this from happening.”
Another fifty yards and he saw them.
Cassandra, on the ground, lying on her stomach, the man above her pressing his hands into her back to pin her in place. Despite the position she was trapped in, his little rabbit did what she always did, she fought back. She was fighting with a desperation that filled him with pride, broke his heart, and ignited his rage.
“What the hell?” the man shouted as Thunder streaked toward him.
Caught off-guard, he shifted off Cassandra as he reached for his weapon, and trusting Blade to do whatever it took to protect his girl, Dragon launched himself at the man who dared to think he could touch what didn't belong to him.
Every emotion he’d ever suppressed, every single drop of anger he’d ever felt toward his family and Dr. Gardner, all exploded out of him as he took Cassandra’s attacker to the ground, and finally, at thirty-three years old, allowed the red haze of fury to consume him.
January 9th
10:01 P.M.
One second, her foot was catching on something, and Cassandra was landing hard on her hands and knees on the unforgiving forest ground. The next, her assailant was on her, shoving her further down, telling her what he was going to do to her.
And then … he was just … gone.
A scuffle behind her had her attempting to drag herself back up onto her feet. She had to take advantage of this opportunity to run. There might not be another.
While she prayed like she’d never prayed before that the man was wrong, and that Dragon and the others weren't dead, just trapped in the building and trying to make their way out, she couldn’t rely on anyone to come swooping in to save her.
If she wanted to live, she had to keep fighting.
Stopping even for a second could literally mean the difference between life and death.
So Cassandra summoned strength she didn't have, did her best to ignore the drugs still in her system, and got to her feet.
She took no more than two steps forward before she collided with a wall of solid muscle.
Muscle, not a tree, she could tell by the heat emanating from it, and she’d certainly crashed into enough trees on her run through the forest.
A whimper escaped as hands closed around her biceps. He had a partner. Of course he did. The man who had broken into her home did too. She should have known there would be another one of them out there. Should have been more careful, not lost her footing, not fallen, not taken so long to get back up.
“Shh, Cassandra,” a voice soothed when she began to fight against the hands gripping her.
Couldn’t stop.
Had to fight.
Survive.
She wasn't just fighting to live but to have the future she craved, one that had seemed permanently out of reach this last year. Now it was within her grasp, and she wasn't letting go of it without knowing she’d done everything in her power to get to it.
“Boo.”
The barked word caught her by surprise. She expected the mercenaries who wanted the money for delivering her to Dr. Gardner to know her name. But how would they know of a nickname she’d had since she was a toddler that no one other than her family ever called her?
“There you go,” the voice encouraged. It wasn't one of her brothers, but it was familiar.
Hardly daring to hope, Cassandra brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and tilted her head back. Standing before her was Blade. His expression was concerned, but steady, and she choked on a sob as she realized not only had the guys come for her, but they were alive and unharmed.
“You good?” Blade asked, and when she nodded, he quickly scooped her up into his arms.
