The space was dark, smelling of dust and oil.A single bulb flickered overhead.
“Run when I tell you,” he said, backing her against the wall.His body became a shield, broad and unmovable.“No matter what you hear.”
Her mouth felt dry.“Reaper...”
A gunshot cracked through the building.
The sound was deafening in the enclosed space.Elena screamed before she could stop herself, clapping a hand over her mouth as plaster dust rained from the ceiling.
Reaper didn’t flinch.He drew his weapon and fired back through the open door, two sharp shots that echoed like thunder.Someone shouted in pain.Another voice barked orders.
“Now,” Reaper said.
He grabbed her hand and hauled her with him down the stairs, taking them so fast her feet barely touched the steps.Her lungs burned, fear sharpening every sensation until the world felt painfully bright and loud.
They burst out into the rear exit, the metal door slamming behind them.The night exploded.Gunfire erupted from the front of the building, muzzle flashes lighting the street in harsh bursts.Tires screeched somewhere nearby.
Elena stumbled, barely keeping her balance as Reaper dragged her across the uneven pavement toward the alley.A bullet ricocheted off a dumpster inches from her head.She screamed again, the sound ripped from her chest as terror took full control.
Reaper shoved her behind the dumpster and crouched in front of her, firing down the alley with brutal accuracy.His face was calm, terrifyingly focused, eyes tracking movement she couldn’t see.
“Breathe,” he ordered.“You pass out, I leave you.”
The threat worked.She sucked in a ragged breath, then another, nails digging into her palms as she forced herself to stay conscious.Headlights flared at the end of the alley.
“They’re cutting us off,” she gasped.
“I see them,” he said.
Reaper grabbed her again and ran.They cut through the alley, vaulted a low fence, and spilled into a neighboring parking lot.Elena’s legs burned, her vision tunneling, but adrenaline kept her upright.A car door slammed behind them.
“Stop!”someone yelled.
Gunfire followed.Reaper twisted, shoving her to the ground just as a bullet screamed through the space where her head had been.
He rolled over her, shielding her body with his own as he returned fire.The smell of cordite burned her nose.Her ears rang, the sound a high, piercing whine layered over the chaos.
“Up,” he said, hauling her to her feet again.“Almost there.”
She didn’t know where ‘there’ was, only that she trusted him with a desperation that scared her almost as much as the men chasing them.
They sprinted across the lot toward a dark truck parked near the far fence.Reaper hit the key fob.The lights flashed.
“Get in!”he shouted.
Another bullet shattered the rear window as he shoved her into the passenger seat.Glass sprayed across her lap, sharp and cold.
She screamed, curling inward as Reaper slammed the door and rounded the front of the truck.He slid into the driver’s seat, engine roaring to life as more shots rang out.
The truck lurched forward, tires squealing as Reaper floored it.A black SUV surged after them, headlights blazing.
“They’re still coming!”Elena cried.
“I know,” he grumbled.
Reaper cut hard down a side street, then another, weaving through residential roads at reckless speed.The SUV stayed on them, relentless.A second set of headlights appeared in the mirror.
“Oh, God,” she whispered.“How many are there?”
