Olivia’s heart pounded so hard inside her chest, she thought it would explode. Terror threatened to consume her, but she refused to let this happen to her again.
With as much force as she could muster, she twisted and bucked against the man’s tight hold, but it was no use. The guy was too strong.
Turning them, the man drug her between a compact car and a white panel van. Olivia nearly laughed at how cliché it all was. Parking garage. White van. Bodyguard shot with no one else around to help.
The van’s side door was open and the middle seats had been removed, leaving a dark, empty space.Oh, God. Donotlet him put you in there!
As the man forced her closer, Olivia’s feet scrambled to find purchase on the smooth, slick floor. Her heart sank when she glanced inside the van again, and saw a pair of handcuffs and a roll of duct tape lying on the vehicle’s metal floor.
No!She’d seen enough TV to know, if he got her into that van, she was as good as dead. Or worse. She couldn’t let that happen. She had to keep fighting.
The roar of her pulse was deafening in her ears as she bucked against the man. She attempted to kick back, aiming for his shins, but her feet only caught air.
When he tried to force her into the van, Olivia swung her right foot up, pressing it against the metal panel next to the open door. Using that as leverage, she pushed against it with her foot as hard as she could, throwing the guy’s back into the other car’s driver side mirror.
Her assailant cursed but didn’t let go. When he attempted to push her into the van again, Olivia repeated the same action as before, but this time her shoe slipped.
Having lost her precious footing, she arched her body and threw her head back as hard as she could, praying she’d break the asshole’s nose. She hit his chin instead, but from his reaction, it still hurt him.
“You bitch!”
Releasing her mouth, he grabbed hold of her ponytail, the back of her head burning as he pulled her hair hard. He yanked her head even further backward, toward his chest. She screamed as loud as she could, praying someone would hear her cry for help.
In an effort to relieve the burning in her scalp, Olivia reached back toward her attacker’s wrists. Desperate to get free, her fingers frantically clawed at his leather-clad hands. She realized a moment too late, what a mistake that move had been.
Without warning, her attacker slammed her forehead into the unforgiving side of the van. Excruciating pain exploded inside her head and hundreds of tiny, white stars flashed before her eyes.
Olivia’s knees buckled as she fought to stay conscious. She felt herself being lifted. The man had just started to put her into the van. when a loud roaring sound echoed off the walls.
“Let her go!”
A blurry, male figure holding what she assumed was a gun ran toward them. The man holding her froze for a split second, then cursed.
Just like that, Olivia felt herself falling.
Tossed like a rag doll, Olivia landed hard against the cold floor. Sharp pain shot through her left hip, ribs, and elbow, but she wanted to keep fighting. Was desperate to.
Rolling over, her hands slapped loudly against the concrete as she worked to get up onto her hands and knees. The pain and nausea slowed her movements to a snail’s pace, and she was still struggling to stand when two deafening gunshots blasted through the air, back-to-back.
To her left, the man who’d tried to abduct her grunted loudly, his body jerking backward against the van. He was dead before he hit the ground.
“Olivia!”
Trevor’s voice boomed as he kicked the dead man’s gun across the floor, then squatted down next to her.
With a gentle hand on her shoulder, he sounded a bit strained as he said, “Stay put, honey. Don’t try to stand.”
More than happy to oblige, Olivia plopped back down onto her butt, her entire body shaking from adrenaline and shock. She could hear Trevor on the phone calling for help but didn’t pay attention to his words. He was okay, and she was okay. In that moment, nothing else mattered.
