She twisted, tried to get one knee under her body so she could get upright, only to be kicked off balance.If she could just get to her husband…
Her arm gave out at the same time as glass exploded from somewhere nearby.
“Stop right there or I’ll kill her.”A woman’s voice, followed by a distinctive click.The sound of a pistol’s hammer being pulled back.
Samantha tipped her chin up and peered at the woman, but the darkness prevented her from discerning her features.All she saw was a silhouette.
“If you kill her, you’ll be signing your own death warrant.”Samantha recognized Murry’s low growl.He must have smashed his way through an external door to gain entry.
The woman’s snort was mostly drowned out by continued banging and shouts from Adrian.It sounded like he was locked in one of the rooms.To free him, Samantha would have to overpower the woman who threatened her.Despite the pain slicing through her, she’d manage.For Adrian.Especially with Murry now here to help.
All she needed was a distraction, but what?
The woman chuckled in response to Murry’s threat.“I don’t think you realize who you’re dealing with.”
“Do you?”Samantha asked.If she could keep the woman talking, maybe Murry could somehow gain the upper hand.
“Of course we do,” a man’s voice answered.Though she recognized it, she couldn’t quite place it.
She squeezed her eyes shut.This had just gotten so much harder.“Who are you?”
“You’ll find out soon enough, I’m sure.All that matters right now is that I will shoot your friend dead if either of you try anything.Understood?”
“What I understand,” Samantha seethed, “is that you are a murderous prick.I will take pleasure in sending you off to hell.”
The man clicked his tongue.“Such foul language from an upper-class lady.Then again, you’re not really a lady at all, are you?I mean, you can’t be when you’re married to Croft, a man who has done his own share of killing.I wonder if you would call him a murderous prick too.Semantics and all that.”
Enraged by his comment, Samantha pulled on every bit of strength she possessed.With a cry of fury, she pushed herself onto her knees, got one foot under herself, and was almost upright, ready to sprint toward the nameless bastard, when something hard connected with the side of her head.
A guttural yelp flew from between her parted lips as she stumbled and fell, palms slamming against the ground for purchase, scraping against it so hard they burned.The woman’s foot pressed down on her back, holding her there.No doubt with her pistol directed straight at Samantha’s head.
“She’s trouble,” said the woman.“We should kill her now before she becomes a bigger problem for us to deal with.”
“No.The whole point of capturing her and her husband was so they could help us.”The man paused for a moment.An unidentifiable sound followed.“However, three people might be more than we can manage, and I’m thinking this one will be tougher for us to restrain than an injured woman.”
Thunder echoed through the basement before his words had time to register with Samantha.It was followed by a loud thud.
“No.”The word was wrenched from somewhere deep in Samantha’s gut.Her ribs squeezed her lungs, trapping her heart so it struggled to beat.“Murry?”
The pounding on the door resumed.“Samantha?”
“She’s fine for now,” said the man.“The brute you brought with you, however, has taken a swift exit.”
A roar of anger was accompanied by more pounding.“I’ll bloody well—”
“Think before you make additional threats,” yelled the man.“And step away from the door.Mrs.Lester and I have business to attend to.”
So it was true.Mrs.Lester was one of the villains.They’d have to tell Murdoch to pay more attention to his informants.
Footsteps clicked against the floor.Samantha tried raising her chin for a better glimpse of the man who’d killed Murry.Unfortunately, her current position coupled with the darkness made it impossible for her to see who he was.But then she heard metal strike flint.Additional rummaging sounds followed and light swiftly bloomed as an oil lamp was lit and the flame turned up.
Before she was able to make out more than a pair of shoes and the hem of a dove-grey skirt, a hand grabbed the back of her neckline, pulling it tight against her throat.She choked as she was yanked upward, the pain darting into each limb producing a series of winces.She’d no time to adjust, to gather her wits and prepare, before fresh agony speared her.
All she could do was grit her teeth against it as the end of a pistol was thrust straight into her spine.
“If you try anything, you’ll end up like him,” said the woman.
Samantha looked to Murry, who lay in a crumpled heap on the ground.Blood stained the back of his jacket and…God.Her throat closed so tightly it ached.Tears welled in her eyes.This couldn’t be happening.These people could not have brought them to their knees with such ease.
