Blaize held Carys in his arms, taking another step back.
“Move,” Silus insisted.
Blaize took another step. He was too far away to make a move without risking Silus accidently squeezing the trigger mechanism. He bit back a few choice words.
“Get in first,” Silus said to Rosie, kicking her as she turned toward the back driver’s-side door. It was still open, and therewas blood on the seat and floorboard. At least they were leaving a DNA trail that would be next to impossible to cover.Ifthe police could catch up to Silus before he torched the vehicle.
It dawned on Blaize why Sharon would have “died” in a fiery crash. The fire would erase all DNA evidence. It also made the driver impossible to positively ID. If Sharon wasn’t in the vehicle, who was? Did she murder someone? Drug them and then set the car ablaze?
Sharon might end up in jail for murder the rest of her life when Blaize turned Silus in. Where would that leave Rue?
As Silus passed by, Carys’s body seized. For a split second, Blaize feared she might be dying, but then she opened her eyes and was surprisingly lucid.
Her foot, however, landed on Silus’s ribs. She kicked so hard, he flew into the driver’s-side door. Caught by surprise, the gun flew out of his hand.
Sharon screamed, processed what had just happened, and before Silus could regain his balance, she went wild on him, kicking and punching and screaming.
Carys bucked out of Blaize’s arms. As much as he tried to balance her, she still landed on the ground half on her side. Something cracked. Her wrist, maybe, as she planted her hand down to break her fall.
The time to act was now or never.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Carys landed hard on the unforgiving earth. She’d seen an opening a few seconds ago, so she’d taken it. Blood loss or not, she wasn’t letting Silus leave with Rue. She would have to be unconscious or dead for that to happen.
Something cracked. Her wrist?
Thank the stars for adrenaline. For the moment, the pain was negligible. So, she took advantage of the momentary reprieve and crawled on her knees and one good hand toward Silus and Sharon. She was putting up a good fight, but he was stronger and meaner.
Blaize dove over top of her, scoring a direct hit with Silus’s midsection and one-arming him.
Sharon was now out of the way and stumbled a couple of steps to her left and then caught herself on the vehicle. She managed to stay on her feet.
Silus was a flurry of fists and kicks. The only reason he was landing any punches or kicks was because Blaize was in a weakened state. Carys had no doubt he would easily take care of Silus in a fair fight.
The amount of blood on Blaize’s shirt was concerning. Plus, he’d been exerting himself. He was far from full strength.
Sharon dropped by her side, essentially blocking her from helping Blaize. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Rosie turned. “We can lock the doors and call 911. Let’s get inside the house.”
“I’m not leaving him.” Carys’s tone must have been finite because Rosie shrugged before turning her attention toward Sharon.
“Hurry. Before he—”
“I’m staying right here, Rosie. These people took care of my girl. I’m not leaving them when they need me.” The sincerity in Sharon’s tone touched a nerve with Carys. And she appreciated Sharon not turning her back.
“I’m going,” Rosie said.
“Do you what you need to do.” Sharon reached for Carys’s hand.
The woman bolted toward the house.
“Thank you,” Sharon said, helping Carys to her feet. “Let’s stop this guy together.”
“Let’s go!”
Blaize was holding his own, but when Carys saw an opportunity to slam the opened door into Silus’s head, she took it.
