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And although I wish it wasn’t, that was my second mistake.

Because I could hear another engine in the distance and much like the first, it started to slow as it approached from the opposite direction. There was no doubt in my mind now that there was some coordination going on between the vehicles.

It was then that it all dawned on me: I was being boxed in. I hate that it took so long for me to put it together. Two cars coming from two different directions, and this back alleyway with a chain-link fence at both ends. I slowed, then stopped entirely, because there was no point in running toward a barrier that consisted of a vehicle and whoever was inside of it.

I wanted to believe I was calm about this whole thing, but even though it was cool outside, I could feel how clammy my hands were. The pair of headlights at the far end cut off and on again, as if someone was sending a signal, or just fucking with me. Hell, it could have been both. I debated climbing the fence quickly and knew I would be snatched down by whoever was in the car almost immediately. I scanned for side exits in the dark and found one. There might have been an opportunity for me to slip through the hole in the fence that was about ten to fifteen feet to my left. I wouldn’t have seen it if the cars hadn’t been shining their headlights.

Thank you, I said to myself as I thought about how this could unfold if I took the risk. I didn’t have anything to lose as I didn’t know what was waiting for me on the other end of being captured. I refused to go down without a fight and if they wanted to catch me, they were going to have to work for it. I ran my tongue over my teeth and told myself not to freeze no matter what. I didn’t have the luxury of pausing even for a millisecond more because it would be game over.

I pivoted toward the gap in the fence and hoped that I could make it through as all rational thought left my brain. When I squeezed through the hole, my hoodie briefly snagged on one of the jagged ends, but I didn’t let that stop me from taking off running. I could hear footsteps running behind me, but I didn’t look back. Unfortunately, I didn’t know exactly where I was going because I was forced to deviate from my plan but, as of right now, anything was better than here.

I nearly rolled my ankle as I hit the uneven ground, but I didn’t let that stop me. I slowed just enough to regain my balance, but I was also putting all of my faith in whoever was behind me not having as quick reflexes or getting caught up in the fence. It might be my only chance and I knew I had to take it.

I pushed myself forward as fast as I could even as my lungs continued to burn. My backpack was slightly weighing me down, but I knew I couldn’t stop moving. A voice shouted behind me, but I didn’t take the time to process who it might be or what they were saying. All of my brain power was focused on putting as much distance between me and them as possible.

The burn in my legs was nothing compared to the fear in my heart, but I had to keep moving. I wasn’t sure how close the people who were chasing me were, but my gut told me that I wasn’t losing them as quickly as I hoped. I propelled myself forward at a speed I probably hadn’t run at since I tried out for track in high school, but I swore the sounds of heavy breathing were only getting closer.

A few seconds later, I heard a man yell, “Stop running!”

Those two words sent a shiver down my spine. However, I did not stop running. The voice told me everything I needed to know: they were closing in but not close enough to grab me.

But none of that mattered.

I made it another ten steps before a black SUV crossed in front of me, forcing me to come to a very clumsy stop. My heart felt as if it might escape my chest with how hard it was beating. While my body was grateful for the chance to rest and recover, my brain was in overdrive about how to get out of this situation.

When I backed up, it was strictly because of instinct. I took one step and then another, and ran straight into the fact that there was nowhere to back up to. The SUV had stopped at an angle that blocked the narrow strip of gravel in front of me while still leaving enough room on either side to make me consider trying it. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the point. Leave me a bad option and then I would waste precious seconds convincing myself it was a real one.

That was before the passenger’s side door opened and the world stopped because I found myself staring into the eyes of the man I thought I might have killed just days before.

6

CAIN

I would never tell anyone how long I’d been waiting for this moment to come. I watched from my seat as she stood there, stunned that a vehicle had crossed her path, effectively trapping her from making another slick move to get away from me again. I opened my door, stepped out and let the door swing shut behind me calmly.

There was no anger or rage given what had happened over the last few days. There was no harsh emotion or noises I needed to showcase by slamming the door or kicking up a fuss. That behavior was for people who hadn’t already won.

She was twelve feet or so away from me, standing in the center of a trap that was my creation.

The SUV had stopped nose-out, angled in a way that looked like there was space on either side when there was none. The gap on her left ran into the chain-link where one of Declan’s men stood with his hands loose at his sides. The gap on her right fed into the cross-street where another vehicle sat dark with its lights off. There was no door she could open that I hadn’t already opened for her. I had built the box she was standing in. The only thing left was for her to finish discovering that.

I watched her face do it all in a matter of seconds.

Shock arrived first and it was what I had expected. Fury followed quickly afterward. That, too, was familiar to me because I got a sneak peak of it just before she struck me with the paperweight.

What I had not expected was this brief softening of her features that crossed her face before she killed it. I thought it could have been relief, but maybe it was something else. The shift was slight and any other man would have missed it, but nothing she did escaped me.

Sutton recovered in a few seconds. I watched as her body suddenly became very tense and her eyes narrowed as she took everything in. She studied me before shifting her gaze to look at the men behind her, the vehicles, and hell, the distance to my throat if she decided to try to go for the jugular.

She looked slightly thinner than when she had left, but it was something I picked up on the intel that I was being given. There were shadows beneath her eyes that displayed the exhaustion I’m sure she felt and a healing cut across one hand that irritated me immediately because I had not seen it documented anywhere. The clothes she was wearing were clearly out of necessity and not something she would have normally picked out for herself.

I stopped several feet from her and stared at her for several more seconds before I spoke. “You thought you killed me.”

Her jaw tightened. “I was hoping not to have to find out.”

The answer was perfect, to the point that I almost smirked. “You hit me harder than most men would have managed.”

“And yet here you are. Still standing, unfortunately.”