HelenKay Dimon - The Big Guns

When her ankle twisted, she reached out to catch her balance and scraped her palm against rough bark. Half hiding, half leaning, she pressed her back against a tree and tried to get her bearings. She needed to find her internal compass. Figure out which way was north, or south, or any other direction that led out of there.

A sharp smack echoed through the woods as the cabin door slammed open. A dark figure filled the entrance, but the light behind him plunged his face into shadows.

She didn’t wait for another sign. Her brain flashed a message to her legs to move. She ran toward the dark lump in the distance, hoping it was a car or anything she could hide in. Twigs snagged her already ruined stockings and branches scraped against her forearms as she tried to protect her face.

She ignored everything around her—all the sounds of shifting and moving coming from the dark woods—except the path beneath her feet. She absolutely had to stay on her feet.

As soon as the thought entered her mind her right foot slid out from under her. Her upper body went into free fall. She put out her arms to lessen the impact and landed on all fours on the hard ground. Her kneecap suffered the brunt of the blow.

She heard crunching and harsh breathing behind her and looked up in time to see the branches behind her shift to the side.

“Sela, don’t move!” The harsh whisper echoed around her.

Zach.

She couldn’t see him, but she sensed him. Heard him. Short brown hair and a lean body that proved he had not gone soft since his days in the military. He’d found her.

She tried to climb to her feet, but he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up as if she weighed little more than a kitchen towel. She kicked out her legs and fought him anyway.

“Stop,” he ordered.

That was never going to happen. The fear pumping through her had her keyed up and ready for battle. She called him every name she could think of.

He coughed when she landed a heel in his shin. “I have parents.”

She stilled. “What?”

“They’re likely sitting on a sofa in Pennsylvania.”

“I don’t—”

“So that particular nickname you just called me doesn’t apply.”

“You’re joking? Now?” Did he think it would calm her down? Because it did and the realization made her furious.

“Do you have a better strategy?” he asked.

“Yeah, we get out of here before Johnnie finds us.” Hope skipped through her. “Unless you killed him.”

“First, keep your voice down.” Zach’s grip loosened but not enough for her to slip away. “Second, he’s very much alive. Bleeding and dumb as a stick, but alive.”

For some reason, that struck her as the wrong answer. “Why?”

Zach pressed a finger against his lips. “Quiet.”

She batted away his hand. “Answer me. Why didn’t you just kill him and be done with it?”

“Bloodthirsty little thing, aren’t you?”

“I have no idea why you showed up when you did, but I’ve got to get out of here.” She lowered her voice when Zach scowled. “You can either help me or not, but I’m going.”

When she started squirming again, he clamped her feet between his legs and trapped her arms by her sides. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“I’m going to hurt you.” She clenched her teeth together and strained her neck. She tried to lift her arms but his iron hold settled around her again.

“Probably, but then you won’t have any way out of here. Now, stop.” Zach whispered his harsh command against her ear.

She froze this time. No movement at all.

“Are we leaving?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

Wrong answer. “When will you be?”

“I’m still deciding the best way to proceed, but I can think of better places to spend an evening than with that guy.” Zach’s voice softened, but his grip sure didn’t.

“What are you talking about?”

“In case you didn’t notice, the creature in that cabin wants you dead or, at the very least, plans to take you to someone who does.”

“Do you know who?”

“No. I made up the boss thing to get entrance and buy some time.”

So he wasn’t one of them. She relaxed a bit, until she felt a tug on her skirt. When Zach bent over and tunneled a hand up her hemline, she froze. “If you’re not one of the bad guys, what are you doing?”

“Just a sec.” He kept working, his fingers pulling and twisting. “I have to take care of it now.”

“What is the ‘it’ exactly?” The staccato sound of her breathing filled her ears. She hovered right on the edge of panic. If she could keep her wits, she might be able to land a kick on the side of his head. But she had to stop shaking first.

“This.”

She thought he pointed to her thigh. “You’ve seen a woman’s legs before.”

“Once or twice.” His hand kept moving then he looked up. “Why are you humming?”

The buzzing sound in her ears stopped. “Am I?”

“You did that in the garage, too. Must be a nervous habit.”

Rage swelled in her brain. “You were there and didn’t stop that creature from taking me?”

“There was no time.”

Fury flooded through her, wiping out the shakes and every other feeling except anger. “You could have shot him.”

“I like the way you think.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Stay still.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. With a click, a blade appeared.

So he was a bad guy, after all.

No way would she be a victim. Not anymore.

She smacked her fists against his shoulders. “I won’t let you hurt me.”

“Not one for the obvious, are you?” Zach kept one arm banded around her waist and his opposite hand held the knife as he ducked his head to fend off her blows.

She punched him harder. “The obvious is you want me dead.”

He grabbed one of her hands. “For the record, I want you very much alive.”

At his words she stopped fighting. “I don’t understand.”

“A branch is caught in your skirt. I’m trying to figure out if it penetrated skin.” He sliced through the hem and held up a sharp stick. “See? Looks like you have a cut but nothing needing stitches.”

“Oh.” She hadn’t even felt it.

All the confusion and pain and terror of the last few hours slammed into her, leaving her bones weary and her mind blank. Men were after her and she didn’t know why. A guy she didn’t trust held her and for some reason his closeness made her feel safe. None of it made sense.

“I was thinking of something more along the lines of ‘Why, thank you, Zach,’ because you know exactly who I am and who I work for, right?” He stood and stared down at her.

“Yes.”

“I’m assuming that’s why you aren’t kicking up an even bigger fuss.”

She let her shoulders slump. “Sort of.”

“Yeah, well, you’re welcome.” He glanced toward the cabin. “Any chance you know Johnnie or who sent him?”

“Of course not.”

“Then I still have to figure out how to get you out of this mess and what’s really happening here.”

She breathed in nice and deep, trying to feed oxygen to her brain. “Call my boss or the police—anyone—and get us help.”

“I’m actually trying to be quiet and not say anything that would accidentally give our location away to Johnnie there. You could take a hint and keep your voice down.” Zach barely made a sound as he spoke.

He put a few inches between them but kept a firm grip on her elbow. The only part of her that didn’t throb in pain.

“Time to go,” he said.

“Where?”

“We’ll figure that out later.” He glanced back at the cabin. “We need to move.”

They took two steps before the sound of gunfire rang through the woods. Air whooshed around her as Zach shoved her behind the nearest tree and covered her body with his.