C. Palov - Ark of Fire

No more than ten yards away, Edie saw what looked to be an exit; the lock bar across the steel door made her think it was intended for emergency use only. Fast running out of options, she raced forward. Slamming her palms onto the metal bar, she pushed for all she was worth.

The door swung open.

A heartbeat later, she emerged into a narrow alleyway. At a glance, she could see that there wasn’t a soul in sight, only a cluster of parked delivery vans.

“Don’t even think about it, bitch!”

Hearing that gravelly-voiced command, Edie spun around. The moment she opened her mouth to scream, her assailant slapped a hand over her mouth as he grabbed a fistful of hair. With one strong-armed tug, he yanked her toward him.

Slamming into his chest, Edie tried to jerk free. Anticipating the move, he let go of her hair and cinched a hand around her wrists. Maliciously smiling, he yanked her arms above her head, pulling her onto her toes. With few defenses left to her, Edie tried to bite down on the hand that covered her mouth. His smile widening, her assailant pushed all the harder, mashing her lips against her teeth. Blood gushed into her mouth. Still grinning, he shoved her between two parked delivery vans, ramming her against a limestone wall. Completely out of sight.

Unable to use her hands, Edie tried to knee him, but discovered she couldn’t move her lower body; her assailant’s hips and thighs were pressed flush against her own.

Oh, God! She was completely immobilized against the wall.

“I’ve got a little gift for you,” the behemoth hissed as he crudely and repeatedly shoved himself against her pelvic bone. “Nice, isn’t it?”

Edie stared into his face—noticing the heavy shadow of whiskers, the flared nostrils, the thick lips—noticing everything and anything in a desperate attempt to block out what he was doing to her.

Still thrusting his hips, he licked her face, his tongue moving from her jaw to her temple. “Baby girl, I’m gonna split ya right in two.”

Like salt on a wound, old memories flashed in front of her eyes.

Terror quickly turned to rage.

This time she’d fight back! No way in hell would she let this animal rape her.

Writhing, squirming, Edie did everything she could to free herself.

But it was like fending off the monstrous devil-dog Cerberus.

Her assailant grunted. “You want it bad, don’t you, bitch?”

Belatedly realizing that her struggles excited him, Edie went still.

Within seconds the dry-humping ceased.

“Fucking cock tease!” Crisscrossed vessels bulged on either side of his head. Ready to blow.

Able to feel that he’d gone soft, Edie contemptuously snorted against his hand. Her would-be rapist removed his palm from her mouth. Fist balled, he reared back his arm.

Closing her eyes, Edie braced herself for what she figured would be a bone-crushing blow.

It never came.

Instead her assailant loudly grunted as he rolled away from her. Edie opened her eyes, surprised to see blood pouring down the side of his face, gushing from those crisscrossed vessels. She was even more surprised to see Caedmon standing a few feet away, a broken bottle gripped in his right hand. Lurching forward, she ran to his side.

A tense stalemate ensued.

Then, like the coward he was, the bloodied behemoth scurried down the alley. Edie saw what looked to be a gun protruding from his waistband. She and Caedmon stood silent, watching him depart. When he reached the end of the alleyway, he vanished.

“Did you see that? He had a gun! Why didn’t he use it?”

“He may yet.” Caedmon tossed aside the broken bottle. Edie could see that he was furious.

“How did you find me?”

“I simply followed the swath of destruction that followed in your wake.” As he spoke, Caedmon glanced up and down the alleyway, his eyes settling on a deliveryman who’d just exited the market.

“The upended box of fish was an accident.”

“Tell that to the fishmonger. Come on! We’re wasting time!” Grabbing her by the elbow, he steered her toward a black service van, the words Morton & Sons emblazoned on the side panel in a fancy Edwardian script. Exhaust fumes snaked from the muffler.

Caedmon reached for the chrome handle on the back door.

“Get in!” he brusquely ordered. “Before the driver takes off!”

Edie glanced inside, surprised to see a row of trussed fowls swinging from a metal rod.

“You’re kidding, right? There’s no way I’m hitching a ride with a bunch of dead birds.”

“Don’t make me put my boot to your arse.”

Having been manhandled enough for one day, Edie wordlessly climbed into the back of the van.

CHAPTER 52

Positioning himself near the rear of the lorry, Caedmon shoved his foot against one of the double doors, ensuring that they wouldn’t be locked inside the refrigerated vehicle. As the lorry took off, the door gently bounced against the sole of his shoe.

“How long do we have to stay cooped up in the chickenmobile?” Edie grumped, her head and shoulders slumped to avoid being broadsided by the swinging fowl overhead. She held his wadded handkerchief to her mouth, blotting the blood from a cut lip.

“We remain in the lorry as long as I deem it necessary. And the birds in question are geese.” Bound for Christmas tables all across the shire.

He spared Edie a quick glance, still furious about her foolhardy sprint through the Covered Market; the woman had more blasted moves than the Bolshoi Ballet.

Bloody hell. She’d nearly got herself killed.

Had he not arrived in time, she would have suffered a grievous injury, the goon’s fist on the verge of making contact with her cheekbone.

“I figured he’d take you out first,” Edie explained. “That’s why I pushed you into the street. To cause a diversion.”

And to ensure that the assailant chased after her, not him.

Good God, but he wanted to throttle her.

“Like the repentant thief crucified beside our Lord, you are quick on your feet. But that doesn’t mean that you made a wise or reasoned decision,” he chastised, not in a forgiving mood. Then, dreading what her answer might be, “Did he harm you in any way?”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say he violated my person, but he did take a few liberties.”

“Bloody bastard!”

“It was nothing. Trust me. Other than a cut lip, I’m fine.”

Caedmon stared into Edie Miller’s brown eyes and saw the scared, vulnerable child she once had been. He fought the urge to pull her to him, worried that he might say something utterly asinine.

Evidently suffering from no such qualms, Edie crawled toward him, nearly losing her balance when the lorry made a sudden left turn. He snatched the bottom of the door with his hand, preventing it from swinging wide open. Despite the anger, he stretched out his free arm, cradling her face in his hand.

“It’s cold in here,” she complained, nestling alongside him.

Caedmon gently rubbed his thumb over her swollen lip. “Thank God you’re all right.”

“What now?”

“Taking any form of public transportation is out of the question, as MacFarlane’s men will undoubtedly be monitoring the coach depot and the train station. Therefore we’ll remain in the lorry until we’ve safely departed Oxford. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find a sympathetic motorist willing to take us to London.”

“Maybe we should notify the authorities.”

“It’s not as though we can have the villain brought to book. And given your rampage in the market, should you contact the police, you’d probably end up an overnight guest of the Thames Valley Authority.”