“I’m going to fucking kill you!”
More gunshots sounded from across the street, and tears quickly welled up in my eyes. I needed to get to Alex. I had no idea what I would do once I was outside, but I didn’t care. All I could think about was racing across the street before it was too late.
Heath appeared at the doorway to the living room, naked from the waist down, cupping his crotch with one hand and brandishing his switchblade in the other. “I’m going to cut you up, you fucking bitch!”
He lunged for me, and I quickly turned and raced up the stairs. I could hear him following me, clumsily slamming against the bannister and wall as he chased me to the second floor. Something cut across the back of my arm, and I screamed at the sudden shock of pain that shot out from where his switchblade had wounded me. I kept going, high on adrenaline, knowing that if I hesitated for just one second, he’d be on top of me. And that switchblade would do a lot more than just cutting.
I ran into Garth’s room and slammed the door closed. Heath was able to get an arm in to stop it from closing completely. I leaned against it, using my body to keep him from pushing it open, but he stronger, angrier, and I felt myself losing the struggle. He swiped at me with the knife, barely missing my face, and pushed at the door with everything he had. I was hurled forward and landed with a thud on the ground.
“You bitch!” he screamed and toppled on top of me. The weight of his body knocked the breath out of me, and I was helpless as he grabbed my hair and slammed my face against the floor. I flood blood trickle into the back of my mouth, and I pushed up against him with everything I had.
Heath rolled off me, the knife falling from his hands, and I grabbed it before he could. Without thinking, I swung my arm around and watched the blade cut across his cheek. He rolled away, kicking me as he tried to distance himself from my frantic swings. Gathering what little strength I had left, I pushed to my feet and raced back out and towards the stairs. Before I could reach them, Heath had caught up with me and threw his body against me, slamming the both of us into the wall.
“I’m going to kill you!” he hissed in my ear.
Screaming, I flung my elbow back and felt it connect with his jaw, giving me enough room to turn around and push him away.
Heath’s eyes grew wide as he lost balance and fell back, landing with a sickening cracking sound on the staircase. I slid to the floor and watched as he rolled down the stairs and came to an abrupt stop at the bottom, his legs and arms twisted in impossible angles and his eyes staring up at the ceiling.
Chapter 24: Alex
My hands tightened around the rifle as I made my way across the side of the house. I kept my head low, looking behind me every few steps to make sure no one was going to surprise me. The lights inside the house were on, but the curtains were drawn, and there was no way I would be able to take a look inside without bringing too much attention to myself.
This is a trap. You know that, right?
I heard Janice’s voice in the back of my head, loud enough to make me believe she was standing beside me and whispering urgently in my ear. Of course, I knew it was a trap. I was a lot of things, but naïve wasn’t one of them. There was no telling what Garth had planned for me, and every precaution I could take was only for my benefit. Ultimately, anything could happen.
I stopped just before I turned the cor
ner towards the back. I leaned against the wall of the house, closing my eyes and listening to the sounds around me. Everything was quiet, except for the chirping of crickets and the occasional croak of a frog. The house was dead silent, and I began to immediately rethink my decision to come here. If Jenni really was inside, there would be some noise, anything at all, even if muffled moans of protest or the occasional shifting of furniture.
Unless they have her in the basement.
But the basement windows were dark, and a quick inspection of the one nearest to me assured me that no one was down there. The silhouettes of construction equipment lined the walls, and the shadows that shifted came from the light of the moon. No, she was definitely not in the basement.
Then why was the house so damn quiet?
A lick of a lighter immediately brought me back from the questions in my head, and I heard the faint sound of a cigarette lighting and someone blowing out smoke. I cocked my head to one side, trying to hear for anything else, and a muffled cough soon followed.
Would he be that stupid?
I doubted it, which could only mean that he wasn’t alone. I don’t know why that took me a little by surprise, although I knew that at least Heath should be here, if not others. But, for the entire drive here, I had convinced myself that Garth was the kind of guy who was a little too proud to let one of his men take me down. A part of me truly believed that he would try and do it on his own. As if he had to prove how efficient he was. It was an instinctive feeling, something that had never let me down before, and I was a little taken aback that I had been wrong about this.
This doesn’t feel right, I thought to myself. My mind was throwing up flags left and right, and I turned and looked behind me again, frowning at the other houses that lined the street. Some of them had their lights on while others looked completely abandoned. Maybe I was being drawn to the wrong place. Maybe Jenni wasn’t here after all. Garth had an entire compound at his disposal, with more than enough places he could have hidden her in. This felt a little too convenient.
Only one way to find out.
I stood up slowly and adjusted my hold on the rifle, taking a deep breath before I burst out from my cover and aimed.
It wasn’t Garth after all, and I stared at the surprised look on Jack’s face, arm still in a sling. He dropped the cigarette from his good hand and reached for his gun. I raised the rifle and aimed it at his head.
“Don’t,” I said.
Jack was apparently as stupid as he looked, because he went for his gun anyway. I lowered he rifle, aimed at his leg, and fired. His leg shot out from under him, his kneecap exploding in a shower of blood as he screamed out in pain and fell to the ground. I rushed to his side and kicked his gun away, pressing the muzzle of my rifle against his head.
“Where is she?”
Jack cried out in pain and slapped his hand against the ground several times.