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He figured there were a couple of ways he could play the scene. He could slip around the cabin, see if there was a back entrance, and try to ease inside without being spotted.
But he was a big guy and easing anywhere was never easy.
So…
He could try another option. Midas bounded up the steps. He’d try the option where he just went straight to the door. Because the fool who’d gone inside moments before expected his partner to follow suit. Midas was willing to bet the guy hadn’t even locked the door behind him.
Why would he? The man clearly didn’t expect a threat to come to the cabin. No, he expected backup to be arriving any moment.
Midas reached for the doorknob. It twisted easily in his grasp. He opened the door and slipped inside.
The redhead stood a few feet away from a closed door—maybe a closet or a bedroom—with his hands on his hips. He didn’t even look back when the front door hinges groaned with its opening.
“Didn’t see anything, did you?” the redhead muttered. “We’re in the freaking middle of nowhere. Only animals are running around in the cold.”
Midas advanced on him with a rush of footsteps. “Not just animals,” he rasped.
Too late, the redhead spun toward him. Or, tried to. Far too late. Midas caught him and locked an arm around the man’s neck. The redhead barely grunted, but his fingers clawed at Midas’s grip.
You’ll need to do better than that.
Without hesitation, Midas applied pressure to the carotid arteries on either side of the SOB’s neck. All it took was a few seconds. And Midas counted in his head. One, two, three, four…
The man’s struggles weakened. He stopped clawing at Midas as his body went limp. He sagged in Midas’s hold, and Midas lowered the kidnapper to the floor.
The guy sprawled, seemingly boneless. Midas put his hand to the jerk’s throat. Felt the pulse. Still alive. It took only moments to zip-tie the bastard’s hands. Midas hadn’t gotten enough ties for the creep’s feet, though. But he’s not moving right now. Midas snapped a quick pic of the unconscious man’s face. He would be ID’ing both these bastards.
Midas rose and looked at the nearby closed door. Yeah, he knew there was a reason why the redhead had been focused on it. When he saw the lock on the outside of the door, the fury within him burned to a molten degree. Locking his jaw, Midas reached for that lock.
***
Someone else had come inside the cabin. The one who wanted to hurt her? Was he back? She’d heard the words from the man who’d warned her moments before. He’d asked a question, then said animals were running around outside. But, no one had responded to him. Or if someone had spoken, the response had been too low for her to hear.
Then there’d just been silence. A thick, scary silence.
Maybe it hadn’t been his partner returning. Maybe it had been someone else. The mysterious boss? The man who already terrified Alina straight to her soul?
She curled in on herself as much as she could as the floorboards just beyond her prison groaned and creaked. Whoever it was—he was coming toward her.
The lock disengaged. The door began to open. She closed her eyes because if this was the boss, she didn’t want to see him. If he didn’t have a mask on—like the other men—then…then it would mean he was going to kill her. Hurt her, because that was what he liked to do. Hurt her, then kill her.
She held herself perfectly still. If she didn’t move, maybe he wouldn’t hurt her. Maybe…
Please, just be a nightmare.
“Sweetheart…” A rough growl. “Are you ready to get the hell out of here?”
Her eyes flew open. She blinked twice. Midas stood in the open closet doorway. Light spilled behind him, and in that instant, he looked like an avenging angel come to save her.
She’d called him her angel before, and he’d denied the title.
Big, strong, and her absolute superhero. No one had ever looked as good as Midas did in that instant. A sob choked from her. The gag in her mouth muffled the cry, and his amber eyes narrowed with clear fury.
He crouched before her. His hands flew behind her head, and he yanked the knot free and tore the scarf-slash-gag from her mouth.
Her lips felt bone dry. Her jaw ached. From the gag? From the hit she’d taken?
She wet her lips. Didn’t help. She licked them again.
