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Run if you can, only fight as a last resort.Carson’s warning was heavy in my heart.
I burst out of the store doors, rounding the corner. I didn’t look back. I kept running.
And running.
And running.
My heart raced. My hair whipped my face. My feet stopped along the cracked pavement. I turned the next corner, rushing into the alleyway.
Water splashed up along my legs, soaking my socks—but not slowing me down. My lungs screamed for air as my body worked to its limits. There was no stopping, there was no slowing down.
I had to make it out of this—for Kai, for Andrew, for my parents. Hell, even for Sofya. She didn’t need anymore loss in her life. I pushed my body harder.
A hand swatted behind me, the air kissing my skin as he barely caught me. A scream ripped through my lungs as his fingers tangled in my hair, yanking back. In a flash, big arms wrapped around me, pulling me into him.
I kicked and flailed. Screams echoed down the alleyway.
He threw me to the ground.
My shoulder landed first, pain shooting up my arm. I rolled, my clothing getting wet. Then I sat up, cradling my arm that throbbed.
I slowly raised my gaze to meet the man. The ski mask clung to his face, his leather jacket hiding much of his frame.
That’s good, his mask is good,I thought. Years and years of crime TV rushed through my brain at once. He still had his maskon, meaning I had a chance for him to let me go. Mask off meant I was a loose end able to identify him.
The moment of relief came crashing down as his fingers gripped the bottom of the fabric, tugging it upward. The snarl on his lips was visible first. Then his rounded nose, and the cloudy gray eyes that stared into my soul.
I froze, looking down the barrel of the gun. Carson didn’t prepare me for this, nor did Kai. Nothing could prepare me for this.
My life flashed before my eyes. There was so much I still wanted to do, so much I still wanted to experience.
I’m sorry, Kai, I thought, hoping somewhere—wherever he was—he would hear me. He would hear me cry out for him and know not to worry.
“You killed my brother, and you tossed him away like trash.” He adjusted the gun in his hand. “Now you get to die like the trashy bitch you are.” He cocked the gun, another click.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
The final shot echoed in the air.
Chapter 52
Kai
Irushed through the grocery store, my fist slamming into the wall. “Clerk says a man walked out with a woman,” Logan said, returning to my side.
The cops hadn’t shown yet. It was doubtful they were in any rush to this side of town.
I licked my lips, trying to figure out where she would have gone.
Logan slapped my shoulder. “We will find her. But to do that you have to stop beating up the wall and find the man who took her. He’ll be a way better punching bag.”
I smiled, the small hope at the end of the tunnel growing in size. The firearm at my side didn’t help to ease the tension. Carrying one, after all this time, was idiotic—for a variety of reasons. I hadn’t shot a firearm in lord knows how long. I was a terrible shot then, and chances were, I would be a terrible shot now.
“What else did the clerk say?” I asked.
“She put up a fight and had an attitude,” Logan said, rolling his eyes. “A big one.”
“Yeah, she’s got a mouth,” I said, racking my brain. The dots connected as I stared at the scene, completely unorganized. “What if she ran?”
