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The electrical charge that shot t
hrough her had her shaking, gasping for breath as it began overloading her system.
This was fucked up. It shouldn’t be happening. It was the middle of the day for God’s sake on a farm filled with employees and former tough badasses who were still badass, only smarter.
The middle of the day? How the hell had they gotten into her house in the middle of the day without being seen?
Darkness edged at her mind, the sound of voices filled with panic, two male voices, though there were no accents, Russian or otherwise. She had expected Russian accents. After all, their boss was Russian and he didn’t care much for outsiders even on a good day.
Hard male hands gripped her around the waist, lifting her as she fought the sickening crash of her system and the darkness swirling at the edges of her mind.
The voltage was a little high. Higher than she’d been trained to endure and overcome. The body could only endure so much though. She might like to think she was bullet proof and weather resistant, but reality was another matter.
She couldn’t fight it when she felt the world tilt drunkenly and wondered if she’d throw up. They were shaking her around like a mixed drink on a Saturday night and if they weren’t careful, Momma’s breakfast was going to make an appearance none of them wanted.
That darkness was moving closer too.
God, if she passed out, she wouldn’t have a hope in hell of escaping. They’d have her trussed up like a Christmas turkey before she ever woke.
Where was help?
Surely someone heard the gunshot.
Surely someone knew something was wrong …
* * *
The sound of the gunshot, distant though it was, had Raeg jerking to his feet. Before he could sprint for the line of trees, the front door flew open and Summer’s father came running from the house, a compact assault rifle gripped in his hands.
He jumped from the porch to the walkway, never breaking stride, and ran for the tree line even as Raeg was moving.
Raeg was only distantly aware of Cal running next to him. As he jerked his weapon from the holster at his back, his only thought was reaching Summer.
Violet eyes and masses of long black hair. Smart-ass attitude. Far too much courage filling a too-delicate, too-fragile package that drove him crazy on a good day.
As he raced for the house he could see Falcon and Summer’s brothers running silently from the back of the house and hitting the tree line just as he did.
Raeg paused only long enough to check the front yard and porch before he tensed to sprint the rest of the distance to the front door. Just as he began to move, Cal grabbed his shoulder, jerking him back before he could push past the thick fall of weeping branches he was looking through.
“Sniper. Right there.” The older man pointed out the barest shadow within the marsh on the south side of the house.
Falcon and Summer’s brothers hadn’t run for the back of the house either.
“Leasa has overwatch, give her and the boys a sec to get eyes on anyone waiting to pick us off. I’m going to say we have two shooters,” Cal told him softly. “There will be two inside. It would take two of them to get the upper hand on Summer. That was her twenty-two that went off. Nothing since. They’ve managed to incapacitate her.”
The trill of a whip-poor-will sounded through the trees.
“That’s Caleb,” his father reported softly. “He has eyes on the second shooter.” A second call sounded from somewhere behind them. “That’s Leasa. She has the one to the south. Now, we get sight on those inside, or give them enough time to come to us.”
“Or kill her,” Raeg growled.
“Naw, that Russian wants her alive,” Cal said coolly. “She busted his pride. The only way he can get it back, is to bust hers. They’ll try to take her alive. If they can’t, then he’s going to want to kill her himself, face-to-face.”
They stood there, watching the house carefully, for what seemed like hours but couldn’t possibly have been that long.
Finally, the front door eased open an inch or so.
“They’re just checkin’,” Cal whispered. “Just want to know if anyone’s out here. They’ll go out the back when they don’t see anyone. That’s what we want. They’ll head for the marsh or the swamp itself. Probably poled in on an airboat. That would be the only way to get her out of here fast. They’re not dumb enough to go out the front door.”
