Page 11

It’s now or never, Jenna.

Adrenaline welled up inside me as I prepared myself for a fight.

I might be weak, but I had desperation on my side.

I took a few quick steps to get ahead of Rico before I swung my foot. It connected directly with his knee, but he cursed and stumbled instead of hitting the ground. I followed that kick with a swing of my fist.

I hit my target.

Blood started to ooze from his nose as he cursed profusely and dropped to his knees.

He wailed and cursed in Spanish, but he didn’t get up.

I stayed out of his reach so he didn’t grab me and wring my neck.

He wasn’t unconscious, but I had to take my opportunity to run.

I bolted, my body still fueled by adrenaline, which helped.

We had to be inland, so I sprinted toward the coast.

I was panting within minutes, but I didn’t slow down.

Keep going, Jenna. Ignore the pain.

I had to put space between myself and the trafficking operation.

Thank God there was enough light from the moon and the stars to keep me from stumbling in the dark.

I wasn’t sure how long I kept running, my heart pounding in my ears and my breathing ragged.

But it was long enough to make me start to hope.

Hope that I was going to escape.

Hope that I wasn’t going to be transported to South America.

Hope that I’d get my life back.

Unfortunately, every single one of those optimistic thoughts were squashed when I was snatched from behind and taken roughly to the ground.

I hit hard, the air forced from my lungs as I landed in the dirt.

My heart in my throat, I struggled with the powerful body on top of me, vaguely noting that it wasn’t Rico who had tackled me.

He flipped my body over until I was facing him.

This man was lighter and younger than Rico and incredibly strong.

Strings of angry Spanish words spilled from his mouth as I tried to gouge his eyes out.

I didn’t even feel the pain when he punched me in the face and then hit my sore ribs to try to subdue me.

Dammit!

For a short period of time, I’d actually tasted freedom, and this asshole had taken those euphoric feelings away from me.

Someone inside of the house must have heard the commotion outside and rushed to help Rico.