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Her heart probably stopped when the man on top of Jax peered over his shoulder. Handsome. Oh, my God. It’s Handsome.
Remembering the harsh words he’d said to her after he’d abused her at the motel, she realized these men weren’t there for Jax, but they would indeed make him a casualty of the situation. That’s how her father’s friends worked. They didn’t care who was hurt when they went after their mark. They didn’t care who they took out, as long as they were able to finish their initial job.
Gripping her phone to her chest, she hurriedly turned the power off, realizing she would need to run at least a half mile before she’d have service and praying she could make it that far.
“Run, Brianna! Run!” Jax rose to his feet and tackled Handsome from behind.
“Stop her! Bring her back alive! I want to be the one to finish this!” One of the men shouted to the others. At the same time, punches were thrown. Groans and grunts filled her head as she took off at a sprint.
“Oh God. Oh God.” She hurried across the pastures, leapt across a few logs, and slid down a hill, praying with every step, every last stride. She had to find help. She had to reach someone fast! Taking the route closest to the highway, she hurriedly decided it was the only way she could save Jax. She had to reach the main road so her phone would have service.
Looking over her shoulder, she noticed the two men following her were slacking and losing ground. They’d never be able to keep up with her if she made it to the main road and could run on a solid surface.
Every muscle in her body pulsed with energy as she thought about Jax and how she’d left him behind, left him back there to face off with her father’s enemies, the men who planned to make her pay for some of her father’s crimes. She turned on her phone and held it high in the air, thinking maybe it would pick up one of the towers and give her quicker service.
The phone beeped once and two bars shone bright on the phone. Pressing the first contact name she saw, she listened to the phone ring and ring. “Come on. Come on!”
“This is Flint. Leave a message.”
“Flint. Hurry! Get to the cabin down on the Nolichucky. Handsome—the guy who beat me—he has Jax. He and a few thugs from New York are giving him a beating. Hurry. Oh God, please hurry!”
She disconnected the call and paused long enough to search her contacts.
“There she is! Get her!” one of the thugs behind her screamed, alerting her to the obvious—she’d stopped running altogether.
Looking around for the best route to the highway, she chose the steepest area of the embankment leading to the main road, hoping she could make it but the big guys couldn’t. As expected, they slowed down as they started uphill. She hit the send button, calling home. The phone rang twice and then Kane answered. “Yes, hello?”
“Kane! Oh God! Kane! Help! You have to help me! Get my sisters to show you how to get to the cabin at the Nolichucky River. Get them to call Flint and Tyler. Please. You have to help me. You have to help me save Jax!”
“Slow down, girl. Where are you?”
“I’m coming up on the main highway in Erwin. Oh God. I can’t think of the highway now. You’ll pass me if you start toward the Nolichucky. Some fellas are following me…” The phone went dead.
Tears burned her eyes as she approached the main road and crossed the first guardrail. She was home free! Now she just had to keep her wits about her. Kane would be heading her way. Maybe Flint and Tyler, too, but one way or the other, someone would see her running down the highway.
She threw her hands over her head and screamed like a crazy woman, staring into the bright beaming headlights of the passing vehicles. Someone would see her. Someone would call this in and someone would help her so she could help Jax!
She had to help Jax. She had to save him. If she couldn’t save him, there was no reason for her to try and fight Handsome again. She would surrender. She would tell him to go ahead and take her and charge her for her father’s sins, no matter how great or how small.
If something happened to Jax Jackson because of her or her father, she would never be able to forgive herself.
Chapter Ten
Jax saw his chance and took it. When the two bigger guys took off after Brianna, he swung low and repetitive, going for a man’s prize and taking Handsome to his knees and then going after his buddy, giving him a hell of a fight by slamming his head into the fellow’s gut over and over again. He fought dirty and he fought hard. When he finished them, he went to his truck, found some rope, and wound that rope around one man and then the other. Then, he kicked the shorter dude across the ground and lined the two men up side by side.
He then tied them together. Only then did he realize that he might have carried this a bit too far.
&n
bsp; “You’ll never be able to save her,” Handsome said.
“Shut up,” Jax said, adrenaline pumping through his veins.
He stalked to his truck, dug through the glove box and found his forty-five. He started his vehicle, turned on the lights, and scoured his seat for his cell. About that time, his CB radio blared, “Breaker, breaker Big J. Where are ya, brother? Come back. A little dove told us there may be trouble at the river. Come back.”
He grabbed the unit and said, “Got it under control. Have you seen the little dove?”
“Got her right here with us.” Tyler immediately put his mind at ease. Jax’s eyes watered as he thought of how close he must’ve came to losing her. “She says to tell you to sit tight. We’re on our way.”
