Page 23 of His Puppet

“You fucking bitch!” he seethes, wrapping his hand around his ankle.

I grip the knife tight, jump up and bolt for the stairs, but Blade lunges for my ankle and manages to catch me. I stumble, slamming into the steps before darting my gaze to him. His teeth are barred, and he squeezes my ankle.

“Fuck you!” I yell, rearing my free foot back and kicking him in the face. He falls backward with another hiss, and blood rushes from his nose, but I don’t stick around to see the damage.

I pick myself up and sprint up the stairs.

8

Blade

Istumble off the bunker’s last step into the barn. My tie, currently being used as a makeshift tourniquet, drags on the ground. The blast of the air conditioners cools sweat that’s formed on the back of my neck. We keep it as cool as we can in here, but right now the barn door is open, letting hot, Nevada air in.

Not a good sign.

My teeth are clenched, and I breathe through flared nostrils.

That. Fucking. Bitch.

That cunning, sexy,stupidfucking bitch.

I scan the chaotic barn for Emily, hoping to see her locked securely in the arms of one of my men. All hell has broken loose in here, and there are several people missing. There’s broken glass on the ground, and the barn reeks of calcium hydroxide. It’s in a puddle on the floor next to a tipped over can. Felix, one of my more brilliant manufacturers, is at the edge of the barn yelling. Mathew, his assistant, stands in front of him, blocking Felix from my view. Two more men hover around them.

I don’t see Emily. I also don’t see about four of my not-so-brilliant guys who were here counting money and weighing product when I arrived.

That little fox made it out of the barn, didn’t she?

I limp through the barn, my heart pumping and my ears hot.

“What the fuck happened?” I ask when I come close to my men. Mathew spins around, and Felix, with his hand wrapped around a knife sticking from his shoulder, comes into my view. Felix makes a sound between a whimper and a groan.

“She stabbed me!” Felix says, meeting my eye. His breaths quicken to the point of hyperventilation.

I move my gaze to Mathew. “Where is she?”

Mathew points a finger outside of the barn. “She had a knife, boss. We tried to stop her, but—”

“I’m fully fucking aware that she had a knife. That isn’t what I asked.”

“I think she ran around the barn. The others chased after her. They’ve probably caught her by now.”

No, I doubt they have.

I point to Felix. “Pull that out, then put pressure on it. And stop hyperventilating, Felix. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

I wave a hand dismissively and limp out of the barn. The guards at the entrance have left their posts, and they fly past the barn in a Jeep. I hurry to follow after them and stop when I see Emily in the distance, being chased by at least seven men. She’s made it to the poppy fields, which means the Jeep is useless. They’ll need to get out and chase her on foot.

My eyes are narrowed watching the conniving bitch outrun my men, flying seamlessly through the field while they try to keep up without destroying our crop in the process.

I’m angry with them. Angry that she managed to get through the barn, and that now she’s outrunning them,mymen, a second time. I’m angry, but that anger doesn’t even come close to the turmoil I’m feeling aboutmyself.

She fooled me. I knew going down into the bunker that she’d try something. She’s a thief. Deception is in her nature. I’d been amused by the whole thing, her searching me for a weapon I knew she’d never find, even leaving the sheath on my ankle just to bait her. I took her seriously, while not taking her seriously at all. Because who in their right mind could possibly think they could get away with fooling me?Me?

The whole thing is too ridiculous. She’s a pixie. How the hell did she manage this?

My mind has the answer as soon as I can ask myself the question. She’s smart. Manipulative. Fast. Has sticky, deft hands. Apparently, she isn’t afraid to use a weapon, although neither strike was lethal. Felix will be fine, and my ankle will heal.

But most of all, she managed this because I underestimated her.

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