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“Out. Snap snap.”
She didn’t take well to orders like that, so she stared back at him with her chin high. “What does the Hawk tee mean? I saw a picture of Glenn dressed in one.”
He smiled. “I’m the hawk. The boss was letting me know I got to take charge of the next hunt. And this time that’s you.”
His hazel eyes went even colder, and he slipped the rifle off his shoulder and into his hands. “Now get moving unless you want me to shoot you where you sit. No skin off my nose if you want to give up.”
Annie wasn’t a quitter. Maybe she should make him think she was too frightened to be much of a challenge. She worked up tears and put a quiver in her voice. “Just let me go. I won’t tell anyone about you. I have a little girl at home. Her name is Kylie. Her daddy died, and she needs a mother.” Talking about her daughter closed her throat, and she couldn’t go on with it. It was too close to the truth.
He stared back impassively. “Move.”
Tears didn’t move him, but maybe her display had made him consider her with more contempt. She forced herself to her feet and shouldered the backpack before going ahead of him out the entry. For an instant she thought about slamming the door shut and locking him in, but he came after her too quickly for the idea to take shape.
Outside her cell another concrete area led to several other metal doors. More cells? Could her sister be in one of them? “Sarah!” she called.
The blow came out of nowhere and knocked her onto her face. She rolled over to see the butt of the rifle descending again, and she rolled out of the way. Her head rang with the impact, but she managed to regain her feet.
“Don’t do that again, or next time I’ll bash your brains in.” He gestured with the rifle. “Outside.”
The door he indicated was steel as well but wider and taller than the cell doors. She twisted the knob, and it opened easily. The birds sang and the serene blue sky looked down on her as if there was nothing wrong in the world. But not even the sweet aroma of the wildflowers in the area could mask the reality.
She was staring at a killing field.
She sensed the dark pall over the area in spite of how attractive it appeared on the outside. She swept her gaze over the area, searching for landmarks to orient herself to her location. Even though she had no phone to call for help, if she could figure out where she was, she would know which direction to head.
She stopped in her tracks and turned to face the evil man. “Now what?”
“Now you run. If you can find your way to civilization, we’ll let you go. Otherwise.” He grinned and made a cutting motion across his throat. “I think you’ll make a fine quarry.”
Quarry. That word again. These guys were exactly who she’d thought. “How many of you do I have to outrun?”
He lifted an eyebrow as though he’d never been asked that question. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
She started to snap back a sharp comeback, then remembered her strategy and hung her head. “Maybe you’re right.” Plopping on the ground, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Just shoot me and get it over with.”
She took a quick peek at the displeasure on his face and suppressed a grunt of satisfaction. He saw her as a helpless female who wouldn’t be much competition.
Let them take her for granted at their own peril.
He nudged her with his foot. “It doesn’t play out that way. Get up and start moving.”
“Or what? I already said you could shoot me now. What more can you do to me?”
“If you’re lucky, you might meet up with someone you know. That’ll make it more fun.”
She couldn’t swallow a gasp. “Sarah? You have Sarah here too?”
Maybe her sister wasn’t dead. She scrambled to her feet, all thought of pretense gone. “Where is she?”
“The stakes are higher now, aren’t they? It’s not just your survival but hers as well. We thought that would make a nice incentive. It’s different from anything we’ve ever done before too.”
She shuddered at the confirmation these men played such a heinous and deadly sport. “Do I get a head start?”
“We don’t always do that, but you’re such a pansy I think we’d better give you one. We don’t want the fun over too soon.”
“How much time do I have before you start searching for me?”
He glanced at his watch. “You’ve got one hour.”
