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I shake my head. “Just keep running.”
She nods and moves faster, forcing herself to push through the pain written on her face. We make it to the forest, which gives us some cover, but Ella slows down even more on the uneven terrain.
I grind my teeth, knowing we won’t make it at this rate.
“Ahh!” Ella screams as she trips over a rock.
I turn back and rush toward her with our enemy hot on our trail. She clutches her ankle and gazes up at me with those big blue eyes full of fear and pain. “It’s twisted.”
Fuck.
The dogs barking in the distance, are closing in on us every second.
I stoop down and lift her over my shoulder. “This is going to be bumpy.” I run toward the van, trailing behind the rest of my men.
The shadows of my men are faint outlines in the distance, too far ahead to make out clearly. The two injured ones are dragging themselves along, but they’re still moving faster than us.
Over the headset, Frederico’s voice rings out, as clear as the danger snapping at our heels, “I’m at the van. Going to drive into the forest to pick up the stragglers.”
My heart pounds less wildly at the news, but I know we’re not out of the woods yet. We keep moving. The only option we have. Every labored breath, every jolt of pain in my muscles is a prayer—a desperate plea to whoever or whatever might be listening—that Frederico and the van will reach us before Vishekov catches us and hauls us back to that basement.
I clench my jaw as I push harder, but the sound of dogs is so close now. They’re feet away.
One of them manages to nip my heel, and I tumble to the ground with Ella. The leaves and twigs scraping my skin as I go.
She cries out in pain, and I look up to see she’s face first on the ground. Quickly, I stand despite the pain of the dog bite and help her to her feet. And that’s when I realize the snarling dogs have surrounded us.
“Shit,” I murmur, running a hand through my hair.
“Where are you, Remy?” Frederico asks.
“Surrounded by a pack of dogs. We’re caught. Get out while you still can.”
“No chance,” Frederico says. “We’re coming for you.”
I feel relieved that my men are that loyal to me. On the other hand, the Russians probably couldn’t give a shit and want to get out of here. I have to hope Frederico holds them back and retains control.
The crunch of leaves underfoot draws my attention to the left, where Alex approaches, holding a shotgun.
“I do like hunting,” he says, a sadistic smirk on his lips. “Especially when the prey is my enemy.” He casually holds it under his arm, not pointing it at us.
“Call your dogs off,” I demand.
He tilts his head. “Why would I do that? It’s rather fun watching you sweat.”
“I’m going to enjoy putting you in your place,” I say, stepping forward despite the dogs circling us. “This is far from over, Alex.”
His eyes narrow. “I’m not sure what upper hand you think you have, but you don’t. You have a pack of hungry dogs circling you, and I’ve got a shotgun.”
Alex stands between us and our freedom. However, Frederico is on his way.
“It was so easy to break out of your prison. I hardly feel like you tried.”
Alex bares his teeth. “Don’t think that you’re getting away. No one gets away from me.” His cockiness is gently easing. He lifts his shotgun and points it at Ella. “She must have one hell of a cunt for you to risk your life to save her.”
I clench my fists by my sides. “Shut up, or I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” He laughs. “You can’t do fuck all with my dogs keeping you back.” He cocks his gun, the sound echoing off the surrounding trees.
