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With a feral smile, Seth lunged.
She deflected his fist and whipped her forearm upward as though she was smoothing back her hair. The tip of her bent elbow hit his chin, splitting the flesh to the bone.
Seth’s head lashed back, blood ribboning from the wound, as he sucked in a breath.
Yes.
She needed this bastard to feel pain now. Not tomorrow.
Seth jabbed with one hand and swung a right hook.
Charlie feinted left, then threw a thunderclap to his ear with the heel of her palm. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, but he recovered quickly. She waited for him to retaliate defensively. When the blow came, she sidestepped.
But her attacker swung again and again. Each time he missed. Barely.
Once there was a break in Seth’s momentum for her to capitalize on, she seized it. She threw a kick to his knee with her heel. He dropped to the ground with a grunt. Then she launched a punch, making contact with his eustachian tube at the hinge of his jaw, her knuckles sinking into the soft skin at the delicate spot. But she’d slipped too far inside Seth’s reach.
Instantly, she realized the mistake would cost her dearly.
He caught her wrist. A switchblade flashed open, slashed up her arm, then down across her midsection. The fiery sting drew a ragged gasp from between her teeth.
“Never said it would be a fair fight, bitch.”
Chapter Fifteen
A car raced down the road, leaving the ranch like a bat out of hell.
Brian and Kent ducked behind a stand of trees, ensuring they weren’t spotted. Once the car tore out on the main road, another one approached the farm. A black SUV. Chevy. Moderate pace like the driver had all the time in the world.
His gut tightened. Brian double-checked the GPS app.
The blinking red dot was up ahead and not in the vehicle that had just left. “She’s still here.”
Kent gave him a thumbs-up.
“Come on,” Brian said. They needed to hurry.
He and Kent pressed forward.
As they passed a black van, three pickups and the now parked SUV, a foul odor in the air grew stronger. Brian signaled Kent to go through the back door of the barn. If it was locked, then he’d have to ease around the left side. Either way, it’d not only give them two angles of coverage, but it would maximize the element of surprise.
Kent nodded and moved into position as silently as he could. Brian watched him tug at the back door to the barn.
In a back-and-forth slashing motion, Kent waved across his neck.Locked.He gestured to the left of the barn. Then keeping low and moving fast, he crept into the darkness, disappearing around a tree.
Going around the right side, Brian took stealthy, measured steps.
Seth was a seasoned police officer, which made him even more dangerous. If he or the other dirty cops with him heard or spotted Brian and Kent coming, there was nothing stopping them from killing Charlie.
The timing had to be just right. He hoped and prayed that nothing went wrong. The need to have Charlie safe and back in his arms was overwhelming.
His heart thundered so hard the frantic beats filled his ears until other sounds rose in the air.
Squeals. Grunts. The slap of flesh against flesh.
Pressure gathered in Brian’s chest as a rush of adrenaline flooded his veins. With his back to the wall, he eased up to the corner of the barn, Glock drawn. He peered around the side, every muscle, every cell in his body coiled tight and ready.
Charlie.
