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I moved further inside, determined not to fall into a panic. There was a light switch on the other side of the bar. That much I remembered about the room. I held my breath, hating the fact my heart thudded in my chest, which meant the pulsing was echoing in my ears. I couldn’t see a thing, the angle of the full moon barely illuminating a couple of feet past the doors.
When I cleared the bar, I turned briefly, struggling to find a switch. Oh, no. No. There was no power, at least in the room. Then why was the pool still running? Because they were on separate circuits, which meant someone had cut the power to this room specifically.
Now I was in full panic mode, my chest heaving from terror. Who would do this? Had they gotten inside the room or was this about terrifying me? Or was I simply overblowing the entire situation? With no light, it was impossible to tell. I slowly turned my head. The door was maybe fifteen feet away. The best thing to do was lunge toward it and hope for the best.
That’s exactly what I did but right before I reached the door, I was certain I noticed a shape off to my right. A huge shape. The size of a large man. I smashed my hand around the door handle. That’s the second I felt a presence behind me but was unable to yelp as two things happened at once.
A hand fisted my hair at the scalp.
And a second hand was slapped around my mouth, preventing me from making a sound.
Then I was yanked backward, lifted off my feet as if I weighed nothing. I was momentarily stunned, then a rage unlike anything I’d ever known took over and I began to struggle. While my legs were flailing, I managed to kick the attacker in the shins with enough force the asshole grunted.
The deep, masculine sound reminded me that I was very much alive yet if I didn’t continue fighting with everything I had inside of me, I would end up abducted or dead. And ransom had always been a distinct possibility, which was why my father had hired security for his children years before.
Then again, this could be about the man I’d entered into a deal with. The announcement. Had we gambled and lost?
I managed to elbow the jerk and kept doing it when I knew I’d hit the mark. At the same time, I twisted my body, the desperation in me continuing. The force I used pummeled us backwards, the assailant hitting a piece of furniture. In turn, he dropped me. I scrambled quickly, letting off a shrill scream. There was just one problem. The rooms had been soundproofed as a benefit, a perk of the guests.
If anyone heard me, they could think it was just a far too loud television or music of some kind. Hissing, I pitched my body forward, knocking into something. A sharp pain tore through me, the anguish putting spots in front of my eyes. Panting, the time I lost was enough for him to grab me again, tossing me backward and over the couch onto the floor.
Stunned, I couldn’t move at first. The attacker moved around the side of the couch, peering down at me. The fucker was dressed in dark colors, including a ski mask. Oh, hell, no. I reacted quickly, slamming my foot into his stomach, using all the gusto I had in my muscular thigh to drive him backward by a few feet. Then I twisted around again, racing toward the French doors.
The assailant was on me in seconds, but not before I issued a shrill cry. If Kendrick’s soldier was somewhere close, there was no doubt he’d heard me. Please, God. Please.
“Bitch,” he muttered, dragging me back into the room.
“Yeah, I am,” I said through clenched teeth, able to issue a hard punch to his face. It connected, sending him reeling backward by a couple of inches. So I threw a second punch. Then a third, this time into his gut.
My sudden bravado was quickly stripped away when he backhanded me. But not before I managed to wrap my fingers around his mask, determined to hang on.
When I was successful, the material coming with me as I was pitched all the way against the wall, at least I could smile. Before the anguish settled in and I slid down the wall, completely out of breath. The stars had returned in full force, preventing me from seeing anything.
“Help… me. Help. Help!”
Laughing, he lumbered forward and while I did everything I could to scramble away from him, I couldn’t move quickly enough.
The bastard jerked me up on my feet. There was no mistaking the barrel of a gun as it was shoved against my temple.
Then another sound caught my attention a split second before the door was nearly torn off its hinges, another figure coming inside.
All hell had broken loose, yet in those few seconds of carnage, time slowed to a slight pulsing beat, all sounds muffled. Another wave of pain sliced through me as I heard a single popping sound.
There was no doubt the assailant made good on his promise, killing me.
CHAPTER25
Suzannah
Thud!
The sound reverberated in my ears. Then there were at least three more. I blinked furiously, struggling to crawl my way up the wall, uncertain what was happening. A moan slipped past my lips and thankfully, the stars had faded, allowing the light coming in from the hallway to bring some of what was happening into my slightly tunneled vision.
A body was pitched across the room, the sound of something shattering making me smile. Yet while I heard sounds of a brutal fight, I couldn’t see anything, the heavy furniture in my way.
Someone else flew into the room and I was able to see his silhouette, someone I didn’t recognize. When an ugly whimper flew past my lips, he turned his head toward me. Then he headed in my direction, lifting the weapon in his hand, and I let off another sharp cry.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
