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Here they came.
A shot went off, and I jumped slightly. They must have shot the lock. The doorknob jiggled some more, then a man’s frustrated groan echoed from the other side of the door. Seconds went by, and I covered my mouth to try to stop my shaky breathing. A man was in the hallway talking to someone. No, it must have been a walkie-talkie. I hoped Miss Longfellow had been able to call the police. A moment later, the door splintered open, and a heavy-booted man stormed in.
“Come out, come out,” he sang as he shuffled around the room.
Please, God, don’t let him open the closet and find Juliet.
His boots stomped around the perimeter of the room, and I rolled over to the other side of the pool table, watching everywhere his boots stepped. It was like I forgot how to breathe, my whole body vibrating with a mixture of fear and anticipation. If he just came a little closer, then I could sneak up behind him before he could realize what was happening. It felt like hours went by, but I knew it had only been minutes. His walkie-talkie beeped, and he spoke into it.
“Third floor clear. Moving down to the second.” The man had a slight accent, possibly Russian.
Silence filled the room as I tried to figure out where he was so I could sneak up behind him. Had he actually left? I screamed out as hands wrapped around my ankles and dragged me out from under the pool table.
“Got you, bitch.” The man towered over me, caging me in with his legs, an evil grin spread across his face.
“I don’t think so, asshole.” With a primal roar, I swung my dagger with as much savage force as I could, aiming right for his crotch. His eyes widened when he realized I had a knife in my hand, but it was too late for him. The blade went through his flesh exactly where I had intended, and he let out a guttural cry.
I rolled onto my stomach and tried to crawl away as fast as I could, but he fell down on top of me. The air in my body was knocked out as he slammed down on my back, screaming in agony. I kicked my legs, throwing my elbows back, but he was too heavy.
“You fucking bitch,” he snarled, the rage in his voice evident. He slammed my head against the carpet, black dots forming in my vision as he did it again. Cold hands wrapped around my neck, and I clawed at his fingers, drawing as much blood as I could.Just hold on, Nova. This isn’t the end by a long shot.The closet doors burst open, feet running closer to us, and then something cold dusted across my face. He howled and let go of my neck, and I looked up to see Juliet with a fire extinguisher in her hands. She was blasting him in the face with it as he screamed and tried to cover his eyes. Her eyes were wild as she lifted it over her head and hit him in the face once, then again. He toppled backwards, and I moved as fast as I could to get out from underneath him.
Her breath was ragged as she kept hitting him in the head until he lay limp on the floor. She dropped the extinguisher on the ground, her chest rising and falling. “God, that felt good. Are you OK?” She bent down and looked me over.
“Yeah, I’m good.” There was a tightness in my throat, and I tried to shake it off as she helped me stand.
We stared at the man, his body not moving at all. I took a step closer and kicked his boot. Still no movement.
“Is he…?” Juliet’s voice trailed off.
“I think so.” Half of his face appeared crushed in and there was blood everywhere. If he was alive, he wouldn’t be for much longer. I reached down and yanked the dagger out of his body, wiping the blood off on his snowsuit.
“I couldn’t shoot him; he was on top of you.” She grabbed the walkie-talkie and stuffed it into her pocket.
“I know. It’s OK.” I gripped her in a tight hug. “Damn, you’re stronger than I realized.”
“It’s all the rage rituals Thora had me doing.” She snickered and held her gun up. “Let’s go.”
We moved quietly through the door, poking our heads around the corner. There were at least two other men in the house—that was, if the others hadn’t taken care of them. I held my dagger in front of me as we pressed our backs against the wall, moving towards the second level. We froze as a man shouted, and then a gunshot echoed around us. Juliet and I looked at each other and ran down the last few steps.
Kaviathin stood over a man, one hand holding a gun, the other covered in blood. The man on the floor looked like he’d had the shit beat out of him before he had gotten a bullet to the forehead. I didn’t think I could ever get used to seeing someone dead.
Kaviathin snapped his head in our direction. Thora popped out from behind the bed, her hair disheveled and the top of her shirt ripped.
“Are you OK?” I whispered.
She let out a deep breath and stood, straightening out her shirt. “We heard screaming.”
“We got one.” I looked over my shoulder. “That means there’s one left downstairs.”
We moved swiftly downstairs, each of us armed as we surveyed the lower level, looking for movement. Where was Althazair? Maybe he had gotten the other guy already? Several gunshots echoed outside, and then came the sound of men shouting. Fuck, either the assailants had gotten the jump on Cian or the other way around.
Please be OK. I promise, if we get through this…
No. We were getting out of here alive. We just had to.
The room was eerily quiet, the only light coming from the red emergency lights overhead. I passed a fireplace and grabbed a poker stick, stuffing my dagger into the waistband of my jeans as I wielded my new weapon.
Kaviathin held up his hand and pointed to the living area, then pointed at him and Thora and mimicked a walking motion. I nodded and pointed towards the kitchen. My heart was beating so fast, like it was ready to explode right out of my chest. Juliet followed behind me as we went through the kitchen. On the counter was the food Miss Longfellow had been making earlier that night. God, it was hard to believe that only hours ago we had been having fun decorating for my wedding, and now we were here fighting for our lives.
