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He grabbed my hair and yanked my head so hard, that my scalp stung. Fighting against his strength, my body a tug of war between safety and danger, I stretched my fingers toward the gear shift. If I could slam it into reverse, I could break his grip and speed away from him.
Bonus if I ran him over in the process.
My fingertips grazed the slick wood, but with a biting yank to my head, my body jerked to the left and began to slide out the door. My arm flailed for an anchor, something to pull me back, but instead, I grabbed the item in the cup holder.
A steak knife. I didn’t want to leave the house without protection, and since I couldn’t bring a weapon into the prison, I left it in the van.
My attacker tossed me onto the pavement, this time on my left side.
When he raised his arm, I thrust my knife into the soft flesh just above his knee, and as he howled, I ripped it back out and pushed myself up.
A forceful jolt rocked me as a solid arm snaked around my waist from behind, pulling me taut against a hardened form. With a gasp, I speared the knife into his forearm and yanked it up again, but before I stabbed him a second time, his grip loosened.
My eyes darted around the parking lot for anyone who could help, but the place was desolate and silent. The air held a biting chill that filled my lungs with isolation while a metallic tang of rain on steel lingered in the air, mingling with the earthy scent of dust and gravel.
The distant prison walls loomed, casting an oppressive shadow, an unreachable refuge. My only hope was the sanctuary of the van, where I needed to get back to the driver’s seat and speed away.
My gaze darted to the driver’s door, but my assailant blocked my path. Could I make it to the side door? Wait…
Is that the rear hatch that’s open?Oh my God, it is!Its button must have gotten bumped in the struggle!
My feet slammed against the asphalt so hard, that the bones of my feet cried in pain as I rounded the back and jumped inside.
Pushing the button on the hatch to close it.
Sean had taken the second and third row seats out. He typically traveled alone and used the van’s storage space to haul all of his audio equipment and case files, but right now, it was empty. Which would make it easier to navigate to the driver’s seat and speed off.
The hatch descended slowly with a soft whine as I heaved myself forward, but suddenly, rough hands grabbed my hips, yanked my weapon away from me, and slammed my back to the warm floor of the van.
Where the guy pinned me down, his knees flanking my hips.
One clammy hand on my shoulder.
The other holding the box cutter to my throat. The edge of the blade pricked my skin as the hatch continued its leisurely descent, preparing to trap me inside with a demon panting the promise of death.
But just before the van’s rear hatch shut entirely, a dark flash rolled beneath it.
My assailant jerked, and suddenly, he was off me, disarmed, pinned against the wall of the van.
With a knife tohisthroat.
CHAPTER15
Luna
My breathing reverberated off the interior walls, their rhythm staggered as the surreal scene before me sank in. Inside the back of the van with me, squatting between me and my hooded attacker, a man dressed in all black with a two-toned mask dominated the space with his size.
The Windy City Vigilante pressed the jagged edge of his knife against my assailant’s jugular so tightly, a single drop of blood sprouted beneath it while he turned his masked face toward me.
“Are you all right, Ms. Payne?” His voice slithered into the silence, deep and dripping with malice, making the hairs on the back of my neck prickle.
My mouth forgot how to work, evidently.
“Did he hurt you?” the Vigilante pressed.
Yes.But the words remained lodged there, too stunned to speak to the most dangerous man in the city. A killer, who’d just saved my life.
Glimpsing at the tinted windows, I caught the faint reflections of Sean’s podcast advertisement, which wrapped around the entire van, creating a one-way view. No one could see inside this vehicle unless they came around to the windshield or the broken window.
