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“Roisin, I–”
CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.
The sound echoes around us and our heads snap up in unison.
… Just as half a dozen men emerge from the treeline.
TheDead Eyegrunt leading the pack steps forward with another clap. A twisted smirk etches itself onto his face.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the Reaper and his bride-to-be.”
Chapter Sixteen
Roisin
Arnie drags me behind him in a flash, putting himself between me and our ambushers.
“Seems congratulations are in order,” the man in front croons lazily. “Although it’s a shame there are no Maguire sisters left for me.”
The man peers around Arnie to lick his crooked lips at me.
But Arnie doesn’t respond. He just stares the man down as he stands deathly still.
Out of the corner of my eye, five more men emerge from the tree line, each holding a weapon of some kind. A metal baseball bat, a knife, or a gun.
“There’s no point hiding her from us, Arnold. We’ll get her one way or another.”
One of the men holding a gun creeps in closer to our left, clearly hoping that Arnie is too distracted to notice him reaching for me.
The ringleader tilts his head. “Although I hear these days, Connor’s squeezing your balls too hard for you to fight.”
With a flick of his wrist, something small and metallic flies from Arnie’s hand… Directly into the forehead of the approaching gunman.
I can feel the scream building in my throat as the man crumbles to the floor, but I don’t have a chance to let it out. Arnie grabs my arm and pulls me hard against him as he runs us to the treeline for cover.
BANG!
A gunshot flies over our heads, splintering a branch above us.
Arnie retaliates with another flick of his wrist. I don’t need to look back to know that whoever his target was would now also be crumbling to the ground.
“Get back here, you bastard!”
But Arnie doesn’t stop pulling me forward. It takes all my concentration to keep up with him and not trip over the various roots and bushes that block our path. I don’t notice that we’re going in the wrong direction of the car until he stops in front of a huge oak.
“In here,” he hisses.
I’m surprised to find that despite its size, the tree is entirely hollow. Arnie wastes no time pushing me inside and checking me over.
He grabs my chin in his hand. “Are you alright?”
I don’t trust my voice enough to speak, so I simply nod.
“Wait here.”
Then he’s gone. Disappearing like some kind of ghost.
I sink to the floor, trying desperately to control my breathing. God, I feel useless. Anxiety creeps up my skin, clutching at my shaking legs and quivering hands.
