Page 108 of Marked

“Humph.” He bent forward, catching his stomach. Ire seared his beady brown eyes. “Cunt.” He lunged forward. Sophia caught his wrist and cranked his arm sharply.

He yelled and dropped to his knees. His free hand reached for the waistband at the front of his pants and a flash of metallic black caught her eye.

A gun.

Sophia dove for the weapon. Yanking it from his pants, she turned it on him. The salty taste of sweat touched her lips, but it wasn’t as strong as the sour fear on her tongue.

“Hands up.” The sharp demand came from a deep, authoritative place inside her.

She was a detective, dammit. She wouldn’t go down without taking everyone else with her. “Hands above your head!” she repeated, when he didn’t obey. “On the ground. Facedown.”

The man mumbled something lewd and derisive as he lifted his palms high and shimmied to the concrete floor.

Her finger hooked with tension around the trigger. Itching to pull. He’d submitted. Her training told her she couldn’t just shoot someone who was in compliance. But if she left him, he’d surely come after her again, and next time she wouldn’t be so lucky.

Wetting her lips, she glanced around. A small glass case was tucked into the wall—a fire extinguisher. The long, thick white hose behind it caught her attention. As far as bindings went, it was weak. But what else did she have?

Keeping the gun in her hand, she yanked open the little door then took out the large cannister and set it on the ground. Then she freed the hose, shaking it out. Pocketing the gun, she bent over her attacker and secured his wrists behind his back. It might not hold long, but it was something.

Retrieving the gun, she sidled around the guy’s form and raced for the exit. She slammed her hands into the metal bar and the door swept open.

“Stop!” yelled another man.

Outside, Sophia threw a glance over her shoulder but kept running. She was too close to give up now. Footsteps pounded after her.

“I’ve got her!” the man screamed.

Her breath caught in her throat. Spinning around, she aimed the gun and fired. The bullet smacked into the metal door behind him, the sound echoing off the buildings surrounding the parking lot.

No!

She fired again. This time the bullet nicked the man’s shoulder. He cursed but kept running toward her. Pivoting, she sprinted away.

His heavy breaths closed in on her, and a hand sank into her hair, yanking her backward. She let out a cry as her back collided with the guy’s chest. He wrestled the gun from her fingers. “I fucking got you, bitch.”

Keeping his hold on her hair, he dragged her across the parking lot and into the loading-dock door. She stumbled over the tied-up man’s body.

“Can you untie me? Shit.”

“You deserve to stay there, you moron.”

“What? C’mon. Adrian will be here.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let me take this bitch to Kenneth and I’ll come back.”

“No!” She twisted in his hold, but it didn’t loosen. He shoved her in front of him, and the hard metal of his gun dug into her spine.

“Walk.” His fingers fell from her hair.

Her scalp burned and screamed. Tears welled in her eyes and sucked the moisture from her throat. She was as good as dead now.

The man kept the gun at her back as they wove down the hall and up a flight of stairs. “Yeah, I’ve got her,” her captor said into a phone. “Meet you at the main floor.”

Chills raced up and down Sophia’s spine as he led her through the front part of the building. He shoved open a door and towed her inside, his grip firm on her bicep and the mouth of his gun digging into her spine.

A large space with a partially finished welcome desk took up the otherwise unfinished area. A man lay on the floor, blood pooled around his head. Sophia stopped, and the air left her lungs.

Kenneth came forward, and she snapped her gaze from the body on the floor to her boss.

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