Page 60 of Salvation

“You see?” Emmett cackled as the beasts growled. “Wolves belong with wolves, and bears belong with bears.”

Her mind spun. If these guys were the wolves, who were the bears?

“Humans belong with humans.” He pointed at her. “And you have dared to cross species lines. Don’t you see?”

She didn’t see anything but the loathing in his eyes.

“You are unpure,” he said, practically spitting the words out.

She swung the golf club, warning away the wolves while her mind picked the riddle apart.

You’ve whored yourself to that bear,Emmett had said.

She hadn’t whored herself to anyone, but yes, she had slept with Todd.

“You must die,” Emmett concluded, clapping his hands.

The two wolves snarled and stepped forward.

Bear…Todd…

Stop thinking! Just act!

She dropped the threads of thought that had started to connectToddandbearand wound up for another swing.

It made her sick, how easy she found it to strike out at an enemy and hope for blood, even death. She’d never killed anything but insects in her life. But suddenly, she was thrust into the role of warrior in a fight to the death. And her death was only part of a greater scheme. Worse still was the idea of someone as innocent as little Teddy dying.

Teddy, Todd’s son.

The idea fueled her in a way muscle alone never would have done, and while everything at the edges of her vision blurred, the center was frighteningly clear. She focused on the wolves before her.

Kill them. Kill them now.

Metal shone in a wide arc as she unleashed a furious blow. She struck the wolf on the right on the shoulder. The other leaped forward with a growl, and she punched it back with a jab at the nose.

They both backed up, shook their dark coats, and closed in again. The four men behind them chanted their eerie chant, and Emmett LeBlanc cheered it all on.

Part of her watched like an out-of-body experience. How on earth was she going to overcome these odds?

The wolves sprang forward in tandem, tearing at her legs, and she jumped back, raking the space before her with the golf club. One of the wolves went sprawling but the other dashed forward, and she kicked just in time to connect with its muzzle.

She swung the golf club back to a ready position, panting wildly.

“Get her!” Emmett yelled.

Another attack; another blur. She hacked and swung and chopped until her shoulders ached. She swung too wide, slamming her weapon into the boulder, and the blow vibrated right into her arms. Then it wasn’t only wolf jaws snapping at her, but human hands, too. The other men had joined in, crowding her tiny space.

“No!” she screamed when one caught the golf club and wrenched it out of her hands.

She kicked at one wolf, but another dove in, butting her legs. She teetered, clawing desperately at the hands reaching for her, but it was too late. She fell, but the man hauled her to her feet and slapped her so hard, her vision went double for a moment.

A moment too long, because two blurry Emmetts moved in and four greedy hands reached out.

“Gotcha, bitch!”

Emmett grabbed her by the neck and gripped hard, squeezing the life out of her.

“You see?” he screamed in triumph.

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