Page 22 of Leif

We moved closer, falling into perfect unison. Together, we rushed the entrance of the cave. He quickly knocked out a guy, and I nodded at him. We moved as one into the hall, then back further. He fell behind as a sound reached our ears, and I pressed forward, desperate to find the prisoner who’d taken me hostage. I stepped into a room that was familiar. I stood there, looking around for a moment before realizing it was the room I’d been tied up in.

Spinning around with escape as the only thought in my head, I came face to face with my captor. He was holding my gun, aimed at my forehead.

“You’re back.” His eyes seemed sad. “You know what this means, right?” He leaned forward an inch, touching my skin with the cold barrel. I’d never thought I’d be staring down the barrel of my police-issued gun.

I wasn’t going to grace this madman’s comment with an answer. I knew what he was going to do.

But I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Lunging at him, I heard the gun go off. A second later, I wrestled it from his grasp and turned it on him. Dropping a knee on his chest, I let my weight slide toward his throat as I pinned him, the gun to his head this time.

“I should kill you. But I’m not going to.” I pulled zipties out of my pocket and moved off him. “Roll over.”

He did so, his hands staying in sight. “Move slow,” I ordered him.

I locked up his hands, mentally checking myself for any sign I’d been shot. He should have hit me. I mean, it was point-blank. The muzzle was practically touching my skin, but I didn’t even feel the heat. Was it just adrenaline stopping me from feeling pain?

But that didn’t track either; there was no sensation of blood rushing or any other sign of injury. Maybe he’d missed. Somehow. I had no idea how it was possible, though. What other explanation was there?

I tightened the ties on his wrists and moved to ziptie his ankles together too. No need to risk his running off.

On my knees in the near-darkness, I wondered why the sound of the tie closing seemed so incredibly loud. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and goosebumps raced like wildfire up my arms.

I held my breath as cold steel dug into the back of my head.

I’d been so focused on this one guy and potential injuries, I’d failed to notice the guy sneaking up on me. I deserved this for being sloppy.

I squeezed my eyes closed as the prisoner glanced over his shoulder at me.

“Well, well, well, looks like your luck has turned again.” With a snide smile, he demanded I cut him free, and the gun on the back of my head pressed in harder. Where the heck was Leif?

The gun bit into my scalp, and the sting and warm drop of blood startled me. “Cut him free. Now or I pull the trigger.”

“You’d shoot an officer?” I asked the guy. The gun shifted, leaving my skin for a second before he pressed it to the back of my head again.

“They’d never prove it was me. Nobody knows you’re here but us.” He sounded thrilled.

“You’re wrong. Both precincts have people on the way for me. And they’re aware there are a bunch of you and know your exact location.” I grinned coldly at the prisoner still tied up in front of me. He stared at me, clearly assessing my expression.

“Bullshit.” His lip twisted. “You wouldn’t tell us they were coming if they were. You wouldn’t risk our knowing your brothers in blue would show up because then they’d be in more danger.”

My heart sank, but I struggled to maintain my expression. I didn’t expect him to think of that, but he was right; I’d never betray my brotherhood to some low life criminals to save my hide.

A cruel smile crossed the guy’s lips. “She’s lying. Untie me or he pulls the trigger.” The gun pressed tighter to my head, and I glanced to the side, looking for Leif. To my relief, I saw great golden eyes in the darkness.

The gun suddenly went through me as the man started to fall as if I’d suddenly become a ghost.

“What the fuck is wrong with this bitch?” The guy roared. At that moment, Leif rushed him and took him down as I glanced down at my hands. What the heck was going on? How did the guy go through me? Was I losing my mind?

I stared at Leif as he twisted the guy’s arm behind his back and zipped his wrists together. “Where’s the big guy?”

“I don’t know! He left! What the fuck is wrong with her?” The guy’s eyes were wide and white, his pupils dilated with fear. “Is she one of them freaks?”

Freaks?

I knew I wasn’t whatever he was thinking I was, but I knew one thing for sure; the only person in the room that didn’t want me hurt was Leif. So whatever had protected me… it was his doing.

But how?

What had he done to me?

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