Page 96 of Zain

Smith mumbled something derisive. The other guy yanked her up again, this time with less care, and tossed her over his shoulder. His hard muscle dug into her stomach, but with her arms still behind her, she had no way to lessen the weight on her diaphragm.

He climbed the hill. The sharp incline made hertip farther toward the ground, but he didn’t fall. When they reached the top, he dropped her to her feet. “Walk,” he ordered.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have shot me,” she retorted. The pain in her arm had faded to a bone-crushing throb. She suspected shock had something to do with the lessening of the pain, as the hot liquid trickling down to her fingers told her she was bleeding a lot.

He jammed his fingers into her spine, and she staggered forward. “It wasn’t a kill shot. Looks like you tore off a chunk of skin from a branch.”

She fought the dizziness closing in around her. “Any decent medical examiner will know that’s from a bullet.”

He chuckled. “You think the people who hired me haven’t greased the pockets of your future examiner? Come on now.”

Her skin turned clammy. He’d all but admitted the government was behind this. Just peachy. The odds of her surviving a government assassin—make that three—were zero.

“Falls are up ahead, Sharp,” Smith said.

Dana swallowed a cry. The taste of fear in her mouth was foul. Her brain started to shut down, her movements on autopilot and her muscles weak. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. “You don’t have to do this.” She spoke the pleading, desperate words knowing they wouldn’t do a damn thing.

But she had to try.

The men said nothing, as if her voice were no louder than a mosquito’s wings.

“You can just let me go here. I’ll find my way. No one has to know.” The tears flowed freely now, and her words appeared to be weaving a fairy tale. The rush of the waterfall grew louder, almost deafening.

Sharp grunted. “Lady, this ain’t personal. It’s a job. We’ll make it quick if you just shut up.”

Fury spread heat to her cheeks. She stopped in her tracks and pivoted.

Smith jerked back so he didn’t bang into her, and Sharp glared with annoyance.

“No. I won’t shut up. You can’t do this! You won’t get away with it.”

Smith snorted, and Sharp gave her a sympathetic grin. “Already have.” He caught her elbow and steered her around. “Lead the way,” he called to Smith.

Smith moved in front and stalked down the sloped trail. Dana sent a gaze toward the woods, willing someone, anyone, to appear. “What happened to Drake?” If she got away, she needed to know who to look out for.

“He, uh, hurt himself on the trail. Real unfortunate.”

Smith let out a trill of laughter.

Dana ran her tongue over her chapped lips. Drake was a monster and deserved his fate. But thefact that they’d killed one of their own didn’t bode well for her. With no moisture left in her body, she almost ripped off a layer of skin. Drake was gone, which meant she had only these two jerks to escape.

They didn’t want to shoot her. That’d make things too difficult to cover up. She darted her gaze to the left then to the right. There was a steep drop-off on her left. She couldn’t even see where it ended. But the ground on her right sloped gently into a thicket of bushes. That was her best shot.

As they got closer to the bottom of the path, it pitched at a sharper angle. Dana allowed her pace to pick up and stomped on Smith’s heel. He careened forward several steps, caught himself on a tree, and turned to lunge at her. “You—”

She slammed her shoulder into his. He wheeled his free arm backward as he teetered on the edge of the drop-off.

Sharp lunged for him.

Excitement electrified her limbs. She broke free of her captor’s hold and ran off the trail to the right, breaking through the bushes.

“Goddammit!” one of the men hollered.

Ragged cries tore from her throat as her feet grew wings. She ran through the bushes at top speed, thorns and branches attacking her arms and face, cutting any exposed skin they could find.

She pushed harder.

Sprinting down the hill, Dana let out a screamfrom the depths of her soul.

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