Page 86 of The Stolen Dagger
I twisted in Hunter’s hold but immediately winced at the pain his strong grip had on my wrist. One wrong move and the bone would snap.
Before I could think of any kind of defensive move to get out of his hold, Adrian’s heavy palm connected with my cheek.
Slap!
A stinging pain exploded across my face as my head twisted to the side. My ear rang, and my head buzzed. Tears pricked my eyes, and my vision blurred.
Hunter loosened his grip on my wrist, pulled me back against his front, and looped his arm through mine behind my back, effectively restraining me against him. His tight hold forced me to raise my head to Adrian.
“You really thought you could pull one over on me like that,” Adrian snarled and leaned closer. “Baby, I know your every move. I know what you’re going to do before you do it. You can’t win against me. I’ll always be one step ahead. You might as well surrender now before you really get yourself hurt.”
The old me would have submitted to him then and there with my head lowered in defeat. The old me would have taken whatever punishment Adrian had planned because that was the only option available to me. Because I was trapped with no other chance for escape.
But I wasn’t that girl anymore. I refused to be.
The coppery tang of blood on my tongue cemented mydecision to fight like hell even more. Still tightly bound against Hunter, I spit directly into Adrian’s face.
He flinched back, and fury morphed his features, but before he could do anything in response, I thrust my hips back against Hunter, forcing him to step back, and slipped my arm out of the cage he’d made. With enough space between us, I threw my elbow back into his ribs and then up, connecting with his nose.
Hunter cried out in pain, and I twisted just in time to see his hands cover his broken nose. Blood gushed through the gaps in his fingers.
Pride filled me, but just as I thought I’d escaped one man’s clutches, Adrian’s arm encircled my stomach and yanked me back against him. I tried to wiggle out of his grasp too when I felt the sharp blade of the dagger at my throat.
Immediately, I froze against him. My chest rose and fell with each heavy breath I took.
“See,” Adrian seethed in my ear. “I’m always one step ahead.”
“You fucking bitch,” Hunter spat, blood trickling down his chin.
“Is that the only name you can come up with?” I questioned, feeling brave despite my situation. “I mean, really, it’s getting old.”
Hunter ground his teeth in anger and stepped forward, trusting a thick finger at my face. “You’ll wish you were dead by the time I’m done with you.”
“That’s enough,” Adrian practically growled in my ear, then addressed a seething Hunter over my shoulder. “Restrain her this time and put her in the car.” I struggled against him, but he banded his other arm around my middle. “Leave the old lady. We don’t need her anymore.”
He stepped us toward the SUV when a pair of headlights about a half a mile down the road crested in the distance.
“Who the fuck is that?” Adrian bellowed in my ear, pressing the dagger more firmly to my throat and forcing my head to tilt to the right. “What did you do? Who the FUCK is that?”
I smiled, and the motion made the pain in my cheek flare to life again, but it was worth it as fear spread across Adrian’s face.
“The Reaper.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
DREW
This so-called “plan” has gone to shit.
That was all I could think of as Roman, his men, and I drove up the dirt road faster than was safe with two other SUVs following, while Mack waited behind to make sure no more of Adrian’s men came up behind us.
As they neared, my stomach dropped at the sight of Katherine secured against Adrian like a human shield with the dagger at her throat.
Even though we had agreed to let Katherine go by herself, not that we had much say with her stubbornness, I was seriously regretting not objecting more to her plan.
With one flick of Adrian’s wrist, he could slit Katherine’s throat, and there would be nothing I could do to stop her from bleeding out.
That thought mixed with the terrified look on her face was enough to send my heart into overdrive.
