Page 168 of Maddox
“Over there,” someone shouts, and I gasp before pushing faster.
The grass brushes past my waist and I stumble twice before hitting a tree and dropping to the ground.
When Draven appears beside me, I whimper, grasping my knee as fire shoots up my leg.
We both turn as rustling breaks out nearby and Draven drops to her knees, covering my mouth before hissing, “Sh!”
Luckily, I fell over a downed log and when she pushes me down, I fall against it, holding back a grunt when she drops on top of me.
The rough bark bites into my skin and I shiver as ice collects along my spine.
Beyond the shouts in the distance all I hear is the pounding of my heart until a twig snaps by my head.
Clenching my eyes closed, I bite my lip so hard that the copper tang of blood fills my mouth once again.
It’s quiet, almost too quiet, until someone above me grunts, “Wait here.”
The man who spoke presumably moves through the trees while his companion gets cozy nearby.
Time passes slowly while I concentrate on taking quiet breaths so as not to alert the man waiting in the proverbial wings.
Draven’s heart pounds desperately against mine and I focus on the beat, the sound almost soothing until a terrifying scream rents the air.
All the hair on my nape stands on end at the torturous cry and tears fill my eyes when Draven sags against me.
The horrible, awful sound continues for what feels like forever before it finally cuts off so abruptly that I’m momentarily disoriented.
Into the silence, the faint breaths of the man standing somewhere nearby penetrate my brain and I tense when his friend returns, his footfalls easy to hear in the silence.
“You hear that?”
“Nope and neither did you. Let’s go,” the other man grumbles.
“I didn’t sign up for this shit,” the first one says. “Ice ain’t gonna be pleased.”
“Yeah well, I don’t see that fucker out here.”
As soon as they turn, Draven pushes up, her limbs trembling over mine.
We wait an excruciating few minutes before she crawls away and leans back to help me to my feet.
My throbbing knee protests every step but it’s easy to ignore when I know what the alternative is.
After a few steps though, I look back and freeze when I meet the dark eyed stare of one of the men, we thought was a safe distance away.
Slowly the fight leaves my body, and I accept my fate until the clouds move, allowing the moon to peek through and I see Mouse, the prospect I met on that long ago night.
His brows furrow as he takes me in before he places his finger over his lips, slowly backs away and disappears into the trees.
I watch him go, my heart in my throat until Draven pauses in my peripheral and I move, following her when she picks her way through the icy mud and foliage.
Once we pass through the ring of trees, I exhale to find that we’re near the vehicles and pull out the keys Kidd gave me.
“Here,” I whisper, and Draven plucks them from my hand.
I’m reaching for the door on the passenger side of the truck when I pause and turn.
I don’t see anyone, but I do see the flames from the fire bursting over the roof of the building and it’s blazing.
