Текст книги "Reciprocity"

Автор книги: K. I. Lynn

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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

CHAPTER 25

Nathan was silent, his grip on my hand tight on the walk back to the office. It all began to settle in that we’d reached the finale. My chest clenched and I leaned into him as we rode the elevator up.

He refused to let go of me. The office exploded in murmurs—hushed whispers, scared faces, and pointed fingers.

Nathan stopped mid-step and let go of my hand, reaching across my body instead and gripping my arm. It was too tight, panicked. I looked up, and in front of his office door stood a figure.

The man had slick-backed, midnight black hair, deep age lines carved into his clean-shaven face. He had to be at least sixty, if not seventy. The black suit he wore was not off the rack and probably cost a small fortune.

Nathan positioned himself in front of me, blocking me from the stranger, but I could still see. The man’s stance screamed elite—legs apart, spine straight, hands in his pockets. He radiated arrogance as his cold eyes surveyed me with an odd curiosity. Our eyes met and his lip twitched, and what looked like a combination of cruelty and excitement flashed.

A shiver ran through me, and my heart began to hammer in my chest. My flight response screamed in terror, pulsing the danger signal through every cell.

I’d never seen a picture of him, but I was certain the man in front of us was Vincent Marconi himself.

Nathan tensed, his muscles strained tight and shaking with suppressed energy. “Stop looking at her.” The edge in his tone as he snapped surprised me. “What do you want?”

The anger-filled, intense feeling emanating from Nathan was suffocating. I’d seen him angry before, but the strength was crushing me—a whole new level of emotion.

Vincent’s lips curled up, the cruelty I’d seen before shining through in his false, mocking show. “Ah, Nathan, what a pleasure it is to see you again.”

“Vincent,” Nathan growled. “What can I do for you?”

My airway restricted as my theory was confirmed. The floor began to fall away and the world slipped as my knees weakened. I could barely stand from the weight of it all.

“I just came by to see how you were doing after that horrible accident you were in a few years ago.” His fake concern dripped from his voice. “Terrible, really, to be filled with so much titanium and other metals to hold your shattered body together.”

I grabbed onto the back of Nathan’s jacket, fisting it, anchoring me to him. The man who’d broken him stood in front of us, wanting to do it all again.

His body hardened even more—a rock bracing for the coming wave. “As you can clearly see, I’m getting by.”

“And your poor, poor wife. Pregnant, wasn’t she? To lose all of your family. Tragic, really. Rumor has it you have remarried.” Vincent’s gaze flickered back to me.

I locked my knees, fighting to stay strong and not let him see my weakness.

With that comment, Nathan’s hand reached out and pushed me so he was standing fully in front of me.

“Is that her?” Vincent asked, fake curiosity dripping from his tone.

Nathan’s arm shook as I peeked to look around his shoulder again.

“Hello, Mrs. Thorne, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Vincent extended his hand.

His whole demeanor and the conversation didn’t sit well with me, and the prospect of touching him sent chills through my body. I leaned into Nathan for support.

“She has nothing to do with this. Leave her alone.”

Vincent gave Nathan that smile again. “Nathan, don’t be rude. I only stopped by today to see how you were doing after all this time. Nothing more.” Vincent sighed, as if put off. “However, I see you remain as arrogant and rude as you always were. Therefore, I’ll take my leave.” He nodded at me, a strange hunger as he looked me over. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Thorne.”

His stance, his tone, his presence was a threat.

Nathan’s hands were balled into tight fists, shaking as a low growl vibrated through him.

Vincent chuckled before giving his final goodbye and sauntering down the hall away from us. We both stared after him, as did the entire office. The moment the elevator doors closed and he was gone, Nathan yanked on my arm, moving us down the hall.

“Get your purse.”

“What?”

His jaw twitched. “We’re leaving. We’re not staying here.”

The tension was still high, his grip tight, barely letting me get my things before pulling me down the hall. All eyes were on us as we made our way to the elevators, and their own fear could be seen—their pity.

Nathan sped through the streets on the way home, his eyes constantly checking the mirrors to see if anyone was following us. I’d never seen him so shaken, but Vincent Marconi’s visit had him on a whole new level of paranoid and freaking out. When we arrived home, he quickly ushered us to the elevator. As soon as we were in the door, he was running to the bedroom.

When I caught up, he was pulling our suitcases down from the closet and throwing them on the bed. The pace as he moved back and forth from the dresser, the closet, and the bed, depositing clothes as he went, was frightening.

“What are you doing?”

“We’re going. Leaving now.”

I shook my head. “We can’t just leave.”

“Yes, we can, and we are.” He pulled open the dresser, grabbing handfuls of stuff, paying no attention to what it was. “It’s the only way I can protect you.”

I shook my head and set my hands on my hips, digging my heels into the floor. “There has to be another way.”

“Unless Vincent Marconi drops dead, there isn’t.”

“It could happen.”

His jaw flexed, teeth mashing together. “I’m not taking a chance on if.”

“Nate, we need to form a plan. We can’t just take off.”

“Damn it! Why won’t you fucking listen to me?”

“Because you’re being unreasonable.” My fingers flexed against my hips.

“No, I’m not.” The volume of his voice increased, almost to the point of yelling. His eyes hardened. “I’ve warned you about my past.”

“You’re just going to leave your family?”

His motions halted. He stood stone still for a moment, then grabbed my phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

“Mom, I need you to pack your bags… The Marconi… Mom, please don’t argue.”

I snatched the phone from his hands. “Sarah, we’ll call you back.”

I forced down my own anxiety as I stared at my husband’s frantic behavior.

“I’ll call Darren, you work on calming him.” The worry in her voice could be heard

I nodded, not that she could see. “Talk to you soon.”

I hung up and walked over to him. He was shaking violently as he stuffed clothing into the cases.

“Baby, you need to calm down,” I said in a soothing tone, my fingers running through his hair. “We need to work out a plan.”

His head snapped toward me. “This is serious. We have to leave. I have to get you out of here. I can’t let them… I won’t let them hurt you.”

“Slow down. Take a deep breath. Please.”

“No!” he shouted and turned to me, his eyes beseeching me to understand. “This wasn’t a warning. Everything before was, but Vincent himself seeking me out was his way of saying goodbye, of letting me know that we’re dead. He wanted to see you, see what he was going to take from me. He is going to kill us, Lila! We have to leave now!”

CHAPTER 26

I vibrated with anger and fear as I stared at Nathan. We weren’t right. There was an element that was off in both of us. We weren’t working together as a unit, as a family, and it was hurting us.

I picked up a shoe he’d just dumped into the suitcase and hurled it against the wall. “No. This ends now. Stop with the bullshit!”

He stopped packing and looked at me. “Bullshit?”

“Yes. Bullshit.” I was seething. Not working together made us weaker, and it’d become obvious we were falling apart because of it. “You’ve kept things from me. I’ve kept things from you, as well. We can’t do that, not now. Especially not in this moment.”

He blinked at me, stunned. “What are you keeping from me?”

“What are you keeping from me? I’m your wife, remember? Partner in this life we have together, including impending doom.”

He stepped forward, towering over me, and snarled. “What are you keeping from me?”

I blew out a breath and bit my bottom lip before looking him in the eye, my jaw jutting forward. “I knew Marconi was on his way in town this morning.”

“How?” His voice was flat, even, and a shiver ran through me.

“Noah.”

His face scrunched, and he lashed out, grabbing the nearest thing—a pillow—and tossing it across the room, screaming.

“You didn’t tell me? I missed a call from Noah around eight, but I had no idea…” He shook his head. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

I slumped down onto the edge of the bed. “You would’ve freaked out this morning. I was waiting until after work, trying to form a plan, but he’s already here.”

“We could’ve been gone hours ago.” He threw his hands up and stomped away, stopping in front of the bathroom door, his back turned. “How did Noah contact you?”

I closed my eyes and braced myself for his rage. “On a disposable phone he bought me a month ago. He’s been keeping me up to date as well as keeping tabs on us.”

He bent forward, then slammed his hands against the door frame. When he turned to me, I jumped at the fire in his eyes.

“A month? This has been going on for a month and neither of you mentioned it to me? I’ve fucking talked to Noah multiple times, and he never said a word.”

I stared at him and sighed. “You’ve been so on edge. Between the false positive and giving Tom the file, I’ve had to walk on eggshells and do everything I could to keep you relaxed.”

He glared at me, and icy dread flooded my system. It was anger, and not in a good way. “So, my wife has been placating me like a fucking child.”

I jumped up from the bed and stalked forward, pushing against his chest. “You wake up screaming every night! Your moods are so heightened and change so fast, I can’t keep up, so I keep even.”

Anger fled from him, replaced by something I couldn’t identify, but I knew it was a jumbled mess of turmoil. His hands ran through his hair, then down to his neck, pulling.

“I never should’ve proposed. We never should’ve gotten married.”

I flinched, recoiling back as if he’d slapped me. He looked up, his eyes empty. My mouth opened and tears began to gather in my eyes. My chest was tight, and I reached behind me, searching for the bed. Stability as my world threatened to collapse around me. His face morphed, eyes wide in panic as he lurched toward me, grabbing my arms.

“No, Honeybear, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“What way am I supposed to take it?” My voice was strained, forcing the overpowering emotions from pouring out of me. Everything was upside down.

His eyes scrunched closed, teeth bared as he squeezed me tighter.

“I somehow thought I wasn’t a bother to him any longer. All our therapy toned down my fears, and I forgot and was happy. I convinced myself we could have a future, a family, and grow old together.” My heart broke at the tortured expression on his face. “Everything that consumes me is you, and I want you in every way, but the one thing I don’t want is you hurt because of me. Marrying you tells them how much you mean to me. They can take you away from me.”

I swallowed hard, then reached out and grabbed hold of the lapels of his jacket. “You told me to stay away from you over and over again. You said you weren’t worth my life, but you were wrong. You are my life. If I hadn’t met you, I’d still be a zombie.”

His forehead fell against mine, and he cupped my face before kissing me hard. “I’m sorry. So fucking sorry. I love you so much. I need to keep you safe, for you and for me. Even if that means keeping things from you.” His thumbs caressed my cheek. “I don’t want you to worry. It’s my responsibility to protect you.”

I stared into his eyes as I shook my head. “That’s not protecting me—that’s leaving me vulnerable. Noah noticed it as well and that’s why he got the phones. And I do nothing but worry, because I see how everything bothers you. You can’t hide from me. Not me.” I leaned forward and rested my head against his chest, my arms wrapping around his waist. “Remember what we said, what we promised? We’ll never be free, never have a baby, if we continue on this path.”

He flinched at my words. “There isn’t going to ever be a baby if we stay here, if I don’t get you away.”

I pulled back. “Where are we going to go? They’ll find us.”

He shook his head. “I’ve been getting emails, pictures of us, for a few weeks.”

“I know.”

His attention snapped back to me. “You know?”

I nodded. “I saw you looking at them when you were on the phone with Tom. After that, I downloaded your email app to my phone and have been checking it.”

He stared at me in stunned silence for a moment before turning and kicking a half-packed bag. “Jesus fucking Christ! Who the fuck are we?”

I sat back down on the edge of the bed and let out a sigh. “We’re two people in a shit situation, and all we want to do is protect each other.”

He turned, hands on his hips. “Fuck lot of good that’s done us.” He ripped off his jacket and threw it on the ground. He stared off, his face relaxed, almost as if an idea struck him. “Once I take you somewhere you’ll be safe, then I need to hunt him down and end this once and for all.”

“What? That’s crazy! He’ll have a dozen guys with him all carrying guns.”

“Then I’ll get a grenade and we’ll all go down.”

My jaw dropped open as I stared at him and the determination setting into his features. I got back on my feet and slammed my hands against his chest with all my might. “No! Don’t even fucking say anything like that.”

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tight. “If it’s the only way to end this…”

My eyes watered, and I swiped away the unshed tears. It was sinking in that there might not be a tomorrow.

Our last night on earth.

The thought hit me like a punch to the gut. My whole body began to shake.

I pulled his head down and bowed up to press my lips to his. The surprise, followed by reluctance, threatened to crush me, and he almost did when his hands wrapped around my wrists. He pushed me back, head shaking.

Tears streamed down my cheeks. “I need you. Please, please.” Nothing could be more true. I needed him, our connection. It felt like I would rip apart without it, the torturous fate ahead of us burying me in crippling grief.

“We have to go.” My own agony reflected in his features.

“If tonight is all we have, give me one last moment with you.”

It hit him as well—understanding flashed across his face. His lips met mine again, fierce and desperate, as he reached down and lifted me up by my ass. I moaned into his mouth, a gasp leaving me soon after as we fell onto the bed.

Harsh hands ripped open my shirt as he bit down on my bra-covered breast. He sat up and pushed my skirt up, grabbing my hips and pulling my pussy against his cock. His mouth was parted, lids heavy as he looked down at me.

“Tell me.” The lust in his eyes faltered, exposing the fear and sadness beneath.

I reached out, my fingers brushing against his chest. “I love you…more than my own life.”

His fingers deftly worked his belt, then moved to his zipper. “More.”

“I’m yours for this life and the next.” His fingers pushed my panties aside, then he rubbed the head of his cock against my pussy, making me burn and melt around him. “I will always be yours.”

He thrust forward, and I convulsed. My eyes rolled back as my nails dug into his forearm. Everything centered around the connection created from his cock being inside me. He leaned over me and wrapped his fingers with mine as he pinned my arms against the bed. Desperation fueled his kisses as my hips met his.

“I would die for you,” he whispered against my lips. My heart fluttered in my chest. “I would kill for you.” His voice was airy, and he grunted as I clamped around him. “My life is yours.” His thrusts picked up, harder, deeper. He stared into my eyes, burning with so many emotions my chest clenched. “My body is yours.”

I whimpered, every muscle tense, my body bowing toward his. His name tumbled from my lips in a mantra.

“Forever. In this life and the next, you are mine.”

I crumbled, the world exploding around me as I came. White nothingness washed over me, my body pulsing as each wave of pleasure ripped through me. Nathan let out a roar above me, his hips slamming against me. His cock jerked inside me, and I writhed beneath him, knowing he was filling me.

His breath was harsh above me, and he leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine. Unshed tears sparkled in his eyes.

“I love you, my beautiful wife.”

A tear slipped from my eye, my bottom lip began trembling. “I love you, so much, my husband.”

We stayed like that for a few minutes, hoping the danger would disappear and we could remain lost in each other. It couldn’t last, and we got up, moving to the bathroom to clean up the mess.

Sex helped to relax Nathan enough to slow down and think a little more rationally, but we still got ready to leave. Silence remained over us as we changed our clothing. He made a noise, drawing my attention.

“I can’t believe we’ve been walking around unprotected all this time when we should have had your gun on us.”

I pulled up my jeans and buttoned them. “That’s not entirely true.”

His stared at me for a moment, stunned, before his gaze became angry, nostrils flared. “What?”

I grabbed my purse from the floor and pulled out the Ruger SR22. His eyes were wide as he stared at it.

“When did you start carrying it around?” He held out his hand, and I gave it to him, making sure the safety was still engaged.

“I got it a few weeks ago.”

His head snapped up. “A second gun? How? And why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

“Drew helped me.”

He cursed under his breath. “Motherfucker.”

“We went over lunch. And I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you freaking out and stressing any more than you were.”

“Where’s your other gun?”

My eyes widened, flickering briefly to the closet. “Nate, I don’t—”

“Where?” His jaw was locked, anger radiating from him.

I walked into the closet and sighed as I pulled out the black metal case.

Nathan watched me as I exited and set it on the bed.

“How do you open it?” He set the Ruger down.

I lined my fingers up and set them down. “It’s a biometric fingerprint lock.” After a moment, the lock sprung and the case opened. “Glock 19.”

He reached forward and grabbed the gun along with the clip that was sitting beside it. He looked at it for a moment before sliding the clip in.

“Have you ever used a handgun before?” I stared at him, and he shook his head. “Any gun?”

“A shotgun long ago.”

I held out my hand. “Give it to me.”

He glared at me. “No.”

“Nate, you don’t know how to use it.”

“I’ve seen it used enough.”

“When? On television? This is serious. I went through training classes. It’s not as simple and easy as you think.”

“Aim and fire, right?”

I huffed and rolled my eyes. “There are safety precautions so you don’t shoot someone by accident. You need to know how to use it.”

“Then show me. That’s why you got a second gun, right?”

“I got it to protect us. I’ve never had to use it, let alone to kill anyone.”

He shook his head. “It’s not killing if it’s self-defense, and they’re coming to kill us.”

“Nate…”

“What? Why else would you buy a gun?”

I continued to look at him for a moment before focusing on the two guns I owned. The main reason I purchased the Ruger was for its size and easy portability. It didn’t detract from the reality of why I purchased the smaller firearm.

I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

“I’m tired of being afraid of the monsters that hide in the dark, of evil things in the form of humans.”

He nodded and handed me the Ruger while he stuffed the Glock in the back of his pants.

“Then it’s time to end this.” He held out his hand, and I slipped mine in.

Together. Live or die, it would be together.

CHAPTER 27

When we got down to the parking lot, Nathan popped open the trunk to my car and not his own. I glanced at him in curiosity, but understood. Switching to mine could buy us some time, because we were always in his car.

The air was heavy as we made our way through downtown to Meridian Street and north a mile to pick up I65. We were both stiff, unable to relax. I watched the Indianapolis skyline disappear in the rearview mirror when the interstate angled west. The IMA sat off to the right overlooking the White River as we passed, streetlamps filling the car with alternating light to dark.

“Shit.”

I turned to him. “What?”

His jaw clenched tight, eyes flickered between the road and the mirror. “They’ve already found us.” The engine revved as he pressed on the gas pedal.

I looked into the rearview mirror, but only saw the bright headlights from all the other cars. My heart fluttered in my chest, the beat seeming to increase with our speed. Every time I took a breath, it echoed in my ears. I kept watching, waiting to see what he did. A few miles flew by, and we approached the exit for I465.

Then it became clear, as traffic moved over to the exit lane, and one car accelerated toward us. Nathan’s knuckles were white as he gripped onto the steering wheel and hit the gas again as the speed limit increased. The words “Thank you for visiting Indianapolis” flashed by, and we were out of the city. My hands trembled as the safety of population was replaced by the unknown of Indiana’s famous corn fields.

Someone had to know. If we didn’t make it, someone had to know what happened.

Nathan cursed again and swung the car hard right over two lanes, barely missing the grassy median as he took the exit. Lebanon was written on one of the signs, and the tires screeched as we turned left at maximum speed.

Why is he taking us off here?

I torqued my body at an awkward angle to see if we were still being followed, and I caught their car swinging hard, barely missing the metal guardrail. If nothing else, there was a bit more space between us and them.

I dug my burner phone out of my pocket and pulled up my text messages. A hard jostle of the car from a pothole sent the phone flying from my hand and slipping between the door and the seat.

“Shit!”

My gaze flickered to the rearview mirror—the second set of headlights was much closer.

I shoved my hand in the tight space to get my phone. There wasn’t much time left. My fingers clasped around the plastic and pulled it up. I looked for another sign when we took a hard right and typed frantically, hoping he understood.

Lafayette Lebanon CR1300. Chased. Help.

I sent it off and clasped the phone between my hands in a silent prayer. When I opened my eyes, headlights shone back at me. The car honked, long and loud, and we swerved.

No matter which way we zigged or zagged, the car after us kept up.

I was jostled into the door, cringing in pain. The sound of screeching metal filled darkness. We couldn’t get away and were hit again, pushed several feet over in the lane.

The metal made a sickening crunching sound as Nathan veered off and took the car into the grass that separated the road from the field. I screamed when he barely missed a mailbox.

The car behind us was undeterred. It kept at us, hell-bent on catching its prey.

Nathan’s eyes were focused and his grip on the wheel firm, yet he somehow seemed relaxed. Like he’d done this before.

An eerie chill slid down my spine. He had done this before.

The lawyer sat next to me, not my husband, working it all out in his head as he drove. Asking himself questions. Going over past evidence, reliving past mistakes, and trying to come up with a different outcome. I stared at him and could almost see his mind spinning faster than the vehicle we were travelling in.

What was I supposed to do?

Nothing. All I could do was keep my death grip the on the door and count each second, waiting for the ride to stop.

“What are we going to do?” I asked, my voice shaky and feeble. The car jostled again as they slammed into the bumper. I shrunk into my seat, holding on to the seatbelt and trying not to freak out.

“Away from them. Away from everything.” His voice was clearer than mine, yet it spoke volumes about where he was at in his head. He was far, far away from here. Imagining some place where he could lock me away.

The wheel jerked as they slammed into us again. The back end of the car swung out, but he kept control, the car rocking as it maneuvered back into a straight line.

Every heartbeat passed in what felt like hours, not seconds. Slow motion in fast forward—a strange sensation.

I wanted the car to stop.

I wanted it to go faster.

I wanted the world to melt away and take my fear with it.

Another minute, hour, lifetime with Nathan.

I wanted to catch a fucking break in my shit life and have the future we deserved.

A tear slid down my cheek and time caught back up.

The tires lost traction on the road as they hit us again, sending us careening into a field. My head slammed into the window as we bounced around on the uneven ground. I held on tighter as the car spun out, narrowly missing a tree.

I exhaled, expunging the air from my aching lungs. How long had I been holding my breath?

Nathan pried his hands from the wheel and turned to me. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, unable to voice any of the hundreds of emotions boiling. His head whipped around, searching for our followers. He turned the key, but the engine wouldn’t turn over.

“Fuck! We need to get out of this car.” He reached out, pointing across the field to a large wooden barn. “There. We have to run.”

I reached down to my purse for the Ruger and opened the car door. The darkness made it hard to see anything, but the moonlight created enough light to make our way across the overgrown grass. As we approached the barn a light flipped on.

“Shit.” I hissed.

We slid onto the ground behind a stack of hay. Nathan’s head popped up to see where our stalkers were. A car door slammed and he turned back to me, sadness and fear flooded his features as he stared at me. His hands grasped the sides of my face and brought my lips to his.

“I’m sorry, Lila. I’m so sorry.” His expression broke my heart. “Baby, I need you to do as I say.”

I shook my head violently from side to side.

“Please!” He rested his forehead on mine. “Baby, you have to run. I’ll buy you some time.”

I gripped onto his shirt, fisting it and holding on tight, unwilling to let him go. “You mean your death will buy me some. No! I can’t live without you. Please, Nate. Don’t leave me.”

He let out a shaky breath. “I can’t watch you die, and their intent is to kill you.”

“Then don’t go. We can still make it out of here.”

“Come on out, Thorne!”

I gasped, and Nathan froze.

I swallowed hard and looked down at the gun in my hands. “They don’t know where we are. We can take them out now.”

His eyes went wide and he nodded, pulling the gun out from his pants. “Together.” He leaned forward and kissed me, then turned back to the direction they were coming from.

There was a small space between the stack and I peeked through, but it wasn’t enough. I popped my head up enough to see that there were two guys, both dressed in suits. Another set of headlights headed down the road toward us.

My eyes widened as I recognized a guy wearing a knit cap—I’d seen him before. Many months before in the dress shop. He was the one I’d told Nathan about—Mack.

“Shit.” Nathan hissed as he ducked back down, pulling me with him just as a shot rang out, flying through the hay and past us into the barn. A small amount of light poured out from the new hole.

Another shot whizzed by, and I peered through the small space again. The chubby one was in view and I pulled the gun up, lining up the sight. My finger sat on the trigger, my chest heavy with anxiety and the weight of what I was about to do. I closed my eyes, blew out a breath, and squeezed.

The gun fired, the force of the kick-back and surprise of the shot made me lose sight of him for a moment. A scream of agony pierced the air, and I knew I’d hit my target somewhere.

Nathan shook me and I looked at him, but he sounded like he was in a tunnel.

“What?”

He pulled on my arm. “Come on.”

My hearing cleared, and their yells came through. We skirted around the edge of the barn, out in the open, and a bullet barely missed us. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking, even when I fired off another round at our attackers.

He pulled me through the large, wide doors of the barn for some cover, just as one of the men came into view.

“Stay down!” Nathan shot off a round just as one of them ran around the corner. The guy screamed out as the bullet clipped his shoulder.

I shook my head at him and kept at it as he began to close the door. If he was going to protect us, then I would, too. We were a team.

He pulled the lever down into its footing in the ground. “Fuck…” He looked around behind us, realizing we were trapped within the barn’s large walls, the only other exit being a regular-sized door next to the large one.

A loud bang with some splintering wood filled my ears before Nathan screamed out and clutched his arm. I grabbed hold of him and led him over behind a tractor. He hissed when I pulled his hand off to see—the bullet grazed his arm, but he was fine.

They tried to get through the doors and started firing off, punching through the wood planks.

I gripped his shirt and pulled, yanking us toward a ladder that led to a loft.

Before we could reach it, we were tackled to the ground. Two men began kicking Nathan, and another hauled me up from the ground by my hair.

I dug my nails into my attacker’s hand as I screamed in pain. He turned, pulling me by my hair and slamming me into one of the barn’s support beams. I fell to the ground, the world spinning and blurry for a moment as my head rang. The need to move was strong, but I couldn’t.

“Don’t fucking touch her!” Nathan yelled from a few feet away.

Whoever stood over me turned toward him, leaving me on the ground and heading to Nathan. I squinted and saw that the men who’d been kicking Nathan were laying at his feet. In the next moment, Nathan hit the one who attacked me and sent him to the ground, blood gushing from his nose.

I stood, my legs shaking and my head still spinning. The guy in the hat also got up and picked up his fallen gun, raising it in the air.

“No!” I jumped onto him, the force enough that the bullet missed Nathan and fired off into the distance.