Chapter 18
Natalia willed her pulse to remain calm and steady, keeping her back plastered against the wall. From this angle, if someone came through the door, she’d have the element of surprise and could attack them from behind.
More than an hour had passed since she’d woken up in this room, and she hadn’t seen anyone since. No one came. There were no sessions of torture. No demands for information or ransom. It was just her and the four bare walls that enclosed her.
The only way out was the locked door she prayed someone would open soon.
When her years of training and experience finally kicked in, the fear and sadness that had been threatening to consume her was replaced by a fiery rage. Talia channeled her anger, using it to fuel her plan of escape.
Another desperate search of the room had resulted in nothing but dust and grime from years of neglect. This place was quiet, and clearly off the beaten path. An unfrequented building that apparently afforded her abductor the security of her never being discovered.
Where is this place?
Natalia had no idea where she was or if this was the place where her life would end. The only thing she was certain of was that she wasn’t giving up without a fight.
She had to escape. Find her way back to the man she loved. Did he even know how she felt? Of course not, because she’d put off saying it aloud. And now…
It might be too late.
No. Screw that. She was not going to let herself think that way.
It wasn’t over until it was over, and her heart was still very much beating. For life. Love. And for the future she wanted to build with Jagger.
None of those things were out of her reach until she’d breathed her final breath. Since that time hadn’t yet come, Natalia wasn’t about to give up the fight.
Jagger loved her. He’d said so right before making love to her in the most magical of ways. She wasn’t going to just sit here and wait to be killed. Not when she finally had something of her own to live for.
I’m going to find my way back to you, Jagger. As God is my witness, I will not give up. Not as long as there’s still breath in my lungs.
The thought rolled through Natalia’s head seconds before a sound reached her ears. Whatever it was, it had come from the other side of the door.
Someone’s out there!
And from the way it was getting louder, they were quickly approaching the door.
A spike of adrenaline rushed through Natalia’s system as she drew in a deep breath and straightened her spine. With her shoulders pushed back, her hands formed two white-knuckled fists in preparation to strike.
Her idiot kidnapper was about to learn the importance of always cuffing behind the back.
The sound of a key being inserted into its lock preceded a slow turn of the knob. Her pulse raced with anticipation at the awaited round of hand-to-hand combat.
When the door opened, Natalia waited for the person to come into view. The second they did, she went into action.
A deep growl escaped the base of her throat as she jumped onto the back of the man who’d just entered the room. At the same time, she brought her cuffed hands around to the front of the asshole’s head.
With her legs wrapped around the man’s narrow waist, she brought the small chain connecting the metal bracelets against the base of his throat and pulled back.
Hard.
The man attempted to shout something but the pressure from the chain prevented much more than a few rough coughs to escape.
His hands flew to his throat, his trimmed nails digging to gain access between his skin and the metal links. At the same time, he began to spin them both around in circles.
His stance began to waver beneath her weight, and for a moment, Natalia was confident he’d lose consciousness any moment. One of his knees jerked, as if he was about to go down.
But the air in the room shifted as the man she still clung to started fighting back. When he did, the game swiftly changed, putting her on the defensive.
Beneath her tight grasp, the muscular man abruptly flung his upper body forward. The unexpected momentum caused Natalia to lose her grip, and she was forced up over his head.
For a moment, she was weightless. A beat later, she hit the ground with a hard, dull thud. Pain spread throughout her right shoulder, ribs, and hip.
With no time to waste, Natalia immediately rolled to her back as her attacker rushed angrily forward. Bringing her knees to her chest, she slammed the soles of her boots against the center of his chest. Her attacker stumbled backward, giving her the time she needed to push herself back to her feet.
He reached behind his back, and when his hand came back in sight, it was clutching a large, hunting-type knife. From the look in his crazed eyes, he was more than ready to use it.
They began circling each other as if they were combating wrestlers in a ring. It was the first time she’d been able to get a good look at his face.
Natalia felt a bit stunned when she saw nothing familiar. Not the grayish-blue color of his eyes or the man’s dirty blond hair. His bulbous nose or the crooked teeth showing from behind the man’s snarling lips.
There wasn’t a single thing that struck Natalia as a man she recognized in the slightest, which made her kidnapping all the more disheartening.
“Who are you?” she demanded harshly, watching the jerk’s every move with attentive, trained eyes. “Why am I here?”
“You’re here because the boss wants you to be.”
The boss.
“Let me guess,” she snapped back. “You work for Sanchez?”
“You ask a lot of questions for a woman who’s about to be dead.”
I’m not dying today, asshole.
At least not until she’d done everything in her power to prevent it.
Using moves she’d spent years perfecting, Natalia waited for the right moment to strike.
When it came, she went at him like a linebacker charging down the field.
Using her left hand to grab the wrist of the hand holding the deadly knife, she slammed her shoulder into him, center mass, jolting his solar plexus with perfect aim.
The ugly prick huffed out a loud breath as the air was forced from his lungs and the knife flew across the room. He lost his footing and they fell together, him on his back, and Natalia’s body on top of his.
She moved swiftly, straddling his waist tightly between her thighs while filling her fists with the thick, dark hair at his temples. Using it as leverage, she began pounding the back of his head to the concrete below.
Once. Twice. Natalia slammed the man’s skull against the concrete over and over again. Blood splattered from the point of contact onto the floor below.
Before long, his eyes were rolling back, and his lids slowly fell shut. She waited for the man’s entire body to grow limp to risk leaning forward and checking for a pulse.
Her shoulders fell with relief when no heartbeat was present. Whoever he was, the man was dead. But he’d mentioned a boss, which meant he hadn’t been working alone. Which meant she was still in danger.
Natalia pushed herself up and began searching the body for keys and hopefully a phone she could use to call for help. She didn’t find a phone, but there was a small pistol strapped to his ankle…and a set of keys.
Her lips curved into a smile when she saw the tiny, flat key on the ring with his others.
Bingo.
A few quick moves later, and the cuffs were on the ground next to the man’s lifeless form. With the pistol in one hand, she moved awkwardly to keep from tripping over her attacker’s body as she stood.
She wasn’t out of the woods yet, but at least she was a damn sight closer. First things first, she needed to find a way out of the building.
Natalia checked the gun’s chamber and magazine on her way to the door. The chamber was loaded, and the magazine was filled to the brim with brand new, shiny nine-millimeter rounds.
She pulled in a long, deep breath before releasing it back out into the air in a slow, steady stream. Her pulse raced, but it wasn’t anything she hadn’t felt before.
Actually, that wasn’t true. Natalia did feel different. Because this time she had so much more to lose.
Closing her eyes, she gave herself precious seconds she didn’t have to regroup and get her head into the game. Focus was the key to survival. And she damn well intended to live.
With the pistol up and at the ready, she approached the open door with caution. A glance to both her right and left revealed the short, unlit hallway adjacent to the room that was empty.
To her right was a dead end. The room she was currently standing in was the last one on this end of the hall. Looking left, Natalia found two additional doors before an opening at that end that led to who knows where.
To freedom. That’s where it leads. Freedom…and Jagger.
With no other choice, she exited the room and headed that way. Her cautious and efficient movements allowed her to clear the next two rooms with ease. Natalia left the hallway and found herself in a room twice the size of the one she’d been in.
The walls were made of the same stonework as the others, but this room had a high ceiling with several exposed, wooden beams.
What the hell is this place?
It looked like it could have been some sort of historical site at one time. But from the thick layer of dust and filth, along with the lack of furniture or any other semblance of amenity, it was obvious this place—whatever it used to be—had been left abandoned for quite some time.
There was also nothing to indicate anyone else was there, aside from her and the dead guy in the room where she’d been held. Natalia turned and spotted an old, wooden door several feet to her left.
The door that would lead to her freedom.
She ran across the room and yanked it open, ready to run and fast as she could. A wall of frigid air threatened to steal her breath, but she ignored it and scanned her immediate area before devising a plan.