Chapter 31 Lexi
THIRTY-ONE
LEXI
The metal is cool against my lower back as he guides me through a back street with nothing more than the gun.
He hasn’t said anything since he shoved me out the back door of the café, since I begged someone to help me.
But no one did.
As I expected, their fight-or-flight instincts kicked in the moment he showed his weapon, and no one did anything to stop him from ushering me into the unknown.
I force deep breaths into my lungs despite how hard my heart is beating. I’m starting to think it’s straight up trying to escape my chest altogether, but we’re in this together, and we’re going to be just fine.
I’m not usually one for being overly positive in a shitty situation, but I don’t have much choice right now.
Either I manifest an escape, convincing myself I can use the taser I shoved up my oversized sleeve when he was busy showing off his gun to terrified onlookers, or I crumple under the pressure and give up.
Which isn’t really an option at all, and certainly not one I’ll be taking.
“Move faster,” he snaps.
I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from snapping back at him. We’re already walking faster than is comfortable for me, and believe me, if it meant removing the bruising force of the gun against my spine, I would be doing exactly that.
He guides me down another alley, the stench of garbage overwhelming me as we pass the back of several restaurants.
I don’t know these streets well enough to know where I am, and he’s counting on that.
I’m less likely to run if I don’t have a clear escape.
The taser will buy me thirty seconds if I’m lucky, but if I’m not, if I can’t get him somewhere without a thick layer of clothing, it might be significantly less than that.
This guy seems like he’s highly trained.
From how he bypassed Cruz’s top-of-the-line security to how he effortlessly abducted me from a public place.
He’s not some backyard stalker who is likely to make mistakes, which means the likelihood of me being able to hold the taser in place for five seconds or more isn’t likely.
Maybe I should have started carrying the gun Cruz bought me for my twenty-first birthday.
At least that has an almost guaranteed chance of incapacitating someone.
A stray tear rolls down my cheek, the only outward sign of the terror beating inside me.
I can’t stop thinking about the what-if.
What if I can’t get away?
What if Colten can’t get to me in time?
My phone is still sitting on the table with my bag at the café, so there’s no way he’ll be able to triangulate my location using that.
What if I’m about to say goodbye to everything I love?
I press my eyes closed for a moment, trying desperately to gather my composure, but my foot snags on something, and before I have a chance to catch myself, I’m hitting the damp ground with a cry.
My palms scrape across the bitumen painfully, causing a fresh wave of tears to fall.
Fuck. I was doing so well.
“Get up!” he snaps, grasping my bicep and tugging me to my feet. My shoulder screams in protest, but I barely manage to get my footing underneath me before he’s shoving me forward once more.
“I need to slow down,” I say carefully.
“No.”
We come to the point where two alleys meet, and I chance a look to my left, only to find a dead end at the other end.
I look down at my feet, focusing on the hole in my favorite leggings and the blood that seeps through the soft fabric, using the pain to ground me, to force my mind back to the task at hand.
Escape.
I wrap my arms around myself as subtly as I can manage before slipping the taser into my right hand. Each movement is slow and precise, and if my kidnapper is any the wiser, he doesn’t make it known.
“How much further?” I whisper. “I’m in a lot of pain.”
“Not my problem.”
“Well, it kind of is. I’ll need my cuts cleaned unless you want to be dealing with an infection.”
“Listen, whore.” He grasps the back of my neck and tugs me back against his body. His breath blows across my cheek, disgust washing over my every muscle at the new proximity. “You will do as you’re told if you want to live.”
“You wouldn’t have gone to all this effort if you were willing to let me die,” I point out.
A growl presses against my ear. “If you want to survive where you’re going, you will have to learn to shut your mouth and take whatever is given to you.”
“Where are you taking me? Who are you?”
“If you don’t shut up, I’m going to gag you,” he rumbles.
Before I can get another question out, he shoves me forward, and I barely catch myself before I fall for a second time.
If I’m able to escape, it would be good to at least have some information about him, but at this point I think I’m going to be walking, or more accurately running, away without anything useful.
The end of the alley is in sight, and from the people walking across the mouth, the street seems busy.
This is my chance.
Before he can change our direction again.
Before he can shove me into whatever getaway car we have to be getting closer to.
It’s now or never.
I press my eyes closed and steady myself.
I can do this.
I can escape.
I will escape.
The taser slips from beneath my sleeve, and I slowly twist my wrist until the head is an inch from his thigh.
As soon as I turn it on, he’s going to know what I’m doing, which means I have one shot at this, and it has to be perfect.
One more deep breath, and then everything is moving so quickly I barely have a chance to take a breath.
The taser bursts to life a split second before I jam it into his thigh, reveling in the grunt of pain he lets out.
The gun falls to the ground as electricity rockets through his body, and the second I hear the clatter, I’m running.
My feet hit the wet asphalt in heavy slaps, pain rocketing through my legs with every step.
The mouth of the alley is so close, but it’s like I’m stuck in one of those dreams where I’m running but barely covering any distance.
Tears roll down my cheeks, my body and mind threatening to give up on me, but it’s too soon.
Just a little bit longer.
I’m mere feet away from what I’m deeming safety when I slam into a hard chest. A scream tears from my throat before I can swallow it.
Maybe someone will help me this time.
Maybe they won’t leave me in the hands of someone that intends me harm.
“Lexi.” Colten’s voice seeps through the panic. “It’s me, Wildcat. You’re safe. It’s me.”
His arms wrap around me, holding me against him so tight it borders on pain. But it’s the only thing keeping me together right now, so I welcome the bite of discomfort.
The taser slips from my hand, as if my body knows I don’t need it anymore, even as my mind firmly clings to the urge to fight.
“We need to get you out of here.”
“Where is he?” I whisper, trying to look over my shoulder, but Colten’s hand on the back of my head keeps me from looking back.
“I don’t know.”
Tears fall against my cheeks hard and fast, but I don’t fight him as he guides me toward the SUV, helping me climb into the leather seat before he secures the seat belt around me.
It’s not until the door closes that something occurs to me.
How did Colten find me?
And more importantly, how did he know I was in danger to begin with?