Chapter 21
Cam dropped her shoulders forward and hung her head until her chin touched her chest. Exhaustion pulled at her joints. She shivered despite the sheen of sweat on her skin. Judging by the size of the tent, Leonetti had found a remote area to set up. That meant she was likely in the mountains, where the air would be cooler. Turning her head to wipe the cold sweat off her cheek with her shoulder, she brought her attention back to the scalpel.
She could do this. She had to do this. Pinching the handle of the tool between her thumb and forefinger, she used her other fingers to examine the zip tie again. She found the gap where a small chunk of plastic held the tie together, an inch or so away from her wrist. Closing her eyes, she inched the knife to the spot. Nothing pierced her skin, but the blade sat on something hard. Moving the scalpel back and forth in tiny increments, she sawed.
Snap
The cinching sensation fell away from her wrists. Blood rushed to her fingers, making them tingle. She pulled her hands from around the back of the chair and her arms and neck screamed. Rolling her shoulders in rapid circles, she sucked in a deep breath. They’d be back any second, and this time she’d be ready.
She explored the tent with her gaze. The guard still stood outside the tent door, oblivious to her success. There had to be another way out. Keeping one eye on the door and her ears trained on outside sounds, she stood and slid the scapple into her back pocket. Her legs trembled beneath her weight. Inching away from the chair, she moved toward the back of the tent. The plastic beneath her feet crackled with every step. Wincing, she took wide strides, balancing her weight on the balls of her feet. Frick. She’d have to run through the woods without shoes. Oh, well. At least she was wearing sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt and not shorts and a tank top.
She glanced behind her as she got close to the back of the tent. The guard’s silhouette didn’t move. Hope flooded her muscles, screaming at her to run. But she couldn’t. One wrong move could alert him to her escape. She turned her attention back to her task. A door with a zipper holding it closed sat on the far back wall. She stopped in front of it—so close to freedom. If she could get out and make a run for it, she might be able to stick close to the road and stop Brooks before he reached their location.
Grabbing the end of the zipper, she lifted.
Zzzzip
She bit the insides of her cheeks. Please, God. Don’t let them hear me. When she’d pulled the zipper to the height of her chest, she crouched and eased through the door. Foliage from low-lying trees and bushes welcomed her. The loud hum of a generator reached her ears. She blinked in the darkness. She couldn’t see a thing, but she couldn’t stop to find a flashlight. The front door of the tent whipped open. She froze, a gasp catching in her throat. The guard looked to her vacated chair, then spotted her. His eyes widened. “Hey!”
She hurtled forward. Branches slapped her cheek. She ducked, but pine needles still tangled themselves in her hair. Not caring if her locks got ripped out, she ran into the woods, pumping her arms and smacking away branches. The sound of footsteps snapping twigs pounded behind her.
Her tongue swelled with the need to scream, but doing so would only alert more guards. The crackle of a radio called out into the night. Crap! He had help coming.
Roots and rocks cut into the soles of her feet. Her lungs ached. But she couldn’t stop running to catch her breath. The beam of a flashlight hit a tree trunk in front of her.
She dodged to the side. A steep ravine met her. She let out a squeak as she tumbled down the decline. Her legs collided with rocks as she bounced down the hill. She stopped in the center of the ravine, and dizziness assailed her. The tree branches above and leaves at her feet spun like the drum of a washing machine as she pushed herself onto her knees. She sucked in a breath of mossy air and began scaling the other side, her naked feet giving her traction. She couldn’t stop moving.
A blast of yellow light lit the ground beneath her fingers. “There she is!”
A glance over her shoulder revealed three men charging into the ravine. Her heart shot to her throat. She clawed her way up the side and grabbed a tree root to haul herself over the edge. A rough hand snagged her ankle.
She screamed and kicked her foot. The guard’s fingers bit into her flesh. No. They’d caught her. The image of the hospital bed flashed through her mind and stark terror seized her. She reached for the scalpel in her back pocket and slashed it across the man’s neck. His eyes widened. Blood gurgled over his fingers, a river of dark, inky liquid pouring out by the second. The knife fell from her weak extremeties. She’d sliced his throat. Oh, god. His hold went slack. He slumped to the ground and slid down the ravine. Two men raced after her.
“Shit! Send backup!” one of them called.
She leaped to the top of the ravine and darted between the tree trunks. Air squeezed through her lungs. Her toe snagged a tree root, and she went down knees first. She shot out her arms, but her face smacked into the earth first. White specs appeared in her vision. Scrambling, she clawed forward.
“Got her!” A body jumped on the small of her back, pinning her to the ground.
She cried out, and the sound echoed. A hand clapped over her mouth, and the man hauled her to her feet. She swung her fists into any part of him she could reach, but his hold didn’t loosen. She jabbed her palm into his nose, but he grabbed it and held fast, twisting her arm until her knees buckled.
“Bitch,” he spat. He seized both her wrists with one hand. A light clicked on. She blinked in the glow of the penlight between his teeth. With his free hand, he pulled out a zip tie.
She jerked away—if he took her back now, Leonetti wouldn’t waste a second making her pay for escaping. His grip chomped into her tendons so hard she cried out. After fastening the zip tie, he caught her hips and lifted her over his shoulder.
His booted feet stomped through the forest, every step pulling her farther away from safety.
She’d failed. And she wouldn’t get another chance to escape.
***
“It’s up here,half a mile or so,” Dare said curtly as he cut his headlights and pulled to the side of the road.
Brooks flung off his seatbelt, and the metal piece struck the door with a sharp clank. A hand chomped down on his forearm. He dropped his gaze to the fingers and followed the arm up to its owner.
Nash’s face pinched into a scowl. “We’ll go in on foot. I say we split into twos—that way they won’t know there’s more of us.”
Brooks shook his head. “I’m going alone.” He broke contact with his brother-in-law and grabbed the door handle.
Three hands grabbed his shoulder and arm.
“No way.”
“The fuck you are.”
“Hell no.”
As much as he loved having people who cared, that meant caring for them. And he couldn’t put these guys in danger. “I can’t let you do that. This is my problem.” He took a breath. He needed them for one thing. “Just get Cam out of here.”
Nash yanked off his seatbelt and leaned forward, until he was within inches of Brooks’s face. “I’m going with you. If something happens to you, that affects Lexi—which makes it my problem.”
Brooks huffed. “These men are—”
“I can fucking handle it. I promise you, I’ve dealt with worse than a few rent-a-cops and a power-tripping doctor.”
Irritation sizzled through him. Nash was right, dammit. If something happened to Brooks, Lexi would suffer and Nash would probably blame himself. “Fine—”
“I’m coming too.” Cole opened the door and slid out. “Nash is my brother and if something happens to him... blah, blah, blah. Whatever bullshit Nash said.”
Brooks rolled his eyes. Had anxiety not been chomping at his ass, he’d have laughed. He didn’t have time to argue. All he could do was hope to god they had the sense to get Cam out and not worry about him.
He drew his weapon from the space at the small of his back, and his hand closed around the metal. Staying one step ahead of the brothers, he walked toward the dirt road that disappeared into the forest.
Keeping behind trees, he moved deeper into the woods with the gun aimed in front of him. The scent of pine and rotting vegetation reached his nostrils. He glanced back. Nash was close on his heels, and Cole and Dare were farther behind.
“There,” hissed Nash.
Brooks looked in the direction he was pointing and spotted a khaki-colored tent nestled in the woods.
“Found her!” a voice boomed from the foliage near the tent. “The stupid bitch slit Damon’s throat.” A dude in a dark-blue uniform was talking to a man in a white lab coat—Leonetti.
Hate rushed through Brooks’s system, followed by relief. Cam was alive. She’d fought back, and damn if admiration didn’t flare up inside him. He moved his hand to the trigger. One shot. That’s all it’d take to end Leonetti. Movement on the guard’s shoulder caught Brooks’s attention.
He turned to stone.
Cam was draped over the man, kicking her feet. Shit. She’d run, and they’d caught her. Leonetti had hated it when Brooks escaped. The worst of his experiments and punishments came after Brooks had defied him. He moved his finger away from the trigger. If he missed, he’d hit Cam. The guard disappeared into the tent, and Leonetti followed.
Brooks straightened. “I’m going in.”
“What? No—”
“I have to. Leonetti is expecting me, and he’s going to punish Cam for running. I won’t surrender until she’s free.” He gripped Nash’s shoulder and locked his gaze with his brother-in-law. “I’ll send Cam in this direction. Stay hidden, and whatever you do, get her out safely.”
Nash’s gaze darkened. He ground his jaw back and forth but nodded.
Brooks turned away then stopped in his tracks. His chest ached. For nearly a year, he’d mourned the loss of the family he hadn’t remembered. His reunion with Lexi had given him back a piece of his life he’d desperately needed. But as much as he loved his sister, he couldn’t leave Cam for dead—or worse. “Tell Lexi I love her and I’m sorry,” he said, without turning around. He stalked through the forest. When he was far enough away from Nash, he raised his hands in the air, gun and all. “I’m right here, Doc!”
Four armed guards turned his way. The tent door opened and Leonetti stood in the doorway. “You’re a little late.”
Brooks’s hackles rose. He knew Leonetti all too well. He’d be pissed that Cam had made a fool of him. The tightness around his mouth and the red tint to his eyes told Brooks the doctor was ready to release his wrath on Cam.
“Let her go.” The gun sitting in his palm called to Brooks to shoot. Putting a bullet between Leonetti’s eyes would give him as much satisfaction as killing Conrad had.
Leonetti smiled, and the slice of his mouth gripped Brooks’s mind in torturous memories. He fought them off. He couldn’t get consumed by fear. He was bigger than the man they’d contained in a cell with restraints. He’d never go back there. He’d die fighting right here.
“Better late than never. Come inside,” Leonetti said, sweeping the curtain aside. “I’m sure Camryn will be happy to see you.” His over-the-top pleasantries curled Brooks’s lip.
Brooks lowered his hands and walked across the cleared forest floor.
“Take his gun and check for more.” Leonetti nodded at the guards.
One with a military-style buzz cut stepped forward and motioned for Brooks to hand over the weapon. Anger whizzed through him, but he couldn’t fight with Cam in the crosshairs. He passed his gun over. The guard placed it on a nearby table then patted down Brooks’s arms, waist, and ankles.
Leonetti eyed the weapon. “Sorry to ruin your plans,” he said with a chuckle.
Brooks stepped forward. “No worries. I won’t need a gun for what I have planned for you.”
Leonetti let out a sharp laugh. “You’ve got your sense of humor back. I almost missed that. You had so much spunk when you first came to me—before I broke you.”
Brooks’s skin heated as he faced the doctor who had haunted his reality for far too long. “You didn’t break me. You taught me.” He tore his face away from Leonetti before he ended up snapping the asshole in two.
Hold your shit together until Cam’s safe.
“Brooks!” Cam’s sob ripped through him.
His gaze landed on the metal table in the center of the room. All the blood left his head. Cam lay flat on the table, her arms and legs strapped down. He broke into a run. A guard moved in front of him, stopping his advance.
Brooks bunched his shoulders. “Get the fuck out of my way.”
“Ah, always so eager.” Leonetti tsk-tsked as he strode around Brooks and the guard. He stopped next to Cam.
Blinding fear settled over Brooks like a weighted blanket. He charged forward again, shoving the guard out of the way, and eliminated the distance between the table and him.
“Stop.” Leonetti’s calm baritone reverberated through the room. The click of a gun cocking sounded behind Brooks’s head. He glanced over his shoulder to see the guard he’d just pushed holding a gun to his skull.
Brooks shifted his gaze to Cam. Tears rolled down her cheeks. The bright overhead lights washed out her skin, paling her lips even more. A purplish-red bruise stained her cheekbone. Rage ticked against his skull. He’d make Leonetti regret touching her.
Cam struggled against the restraints. “Brooks,” she said, the table rattling beneath her. “I’m sorry.”
Her words wound around his heart, squeezing the life out of him. He couldn’t talk to her. Couldn’t do more than bunch his hands into fists at his sides to stop himself from getting them both killed.
“You said you’d let her go if I came,” Brooks said, through gritted teeth.
Leonetti nodded then reached into his pocket. “That’s what I said. But I need another participant.” A sly grin melted his cheeks.
“Fuck you!” Cam spat on Leonetti’s lab coat, and it splattered on the doctor’s face. Leonetti wiped his cheek with his sleeve. A hard glint flashed in his eyes.
Brooks lunged forward again and tore at the restraints on Cam, freeing one of her hands. Leonetti kept Cam pinned to the table in a tug-of-war. The guard kept the gun trained on Brooks, moving to get a better angle.
“Let her go!” Brooks bellowed, his body anticipating the bullet entering his brain. He grabbed Leonetti by the collar of his shirt and tossed him backward. He stumbled into the metal instrument tray and landed on his ass. Cam undid the strap on her left wrist, and Brooks released her feet.
“Grab him!” Leonetti yelled.
Brooks fought off a shudder. Every muscle in his body turned to stone, and the skin on his forearms threatened to snap. The guard’s shoulder connected to Brooks’s waist as the man tried to take him down. Brooks didn’t budge. Then he kneed the guard in the face, grabbed the back of his shirt, and rammed his head into the floor.
He turned his hot focus on Leonetti. The older man struggled to his knees then hauled himself up to a standing position. Brooks stomped forward and delivered a punch to Leonetti’s jaw. The man’s head snapped backward and he collapsed to the floor. It wasn’t good enough. No satisfaction touched the fire of hate burning inside him. Not only had Leonetti destroyed his family and his life, he’d tried to hurt Cam. Leaning forward, he grabbed Leonetti’s throat in his hands and squeezed.
Leonetti’s face turned beet red as his eyes bugged out of his head. His wire-rimmed glasses sat twisted on his face, a lens cracked. He grappled with Brooks’s wrists, trying to free himself while choking on hiccups of air.
“You sonofabitch,” Brooks wheezed.
Cam grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the door. “Let’s go!” Her frantic scream commanded his attention.
He grabbed her bicep and turned toward the exit. Cam rooted her feet into the ground. “This way,” she said, and steered him toward the back of the tent.
A radio crackled. “I need backup!” Leonetti gasped into the mic of the radio he’d pulled the pocket of his lab coat.
Fuck.