Prologue #2
Did Los Siete hire them? Is this part of Carlos’s plan to use me as bait?
Sweat dripped down my neck and the other man growled, “We don’t have time for this. Just grab her and let’s go.”
I swallowed and nodded quickly, before the man could touch me.
“Okay. Okay.” I licked my lips, my stomach clenching with nerves. “But promise me you’ll shoot me.”
“Huh?” The man with his hands out cocked his head in confusion.
I took a breath, flicking my eyes to the other man briefly before staring straight into his eyes. “Promise me that if we get caught, you’ll shoot me dead.”
I’m not coming back here. I can’t. I won’t survive. I either get out now, or I die here.
He blinked, clearly shocked by my statement and his friend huffed, “Fine. Now let’s move.”
Hell, this is really happening.
The man on the right lowered his hands and crossed the porch, until he was within reaching distance.
“Stay close, don’t speak, and don’t hesitant when we tell you to move.”
I nodded again, trying to calm my racing heart. I wasn’t going to be able to run if I passed out.
“Package in tow. Heading out,” he muttered, clearly speaking to someone else.
His hand landed on my shoulder, and I flinched but didn’t push him away.
He flipped his night vision back in front of his face and gave me a nod before he gently pushed me to turn around and he jogged down the stairs.
The other man followed behind us, and I looked over my shoulder to find him running backwards, gun aimed in the direction of the house.
We ran towards the back of the property that ended at the slope of a hill that led to acres of unfelled woods.
God, let there be no one hunting tonight.
The grass that was padding my footfalls ended and I suddenly realized I was barefoot.
The crack of dry leaves and sticks beneath my feet was uncomfortable but I didn’t stop, eyes trained on the boots of the man in front of me.
My breath was coming out in sharp pants as we crested the hill and began the descent down into the valley.
I’d never been this far from the house, never entered this part of the property.
I only knew that beyond the electric fence of the compound there was nothing but miles and miles of Texas hill country.
Unlike me, the two men seemed to know exactly where they were going. I tried to keep pace with the man in front of me, but my body hadn’t seen this much exercise in years. My steps slowed further as I clutched a stitch in my side, trying to breathe through the pain.
“Keep moving,” the man behind me barked lowly. He didn’t even sound the slightest bit winded, and I groaned.
I wanted to ask the man the last time he was forced to run barefoot through the woods in the dark, but I held my tongue. I pushed through the ache in my muscles and caught up to the man in front, staying no more than a foot behind him.
I stumbled, the man behind me grabbing my waist, keeping me from falling and we continued on and on, the only sound my harsh breathing and the crunch of leaves beneath my feet. I pushed myself harder as we reached another hill, my calves burning.
Hell. I’m not going to make it.
“How…much…farther?” I huffed out.
“Stop. Talking.”
I clenched my jaw and shook out my tingling hands. My eyes begged to release tears and I rapidly blinked, trying to relieve the pressure. Not the damn time.
I ran straight into the back of the man with a grunt and righted myself, looking up to find him standing still with a closed fist held up. The abrupt stop had my heart about to leave my chest. The sweat dripped down my chin and onto the ground as I heaved oxygen in and out of my lungs.
My mouth pooled with saliva as the bile rose in my chest. I bent at the waist my stomach cramping so fiercely I couldn’t move.
In. Out. In. Out.
Hell.
The man behind me wrapped an arm around my waist, forcing me upright and into his chest. I whimpered as the pain ripped through my abdomen and warm liquid suddenly gushed between my legs.
Not now. God, not now.
When I failed to move, he dragged me with him as he sidestepped to the left, following the movements of his buddy in front of us.
I scanned the woods, trying to focus on anything other than the pain and nausea.
Whatever they could see with their night vision had us changing course and the man released me, whispering at my neck to keep running.
I stumbled forward, tripping over a decaying branch and grabbed onto the closest object, a tree.
Wrong. Something was wrong. It was never this bad. The bleeding was never this bad. I could feel it now, dripping down my legs.
“Move,” the man grunted.
I stared into the darkness, frozen, heart racing.
The man grabbed my shoulder to spin me in his direction and scanned my body, stumbling backwards a step.
“Dammit,” he swore. He sighed with frustration and shook his head. “It’s fine. It’s the adrenaline. You’re not the first person I’ve helped to piss themselves. Can we keep moving?”
I swayed, reaching out to hold him. My body rocked with an unnatural chill despite the sweat pouring out of me.
“What the—” He cut himself off, flipping up his night vision goggles and reaching for something attached to his shoulder. I blinked, quickly covering my eyes when a bright light shone onto my body. “Fuck. You’re bleeding. Where are you hurt?”
The world tilted, little black spots dancing across my vision.
No. My knees buckled, I scrambled for the stranger’s arms. I gasped through the panic cinching my chest tighter and tighter. My body was suddenly swung off the ground, and I stared with fear into the stranger’s eyes.
“Riley!” The man holding me whisper-shouted, my body jostling as he holstered his weapon. “She’s bleeding.”
Riley took the flashlight and scanned my body. “Fuck. What happened?”
The nausea crested in a wave as another cramp twisted my abdomen, and I nearly tumbled out of his arms as I turned away from his chest and gagged. Riley jumped out of the way as I sucked in some air through my nose, forcing myself to not vomit.
“I dunno. She was fine,” the man holding me said with a hint of panic.
I could feel Riley’s hands trying to find the source of bleeding and shivered uncontrollably.
“Oh shit,” he muttered when he bunched up the end of my nightgown. “That’s…”
I shuddered against the chill racking my body. My blood was whooshing in my ears, and I struggled to make out the conversation happening. The voices were too soft yet too loud, speaking a foreign language.
Quiero volver a casa. Necesito a Javi.
“Ayuda.” Panic settled in my chest as I tried to scream. “Ayuda!”
A hand clamped over my mouth and I thrashed against the body holding me firmly.
Por favor. Por favor, Dios. ?Qué está pasando? Javi, te necesito.
There was someone forcing my eyes open, a bright light the only thing I could see waving directly in my line of sight.
“She’s in shock. We need an immediate evac! No, now dammit! She’s fucking hemorrhaging.”
My heart felt like it was going to race out of my chest, and I was panting. Short and shallow. I couldn’t catch my breath. I closed my eyes against the dizziness making my eyes roll.
The image of Javier on his knees begging me to fight for my life as his was ripped away flashed before my eyes.
No sabes cuánto lo siento.
My eyes welled with tears, and I couldn’t hold them back.
“Almost there, hold on,” a gruff voice called out, reaching me through the haze that I’d found myself in.
I opened my mouth to ask where, but all that came out was a whimper. My ears rang with the sudden noise, and the wind sent dirt and grass flying into my face.
“Seven minutes,” someone shouted over the noise. My body jostled as I realized I was being handed off to another person. I struggled to keep hold of reality.
Where were we going? Why was it so loud?
“Oh fuck,” another voice swore as hands trapped me in place. “If she dies, this still counts as the favor we own Nguyen, right?”
My stomach leapt into my throat. It was loud, too fucking loud and I stopped fighting to stay conscious.
I guessed this was it. The end. A lifetime of hell just to die as someone came to save me. I hoped it was worth it. I hoped they all got what they deserved. The Walshes. Los Siete. Everyone who had ever screwed up my life. I hoped they all suffered while I was gone.
Wherever I ended up after death, I knew it couldn’t be worse than the hell I’d been living through.
Maybe seven really was my lucky number. I welcomed the darkness, a moment of peace finally washing over me.
It’s over.