Chapter Twenty-Five
“No!” Paige screamed, trying to push herself up from the ground.
Her battered body wouldn’t cooperate. Boyd and Mars’ abuse did a number on her. She could barely move, and after running to keep up with Mars, her legs no longer supported her. But her body wasn’t the only thing that couldn’t keep up. Her mind also struggled.
Only minutes before, she had been in the middle of praying for death when a faint beep sounded in the room.
Boyd froze with his fist in the air as he was about to bring it down on her head.
Mars held his knife, waiting for his turn to cut her skin once more.
With a curse, he moved away to check his phone. Then he swore again.
“We have company. They’re at the primary location.”
“Well, who the hell is it?” Boyd screamed, and Paige winced as the sound pierced her ears.
After several moments of staring at his phone, Mars scowled — the first sign of a loss of his self-control that Paige had seen.
“Tactical. SWAT maybe. With their arsenal and the way they move, they’re heavily trained. We’re vastly outnumbered.”
“I thought you said no one could track us here.”
Mars’ cool facade slipped back into place. “You can stand here and yell at me. Or you can move. Either way, they’re heading this way. They’re trained to look for abnormalities in the terrain. They’ll find us. We have to get out of here.”
Boyd slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand as he released a frustrated shout. The noise startled Paige. Her body jerked in the seat, and she whimpered.
“Grab her. Let’s go.”
“Leave her,” Mars countered. “She’ll only slow us down. I can shoot her right now.”
“No!” Boyd said. “Not until we figure out who and what she’s told about me. No loose ends. You’re on my payroll. I said grab her. We’ll split up. You take her one way. I’ll go another. We’ll regroup once we get out of this mess.”
Boyd started for the door, but Mars grabbed his arm and jerked him back. “I’m not a fool! You’re not saddling me with your problem, so you can make your escape. I’m not going down for your mess.”
Another beep had Mars staring at his phone again. Boyd took the opportunity to rush out the door before Mars stopped him. Mars shouted after him, but Boyd was already gone.
Mars whirled on her, wielding his knife. He roared and surged toward her. Paige had only seconds before he killed her with the knife. She squared her shoulders, forced her head up, and stared him down with her good eye.
“They know about you.”
She held her breath, certain he would stab her despite what she said to stop him. Mars’ chest heaved as he jerked to a stop in front of her. He dropped his arm, the hand grasping the knife at his side.
Relief washed over her, and she pushed herself to take advantage of the reprieve.
“The men who are here for me know all about you and what you’ve done. Kill me, and they’ll come for you. Save me, and I’ll help you take Boyd down for his betrayal.”
“You think I need help for that?” Mars returned, his body barely holding his anger.
“I can keep you out of it. Just untie me and leave me here. You can escape, and I’ll blame it all on Boyd.”
Her breath caught when he approached, but he stepped behind her. She closed her eyes, certain he was about to slit her throat. She jerked when he cut her bindings and not her. She released a long breath as her arms fell to her side, numb and stiff.
Then he grabbed her arm and jerked her to her feet.
“Come on.”
Paige swallowed the bile rising into her throat.
“I can’t.” She stumbled and almost dropped to the floor when her legs shook under her weight.
Mars crowded her space, glaring into her face. “You will, or I’ll kill you.”
“Leave me, please.”
“Move!”
Paige had no idea how she managed to propel forward, but she did.
Mars dragged her into a smaller area with a ladder leading up to a hatch.
Realizing he held her in some sort of storm shelter, she tried to glance around her as they stepped at the top.
It was still nighttime, and her unswollen eye struggled to adjust to the bright moonlight shining down on the unfamiliar area.
All she discerned were shadows moving toward them.
It was Ben and his brothers. She didn’t have to see clearly to know Ben had come for her.
“Move!” Mars shouted in her ear.
Her body wouldn’t cooperate. He yanked on her violently, but her knees buckled.
She heard someone shouting, but her pain roared in her ears.
Mars’ arm pressed to her chest like a vise, positioning her like a shield in front of him.
He supported her, dragging her as they moved.
Then he released her, only to grab her arm and pull her behind them in a run.
Paige had no idea how she managed to keep up with him when her body was shutting down. Tears streamed from her eyes, but she pushed on. She couldn’t give up, not when Ben was so close.
Suddenly, she felt a whoosh of air blow past her. Mars released his hold, and she fell to the ground as Ben tackled Mars. Her arms were too weak to brace herself against the impact of hitting the ground. Her head bounced off the hard earth, and stars sparked behind her eyes.
She struggled to hold on to her consciousness, and she forced air in and out of her lungs. She rolled to her side with a moan. Her eye focused on the two shadowy figures ahead of her, but she identified Ben’s form looming over Mars.
“Ben,” she sighed, her voice barely audible.
Gunshots echoed around her. With wide-eyed terror, she watched Mars fall to the ground. And then Ben fell.
“No!”
Sobs wracked her body as her heart shattered. She closed her eyes, giving into the pain.
Someone suddenly dropped beside her, and unfamiliar hands lightly touched her face. Adrenaline mixed with panic surged within her. She fought against the person, knowing it was a losing battle with her weakened state. But she had to hold on. She had to get to Ben. He needed her.
“Paige. It’s me. Easton. Ben’s brother. It’s okay. I’ve got you. You’re safe. It’s okay. It’s Easton. Paige, you’re safe.”
Easton repeated the words a few times before they registered in her mind. Once she realized she was being held by a friend and not an enemy, she clung to him. Her tears clouded her limited vision.
“Ben. Oh, my God! You have to help him! You have to…”
“Paige, he’s fine. He’s fine. Look. He’s up.”
Easton pulled a cloth from a pocket and used it to clean her face.
Then he gathered her gently in his arms and shifted her to gain a better view of the other men.
Paige sagged against Easton in relief, fresh tears flowing.
Ben stood, towering over Mars’ defeated form crumpled to the ground.
She wasn’t sure if her abuser was dead or just severely wounded, but all that mattered was Ben was neither of those.
“Paige, honey, he’s coming to you. We’re getting you out of here and getting you some help. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
She nodded once, unable to speak. Easton gently released her, and suddenly Ben was there.
She didn’t have to see him clearly to know it was him.
Her battered body felt renewed, and she willed herself to sit up.
Her hands framed his face, the feel of his rough, sweaty skin under her palms evidence that he was real. He was here. He came for her.
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry,” he breathed.
“Ms. Miller?” she whispered.
“Safe. They never kidnapped her. They just wanted you to believe they did.”
She closed her eyes again and sagged against him.
Ben supported her with his body and carefully wrapped her in his embrace.
She placed a hand on his bicep, shocked to feel something wet and sticky clinging to her fingers.
After battling through her confusion, she realized she wasn’t the only one hurt.
“He shot you.”
“It’s nothing, Paige. I promise I’m fine. A lot better than him. Mars is dead.”
Her breath hitched. “Boyd?”
“Not dead, but caught. You’ll get your chance to tell the world what he’s done and watch him be punished for it.”
“But the evidence…” Her voice trailed off. Her head hurt too much for her to think, but she knew her situation wasn’t over. Not yet.
“Baby, listen to me. I’m telling you all you have to worry about now is healing and spending the rest of your life with me.”
“Okay,” she breathed and collapsed against him.
Black spots swirled in front of her eyes. “Ben?”
“Yeah, baby.”
“Did you…ask me to marry you?”
His chuckle rumbled through his chest, and she felt it soothe the broken pieces of her spirit.
“I think I told you that you were marrying me. I don’t think I asked.”
Her head swam. “I love you.”
Then everything went black.