Page 67 of Rami

She’d never surrender. She’d rather die in the wilderness than go back into their hands.

His deep, angry grunts grew closer. A little cry burned the back of her throat, but she didn’t give life to the scream. She couldn’t risk alerting him to her whereabouts.

“You can’t outrun me!” His laugh sent birds scattering from the trees.

Ivy jumped over a fallen tree and landed sharply. Her ankle gave out for a second, almost taking her down, but she surged forward, ignoring the sting of pain.

His huffs grew heavier. Closer.

Ivy weaved through the trees. Exhaustion started to outweigh adrenaline, and her muscles burned and begged for her to slow. Sweat dampened her brow, making strands of hair stick to her face and neck. A thick chunk of hair flew into her eyes and she swatted it away, but in the moment she was distracted, her toe caught a tree root. A shriek tore from her throat as she landed on the earth with a smack.

Fire shot through her hands and knees, and she struggled to get to her feet. The driver’s piercing laugh divided the air around her, shooting goosebumps over her flesh.

She heaved to stand but a weight slammed into her with the force of a truck. Her stomach hit the ground. Acid hit her tongue.

The man on top of her shifted, and pain lit her spine and ribs. He was sitting on the small of her back. Ivy’s hands dug into the cold, wet dirt as she attempted to throw the man off her.

“Told ya I’d catch you.” His meaty hands grabbed her shoulders. He forced her onto her back then sat back down on her hips.

“Get off me!” she shrieked. She kicked and flailed, but his laugh only intensified.

“You better hope you killed Gabriel or he’s going to enjoy slicing your pussy from the inside out,” he said, leering, his gaze trailing over her body.

At least the Kevlar and her heavy hoodie protected some of her parts from view. Nevertheless, her skin crawled as if a crate of tarantulas had been spilled on her naked body. She sucked all the moisture from her mouth and spat a wad at his face. Spit hit his cheek and strings of saliva dangled from his beard. His gaze turned menacing.

“Fuck you,” she growled.

He clamped his hand around her throat and brought his face to hers. “Fucking puta,” he snarled. He shoved his hand to the waistband of her pants.

Ivy went ballistic.

“No!” She raked her fingernails over his face, ripping at his eyes and lips—anywhere she could tear his flesh.

“Ahh!” He staggered back, but his weight still pinned her to the ground.

Rivulets of blood ran down his cheeks. The corner of his eye was torn and his nostrils were coated in sticky crimson. Before he could retaliate, she balled her fist and slammed her knuckles into his groin. He coughed and sputtered as he slunk to the ground next to her.

After kicking her legs free, Ivy delivered another blow to his manhood with her foot then sprang to her feet.

But before she could run, his arms circled her legs in a bear hug. She fell like a cut tree, toppling over and crashing into mulch. Her head bounced off a rock. There was a sharp crack. Pain shot through her skull. The forest twisted into a hurricane of leaves and branches. The beam of moonlight called her to its arms.

Her body became weightless as her mind grappled with consciousness. She tried to cling to her senses but, like sand through her fingers, it slipped away.

Solid arms hefted her up as her awareness flickered to black.

***

“You need to pull over.” Taschen’s gravelly voice took Rami’s focus from the road. They’d driven for miles and still no van in sight.

Rami gulped down the frustration sprouting on his tongue. “What the fuck, man? Why?”

Taschen swiveled in his seat so he faced him. “Because you could be driving away from her for god’s sake. They could have pulled off anywhere—as a matter of fact, that’s what’s mostly likely happened, unless they ditched the van and got a new ride.”

Holy fuck.

That hadn’t even occurred to him. “Shit.” He slowed and pulled onto the shoulder of the road. Very few cars were on the highway this time of night. Finding them shouldn’t be so difficult.

“Get Toth on the phone.” Anticipation buzzed through Rami. He couldn’t just sit here. Not while the cartel had Ivy. He scrubbed his palms over his face until his skin burned.

---