Page 21 of Mafia Don's Secret Baby

It had to be okay.

“You can run and hide, little one. It only makes the chase more entertaining.”

I didn’t dare to move a muscle. I closed my eyes and listened as they sifted through the kitchen and main room.

“We know you’re here somewhere.”

The footfalls of one of the men reverberated directly outside the pantry door, and I held my breath. “You have no idea how much we enjoy the chase.”

He stopped moving, and I could feel his presence right outside the door.

Did he notice that the cabinets were more than they looked? Would he find me? My heart was going to explode through my chest, but I could do this. I could fight.

He began moving again, and it eased a bit of my fear as he turned away. My heart pounded through my ears, and all sense of time faded as I trembled.

The adrenaline wasn’t coming down. Not even close.

They searched for a few more minutes, and the laughter quickly faded as they realized that finding me wouldn’t be as easily as they’d hoped.

“She’s in here somewhere,” the tattooed guy said, getting frustrated.

“Did she go out the fucking door?”

“There’s no blood tracked anywhere, and she couldn’t have gotten past us without stepping in it. Plus, we locked up the stairwell and would have heard the elevator ding.”

Their search grew angrier as they muttered things to one another just outside my hearing. They began rifling through the cabinets on the other side of the pantry door, and I held my breath, knowing that they would find the hidden latch within a matter of seconds. I had a choice to make. If they opened the door, they’d be prepared for my attack, but if I opened it…

Rather than waiting, I took a deep breath and flung open the pantry door. They both looked shocked as I sprung forward, but I plunged the knife into the largest man without a second thought. I aimed for the throat, but my shaking limbs slowed me enough that he shifted and took the wound to the shoulder. He shouted in agony, and I winced as the reverberations of knife on bone ran down my hand.

He jerked back, and I had to leave the blade embedded in him.

The smaller one slammed out a fist and caught me in the cheek, rocking me back into the pantry shelving. He came at me, and this time, I was prepared enough to block. One blow, then another. Another. My forearms ached from the deflection. I ducked past one blow and managed to shove my fist into his jaw with all the force I could muster.

The largest man came and wrapped both arms around me, pinning my arms to my sides and lifting me from the floor.

I had no traction to fight him as I twisted and jerked in his grip.

“Little bitch!” the smaller of the men shouted as the larger one carried me from the pantry and into the living room.

No amount of thrashing could dislodge me from his grasp.

“She’ll get what’s coming to her.”

The words in my ear made my body shake in pure terror.

“Not here. We’re running out of time.”

I could scream, and maybe someone on a lower level of the house would hear me, but I knew it would wake Callum, and I couldn’t do that. I had to get myself out of this, but I didn’t know how. I could defend myself, but I wasn’t equipped to take on both men at once. Not even close.

I had to escape. Either that or die.

They moved toward the door, not hesitating to step over the man they’d killed. I didn’t doubt they’d taken out the other guards, as well. Not when they’d been so nonchalant about their efforts to find me.

As they moved through the doorway, I lifted my legs and pushed us back as hard as I could. The man holding me toppled backward, and my thrashing sent him to the floor. I turned immediately, digging my fingers into the wound I’d given him as I stood and tried to run.

He caught my ankle, and I careened forward, feeling someone crawling atop me. Something wrapped around my throat quick enough that I couldn’t stop it from happening. My breath cut off, and I opened my mouth, trying and failing to capture a wisp of air.

“I should just fucking kill you,” the man above me hissed. I could imagine the sneer on his tattooed face as he tightened his grip and put all his weight on my hips, stretching my back in a way that cracked it in a handful of places.

---