Page 35 of The Edge of Dawn

Please come soon.

“I’m going to kill that bitch,” the man grunted as the sound of his footsteps became louder in her ears. “They never told us she could fight. What the hell is she? A black belt in BJJ or something? Fuckin’ command. They never tell us anything. I’m gonna file for worker’s compo for this. You all right over there, Jonesey?”

“Nah. I’m fucked.” The other man’s voice was barely a croak.

“I’ve already called for backup. They’re five minutes away. Hold tight over there. I’m going to find her, then we’ll get out of here.”

“She’s a fuckin’ psycho. Be careful.”

“She got lucky. It won’t happen again.” He was very close now.

Propped up on her elbows, Jade thought about getting to her feet, but she feared she would make too much noise, drawing his attention.

But maybe…

He was near the entrance now, moving with a shuffling gait, breathing heavily, grunting occasionally, swearing under his breath.

“Ah. Found you.” At last, he appeared in the shaft of light streaming from the top of the pit. He was a big dude—almost twice her size, thanks to a combination of height, muscle, and pudge. In a battle of sheer strength, he would destroy her. It was astounding that she’d even managed to bring him down in the first place.

I’m screwed, she thought at first, but then she remembered something.

The gun.

She—no, Dragek—had tucked it into the waistband of her jeans at the small of her back.

Sweet. She wasn’t helpless after all.

Reaching across with her good hand, she let out a small puff of relief as her fingers wrapped around hard metal. No device had ever felt so reassuring.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the MWA officer snarled. “Don’t fucking move.”

Too late.

Trembling, she whipped out the gun, ignoring the screams of protest from her battered arm.

She flicked off the safety—remembering Dragek’s instinctive move—and pointed the tip at the man. “Get out of here, or I’ll shoot you.”

His lip curled in disdain below an uneven salt-and-pepper mustache. “You’re going to shoot me? And then what? Climb out of here? You won’t make it out alive. You’ll starve and dehydrate to death before they find you.”

“I thought you said backup was five minutes away,” Jade said coolly, sounding a lot more composed than she felt.

“Whether it’s me or them, you’re going to be detained and admitted eventually.” The man changed his tone, attempting to sound gentle. But Jade could still sense the bitterness. He wanted to harm her. “You shoot me now, you’ll have charges against your name. They’ll put you into the forensic ward with violent criminals, rapists, murderers… not a good place for someone like you. Think carefully, Mrs Pitt.”

She glared at the man. I’m not Mrs Pitt anymore.

How quickly her husband had changed once he knew about the voices in her head.

Cameron didn’t understand a thing. All he knew was rules and regulations and the law.

The bitterness of betrayal seeped through a crack in her heart, and despite her anger, it still hurt. “You’re not taking me away. Whatever condition you think I’m suffering from, you’re wrong. Leave, or I will shoot you.”

“Jade…” The man’s voice was soft, almost convincing. She knew what he was doing—trying to switch from bad cop to good cop. “The longer you try and resist, the worse things will get for you. We’re trying to help you, Jade. You have a condition… a psychosis. What you’re seeing and hearing… not all of it is real. We can get you the right treatment. Make it better. We aren’t your enemies.”

Bullshit. This was the guy who, only moments ago, had said he wanted to kill her.

She didn’t trust these people one bit.

In the distance, far above, she heard something.

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