Page 74 of Come Fill Me

Something heavy crashed above her. She stumbled back then froze at the renewed sound of gunfire.

It seemed to come from everywhere. Liz turned so quickly she smacked her shoulder into the wall. Wincing at the pain, she ran again, heading for the entrance.

The closer she got, the more destruction she saw—bullet holes in the doors and walls, blood sprayed on the ceiling, pooled on the floor, two of Carreon’s men on their bellies, the tops of their heads torn away by gunfire.

A scream caught in her throat. She ran past them down a series of halls, turning the corners quickly, not even considering what might be ahead.

What she saw finally stopped her…one of Zeke’s men.

He’d propped himself against the wall a few feet from the entrance. Pain contorted his features. Sweat dripped from his face. He huffed rapidly as one does in an attempt to stop the hurt. Blood bathed both his knees. Puddles of it pooled to the left, no doubt the point where he’d been shot. From there, smears of his blood showed the direction he’d taken as he dragged himself to this spot.

To retrieve his weapon?

Despite his injuries, he lifted his assault rifle, pointing its muzzle at her heart. “Don’t move,” he growled.

His arm shook, causing the weapon to jerk from her chest toher arm to her leg. Fresh air whistled down the tunnel. The door was still open. The vehicles enticingly close.

Liz fell to her knees at his side.

“One more move,” he warned, “and I’ll blow your fucking head off.”

He could barely speak.

“Let me help you,” she whispered. “I can heal you.”

He cringed, trying to get away from her. Only his upper body moved. His legs were useless, but he didn’t back down. “You want to die?” he panted. “I’ll kill you, I swear, if you don’t get your ass back to wherever Zeke had put you.”

“I can’t,” Liz said. “I’m the only one who can get to Carreon and save Zeke and the rest of you.”

“Are you fucking nuts? I said—”

His words stopped on a gasp as Liz brushed her palms over his knees with the lightest touch possible, praying her gift wouldn’t be too much for him to take. She didn’t have the time to heal him as she had Zeke, Jacob, and all the others.

He gritted his teeth. The muscles in his neck corded as her healing gift poured into him. “Noooo,” he cried. “What are you doing? I can’t take it.”

She’d barely touched him. Liz jerked back her hands, afraid to do any more. His face was a sickly gray color, his respiration too fast. However, beneath his torn jeans, she saw that the wounds on his knees had closed. His injuries were nearly healed, neither of them a threat to his life.

Worried he might still try to stop her, she scooted back and darted toward the entrance.

“Hey,” he shouted.

Liz continued into the tunnel, searching for the van she’d arrived in.

Not here.

No, no, no, no.She couldn’t have gotten this far only to fail.

“Stop!” he yelled.

She ignored his order, hoping he wouldn’t shoot her after what she’d done for his damn knees. Darting from vehicle to vehicle, she found the bullet-riddled one the other men had used the night they’d gone to Carreon’s stronghold to rescue Zeke.

His man rushed into the tunnel, or rather he tried. Neither of his knees had fully recovered. That would take a bit more time or healing from her. He hobbled forward a few steps before losing his balance. A string of oaths poured from him as he stopped his fall with his elbow, ramming it into one of the Jeep’s side mirrors.

Liz scrambled inside her vehicle and turned the key. Instantly, the engine purred to life, and the GPS came on.

It was all she needed to get back to Carreon’s stronghold and finish him off for good, to save her father, Zeke, and his clan.

She put the Jeep in reverse and accelerated, turning it around in a tight circle. In her side and rearview mirrors, she saw Zeke’s man trying to limp toward her, yelling as he did.

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