Page 5 of Pure Vengeance

I release the hammer and pull the gun away from her head.

“Put her in the trunk. I’ll deal with her later.”

Her scream gets muffled as Vince spins her around and throws her over his shoulder. I take her gun to the car with me and climb in the back seat.

There’s a thud as he tosses her inside, another scream that gets squashed when the trunk slams closed. Vince disappears into the bushes again before he comes back to the car.

The car jostles as Vince climbs into the driver seat. He lets out a long breath.

“Something wrong?” I ask, opening the chamber of the gun to inspect the bullets. There’s two more locked and ready.

“Her purse.” He hands it to me. “No wallet. Just some glasses, tissues, and a couple of twenties.”

No identification.

“She’s no professional.” I look through the inside zipper pocket and find it empty. “This pistol is old as hell. Looks like a collector’s piece.”

Vince pulls out of the lot.

Loud thunks come from the trunk. She’s kicking against the back, the vibrations run through my seat.

“She’s a fighter,” Vince says. “Got a good scratch on my arm from her.”

“Hmm.” I toss the gun beside me. “We’ll see how tough she is when she’s locked up and alone.”

Another kick.

I move over and count the kicks.

Each one will cost her.

Dearly.

CHAPTER THREE

Claire

It’s a fortress.

He’s locked me away in a tower like some twisted princess in a fairytale. But I’m pretty sure there won’t be any knight in shining armor scaling the three floors to get to my window any time soon.

I sink down onto the cot pushed against the wall and examine my hand. All of the pounding against the trunk of the car didn’t do anything other than split my knuckles open and cut my heel.

There’s no fighting the yawn pulling at me. My eyelids get heavier as the moments tick by, but I can’t risk another nap. It’s been hours since Vince dumped me in this room.

Maybe longer. Once the initial panic subsided, exhaustion had set in, and I’d fallen asleep. I can’t let that happen again.

Escape is my only option.

I tried to kill the most powerful man in the DeMarci family. He’s not going to let that slide. It won’t matter that he deserves to die for his sins, he’s going to seek revenge.

Fresh tears appear, blurring my vision enough to wash out the empty room from my sight. Other than the cot, there’snothing in here with me. He probably puts people here to forget about them.

How long does it take to die without food or water?

I shake my head and blink away the tears.

Thinking like that will only make the situation worse. I have to focus on escape.

---