Page 108 of Live for Me

I gasped for air and cried out for help. Then, two more men emerged from the shadows, coming straight for me. They were dressed in all black, masks covering their face, their guns raised at me—not at my attacker. I froze.

They weren’t law enforcement, but they sure as hell moved like it.

“Let’s go,” the one on the right commanded as the man behind me covered my mouth again, pinning my arms down with his other arm.

I felt his hot breath against my ear. “Try that shit again, and I’ll fucking kill you, bitch.”

My blood turned to ice as they forced me into the dark alley, dragging me all the way back by the dumpster. Once we were close enough to the corner, the man shoved me forward, and I fell onto the ground. I twisted and scrambled back, going until I couldn’t. I’d been cornered, and the three masked men crowded me. The one in the middle—the one who attacked me first—didn’t pull out a gun. Instead, he stared down at me, and even through I couldn’t see his eyes behind the mask, I could feel them. The other two men held a powerful stance, guns pointed at me.

“You make a single fucking sound, they get to shoot you until I say stop,” the one in the middle said.

I nodded rapidly.

Bile rose up to the throat as my imagination ran wild, picturing all the things that were about to happen to me. This was it.

I was dying tonight.

“Now, you’re going to fucking listen and listen good. Nod if you understand,” the man clipped.

Another rapid nod.

The middle man took another step closer, and I pulled my knees up, chest heaving. If I was dying tonight, there was no way in hell I wasn’t going without a fight. Suddenly, I had a new goal, one I’d never thought I would have to make.

The goal: bite that fucker’s ear off if he attacks me again.

He lowered himself to his haunches in front of me. “You see these guys behind me?”

I gave him another nod to keep him happy.

“These are going to be the men who kill Beau Marks if you don’t do what I tell you to do.”

My world nearly stopped, dread spilling into my bloodstream. All I saw was Beau, and slowly, carefully, I looked at the two men, still in the same position. Deep down, I knew they were professionals. They hadn’t said a word since we came into the alley; they seemed to follow the middle guy’s instruction and, based on their stances, I would guess they had a military or law enforcement background.

“Abbie,” the man clipped.

Shit. He knew my name too.

My gaze met his, and I nodded again, hot tears sliding down my cheeks now.

Questions—hundreds if not thousands—were firing off in my brain.

Who were these men?

How did they know Beau?

Did Hallow Ranch have something to do with this?

What did they want with Beau?

Had Denver done something? Or worse—what old enemies did John Langston still have hiding in the shadows?

“You’re going to leave that cowboy, do you understand me?” the man instructed, pointing at me. “You’re going to leave Hallow Ranch for good.”

I jerked back, eyes wide.

“You don’t, Beau Marks dies.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “These men don’t fuck around, Abbie. They’ll kill him before he even realizes they're there.”

My heart was about to burst out of my chest, the beat of it drumming in my ears now.

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